The debate over the root of human behavior has been rampant for more than a century: Is our behavior the result of nature—the biological forces that precede our birth? Are we born with certain characteristics that are unchangeable and which we cannot control? Or, are we a result of the nurturing derived from our environment? Some psychologists adamantly maintain that our unique identities and individual personalities are mostly, if not solely, the result of biological forces that come first at our birth and, as such, are not influenced by our environments.
Conversely, early behaviorists, such as B.F. Skinner, maintained that we come into the world as a blank tablet, capable of taking on an almost unlimited range of possible scripts. He believed that our personalities are determined by the sum total of all the reinforcement schedules that we have been exposed to over the course of our development. In other words, factors in our environment can have a dramatic influence on who we become and how we act. For the behaviorists, the question is not "do people change," but rather, "how do we change them?" In other words, how have people been nurtured from birth, and how can we nurture them further?

Isn’t it time we put this debate to rest? We are neither solely one nor the other, and we are not the consequence of a happy medium. We are both at the same time. We are born with certain realities that we cannot change, such as our ability to see certain colors. There are also certain things about ourselves that we can significantly impact, such as learning to give more praise to our peers.

The interplay between nature and nurture ultimately determines who we become. Understanding what we can change about ourselves and what we cannot change about ourselves regardless of how strong our desire is to change is critical to understanding ourselves, understanding others, and managing others. By grasping the true potential of nature x nurture, we can become more effective managers and leaders. Sounds simple. So why do many have so much difficulty managing those who work for them?

I propose that we do not understand the true potential of nature and nurture, and their profound impact on each other. It is not nature and nurture set against each other, or even nature and nurture working independently, but the combination of the two, nature x nurture, that makes us who we are. In actuality, transformations are never complete because of two reasons: certain things will never change about people and, conversely, individuals are not static. People are continually evolving creatures. Consequently, managing never ends; we can never get our workforce to a static place and expect them to remain so into eternity. While their nature can be subdued, it is never extinguished. Additionally, people change, situations change, and knowledge (about people and situations) changes. What we "knew" about human nature and business in 1901 or 1951 or 2001 is not what we "know" today. The fact that some things change and some things remain the same does not mean that these are conflicting perspectives that cancel each other out. They are realities about human nature that guide us about what can be nurtured.

Knowing these insights, and implementing said knowledge, blends the art and science of management. Here too, it is not art versus science, but art x science. It is an optimistic and attractive orientation to think that we can do just about anything. People do not want to realize or admit that there are certain things about them that they cannot change. Eternally hopeful, we always think we can be what we want to be with just a little more effort. It is disheartening to not get the promotion when you have been the top salesperson for the past year. In our culture, success is measured by moving up the ladder. If we are not moving up the ladder, we think we are failing professionally.

Should the top salesperson become the sales manager? Sometimes, but not automatically. Closing sales and managing people require different talents. Just because an individual has one of these talent sets, it does not mean that he or she has other talents required for successful movement up the organizational ladder.

Some people are perfect where they are at, and that is not going to change. We can make them better at their job and optimize their talent, but we can’t necessarily make a good salesperson a good manager. We must reject the conventional debate around "nature versus nurture."

By understanding the power of nature x nurture, and what can and cannot be changed, organizations achieve enormous competitive advantages. Take time today to figure out what you cannot change in others and what you, as a manager, can transform for optimal performance of their "talents." Nature x nurture is a concept that can transform the way we build businesses and think about managing and developing people.