Human Resources
In the wake of the Great Resignation, a seismic shift is occurring in the job market. Big bureaucratic organizations are witnessing an exodus of employees seeking greener pastures and more fulfilling work experiences. For midsize companies, this presents a golden opportunity to attract top talent and enhance their competitive edge.…
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Performance review season is over. Phew. Feedback is given and objectives are set. But are you satisfied? Has another year of tremendous work writing reviews and providing feedback left you feeling like nothing will change? Are you waiting hopefully for your ”B” players to become ”A” players and your “A”…
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Are you worried that some percentage of your workforce is checked out? You’ve probably heard of ‘quiet quitting’, but how can you be sure it isn’t happening in your organization? I view engaged employees as those who act like they own the place even when the boss is not around.…
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Are you struggling with employee retention? There is no question that the market for talent is tough. If you’ve been trying to recruit great people, you know that it’s not showing any sign of letting up. But as we level off from the pandemic chaos, we have reached an inflection…
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Want to make a relevant DEI Statement? Are you tired of struggling with what to say about environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues? Do you care about the environment, social justice, and the good of the world, but don’t want to dive headfirst into a political debacle? What do you…
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It is not uncommon for a prospective client to ask, “How can an executive coach really help someone at a senior level?” A good executive coach/advisor can help individuals (and organizations) navigate complex situations, demonstrate visible leadership, and advance business outcomes. However, the key to getting the most out of…
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In over 30 years of coaching c-level executives, I am frequently asked if an executive coach/advisor can really help a senior leader. I get it. Once you have reached this level, you’re expected to know what you’re doing and be pretty good at it. Often, these leaders are confident and…
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Executive onboarding often means taking the reins as an incoming senior leader in an established organization with a deep legacy and a strong team. This can be a daunting experience. If you’ve ever worked at a place like Delta Airlines, AutoZone, Walmart, or Coca Cola, you know what I mean.…
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I’ve been coaching c-level executives, Business Unit Presidents and Functional Leaders at Fortune 500 companies for over 30 years. I still get questions about how an executive coach/advisor can really help someone at a senior level. I’d like to provide examples of real-life client situations I’ve worked on recently. But…
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Are you taking on a stretch assignment? Responsible for delivering breakthrough results? Are you being asked to deliver a project where the stakes are high and the risk of failure is great? Perhaps it’s a new product, a new business, a turn-around or a merger integration… or maybe it’s just…
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Have you landed the big promotion? Taken on a new role? Changed companies, or just taken over a new area in your company? If you have, chances are, you’ll want to make a great impression on your new team and demonstrate visible leadership to them and to your leadership.…
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You think you’re a pretty good senior leader. Your people seem to like you (at least they say they do). Results and performance reviews are good, and you receive the occasional accolade. Maybe you’ve even had a recent promotion or two and there isn’t a lot of negative feedback. Why…
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Do you have an executive leadership coach? Are you thinking about executive coaching or business advisor services? Do you want to be sure you get your money’s worth from the investment? How will you know it will be a valuable use of your time? Coaching and business advisory has been…
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Do you actively spend time focusing on your network? Do you have relationships in place to get things done at every level? Or is the thought of adding networking to your already full plate a bit overwhelming? For many of us, networking is one more pain in the xxx to…
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Congratulations. You’ve got a seat at the proverbial table! Whether you’ve got a c-level title or not, your seat on the leadership team gives you influence as well as a lot of responsibility to balance. I’ve been coaching and consulting with C-Level leaders for nearly 30 years. I have seen…
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It’s a tough competition for roles at the top. In nearly 30 years of coaching and consulting with the c-level and those who want to get there, I’ve seen more than a few interesting tactics for climbing the corporate ladder. Some work. Some make people angry and destroy trust. And…
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1 Are you integrating into a new executive role? Are you an executive looking to bring in an executive coach or advisor to help you get to the next level? An HR business partner who wants to be absolutely sure their next big hire hits the ground running and is…
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Are you planning a leadership team meeting early this year to get everyone aligned? Are you disappointed that it will likely not be in person or that some folks won’t be able to travel to join you? Have you thought about who will be the best virtual facilitator? Or have…
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If you are starting a new executive role or onboarding executives into roles where it is important that they hit the ground running and contribute quickly, there are a few things you should know. Data shows that rigorous executive onboarding programs can reduce time to full productivity by 40% and…
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As the excitement of landing a new executive role sinks in, the pressure begins. How will you demonstrate visible leadership in your first 100 days? Can you be sure you will make a significant enough contribution early on to validate the company’s choice in hiring you? How will you build…
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Have you had that moment when you have to tell someone they aren’t performing well? When they pride themselves on being good at the very thing you’re about to tell them they aren’t? It’s that moment when you swallow hard, your mouth goes dry, and secretly you pray that they’ll…
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Do You Really Need A Competency Model? I’ve had a lot of conversations with clients about competency models and I’ve built a lot of them. But frankly, I have rarely seen the value-add. When I ask our clients why they are considering investing the time to build a competency model,…
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Creating An Inclusive Culture We don’t know what is going to happen in the market in the coming years, but we do know this: it will be disruptive. Whatever happens in 2020 with the election, tariffs, and the global economy, there is a good chance it will require extra effort…
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“An organization without purpose manages human resources, whereas an organization with purpose mobilizes people.” – Juan Carlos Eichholz Resilience Starts With Alignment Any healthy organization is formed with a specific purpose in mind. That purpose is usually defined by the organizational mission, vision, and values. However, over time an organization’s…
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Corporate Restructuring That Works Starting a business, whether a lemonade stand or a consulting firm with a new approach to corporate restructuring, begins with a realization that something is missing in the market. Often, an entrepreneur feels so strongly about the missing piece that they are willing to drive a stake…
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Do you have a great team that needs development but lack a budget for training and access to an internal world-class learning team? Perhaps you’ve been limping along sending people to local conferences when you can to try to develop them. But while that may appease your team for a…
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Remember when your organizational structure used to be something we hardly thought about. They were clear. We reported to someone (my boss) and often someone reported to us (my team). But things change. Now we have matrix structures, project teams that pull people into hidden conference rooms (that suck life…
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3 out of 4 HR leaders are facing some sort of transformation in their business. Too often they are brought in late in the game, … and typically to help “manage the change”. Code words for “exiting displaced employees and helping the survivors cope with the new environment”. Sound familiar? Coming…
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Are you struggling to keep your business organized while transitioning to a more digital experience? Is it becoming less obvious who owns what…and why? Are silos in your organization structure getting in the way as the shift to increasing automation accelerates? More and more, organizations are realizing that as they…
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A Human Resources executive walks into a bar with a duck on their head. One of the long-time customers, though a bit intoxicated, recognizes the difference between a hat and a duck and shouts, “… you’ve got a duck on your head. The HR executive calmly replies, “… of course,…
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As 2018 dawns, two questions are being asked by many IBHR leaders and Chief Human Resource Officers: Is this year’s plan for my Human Resources team good enough to deliver strategic value across the organization to truly differentiate our organization from the competition? What is the next key capability that…
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Ever feel like your team is not hearing you? You turn around and either they are squabbling about who gets their share of limited resources, or they are off in their own space ‘working really hard.’ Unfortunately, you just can’t tell how all that work is driving your strategic agenda.…
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Which comes first: Human Resource Strategy or Business Strategy? We know intuitively that the Business Strategy must come first, yet how well do we in Human Resources truly understand the business strategy and its implications for our own HR Strategy when we must ensure that our business clients are equipped…
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New HR Leader or CHRO: 5 Questions to Ask in the 1st 48 hours Earlier this year I took an assignment as the interim Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) for the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority (MBTA), affectionately known as the ‘T’. This is the organization that moves people to and through…
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Do Your Questions Drive Strategy? Becoming a “strategic partner” has become a bit of a cliché. It’s a tired phrase that is often ill defined and confusing, particularly to people so focused on the day-to-day, transactional work of getting things done. It’s easy to ask the right questions when we know…
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Are you spending your Human Resources budget on HR capabilities that drive strategy? All executives are accountable for budgets. How sure are you that your HR budget aligns scarce resources to drive the HR capabilities required to execute strategy? Do your internal clients complain that they are not getting the best value…
Read MoreI’ve had a lot of conversations lately about building competency models. I’ve built a lot of them and frankly, I’m not sure I get the value-add, given some much larger, more concrete priorities, but here’s what I’ve been told when I asked why the company wanted to invest the time…
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So you’ve got a seat at the table. Now what? Often HR partners get to the proverbial table, but really struggle to join the strategic dialog for a variety of reasons. It is tough when you’re not running a P&L or in the trenches every day; but elevating the conversation…
Read MoreOne of my smaller clients recently asked me if they should consider an automated performance management system. You know the type – for a huge investment, employees can enter their objectives, managers approve them, and then self appraisals and manager performance appraisals are done right in the system. The same…
Read MoreAre your people asking for a career path? Many companies are trying to build career paths because people are crying for them. It’s usually in response to an engagement survey and done with a fair amount of urgency because employees are upset that they don’t have a proverbial career path.…
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