Latest Findings around Performance Goals and Competencies

Hewitt Associates have come out with another informative study, called The Current State of Performance Management and Career Development 2010. They surveyed HR professionals from 193 employers. On the performance side, it looks at how companies are using performance goals (the “what”) and behavioral competencies (the “how”) in their year end performance assessment process. Here…

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What Managers Tolerate Destructive Conflict

Stephen was the manager of a work-group in a company where he was held strictly accountable for the milestones, deliverables, and the overall performance of his work-group. But Stephen constantly struggled with destructive conflict between two individuals (Sal and Christy) who had radically different approaches to problem-solving on key projects that had high corporate visibility…

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Hasty Hiring Decisions Can Be Costly

An article in the Harvard Business Review pointed out that 43% of hiring decisions are made within the first 4.8 minutes of the interview. Talk about the importance of a candidate creating a good first impression! If this is the case, why bother interviewing people for more than 5 minutes? The answer is because hasty…

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Behold the Motivational Moose

“Don’t they get it?” said the executive, “If we don’t generate a good return to our shareholders, there won’t be any investment in the company. And, without investments, there won’t be any more company to give them their job. What more motivation do they need?” Do you hear a faint echo of your parents here?

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Building Blocks of Organizational Culture

While most people think of organizational culture in broad, sociological terms, field experience has shown that one of the fundamental building blocks of organizational culture is patterns-of-interaction between small-groups of 2s, 3s, and 4s. Most managers in an organization know that effectively leading a work-group takes an enormous amount of time and energy because they…

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Networking For Life

I was so excited about my book recommendation this month, “Never Eat Alone,” and the great connecting strategies that author Keith Ferrazzi openly shares in this truly “must-read” book. And then Hurricane Katrina struck. Since this tragedy more than 10 days ago, I have witnessed the power of effective networking and the healing arms of…

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Beware of the Gabber When Hiring Salespeople

Every now and then I get a call from one of my consulting clients who is all excited because he thinks he’s found the ideal salesperson. “Brian,” he’ll tell me excitedly, “This guy is great with people. He’s a really good talker.” And I’ll respond with: “I’ve no doubt he’s a good talker, but can…

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50 Ways to Creating Enduring Connections

Wouldn’t you agree that life is about quality connections? Our success, happiness, and well-being are largely the by products of our ability to get along well with others and cultivate positive relationships. Below is a checklist of the active ingredients in creating enduring connections. These are from the book, “Get Along with Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere…

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Oh Yeah, That’s Why We Do This Work

I have been working lately with an organization that serves the homeless population by first finding them a place to live and then attending to their many needs. As with many non-profit enterprises these days, they have their share of frustrations that can tip staff morale down a notch or three: lack of adequate funding,…

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Connecting For A Change

Change is one of those funny words. You either love it or loath it. Some people are hardwired for change and embrace it for the new possibilities it brings and others dread it. Like it or not…change has become a way of life for all of us. I find it fascinating how long we put…

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Employee Engagement-Just Part of the Puzzle

I recently attended a “Leadership Briefing” presentation, organized by Leadership Fairfax, which featured two stimulating Towers Watson consultants, Max Caldwell and Jennifer Meder. The latest TW research is revealing that to generate a climate where your employees contribute at a consistently a high level of their capacity, you need more that just “engagement.” You must…

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