Feeling Stuck?
Years ago, I tried reading and implementing David Allen’s Getting Things Done system, with hit-or-miss success. Although I gave up on much of the David Allen GTD system, one of my favorite books is by him. “Ready for Anything: 52…
Handling the White-Water of Change
Handling leadership changes can be unsettling at best, and frustrating and emotionally draining at worst. If you’re a leader helping your team stay focused during these times, composure (the ability to handle stress) and empathy are critical for navigating changes…
8 Steps for Making the Most of Reference Checks
Your hiring process should look something like the photo to the left, with two additional steps – assessment before the interview (to provide feedback to deepen your interview), and reference checks between the interview and offer. Hiring decisions should take…
Success Starts on Day One
You’ve just hired a candidate who you feel is perfect for your vacant position. Now what? It can be easy to make the mistake of waiting until the end of a probationary period to formally evaluate someone recently hired. But…
Staffing Decisions – Pay Attention to Character and Integrity
“By themselves character and integrity do not accomplish anything. But their absence faults everything else. Here is an area where weakness is an absolute disqualification.” – Peter Drucker To some extent hiring is always a gamble, but all too many…
Behavioral Assessments for Hiring & Employee Development
A very important distinction to make when using behavioral assessments within organizations for hiring or employee development is the difference in approaches between external candidates (those being considered for positions) versus internal personnel (those already employed). Whenever you’re adding to…
10 Huge Hiring Mistakes and What to Avoid
I recently experienced another hand-to-the-forehead moment. Here’s what I overheard: “We’ve hired him; now let’s assess him and see what we’ve got!” All I could do was shake my head and sigh. I understand that hiring can be one of…
Is Succession Management Necessary?
Asking if succession management is necessary is like asking if the sun is hot. Of course it is! Even if your future appears to be all sunshine and unicorns, succession management is an essential component of a successful business strategy….
Over 90% of Millennials Say This One Thing Will Improve Their Level of Engagement
For those of us who aren’t clairvoyant, let’s peer into our Magic 8 Ball for best ways to improve employee engagement levels among millennials. Bad idea! The Magic 8 Ball keeps telling me to try again. So, what IS the…
What Causes Good Employees to Leave?
It’s typically not the big things that make someone leave an organization, but it’s a number of seemingly small “last straw” issues that get under people’s skin and will make good employees quit. One of the first questions I ask…