When thinking about your organization’s future, it’s important to think not only about goals, objectives, and initiatives, but obviously how to achieve them. A major contributor is obviously your employees.

Think about why and how you use (or would use) a talent management system. Just to keep track of employee performance and compensation data?

Before the economic downturn, SHRM reported in 2006 that 40% of workers were likely to change jobs when the economy turns. Has it happened? At Insight, we have used this statistic for years.

Most employees will stay within or close to their comfort zones. They’ll use self-assessments to justify their conduct rather than change their behaviors.

To achieve a true mindset of innovation takes commitment. Kuczmarski submits that eight building blocks that rest on three interconnected platforms:

Have you ever tried a new diet or committed to a New Year’s resolution only to lose momentum a week or two in? Have you asked a friend to check in on your progress or—even better—to join you? That’s a form of peer coaching that helps with accountability, and it’s just as applicable in the office as in the gym.

If you follow our blog then you already know that we agree with much of what Marc Effron and Miriam Ort have to say in their book One Page Talent Management. The “must-do’s” in their chapter on talent reviews and succession planning is right on: managers must communicate results of a review with the employee, and they must follow up on action items.

The Kolbe A, B and C Indexes® provide a holistic understanding of the natural instincts and unique talents of each employee. Understanding these instincts enables you to form synergistic teams and empowers managers to develop effective approaches for successful leadership. Any size company can benefit from the Kolbe Wisdom® system.

Without neutral observation, effective feedback is nearly impossible, whether that feedback is aimed at a process, a group of people, or an individual. When using feedback to help people improve their processes or change behaviors, follow a few simple guidelines to make that feedback effective.

Achieving a goal should yield growth, so make sure that each goal you set is attainable, but isn’t such a breeze to accomplish that it requires little to no effort. That means that a goal must be specific, too, so that the employee and the manager have a metric and can clearly see whether it’s been met.

The essential components of an effective role description

Regardless of whether we’re talking about the Indianapolis Colts or the editorial department of the Indianapolis Star, there are a number of characteristics common to successful teams: