Content about Sociology

March 23, 2012
What NOT to Say

When it comes to customer service, tell learners about the bad things that happened to you—primarily to make them laugh about it, but also so they think about what notto do or say to a customer. Document every customer service interaction you have, or the experiences of others you hear about—especially the bad ones—so you can pass along the dos and don’ts to your learners.

By Gisele Canova

March 12, 2012
Engaged Leadership’s Role in Organizational Safety and Success

Where there is a culture of leadership engagement—where leaders are seen as plugged in and responsive to their employees; where employees feel their leaders are concerned with their everyday activities, personal well-being, and overall security—those are the places where you see engaged employees on every level.

By Bill Whitmore, Chairman, President, and CEO, AlliedBarton Security Services

There’s a direct connection between engaged leadership, workplace security, and organizational success, regardless of your product or service. Psychologist Abraham Maslow identified safety and security as among the most basic human needs on the road to self-actualization—achieving one’s full potential. It, therefore, follows that if your employees don’t feel safe and secure, they’re not going to do the best job for you.

February 28, 2012
Tips to Re-engage Your Team

Almost everyone in the workplace has been “doing more with less” for a long time. Yet productivity has risen 2.3 percent annually during these tough times as fewer employees accomplish miracles by working more hours and taking on bigger workloads. Is it possible to get higher productivity without burning people out?

By Carl Eidson, Ph.D., Vice President, Business Development, Wilson Learning

February 20, 2012
Soapbox: ROE: Demonstration of Training Value

Return on expectations (ROE) is a foolproof way to show the value of training in the terms desired by key stakeholders. ROE demonstrates the degree to which training initiatives satisfy the expectations of key business stakeholders.

Return on expectations (ROE) is a foolproof way to show the value of training in the terms desired by key stakeholders. ROE demonstrates the degree to which training initiatives satisfy the expectations of key business stakeholders. Assumptions that may assist training professionals include:

  • Key stakeholders are high-level managers or executives.
  • Stakeholder expectations primarily include the accomplishment of the organization’s highest-level goals and mission.

Figure 1: The Kirkpatrick Model

January 13, 2012
The Agony and the Ecstasy—Building Innovation Capability

Many firms fail at innovation because they lack the right management capability in the areas of discovery skills, execution skills, and leadership behaviors. The good news is that while innovation is a difficult capability to develop, it can be done.

By Peter Mulford, Executive Vice President, BTS

Does your organization have the managerial know-how to innovate? If so, do your managers know the behaviors they must change in order to cultivate a culture of innovation?

For most companies, in our experience, the answer is no. And the problem is neither a lack of resources nor of creativity itself, but of management capability—specifically, the capability to convert new ideas into value creation. The good news is that building innovation capability is not easy, but it can be done. Here’s how.

December 23, 2011
Why Companies Need a Strategic HR Partner

More leaders need to use Human Resources as a strategic plant, says Rajeev Pershawaria, author of “Too Many Bosses, Too Few Leaders.” The first step is to choose the right HR leader, someone who can help, as well as challenge. Instead of choosing a comfortable confidante, leaders should look for someone who understands both business and human capital trends, and is able to contribute intelligently to C-suite discussions about business strategy.

By Rajeev Peshawaria

December 9, 2011
Domestic Violence Contributes to Workplace Violence

Employees are at risk for facing workplace violence where they, or their co-workers, are experiencing domestic violence situations. However, there are ways to help those in need and reduce the risk of personally experiencing domestic violence in the workplace.

By Rich Cordivari, Vice President of National Accounts Business Development, AlliedBarton Security Services

Violence in the home can lead to violence in the workplace. Employees are at risk for facing workplace violence where they, or their co-workers, are experiencing domestic violence situations. A violent spouse or significant other can come to the workplace to check up on, harass, threaten, or act out against their partner.

December 1, 2011
Bust Out of Recession Mode—How to Rally the Troops

Leaders must be able to help their employees see the possibility and promise of what is to come, while making peace with the past. A company can’t succeed unless its employees are invested in its success, and they need to get into the right mindset. Here’s what leaders need to do to rally their troops and get them excited about the future.

By Mike Noble, Managing Partner, Camden Consulting Group

Leaders must be able to help their employees see the possibility and promise of what is to come, while making peace with the past. A company can’t succeed unless its employees are invested in its success, and they need to get into the right mindset. An organization’s leadership team must have the ability to motivate and inspire. Here’s what leaders need to do to rally their troops and get them excited about the future:

November 23, 2011
Best Practices: Diversity Dimensions

Global diversity rollouts can—and should—be implemented successfully, but too frequently problems arise because the company’s original diversity initiatives, based purely on an American perspective, are merely expanded geographically without regard for cultural approaches to diversity.

By Neal Goodman, Ph.D., President, Global Dynamics, Inc.

November 23, 2011
Training Today: Maximizing Organizational Productivity

In today’s competitive marketplace, few organizations believe they are capitalizing upon the full potential of their human resource capital. To maximize employee performance, it is critical to have leaders who can assist employees in moving quickly through the development levels to peak performance.

November 22, 2011
Creating a Holistic Talent Management Team

Before creating a holistic talent management team, organizations have to be more honest about what kind of environment is wanted and what exists (inclusive, collaborative, separate, self-preservation). What type of leadership style is wanted and what exists? Is all leadership held to the same standards with regard to producing the optimal work environment?

By Richard Lynell

What does a holistic talent management team look like?

Well, that answer varies, depending on your organization and its leadership, culture, and environment. But regardless of this, I believe a talent management team should be an independent function of the organization, similar to an internal audit team.

November 22, 2011
Rock-Steady Leadership

As a result of this recent economic uncertainty, a new emphasis in leadership development is required. A leader needs to develop the stability of a rock to serve as the team’s foundation in turbulent times, but at the same time must be able to rock and roll, or, in other words, motivate and inspire people to do and be their best.

By Connie Charles, Founder and CEO, Strategic Solutions International Inc.

November 21, 2011
8 Pillars of Trust

David Horsager, author of “The Trust Edge,” studied the underlying connection between success and trust, and he identified eight key areas he describes as Pillars. They are the bedrock that creates The Trust Edge, the competitive advantage gained when others confidently believe in you.

By David Horsager

Everything of value is built on trust, from financial systems to relationships.

November 7, 2011
Bosses Pass the Torch to Build Effective Teams

Many company owners talk about their efforts to build a strong staff in terms of teambuilding activities. But building a strong team starts with talent—identifying, attracting, and deploying the right players to achieve your company’s goals and take on your mid-level responsibilities, thereby freeing you up to focus on performance and sustainability.

By Mary Hladio, Founder and CEO, Ember Carriers Leadership Group

October 31, 2011
Chesterfield County Accelerates Leadership Transitions

Chesterfield County, VA, trainers believe a loss of executive leadership typically is not due to lack of talent or skill set, but due to misunderstandings or an inability to become “organizationally savvy.” With that in mind, the county launched its Transition Acceleration program.

By Margery Weinstein

October 17, 2011
The Leadership Imperative: Mission Success

If a leader inspires, aligns, motivates, and enables the organization around a common vision, then a company has taken the first step toward becoming fearless.

By Tom Rieger, Senior Practice Expert, Gallup

There are no fearless leaders, but there are courageous ones. Everyone has fears they need to face. The key is to learn to overcome those fears. Mark Twain said, “Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear—not absence of fear.” To create a fearless company, leaders must master fear—their own and others’. They have to have the courage to fix what’s wrong.

September 8, 2011
Training and the Accountable Government Initiative

Congress and the executive branch have taken steps toward implementing performance improvement measures in the federal government. How can federal training executives lead their own staff to improve the performance of government? They must develop performance measurements for each training program and attendee, and they must create an individual Action Plan to address performance gaps.

By Brian Green, Federal Sector Manager – Performance Solutions, Learning Tree International

The national debt of the U.S. is $14,344,503,407,708 (source: http://www.usdebtclo...)―give or take a couple billion dollars. Now is not the time for government agencies to accept more of the status quo. What the country demands now is leaders within the halls of government agencies who are able to identify business problems and fix them. What the country needs is an Accountable Government.

July 27, 2011
Knowing Who You Are and What You Believe

If we are to become the leaders we have the potential to be, it is essential that we understand who we are and what we believe, says Doug Moran, author of  “If You Will Lead: Enduring Wisdom for 21st Century Leaders.” While there is a great deal of self-awareness associated with all of the “If” Sixteen Leadership Attributes, these first four in particular—character, authenticity, integrity, and self-efficacy—provide a strong foundation for self-awareness.

By Doug Moran

Why Self-Awareness Matters

If we are to become the leaders we have the potential to be, it is essential that we understand who we are and what we believe. While there is a great deal of self-awareness associated with all of the “If” Sixteen Leadership Attributes, these first four in particular—character, authenticity, integrity, and self-efficacy—provide a strong foundation for self-awareness.

July 25, 2011
Training Today: Creating High-Performance Expectations

Individuals who are clear about their performance expectations also are generally clear about their goals, know what their boss and others expect from them regarding their performance, and understand their job responsibilities. But holding people accountable often can be harder than it seems. In a survey of 800 leaders, trainers, and human resource executives, The Ken Blanchard Companies learned that only 41 percent agree or strongly agree that accountability is alive and well in their organizations.

Performance expectations are the extent to which an individual perceives that work outcomes must be done to a certain level of quality and quantity. In this particular case, the expectations are external and may come from the customer, the boss, or colleagues.

June 6, 2011
Strategies for Success (May-June 2011)

Training magazine taps 2011 Training Top 125 winners and Top 10 Hall of Famers to provide their learning and development best practices in each issue. In this May-June 2011 edition, we look at strategies for leadership development and collaboration.

Values and Leadership

By Rafael Pastor, Chairman and CEO, Vistage International, Inc.

An essential component of leadership is to articulate and exemplify the organization’s core values. These values must be clear, compelling, and repeated. And the leader must both “walk the talk” and inspire his/her colleagues within the organization to also live the values.

June 6, 2011
The X Factor

Everyone has a story about a manager who gets great results but achieves a low employee retention rate. Believe it or not, there is room in your company for many different management styles. You just have to figure out the best way to develop these leaders so your company makes the most of the best they have to offer.

By Margery Weinstein

June 6, 2011
Training Today: The Stabilizing Effect of Great Leadership

Great leadership doesn’t happen by itself. But a recent Ken Blanchard poll of more than 450 leaders revealed that only 16 percent had a comprehensive plan for developing new leaders, and 26 percent said that their company offers very little in the way of training for new managers.

In good economic times and in bad, some companies seem to deal with adversity better than others. What’s their secret? That’s something that The Ken Blanchard Companies has been studying for more than 30 years. In our experience, the companies that best deal with adversity are those that have:

June 2, 2011
Leaders’ Path to Improvement

Short of completing a 360, how is a leader supposed to know what he or she most needs to work on? The first step is to bring personality into the equation—for them to ask, “What kind of leader am I?” Using a model of the eight dimensions of leadership can help to identify the leadership “blind spots” associated with particular leadership styles.

By Mark Scullard, director of research, and Jeffrey Sugerman, president and CEO, Inscape Publishing

In our May-June 2011 print article, we discussed what people want from their leaders. As part of a 360-degree assessment, we gave 16,619 participants—or raters—the chance to give feedback on what leadership practices their leaders should do more often. The three most common requests for leaders were:

April 4, 2011
AIT Laboratories Has Winning Leadership Formula

AIT Laboratories formulated a leadership program that has enabled it to meet its succession planning goals, and keep its leadership pipeline well stocked with fresh talent. The company offers two leadership development programs to 80-plus employees, a leadership program for managers, and an advanced leadership program for 20 employees.

By Margery Weinstein

AIT Laboratories formulated a leadership program that has enabled it to meet its succession planning goals, and keep its leadership pipeline well stocked with fresh talent. The company offers two leadership development programs to 80-plus employees, a leadership program for managers, and an advanced leadership program for 20 employees. Here are some of the ingredients that go into the winning formula:

March 25, 2011
The Power of “As One”

Authors Mehrdad Baghai and James Quigley reveal how the concept of “As One” makes all the difference between a group of individuals and a unified team. Those five letters symbolize the culmination of individual action into collective power. They describe how individuals can collaborate to achieve extraordinary results—together.

By Mehrdad Baghai and James Quigley

As One. It’s a short phrase. Only five letters. But those five letters are filled with meaning and inspiration. They make all the difference between a group of individuals and a unified team. Those five letters symbolize the culmination of individual action into collective power. They describe how individuals can collaborate to achieve extraordinary results—together.

“The aspiration to work as one is the timeless leadership challenge.”