All Things Workplace

JUNE 22, 2015

The notion of Employee Engagement has been with us for a while now. noticed in a meeting last week that everyone was passionate when we started discussing "engagement". But the longer we talked, the less I was convinced that we were talking about the same thing. In fact, we all had a personal, sensible, gut level idea of what it meant. Predictable, actually. How Do You Define Employee Engagement?

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Employee Engagement Conference Study Meeting 110

All Things Workplace

AUGUST 24, 2015

That isn't a "gotcha" question. It's simply a direct one. Regardless of the job title, if we're responsible for how other people perform then we're responsible for how they learn to perform even better. What Happens When Leaders Coach? You may already have the right people to enable your company to "win"--however you define the word. What's happening that works?   . You Can Do It, Too.

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Coaching Study Company How To 100

All Things Workplace

JULY 13, 2015

If you've ever wondered what executive coaches really do that adds great value, it's this: We create a relationship that enables our client to  clearly see reality. . Life isn't a part of business; business is a part of life. So, everything of consequence leads to confronting and resolving some kind of issue that leads to a choice about personal change. What To Look For. Actually, they did.

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Coaching Certification Exercises Study 92

All Things Workplace

APRIL 27, 2015

"Developing Others" ranks dead last on just about every organizational skill level survey with which I've been involved or have read. . It's not because people lack awareness of its importance; quite the contrary. It's because development takes time. It involves getting to know people and their capabilities at more than a surface level. To develop people, you have to follow a few fundamental steps.

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How To Coaching Conference Survey 84

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Training and learning organizations today play an active role in contributing to the bottom line of any organization by aligning their objectives to the immediate business objectives. This provides a solid ground for cost justification and encourages businesses to place training groups right where they should be, at the heart of a growing, thriving, learning culture.

All Things Workplace

JULY 20, 2015

Leaders  do  have to tell people exactly what to do when a person isn't yet competent--and confident--about the task or assignment. The whole "leader" thing isn't just about high-concept and vision). But how do you develop managers who are knowledgeable and committed? Here are  seven questions  to get you started as  a "coaching" leader:  . Do you have any favorites now?

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Competencies Coaching 74

All Things Workplace

OCTOBER 7, 2015

When we were kids, my younger brother had to put up with teachers comparing the two of us throughout his school years. He was a star athlete, I was more of an academic. He didn't like the comparisons and neither did I. Most of all, the comments did nothing to change either of our lives for the better. To this day, he doesn't care much about "A's" and I still can't kick a field goal.

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Comparison 68

All Things Workplace

JUNE 16, 2015

Last week I was discussing the Hawthorne Effect during a speech on performance. It led to a lively Q&A, so I thought I'd re-visit this post from December, 2009. The original experiment and its impact on management and human behavior are timeless. . In the 1920s, physiologist  Elton Mayo  conducted experiments at the Hawthorne Electrical Works in Chicago. Voila! Done deal?

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Productivity Study Employee Engagement Wellness 67

All Things Workplace

JANUARY 26, 2015

More and more, job candidates are asking the question, "What will I learn here?". If they don''t like the answer they may keep looking. For leaders, managers, and heads of projects, helping people learn is a critical contribution to individual and organizational success. So, here are Four Ways to Impact Learning that will serve you well.  . Why not be the "managerial version" of your best teacher.

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Groups Learning Management Data Coaching 67

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Is your company ready to move beyond the annual performance review? Where do you start? What are the keys to success? In this guide, you’ll gain an understanding of: the forces driving change, three foundations of success and take a deep dive into the skills gap many managers have that will sink your efforts before they start and how to address them.

How To

All Things Workplace

SEPTEMBER 29, 2015

Note: I was prompted by the recent political debates to re-publish this popular post from the 2012 archives. Hope you enjoy it! Graphic designers know how to focus your attention. They frequently communicate through the use of white space. Less is more. The message is clear. There's no clutter. Use Verbal Whitespace. You can increase your verbal impact  the same way. It's not really negotiable.

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All Things Workplace

MARCH 2, 2015

"Who you are speaks so loudly I can''t hear what you say.". That line was spoken by an associate to a speaker at a recent business business event we attended. The interaction between the speaker and the audience was totally out of sync with what he was professing. The result: Great words, no credibility. A few attendees even referred to him later as a "liar.". Not good for his business.

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Policies 57

All Things Workplace

APRIL 14, 2015

You and I come up with some pretty wonderful ideas, which--for some strange reason--aren''t immediately embraced by those around us. So what''s our natural response? It''s usually to start making statements in defense of our position, which then leads to "I''m going to win!". Not a good posture. .    . Ask Questions. Which do you want? You get the idea. Give it a try

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Meeting 55

All Things Workplace

MARCH 10, 2015

Influential people create compelling images. But of  what ? Of the benefits those around them will gain from the ideas they propose. They take time to let us know what we''ll see, hear, and feel. You can do this, too. Take time to choose words that create pictures, sounds, and feelings that will make your ideas connect in different ways all at once. Communication Influence Leadership

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Meeting Examples 54

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Employees at the front lines often have better ideas for innovation than others within the business, but when they walk out the door, they take those ideas with them. Want to innovate better and faster than the competition? You need to hold onto your best employees and the ideas they have. In this session we will explore how various pieces of the talent life cycle are related to retention and examine more than 20 strategies and ideas for improving retention outcomes for your business.

Strategy

All Things Workplace

FEBRUARY 23, 2015

We all want to stretch the capabilities of our team members. At the same time, think about minimizing failure when someone has a "stretch" goal with high risk attached. Any high risk goal can damage your reputation, your staff member, and even the organization. . Manage risks by discussing the actions your person plans to implement. Leadership Learning Management

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Coaching Report Wellness Learning Management 54

All Things Workplace

DECEMBER 15, 2015

Everyone wants to have influence; not everyone wants to build the relationships that enable it. There's a natural flow to being influential. . Influence goes hand in hand with agreements. If you want to persuade someone to take a particular course of action, you need some agreements about what needs to be done and who will do it. That means taking time to reach an understanding about what is important to each of you. And that means building a working relationship. There seems to be a predisposition to what we call "positional bargaining." The loser resents the loss. Steve. Influence Leadershi

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Course Meeting 49

All Things Workplace

JULY 6, 2015

If I had eight hours to chop down a tree,  I'd spend six sharpening my axe.--Abraham Abraham Lincoln. We never outgrow our need to be persuasive. Managers have to persuade employees to "get on board" with a new idea or change; salespeople get paid to persuade customers to buy; and potential customers persuade salespeople that a change in the "deal" just might make them a paying customer. Stand Up.

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All Things Workplace

SEPTEMBER 14, 2015

When 300 engineers at a major East Coast utility were told to  re-apply for jobs  in their department as part of a major reorganization, they were livid. I've been here 18 years."   (Longevity means immunity to change). "I hired the idiot who's running this thing."  (If I gave someone their job, they won't mess with mine). The Danger of The "Invisible Assumed". Visible only to you. Employees: 1.

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Retirement Examples Company 45

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Can you hear the collective groan when you launch that new compliance course? Do you get complaints both public and private from trainees about the uselessness of the training courses you've launched? Is there anything that can be done about it?

All Things Workplace

DECEMBER 24, 2015

Holiday Thoughts

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All Things Workplace

OCTOBER 19, 2015

Right now, you are either thinking about or designing an idea, product, service, or process. Yet  most of us don't view ourselves as designers. It sounds like a specific, creative field in which we don't have formal education. But we do. Earlier today I sent off a consulting agreement. So I looked over previous proposals and agreements and discovered that "design" is a huge part of my work. Gotcha! You're

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Examples Productivity Performance Management 39

All Things Workplace

FEBRUARY 16, 2015

This Post appeared earlier and was requested by a long-time subscriber.  . You want to be creative and breed creativity in your workplace, right? Do you consider yourself to be "creative?". I was just talking with my cousin, Len, a long-time public school teacher and Principal. Len They smile. They show their colorful drawings and finger painting and maybe even compose a song along the way.

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Coaching How To Strategy Meeting 36

All Things Workplace

JANUARY 15, 2015

Finding out "how we''re doing" is an important part of life, on and off the job. 360 degree feedback tools can be especially helpful when you want to know how you are doing in relation to your boss, your direct reports, and peers in the organization. like 360''s because they: 1. Let you see how others believe you are doing in specific areas that are important to on-the-job success. 2. Why not?

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Groups Data Report Tools 36

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Is your organization thinking about moving towards a performance development culture? What are the elements to succeeding and keeping managers and employees engaged? Download “A Road Map for Change” to find out and gain insight into making the transition as smooth as possible on your journey into this brave new world.

Employee Engagement

All Things Workplace

MARCH 17, 2015

Re-published by request. Clear-thinking people everywhere acknowledge that it''s easy for two people to see the same situation very differently. . In a world where we increasingly work across time zones and cultures, this would have even greater meaning if perceptions were influenced by one''s culture. When East Doesn''t Meet West. The outcome? Communication Relationships

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Study Groups Meeting Report 35

All Things Workplace

FEBRUARY 12, 2015

“It’s only words, and words are all I have, to take your heart away.”   --Maurice, Robin, & Barry Gibb, The Bee Gees: “Words”. Listen to the Lyrics Do you want to know a way to check the depth of how someone is relating to you at a given moment? Just listen and check out their language. You’ll be fascinated at how revealing it will be. They’re hiring.”. need some help about what to do next.”.

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All Things Workplace

JANUARY 5, 2015

(Re-issued by request). How many times have you studied, thought, worked, conversed, or meditated in order to reach an "Aha!" moment? It seems to me that we have a tendency to treat "Ahas!" as if they are a result.  Yet when you look at them carefully, they signal a beginning ; a sign that there may be a new path to pursue, something new to learn, or a situation to re-visit in a different way.

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Meeting Study Groups Report 23

All Things Workplace

SEPTEMBER 1, 2015

There's an incongruity between  time and money devoted to leadership development and the number of articles about bad bosses.  Maybe its' time to re-visit the definition of "bad.". Here's why: People do that for which they are rewarded. Period. We all pay attention to what our bosses pay attention to. But you're still going to get the behavior that is actually rewarded. Leadership

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Compensation 6

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Today’s workplace is characterized by chaotic forces—low employee engagement and productivity levels, and declining employee well being. HR Leaders have a critical role in defining the vision and strategy to transform and create a more productive and happy workplace.

Productivity

Visier

NOVEMBER 19, 2015

Earlier this month we were fortunate to host an interactive HR Leadership workshop for Visier customers, led by father of modern HR and leading business consultant Dave Ulrich. In this workshop, Ulrich focused on the top questions of the group, the first of which was focused on, “What is blocking HR’s progress?” Here are some key takeaways. They understand the general business conditions (e.g.,

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CHRO Competencies Meeting Strategy 164

Grovo HR

NOVEMBER 17, 2015

Employee engagement has been one of the most talked-about topics in human capital management for twenty-five years. And yet, despite the attention of professionals from every area of the business world—or maybe because of it—the term itself has never gained a universal definition. There’s no reason it couldn’t, though. What it’s not. Engaged employees are more motivated than disengaged employees.

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Employee Engagement Grovo Human Capital Management Study 141

Grovo HR

OCTOBER 15, 2015

Bersin by Deloitte’s infographic “ Meet the Modern Learner ” is a snapshot of the challenges facing learning professionals today. For those of us who seek to create high-quality training for 21st century brains, “Modern Learner” is more incisive a presentation of the way modern workers learn than most lengthy research reports. Learning needs to be micro. Mobile learning is essential.

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Grovo Meeting Training Video 132

ClearCompany HRM

SEPTEMBER 28, 2015

Screening candidates will never go out of style, but doing it via the phone or in-person… will. With video interviewing, a series of predetermined questions can be asked of each applicant to help make better decisions of who to invite to the next round. If you’ve already adopted video interviewing into your candidate screening process, congrats!

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Screening Video 119

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Training and development professionals often bemoan the lack of apparent initiative in their trainees. Learning professionals spend huge sums of money creating or acquiring skill aligned libraries of learning content, only to watch almost helplessly as learners refuse to engage with any training available that isn’t mandatory.

UpstartHR

AUGUST 24, 2015

As HR is increasing its presence as a strategic part of the business, key performance indicators, or KPIs, are becoming a key part of the language for discussing how it is actually performing. Recruiting, in some ways, is actually easier to measure because it is very similar to sales: you either have results or you don’t. So I decided to try something. gathered information. Are they working?

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Metrics Recruitment Screening Coaching 119

PeopleStrategy

SEPTEMBER 16, 2015

HR is under a lot of pressure these days. That is a lot, especially when your job requirements also include making sure day-to-day employee management tasks (i.e. onboarding, payroll, benefits administration, time and attendance, performance) are completed accurately and on time. Ditch the bad rap and arm yourself with technology to make you dangerous. That’s because she loves her HR solution.

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ClearCompany HRM

OCTOBER 22, 2015

We know you’ve seen them, the 10,000 articles out there about candidate screening questions. The “how to’s” the “dos and don’ts” and, of course, the “best practices” articles that flood the internet. It can almost convince you to believe that interviewing a new applicant is simple, or at least easy to follow given this “quick recipe to interviewing success.”. Screening Candidates Video Interview

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Screening Course How To Video 116

UpstartHR

NOVEMBER 23, 2015

One of the most common terms around recruiting these days is candidate experience. If you’re late to the game, it’s basically a look at how candidates are treated as they enter your recruiting funnel all the way to getting an offer, if they move that far. Think about it. In addition, you’d probably be unsure just how to make that a reality. And to actively court them. The pay-off?

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HR Function Meeting Tools Strategy 113

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Needed: A shift from traditional performance management systems (organized as an annual review process) to newer performance development systems (organized around real-time dynamics). Download part one in a series to gain insight into why this shift must happen and why it needs to happening now

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