Posted by Kalani Iwiula on Wed, Sep 01, 2010
If you are tasked with heading company-wide development initiatives, join us on September 21-24 and learn why more than 10,000 clients and over 3,000 consultants consider our research-based measurement tools as some of the most respected in the field of organization and leadership effectiveness.
Designed for HR/OD/TD professionals, this interactive "how to" workshop will provide you with an integrated system and practical tools for building a highly effective workplace culture.
To learn more or to reserve a seat today, click here.
Posted by Kalani Iwiula on Wed, Aug 18, 2010
According to a recent "Management Tip of the Day" by HBR, faced with failing businesses, most leaders tighten the purse strings, take strict control over the organization, and put strategy first. However, in the famous words of Peter Drucker, "Culture eats strategy for breakfast." To right an organization headed for trouble, you need to build a culture that supports strategy implementation. Give employees a reason to care about your customers, their colleagues, and about how to do business right in a world that rewards cutting corners and compromising values. During a turnaround, don't focus exclusively on distinguishing yourself from the competition; find what brings you together as a company. It may be values, a vision, or a set of shared emotions. Articulate this sense of unity well and the business will follow.
In a recent blog post by HBR's Bill Taylor, he asks leaders two questions: What keeps you up at night, and what gets you up in the morning? What keeps you more committed than ever, more engaged than ever, more excited than ever, as the environment around you gets tougher and more demanding than ever?
According to Taylor, that question—what gets you up in the morning?—is one organizations need to take seriously if they hope to prosper during this period of crisis and (slow) recovery. And that's exactly what new CEO, Kent Thiry, did for DaVita just over 10 years ago in 1999. To read Taylor's article on Thiry's incredible culture change at DaVita, click here.
For Western Region/San Francisco-area OD, HR, & TD professionals looking for research-based training and development tools that engage participants, inspire sustained culture change and measurably improve organizational performance, consider attending our 4-day training forum, Foundation Workshop, on September 21-24. Click here for details.
Posted by Kalani Iwiula on Fri, Aug 13, 2010
With a trend toward increasingly diverse workgroups, conflict in the workplace is becoming more pervasive and unavoidable than ever. However, the negative impact of conflict on the financial and emotional well-being of an organization and its employees can be significantly decreased with effective leadership and a constructive organizational culture that encourages conflict resolution.
Agatha Gilmore, a senior editor for Chief Learning Officer magazine, reports that engaging in or resolving conflict in the workplace consumes anywhere from 25 to 40 percent of a manager’s time. In her article, Gilmore cautions that “conflict results in stress, frustration and anxiety—which, according to the Centre for Conflict Resolution International, can end up costing an organization $1.7 billion in lost work.”
So what’s the solution? According to Gilmore, leaders must be able to model and facilitate positive conflict resolution strategies.
Leadership development is not an easy task, but with the right tools, organizations can provide their leaders with insights into their personal styles and how these styles combine to shape their leadership performance. Multi-rater assessments, such as our Acumen Leadership WorkStyles™ tool, offer leaders a 360° feedback experience and a clear and meaningful direction for growth.
Take a moment to read Gilmore’s article and find out if your organization and leaders are heading in the right direction to build a constructive culture and foster effective conflict resolution.
Special thanks to Meghan Oliver for this article contribution.
Posted by Kalani Iwiula on Fri, Aug 06, 2010
In a recent BNET article by Margaret Heffernan, the question is asked, "Is competition among staff good for your firm?"
What's your experience or thoughts on this?
As developers of one of the world's most widely used organizational culture survey, the Organizational Culture Inventory®, our findings support this article's premise, which suggests that encouraging employees to one-up each other has real impact on the office—and it might not be the effect you expect. Our research further suggests that leaders who lead their teams away from defensive cultures and toward a culture based on constructive styles, will realize profound improvements for stakeholders and shareholders alike.
Heffernan's BNET article is a quick and enjoyable read. As a producer for BBC Radio and Television for 13 years before running her first company, she has since been CEO of five businesses in the United States and United Kingdom, and has seen her share of leadership and organizational challenges.
If you are responsible for driving organizational improvement, we invite you to our Foundation Workshop training session on September 21-24. Designed for HR and OD professionals, this interactive "how to" workshop will equip you with an integrated system and support for building highly effective individuals, teams, and workplace cultures.
So join us on September 21-24 and learn why more than 10,000 clients and over 3,000 consultants consider our research-based measurement tools as some of the most respected in the field of organization and leadership effectiveness.
Posted by Kalani Iwiula on Wed, Jul 21, 2010
Bnet.com provides a video series titled, CXO Unplugged - Smart Business. The series offers insights into how top international executives are addressing the challenges of working smarter and for a more sustainable future. The focus is on the future and on how businesses need to evolve.
In this first video clip, Tom Barry, managing director of BlessingWhite Europe, discusses employee engagement in tough times and explains what it takes to get the best from your teams and why every manager must become a coach.
Most clips are under 10 minutes and all of them offer valuable learning gems for managers, leaders, and team members. Be sure to view at least one full clip. Enjoy!
BNET video: CXOs Unplugged
Posted by Kalani Iwiula on Mon, Jun 21, 2010
If you are tasked with leading firm-wide development initiatives, take a minute to read this...
We work with organizations across the country to strengthen performance and turn challenges into opportunities. On September 21-24, we will host our first ever Foundation Workshop in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Designed for consultants and change agents, this interactive "how to" workshop will equip you with an integrated system for building highly effective individuals, teams, and workplace cultures.
Join us on September 21-24 and learn why more than 10,000 clients and over 3,000 consultants consider our research-based measurement tools as some of the most respected in the field of organization and leadership effectiveness.
For additional program details, click here.
Thank you for your interest. We hope to meet you soon!
Posted by Kalani Iwiula on Fri, Jun 18, 2010
For over 20 years, our Organizational Culture Inventory® (OCI) has been at the core of successful business transformations across the US and abroad. In this brief video, our Australian colleagues celebrate successful culture change projects of client firms at an annual conference.
Using the Circumplex for visuals, the leadership at Kennard's Self Storage shares an amazing turnaround story that continues to thrive today.
If you are leading a change project, feel free to share your learning experience.
UPCOMING WORKSHOP: If you are tasked with change initiatives for your company or a client firm, click here for information on our upcoming Foundation Workshop, Sept. 21-24, 2010, San Francisco area.
Posted by Kalani Iwiula on Mon, Apr 12, 2010
Each episode of this reality TV series features a senior executive at a major corporation working incognito as a new entry-level hire in his or her company. For one week, the executive hopes to learn how the company really works and attempts to identify some of the unsung heroes among the employees.
Tonight's Undercover Boss finale featured Chris McCann, president of 1-800-Flowers. Together with his brother, Jim, their company has become the world's leading florist and gift shop. An early lesson for the McCann brothers was to always manage company culture, and in a business of delivering thoughtfulness and smiles, their effort to "build relationships first and business second" has proved positive for the company.
Early naysayers said the show wouldn't fly but the show has clearly touched a nerve with viewers having consistently pulled favorable TV ratings since its debut on Feb. 7, 2010. It has also been renewed for a second season.
For a brief article, click here to read Steve Tobak's blog post for BNet.
Posted by Kalani Iwiula on Tue, Apr 06, 2010
Research findings on thousands of organizations show that positive leadership strategies promote and reinforce constructive cultures. Constructive cultures in turn have been proven to enhance innovation and ensure sustainability.
On April 27th, Dr. Linda Sharkey, Ph.D., will deliver a free webinar on the knowledge essential to managing the critical forces that are leadership and culture. Learn how to quantify and develop these critical factors in a way that is aligned with your business goals and statistically proven to drive effectiveness.
Dr. Sharkey, is a former vice president of GE and HP, and distinguished fellow at the Global Leadership Development Center (Marshall Goldsmith School of Business), and will share her experiences with and insights on quantifying culture and leadership. Working with executives at GE Crotonville, Sharkey has confirmed that employee engagement, the success of training initiatives, and effective strategy implementation largely depend on having the right type of leadership and culture in place.
Using data collected with the validated Organizational Culture Inventory, Sharkey will present easy-to-digest, graphic illustrations to show how the invisible forces of culture truly impact performance. She will highlight what you can do to get everyone moving in the right direction supporting your organization’s values, vision and mission.
Join us Tuesday, April 27, 2010 - 11 am Pacific/2 pm Eastern
Webinar registration
Linda Sharkey
Executive Director
Executive Networks
Dr. Linda Sharkey is a proven leader with experience in Fortune 10 companies building teams and driving talent development initiatives that support productivity and company growth. She has specific expertise in culture transformation, developing high-potential leaders and building proven talent processes that yield better leadership capability. Sharkey is currently executive director of Executive Networks Inc.—a worldwide organization that connects key HR heads from the largest corporations in the world. She is also senior principal at Corporate Insights Inc., where she leads the talent practice. Previously, Sharkey was vice president of people development at Hewlett Packard. She is widely published in the areas of leadership development, culture change and executive coaching, and holds a Ph.D. in organization development from Benedictine University, an MPA from Russell Sage College, and a B.A. in history from Nazareth College.
Sponsored by Human Synergistics International
Hosted by Talent Management magazine
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.