The purpose of the study was to search for optimal measurements in a holistic description of the evolution of the phenomenon of “ability”, manifested in the processes of professional development and professional activity of the subject. Based on the analysis of scientific literature, we came to the following conclusions: 1) the effectiveness of activity and the social success of the subject have ambiguous connections with the degree of expression of abilities (giftedness, talent, genius); 2) studying abilities on samples of children and youth whose abilities are manifested in conditional activities (learning), in hobby activities, imposes restrictions; 3) the manifestations of abilities in the joint activities of highly qualified professionals remain the least studied. Using the methods of historical-theoretical and subject-categorical analysis, we have developed the author’s approach to the problem under discussion, which consists of an evolutionary-systemic description of the phenomenon. Interpreting the difference in the content of the concepts “efficiency of the subject” and “social success of the subject” as an opportunity to move towards solving open questions in the field of studying the problem of abilities, we propose to turn to a system-evolutionary description of this phenomenon through its four dimensions. In the horizontal dimension, the evolution of the phenomenon is presented as a continuum of manifestations of its following hypostases: inclinations, abilities, special abilities, professional abilities; in the vertical dimension – transformations: inclinations, abilities, giftedness, talent, genius; in the ontogenetic dimension (“age-related”, “longitudinal”) – age-related changes in a person as an individual and as a subject, structural transformations of his abilities in the process of acquiring social experience, mastering new professional functions and social roles; the “self-reference” dimension is a measure of the representation of the psychological system as an integrity to the “external observer” and the “internal observer”, to itself. Conclusions: abilities are a phenomenon that can be distributed in time and space, the manifestations of which are determined by the measure of mobilization of the capabilities of the psyche and body, the measure of integration with other systems, the safety of which is ensured by the processes of self-regulation and self-healing, periodic changes in components and structures.