Lacking the skill to be outstanding
I believe the answer is:
notable
'outstanding' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'lacking the skill' is the wordplay.
'lacking' becomes 'no' (I've seen this in other clues).
'the skill' becomes 'table' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should believe this answer much more).
'no'+'table'='NOTABLE'
'to be' is the link.
(Other definitions for notable that I've seen before include "Worthy of attention, significant" , "Worthy of record" , "Famous or memorable" , "Outstanding" , "Ton bale (anag.)" .)