Is Your Organizational Mojo a No Go?

Why talent management is a key factor to maintaining and sustaining the mojo.

Why is talent management so important? Why is it the difference between those organizations who succeed and those who don’t? Simply put, if you don’t make the best use of the talent of your people, then you’re wasting tremendous potential for creativity, ingenuity, and fresh thinking.

In a recent survey reported in The McKinsey Quarterly employees working in global organizations were asked to score their employer’s talent management practices. The companies that scored in the top third had a significantly higher profit per employee than those that scored in the bottom third.

So, what does this tell us? The “scattershot” approach to developing and managing talent is affecting the bottom line in a negative way. Employees of 2011 require a higher level of skill and different skill set when it comes to leading people, managing change, being resourceful and an overall commitment to the organization. It is when organizations, regardless of size, begin to take a comprehensive approach to managing talent and invest in their people; that the return on investment becomes evident.

If your organizational mojo is a no go, look at how you are managing your talent. It is when, and only when, talent management becomes an integral part of the organization’s culture, that you begin to ensure people are ready for jobs and that a great working environment has been created – an environment filled with talented people who have the creative mojo to propel the organization to a bright and prosperous future.

Mental Toughness - Taking Your Organization From Good to Great

"Mental toughness is essential to success." - Lord Vince Lombardi

Mental toughness is often associated with high performing athletes yet the principles are far reaching and can be applied to each of us as leaders within our communities, our organizations, and every aspect of our lives. Mental toughness is not something you are born with, it is a transferable trait that can be harnessed and nurtured and separate those who are good from those who are great.

In essence, there are four key principles to mental toughness. The first of which is having the right state of mind. Knowing where our true strengths and weaknesses lie and being able to build upon them is critical. It allows us to perform on demand with unshakeable confidence and belief to reach our goals. A second key principle is to focus on Pre-Play vs. Re-Play. Don’t keep playing over mistakes in your mind – focus on yourself performing the way you want (confident, energized, full focus). Research shows when Olympic athletes visualize themselves in competitive situations the same brain neurons fire as if they were physically performing. The third principle is QTIP - quit taking it personally. By taking things personally you create obstacles for yourself and others, part of staying mentally tough is to remove the negative emotion from the situation and focus on the issue at hand. The final principle of mental toughness is to have disciplined thoughts about mistakes. Athletes are the best mistake makers – Babe Ruth had 1330 strikeouts to his 714 home runs. The difference is he knew the only way to hit a home run was to step up to the plate and swing at the ball. What mistakes are you willing to make and what are you willing to learn from them?

In a year of continuing to do more with less – it is more critical than ever to maintain that competitive edge. Through further examination and implementation of these four key principles you too can transition from good to great.

For assistance in taking your organization from Good to Great though maintaining Mental Toughness contact Kendra Wilburn@ kwilburn@cinci.rr.com or 513-314-9659

Creating Accountability in the Workplace

When you hear the word accountability what do you think? Some hear accountability while others hear expectations, while others hear blah, blah, blah. Regardless of what word you use, the reality is that expectations seem to be a key issue among my executive clients. The word accountability seems to be thrown around a lot with little understanding of what it means to truly be accountable.

According to Sherpa Coaching, LLC, an expectation - is an important task, project or goal that requires a positive response from others to achieve a desired result. At first glance, expectations seem easy to understand and execute by any basic understanding of the word. However, setting expectations within an organization or with someone one-on-one can be a daunting task.

When thinking of setting expectations for your organization, regardless of size, it is important to ask yourself four very important questions. First and foremost, is the expectation realistic for the organization and/or the people within my organization? In other words, is this a reasonable task for the people who work for me? If not, then it is time to go back and rethink your expectation.

Second, is the expectation consistent with everything else I say and do? To play on an old adage - does the expectation support my walk and my talk? If not, then go back and revisit the expectation.

Third, is the expectation fair for members of my team? If not, then circle back and determine what expectations might be fair for the people involved. You can even take it a step further and ask your team whether or not they perceive the expectation as being fair. If the expectation isn't important and fair to the members of the team, consider whether or not it is at least fair for the key players in the organization.

Finally, can your team do it? Does your team have the necessary skills, knowledge base, training and resources needed to at a minimum meet and preferably exceed the expectation? If not, identify the gap and make adjustments.

When looking at expectations, it is important to keep these four factors in mind. While these questions are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to setting expectations, they are a great place to start. The decision regarding accountability needs to be made based upon facts not emotions - do don't take it personal. Asking yourself and members of your organization these key questions will be a critical component to beginning your journey to a successful and productive organization.

Kendra Wilburn is a Certified Executive Coach through Miami University, OH as well as a Leadership Development Specialist. For more information on creating accountability and establishing expectations within your organization, please feel free to contact Ms. Wilburn at kwilburn@cinci.rr.com or at 513-314-9659.

Reference: Coleman, Judith and Corbett, Brenda 2006 "The Sherpa Guide - Process Driven Executive Coaching".

Goal Setting 2009 Setting SMART GOALS

Successful people and successful organizations have one thing in common: They share the power of purpose.

The more you achieve a desired outcome the greater the likelihood of success.

Goals play a key role in bringing purpose to your life.

Goals tend to motivate people in four ways:
1. Provide the power of purpose by directing your attention to a specific target.
2. The encourage you to make the effort to achieve something specific.
3. Reaching a goal requires sustained effort and therefore encourages persistence.
4. Having a goal forces you to bridge the gap between the dream and the reality; it fosters you creating a plan of action filled with strategies that will get you where you want to go.


Persistence = the effort expended on a task over an extended period of time.
It takes effort to run 100 meters; it takes persistence over time to run a 26-mile marathon.

Persistent people tend to see obstacles as challenges to be overcome rather than as reason to fail.


Goals help you develop a plan from getting from “here” to “there”. They encourage people to develop strategies an action plans that enable them to achieve their goals.

Goals should be specific and difficult, yet attainable through persistent effort.

Goals specificity can be achieved by stating goals in quantitative terms. Well-conceived goals also have a built in time limit or deadline.

Priorities need to be established in multiple goal situations.

Remember, set goals that encourage you to not settle for what you can have……. but allow you to go after what you want. This means you must give yourself permission to dream big!

When setting these goals, be sure to follow the SMART principle. For goals to be meaningful and accomplishable, they need to be:

o Specific – make sure your goal pertains to one particular outcome.
o Measurable – there must be a definable end point so you know exactly when the goal has
been accomplished.
o Achievable – you must be reasonably able to accomplish your goal otherwise you will
frustrate yourself and risk damaging your self-esteem.
o Relevant – goals must relate to what your ultimately trying to achieve.
o Time bound – there has to be a time requirement, otherwise your goal can sit unaccomplished
forever.

So when planning and setting your goals for 2009 - make sure you have set SMART goals for yourself!

Career Goals For 2009

“How you live a day is eventually how you live your life.” – Philip Yancey

It is that time of year when everyone is reflecting and planning for 2009. It is the perfect time to think about your career – where you are today and where you would like to be by this time next year. I am not talking about goals without any substance. I am talking about sitting down and setting some reasonable and achievable goals for the new year.

Some of you may be wondering what all of the fuss about goal setting is really all about? You may even think that that it’s three parts common sense and one part luck. If you can organize and create a logical sequence for completing a bunch of tasks that you write down once, and rarely if ever look at again, that directly relate to your goal then that’s all it takes, right? To the uninitiated that may be what goal setting and appears to be. But if you’ve ever attempted to set goals for yourself, you know that they can become quiet cumbersome and eventually all of the initial excitement wears off and you realize the goals you set really require some work.
To successfully write and execute your new year’s resolution it is important to understand the basics of goal setting. And as many people discover, as you begin to set and work toward your goals - you may surprise yourself with your successes this year.
Done well, goal setting seamlessly ties together a strong plan with its execution. It helps you get from here to there. It allows you to track progress and determine what steps you need to accomplish next in order to arrive at your final destination.
With this Career by Design blog you will learn what it takes to set SMART goals to prepare yourself for success in 2009. This blog will help you to:

• Understand the basics of goal setting and planning, and practice using some core goal setting tools. • Learn to bridge the gap between your dreams and reality
• Create an action plan filled with strategies to help you get where you want to go in 2009.

Goal setting is a skill valued in every individuals personal and professional life. Goal setting encourages you to not settle for what you have but allows you to go after what you want. I’m here to answer any questions and provide further guidance and assistance. As always, if you have used this or a similar technique before and have further insights, I’d love to hear them. Please let me know how it goes.