Posted by Kalani Iwiula on Wed, Mar 10, 2010
In January of '09, Harvard Business Review published a report titled, "The Realities of Executive Coaching." Authors Carol Kauffman and Diane Coutu surveyed a diverse group of coaches with the majority from the US and UK, gender divided equally 50-50, 61% active in the coaching profession for 10-plus years, and nearly all respondents claimed independent status with only 1% claiming internal corporate coaches.
Whether you're an internal or external executive coach, you should find value in the report particularly the introductory framing of the engagement, key success factors, and the conclusion sections.
Of particular interest was how high 360-degree feedback collection was ranked in terms of valuable tools used in practice (77%). As with all diagnostic instruments, be sure your provider's methods and validity are of sound psychometric standards.
To review the HBR report, click here.
Thanks for reading!
Posted by Kalani Iwiula on Thu, Feb 25, 2010
From Alpine Skiing to Speed Skating, the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada have been awesome and awe inspiring!
Two weeks and fifteen winter sports, some of the world's best athletes from 83 countries converge to display a dizzying array of talent, skill, discipline, focus, and heart to do their very best. Indeed, this is the essence of achievement and high-performance, both personally and as teams.
As a global company, we take pride in our international presence and the Olympic games remind us of how distance and differences can be bridged by a common goal. In the spirit of the Olympics, we wish our international affiliates and colleagues—and their country men and women—a successful winter games!
If you care to comment on the Olympics and perhaps offer observations of collaborative teamwork or effective leadership, please do so.
Thank you!
Posted by Kalani Iwiula on Thu, Feb 18, 2010
Instead of abandoning learning and development in the face of their recession, UK organizations are pouring resources into developing middle managers' leadership and change-management skills as a top 2010 priority.
That's according to Henley Business School's Corporate Learning Priorities Survey 2010, which was conducted among over 2,500 HR and learning professionals. Over 60% of those completing the survey were HR Directors, Vice-President or Heads of HR or Learning & Development in some of the UK's largest employers.
The survey found that developing middle managers’ leadership skills and equipping them to deal with change were among participant organizations’ top priorities for 2010, along with developing a coaching culture and developing the capability of HR and L&D teams.
"Managing directors, CEOs, HR directors and L&D professionals have adopted a pragmatic, level-headed, measured approach when faced with the tumultuous economic climate we have endured," said Linda Irwin, Henley's executive director.
“Rather than axing development budgets and cutting leadership development, they have focused effort on those individuals who they expect will lead their organisations into a future yet to be created. Softer skills in leadership styles and in coaching, for instance, that bring out the very best in people and facilitate team working are also a priority."
Check out the Henley report here.
Conversely, the global economic recession made 2009 a difficult year for US companies and significantly impacted corporate learning. Due to budget constraints, companies have cut training spending and staffing; eliminated programs; increasingly used informal learning methods such as coaching, mentoring, and social learning environments; and centralized training operations.
The 2010 Corporate Learning Factbook (for US corporate training investment) by Bersin & Associates found:
- The U.S. corporate training market shrunk from $56.2 billion in 2008 to $48.2 billion in 2009, a decline of 14%.
- Many organizations shed jobs in 2009. The median L&D staff fell to 6.2 training staffers per 1,000 learners, down from 7.0 per 1,000 in 2008.
- After a decline in 2008, the percentage of training funds directed toward leadership development rebounded to 24%.
How about you? Have you noticed a change in your company or industry as it relates to training, or specifically regarding leadership learning and development?
Thanks for reading!
Posted by Kalani Iwiula on Sat, Jan 30, 2010
We applaud the brave rescue and relief efforts of so many individuals and organizations teaming together to assist the citizens of Haiti in coping with the earthquake devastation of January 12th.
Haiti's critical needs are great, but they are simple: food, water, shelter, and first-aid supplies. The American Red Cross' emergency relief and recovery efforts aim to provide those affected by the earthquake with these resources.
The people of Haiti have been dealt a tremendous blow and we are humbled to help in any way. Throughout the month of February 2010, Human Synergistics will donate 5% percent of sales of our team-building Survival Simulation products. Proceeds will support the American Red Cross' efforts, which also include deploying personnel, sending relief supplies, and providing financial resources.
In advance, thank you for supporting Haiti's needs while building your teams and organization.
Please visit our main site for more information.
Posted by Kalani Iwiula on Tue, Jan 26, 2010
John Baldoni, a leadership consultant and coach, wrote a brief and engaging blog-post for Harvard Business Review offering a leadership challenge: How will you make a positive difference in 2010?
Whatever you decide, John offers 5 suggestions to increase the likelihood of successful implementation:
- Be imaginative
- Be relevant
- Be specific
- Be actionable
- Hold yourself accountable
To check out this brief and intriguing HBR post, click here.
Thanks for reading!
Posted by Kalani Iwiula on Mon, Jan 18, 2010
On Wed., Feb. 10, 2010, Dr. Robert A. Cooke, CEO of Human Synergistics International and author of the Organizational Culture Inventory® (OCI) will present, Creating the Ideal Culture for your Organization.
Presentation Overview:
Does the culture of your company enable it to adapt to changes and accomplish key goals? If your answer is not really, you can begin moving it in a new direction tomorrow. However, one of the key challenges is identifying the culture that is “right” for your organization and one that can be used to focus and select specific change initiatives.
This special presentation highlights a process for quantifying the ideal culture in terms of values, beliefs and the behaviors that should be expected of members to maximize the effectiveness of the organization.
Dr. Robert A. Cooke, CEO of Human Synergistics International and Associate Professor Emeritus at University of Illinois at Chicago, will take you through this process using his Organizational Culture Inventory®, one of the most widely-used organizational surveys in the world and the centerpiece for numerous organizational transformation initiatives.
At this session, you will not only learn a “language” for quantifying and describing your ideal culture but also gain insights into how Constructive cultural norms lead to organizational effectiveness and sustainability. Additionally, you will gain insights about the levers that leaders can implement to move the cultures of their organizations toward the ideal.
Details:
- Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2010, 5:30 - 7:30
- Metropolitan Club
- 67th floor Willis Tower
- 233 South Wacker Dr., Chicago, IL.
- $15 for drinks & appetizers (5:30 - 6:00)
- Presentation and Q&A (6:00 - 7:30)
If you are a business leader or professional in Organizational Development, HR, or Training & Development, please join us for this special presentation.
To register, call The Metropolitan Club at 312.876.3200, or
CLICK HERE.
Posted by Kalani Iwiula on Tue, Jan 05, 2010
We are delighted to announce the launch of our premier management assessment, Management/Impact™!
On Feb. 3 & 4, we are hosting a training workshop in the Chicago area and we invite consultants and internal coaches interested in updating their toolkit with a powerful assessment. Prerequisite training applies.
Management/Impact™ (M/I) is a 360° assessment that provides managers with insights on how they approach their work and the impact they have on people around them, as well as guidance in developing "facilitating" strategies, which have been proven to help organizations meet their goals.
Studies show that managers who employ facilitating strategies have a constructive impact and those who employ inhibiting strategies have a defensive impact on others’ behavior. Given that the performance of managers ultimately depends upon the quality of the performance of the people around them, facilitating managers are generally more effective than those who are inhibiting.
Successful completion of the Management/Impact Accreditation Program is required before M/I materials can be purchased.
For registration, product details, and accreditation information, please click here.
Posted by Kalani Iwiula on Tue, Jan 05, 2010
On Tuesday, Jan. 26th, we are proud to host a professional development evening with Future Women Leaders, a San Francisco non-profit serving emerging women leaders and helping them reach their leadership potential through learning and networking opportunities.
Using the Life Styles InventoryTM (LSI), we will illustrate the value of self-assessment and reveal high-performance styles and behaviors. The LSI is a validated self-assessment survey and participants will learn 12 specific styles of thinking that can either help or hinder a person from reaching his or her potential.
Hosted at the San Francisco offices of Yahoo! Inc., please join us on Jan. 26 to learn how to enhance the brand of You!
Check out FWL's website for event & registration info.
Posted by Kalani Iwiula on Fri, Jan 01, 2010
From several "top 100" and "top 10" leadership blog lists, here are 5 selections I think you will find useful in 2010:
Leadership At Work by John Baldoni
Great Leadership by Dan McCarthy
Work Matters by Bob Sutton
Seth Godin’s Blog by Seth Godin
Leading Blog by Michael McKinney
Also, for a wide array of leadership topics, check out Alltop.com for leadership.
If your favorite blog is not listed above, feel free to mention yours here.
Thanks!
Posted by Kalani Iwiula on Thu, Nov 12, 2009
A favorite site for business-related info is bnet.com, and I like checking the Whiteboard sessions to see what Ed Muzio, CEO of Group Harmonics, is up to.
I saw this video clip a few months back and have reason to view it again as two project launch dates are approaching soon. In 4 minutes, Muzio crafts a concise yet compelling message on how best to lead team projects using his clever "bathtub" model.
So the next time you're heading up a team or project, check out The Bathtub Model for tips and suggestions.
Thanks for visiting! Feel free to share your comments.