Thoughts on people, teams, organizations, communities, effectiveness and success
The purpose of any job interview should be to answer one and perhaps two questions;
1) Does this person have the talent (background, experience, skills, abilities) to be successful at our firm / company / organization / department for role for which they’re interviewing, and,
2) Does the person likely have the qualifications for positions for which they might be considered later?… Read the rest
It’s easy in troubled times – the Great Depression and World War II in the 1930’s and 1940’s, the late 1960’s and today’s times all come to mind – to wax nostalgic for the "good old days" and the presumed leadership that guided a nation’s people through those times.
Great leadership, whether it’s community or corporate, are leaders who effectively take a community or company from Point A to Point B: Moses, for example, or A.… Read the rest
Good corporate leadership team group facilitation is like birthing babies: it helps to have lots of experience under your belt to do it well. Not unlike executive coaching, gray hairs and the experience that came with them helps too.
The twists and turns that are sometimes surprises in leadership team work are less so in the hands of a seasoned pro – they’re simply elements of larger script that are well known by someone who has seen them countless times before and knows how to handle them. … Read the rest
Some people plan all their lives to become a senior executive – and it never happens. Others, through talent, timing, hard work, and or luck, become one though it was not something they sought, or even to which they aspired.
What will be in your future?
I think of these latter types of folks as “accidental execs.” I should know – I’ve been one as a Senior Vice President of Human Resources with a US Fortune 15 corporation – and any career planning behind the occurrence is as precise as the path of a butterfly on a warm, windy San Francisco day.… Read the rest
Maddie Grant has passed along a thoughtful piece written from a panel in which she participated on the topic of personal versus corporate (or "company") branding. The link is here .
Posts from this end on the topic are Time to be Greedy: Your Brand , (More) Time to be Greedy: Why You Need A Brand Called “You” , and (Still) Time to Be Greedy – Why Your Firm Needs a Brand Called “You ”.… Read the rest
In Pareto’s world , big things count a lot, but small things count as well. The trick as it were to is make sure you nail the big things very well, and make sure to do the smalls things well too.
It sounds easy to do but my experience is that it’s hard to execute. Many companies – and their functional departments – try to do it all at once – sort of the spaghetti testing method en masse– throwing it against the wall hoping that most of it sticks.… Read the rest