Posts

Coffee leads to Capabilities.

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Did you know that until 1955, if you wanted a cup of coffee you had to drink it on your own time? Times have changed but then, as we see now, the focus is on someone’s performance. In this video I look how times have changed from the breakroom to the kitchen as we live and work in a remote and/or hybrid workspace and reflect on the lessons of the coffee break. Taking a break doesn’t mean performance, or work, suffers. As a federal court ruled, coffee “promotes more efficiency and results in greater output” for the business, the employer should pay workers for boosting their on-the-job performance.”

Coffee breaks were linked to enhancing people’s capabilities. We need to focus on the output produced more than the office being sat in. As a leader, you define the desired deliverable up front, describe what success looks like, how it will be measured, and when it needs to be completed. Then communicate early, often, and maybe over a cup of coffee regardless of location.

Maybe flexibility, like coffee breaks, promotes efficiency and results in greater output for the business too. Let’s talk more about supporting your people using learning as your strategic business tool. Send me an email or let’s Zoom and keep the conversation going!  I’ll bring some coffee…

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We’re still meeting – everywhere!

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Remember saying, “there’s not enough time in the day to do everything” when we were still in the office? When we could pop in and ask that “quick” question? Seems this is still happening only we now have the data that shows our remote interactions are shifting to mirror our old in-person interactions more closely. A recent study has found that “remote workers appear to becoming more (rather than less) engaged with respect to meetings with their colleagues.”

In this video I share how I see the role of the leader becoming one of facilitator and connector of the community. Leaders of this flexible workforce must be planful about building networks for teammates, be intentional about the purpose of live interactions, and constantly communicating across the distance. The technology isn’t a barrier anymore, we’ll make connections regardless of who is located where and create our community.

Let’s work together to build and expand those networks using learning as your strategic business tool and we can talk about how to bring the high touch into your leadership and team, send me an email or let’s Zoom and have an impromptu meeting and keep the conversation going!  I’ll bring some coffee….

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#Trends2023

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This time of years brings opportunities to reflect on what’s taken place and allows us the chance to look ahead, what I call #Trends2023! There’s technology to consider from immersive to augmented, cloud to mainframes yet the key emphasis I’m seeing is a deeper focus on people. The high tech is centered on the need we have acknowledged for connection, for a level of high touch.

Check out my thoughts on this video, #Trends2023, as I share where I see us creating a safer and more balanced work environment supporting a more diverse, global workforce that is going to have a human-centric need. Engaging teammates is becoming location agnostic, communication techniques matter more, the use of tools will be centered on making them understandable, easy to use, trustworthy (since many are in the home space) and focused on solving business problems. I also see benefits, wellbeing, and development as keys to recruiting, retaining, and advancing your talent pipeline. Chief #Trends2023 is it is all about the people.

In 2023, use learning as your strategic business tool to develop and retain your talent. Let’s talk more about how to bring the high touch into your leadership and team, we can Zoom or even use the phone to talk because together, we are stronger, and we don’t need being remote or at a distance to keep us from connecting and engaging – let’s learn and work together!  I’ll bring some coffee….

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High touch means more.

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There is a common theme between the “Quiet Quitting” and onboarding. Microsoft’s CEO shared that they learned that “one factor matters above all. It’s not technology or systems or culture. It’s a very-hands on manager. Care matters more than computers.” With remote and hybrid workers becoming our new normal, the lessons we continue to learn is we can use all the high tech to connect with people, but to create deep, personal connections with the same people we now must use a lot of high touch.

I’ve shared different ways to pre-board new teammates but the primary guidance I recommend engaging new and current workers is to invest the time to talk 1:1 and help create and expand the network the person will use up and downstream of their role. In this short video I highlight how leadership is back to basics, show teammates that they’re welcome, respected, and appreciated for the work they do. Schedule time to talk about career interests and professional development. Connect with care, communicate with compassion, and interact consistently to ensure a positive and productive team.

People want to bring their whole selves to their efforts, so leaders step up and help them do their best. Use learning as your strategic business tool to develop and retain your talent. Let’s talk more about how to bring the high touch into your leadership and team, we can Zoom or even use the phone to talk because together, we are stronger, and we don’t need being remote or at a distance to keep us from connecting and engaging – let’s learn and work together!  I’ll bring some coffee….

Use the contact button above or visit our web site!

Growth is skills based

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There’s a new term you may have heard about, it’s the “skills-based organization,” or SBO for short, that centers on the skills and business behaviors people need on the job and it’s moving into the center of talent development. These skills are the combined professional and personal capabilities and what a person demonstrates as they successfully perform their role. A benefit of using this talent-centric model is finding hidden skills people had that didn’t make it to the pre-defined job description and supporting their utilization of these strengths.

LinkedIn’s CEO, Ryan Roslansky, shared that “Shifting to a skills-focused approach is a viable solution to an evolving workforce dilemma. Evaluating employees and new hires based on their skill sets instead of their work history can help level the playing field — and help companies realize the talent they already have. It also makes talent pools more diverse and often makes hiring more effective.”

In this short video I share how becoming a skills-based organization benefits the individual and the team by focusing on the skills and capabilities people bring to the work more than the idea that work is fully definable and static. Let’s talk more about how expanding your organizational and talent capabilities can impact your team so let’s Zoom or even use the phone to talk because together, we are stronger, and we don’t need being remote or at a distance to keep us from connecting and engaging – let’s learn and work together!  I’ll bring some coffee….

Use the contact button above or visit our web site!

Leader as Learner

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Ever have a supervisor who wasn’t from your area of expertise? Did you and your teammates develop the orientation manual for them, so they didn’t blow the work up? Sometimes you get the exception, I had one who made me include a monthly presentation about and L&D to him in my annual performance plan. After the first couple I realized this was more than a presentation, this was a transfer of knowledge and experiences. As I explained and described the topic of the month, the questions posed were focused on application.

This is where I started to see how asking “why” was a powerful asset to a designer of performance solutions and how leaders use it to push for deeper understanding. More than a challenge, asking “why” creates the space to explore options, identify alternatives, and deliver a robust solution. I saw how the curiosity of trying to connect the different components in an organization became a process of constantly finding new information. I saw how leaders are open to learning from everyone and how leaders are developed from all levels. I saw learning as a strategic business tool.

In this short video I share some key differences between those manage and those that lead. The key difference in a willingness to seek new information, new ways to work, and an openness to ask others to share knowledge and ideas with you. Let’s talk more about how you can use learning as your leadership development model and your strategic business and retention tool. We can Zoom or even use the phone to talk because together, we are stronger, and we don’t need being remote or at a distance to keep us from connecting and engaging – let’s learn and work together!  I’ll bring some coffee…. Use the contact button above or visit our web site!

Attract (& Keep!) Your Dream Team, Part 3: Credentials, College, & Career

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We use credentials as a rubric for hiring new people and evaluating internal candidates. In this 3rd of 4 videos, I highlight the advantages of using a broader view of the term credential to include traditional degrees and include other learning solutions, such as badges and nanodegrees, that indicate a person can demonstrate the skills and behaviors that qualify them for a role.  First, we looked at the big picture, the 5 interconnected steps that impact your team, and then the second video identified the 5C’s used to create an environment of success and techniques to impact the retention process and now I’ll share how the organization can provide a foundation of credentialing for their employees that leads to an engaged and skilled workforce.

Next time we’ll examine how using badges and microcredentials creates a value to employer and employee along with the impact a learning ladder can provide to upskill and fill your internal talent pipeline. In the meantime, I’d enjoy talking with you about how we can partner to strategically develop your team so let’s Zoom or send me an email and keep the conversation going! Use the contact button above or visit our web site!

Attract (& Keep!) Your Dream Team, Part 2: The 5 “C’s”

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Hiring people and getting them up to speed takes time and money so use learning strategically.  In the first video segment we looked at the big picture, the 5 interconnected steps that impact your team as it forms and grows. In this 2nd of 4 parts I share the 5C’s you can use to create an environment of success and techniques to impact the retention process. The 5C’s is a strategic component of leadership and follows a common planning model with a focus on the talent pool we rely on to make and support the products and services of today and to be ready for future growth.

Next time we’ll examine how using a credentialing process can drive talent development and retention. Credentials come in different forms, so we’ll look at options to consider. In the meantime, I’d enjoy talking with you about how we can partner to strategically develop your team so let’s Zoom or send me an email and let’s keep the conversation going! Use the contact button above or visit our web site!

Attract and Keep Your Dream Team, Part 1: The Big Picture

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Learning, used strategically, impacts the bottom line of your organization. Join me in this 1st of a 4-part video series as I share techniques to influence the employee lifecycle. This interconnected process has 5 steps where you can influence and engage your team as it forms and grows.  When we consider the stages in this lifecycle it becomes clear we interact with the different steps constantly as we connect with our teammates. When we are authentically engaged, we are using recruiting skills and when planning for the future it is with the perspective of the team in place. Focusing on being present in the workplace creates opportunities to grow and develop our people to be successful today and tomorrow.

Next time we’ll examine the five “C’s” needed to drive talent success and impact retention and in the meantime, I would enjoy talking with you about how we can partner to strategically develop your team so let’s Zoom or send me an email and keep the conversation going!  Use the contact button above or visit our web site!

More than a seat at the table

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Learning & Development should be at the table to plan and be involved early on yet we need to be in the workflow more. Join me in this video to explore going beyond delivering training and begin using learning strategically to provide the organization with employees who are prepared, who can think, and use the collective wisdom of the community to develop a robust and skilled internal talent pipeline. We need to be in the workplace to grow and develop our people and that’s the seat L&D should be sitting in. Learning is a strategic business tool and developing people’s skills and strengths, including the ability to learn and think in the moment of need, is an integral component of an organization’s growth and success.

I would enjoy talking more with you about how we can partner on identifying ways to strategically develop your team so let’s Zoom or send me an email, let’s keep learning together!  Use the contact button above or visit our web site!