How to Tell if You’re Receiving Good Coaching
One resource that’s increasing for many organizations is that of having internal coaches— employees who have been selected (and hopefully trained) to serve as coaches for other employees. I think this is a good trend that has benefits beyond the immediate coaching,...
It’s Time to Rethink Customer Service
A few months ago, I had an issue with my office software. I needed to upgrade the system I was using and transition from one cloud storage system to another, along with transferring my subscription to a different set of office software packages. Being an independent...
Six Ways to Build Agility into Your Professional Development
I do a lot of work in the information technology (IT) and biotechnology industries. In the IT world, there have traditionally been two fundamental approaches to software development, known as "waterfall" and "agile". For our purposes, think of "waterfall" as a...
5 Keys to Creating a Culture of Development – Presentation
Paul will be presenting on Thursday, December 21st at 12 pm MDT at the Human Resources Association of Treasure Valley (Meridian, Idaho). The topic will be Five Keys to Building a Culture of Development. The economy is quite strong and today’s highly capable talent has...
Can Just Three Factors Determine Your Career Success?
We’ve all heard that it’s not “what” you know, but “who” you know that determines your career success. This statement is often met with grudging agreement and cynicism, especially by those who want to attribute their apparent lack of success to something other than...
Helping Your Team Build and Cross the Development Bridge
I’ve always been interested in how the landscape at one end of a bridge can be so different from the other end. Perhaps the most famous example is the Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco. On the southern side, we have the large city of San Francisco and at the north...
Want to Connect More Deeply with Your Team? Try Roses and Thorns.
I was sitting in a meeting last week, and the leader of the group opened the conversation by asking those present to share what their “roses and thorns” had been for the past week. Given my task-oriented nature, and the fact that I know zip about flowers, I almost...
Can Good Leaders Motivate Others – Presentation
Paul will be hosting a webinar on Wednesday, September 20, 2017 at 11 am MDT for the Northern Colorado Human Resources Association. The topic will be "Can Good Leaders Truly Motivate Others?" It’s often been stated that the quality most desired in senior leaders is...
Leadership Podcast at the Ontario (Canada) Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
Check out my podcast video interview on enterprise leadership in successful organizations with Kevin MacKenzie of the OSPCA.
Your Employees Are Ambassadors of Your Values and Culture – How Are They Doing?
Like it or not, your employees are ambassadors for your organization’s brand and core corporate values. If you are in a leadership role, do you find this a scary or comforting thought? Think about how many interactions a person in your organization has on any given...
Five Traps That Keep Managers from Delegating
If there’s one thing I’ve seen managers continually struggle with, it’s delegation. It seems so simple: take something that’s on your plate, and give it to one of your team members to do. I realize there’s more to delegation, but what makes it so difficult? Part of...
Should I Tell My Manager I’m Thinking of Quitting?
I’ll never forget the time I decided to leave my first major job out of college and move half way across the country for a new job with a new company. I had quietly conducted the job search, which included clandestine flights and weekend interviews. When the offer...