If you are scheduled for a stay interview and want to be clear on what you need to remain at the company, try using the “Mojo” process that Marshall Goldsmith describes in his book, Mojo: How to Get it, How to Keep It, How to Get It Back If You Lose It.

If you’re thinking that mojo is a folk belief in the supernatural powers of a voodoo charm, you’re right.  It’s used in other contexts to describe alignment of one’s energy so good things can happen.  Ever hear a recording of American blues musician Muddy Waters singing “Got My Mojo Working”?  Listen and you’ll understand mojo.

Goldsmith, one of the top ranking executive coaches in the world, has brought Mojo into the business world: “Mojo is that positive spirit toward what we are doing now that starts from the inside and radiates to the outside.”

Below are his four vital ingredients that combined will bring you clarity and great Mojo.

1. IDENTITY
“Who do you think you are?”  The key to answering the question is to be honest and truthful about how you perceive yourself.  This is not about what others think of you; it is about your self-assessment.  Don’t back away from owning and sharing your self-appraisal.

2. ACHIEVEMENT
“What have you done lately….that have meaning and impact?”  A good question, isn’t it?  With many of my coaching clients, I suggest they write a monthly report and e-mail it to their supervisor regularly.  Although the supervisor may never acknowledge or mention it, you will be aware of your accomplishments—and ready for your annual performance review.

Goldsmith looks at achievements from two perspectives:  “What we bring to the tasks?” and “What the task gives to us?”  Think about your answers and dig deep to find your truths about the give and take of what you do.  “Until we can honestly put a value on what we’ve accomplished lately, we may not be able to create or regain our Mojo,” are words the coach uses with a CEO or her reports.

3. REPUTATION
“Your reputation is a scorecard kept by others,” Goldsmith writes in yet one more best-selling business book (to see more go to http://marshallgoldsmithlibrary.com).  What he says is true, especially in a world where online networking, communication, and evaluation websites (such as www.RateMyProfessors.com) offers ways to influence an individual’s reputation.  Questions you can ask yourself about your reputation include, “Who do other people think you are?  What do other people think you’ve done lately?”  (Visit www.ReputationDefender.com if you want help to monitor and manage your reputation.)

4. ACCEPTANCE
“What can you change and what is beyond your control?”  Another good question, isn’t it?  I’ve written about acceptance before as too many of my clients perseverate about what they can’t change and don’t invest their valuable time in what they can change.  “When Mojo fades, the initial cause is often failure to accept what is—and get on with life.”

Feeling any Mojo from answering the above questions?  Are you feeling a positive spirit toward what you are doing that starts inside and is radiating out so that others can experience your best self?

 Want to know your Mojo score?  Go to www.mojothebook.com to download a guide to Mojo and the Mojo scorecard.  Using these tools can improve your self-awareness.  The process can also help you set priorities and gain clarity when you are called in for a stay interview—or decide that it is really your exit interview.

A few years ago when I was at a friend’s apartment, I noticed that her dog, a big German Shepard that stood maybe 24” high, was confined to the living room by a piece of wood placed at each doorway.  The barrier was only 18” inches high – a height the dog could have walked or jumped over with ease.

I knew this because my dog Emelie, a mix of Border collie and Samoyed raised exploring beaches and mountain paths, easily jumped the piece of wood.  In fact, she roamed all over the house, jumping or knocking down the barrier if it got in her way.  The other dog, who only got out to a small yard three times a day, looked at Emelie, whined, and after a couple of times testing her freedom and being disciplined for doing so, was too afraid to venture forth into risking another jump.

An executive coaching client recently commented to me that she values my creative input because her staff can’t see or won’t speak up about the ‘possibilities’ of a situation.  She is a ‘roamer’ but her staff uses what I call ‘silo thinking’ – confining their perspective to a narrow column of influence.   A silo is a structure used to store materials, in this picture it is grain on a farm.

Grain silos on a farm

Silo thinking in followers means that instead of looking out to the horizon, employees see the walls of the job description, the risks of speaking up, and the fear of going out of their comfort zones to explore unknown territory.  They’ll share ideas with peers but won’t speak up at meetings or with their managers.

The influence of their corporate climate, consequences of making a mistake in front of others, and their own ‘mental training’ are just some reasons for their ‘silo’ thinking.  It could be age – never being asked before for creative ideas – or conditioning over the years by being told what to do, how to do it, and when to do it instead of being empowered to individualize their work.  Or the fact that people don’t want to expand for fear of the repercussions of what new activities they might be asked to participant in or that they would have to move out of their usual role to take on leadership themselves of an initiative.

My client consistently strives to inspire, model creative thinking, and provide opportunities for staff input.  She is persistent in efforts to overcome her staff’s ‘silo thinking’ and resistance to jump barriers.  However, with each subtle shift in behavior from individuals, my client gains confidence to continue her efforts to engage her staff in barrier jumping behavior.

Ms. Vasquez says that students “find themselves especially attentive, although it is required for most of them.”

My students taking MGT 3300 are attentive, engaged, and eager to learn as much as they can.   One student had to very reluctantly withdraw from the class after he found out he would not get credit for taking the class since it was outside his major.  He complimented me on being ”humble and cooperative”—words that I will remember.

“I love your lectures” wrote one of my students included in an e-mail to me.  “I love this class,” commented another student who is being challenged to demonstrate her public speaking abilities.

It’s rewarding as a member of the faculty at the Zicklin School of Business within Baruch College to hear these words.  What is more rewarding is to see the growth of my students on their diet of ”brain food.”

Why are students so engaged?  The topics resonant with their own experiences of working at retail shops, financial services companies, pharmacies, food stores, etc.  Topics, as Ms. Vasquez points out, which include ”individual attributes, workforce diversity, motivation, leadership, organizational culture and organizational change.”  Topics that students know learning these will benefit them on every part of their career path.

Mine is an interactive class.  The technology in the classroom is limited to a PC, a projector and access to the internet that I use.  The interactivity comes from conversations, comments, interchanges of ideas.

There are 31 students in my class but during each one-hour fifteen-minute session I call on each person at least once.  I want to hear their voices, I want to understand what they know and think about a topic, I want to share my relevant experiences and I want to learn from their experiences.

 A diet of “brain food” is good for us all.