OPTIMISING TALENT

“Winning takes talent, to repeat takes character.”  John Wooden

We all have different skills and abilities - but how can we ensure that we are making the very best of them? When was the last time you received coaching in mental, emotional or behavioural skills to help you make the best of your talents? Do you truly know what you can do to lift your performances from 'good to great'?

There’s also the possibility that you could be stifling your development by holding the ‘wrong’ mindset!

Fixed Mindset:
People with a ‘Fixed Mindset’ believe that the basic qualities of a person, like intelligence and talent, are fixed for life. You might be able to improve them a little bit with extra work, but fundamentally you are born with what you’ve got and your genes and DNA determine what levels of performance you can achieve. Could this be true of you or members of your team?

Growth Mindset:
People with a ‘Growth Mindset’ believe that even their most basic qualities and abilities can be developed through hard work and dedication. They are motivated to learn and develop new talents and don’t mind putting in the effort to do so – which helps to build resilience.

So what’s your mindset? If you have a ‘Fixed mindset’ you may well benefit from increasing your awareness of your thoughts about the challenges you face. Here’s a few tips that could help you change the way you see challenges:

• Accept every challenge as an opportunity to learn something about yourself;
• Apply yourself wholeheartedly to all challenges – don’t give in too soon or give up before the end;
• Reflect on any setbacks after the event – ask yourself ‘what did I learn?’
• Interpret any criticism (your own or others) as an indicator of what you could try to improve next time;
• If the challenge is large, focus on one part of it that you could do better each time you engage with it.

Even if you have a ‘Growth mindset’ your speed and growth potential may still not be optimised as you will need to ensure you have both consistency and focused dedication to your development. It’s commonly called the 10,000 hour rule and if you’d like to know more about this and other ways to optimise your talent, or that of your team – contact



Date: 4/6/2012 12:43:34 PM by Ken Way | Open Featured Image
In: VisionSports |

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