Young talent entering the workforce are facing unprecedented obstacles: Organisations are holding on (through contract extensions & postponing retirement) to older and often senior employees because of perceived institutional knowledge and irreplaceable skills. Older employees are reluctant to retire, mainly due to financial reasons and a lack of preparedness for retirement. Lack of senior openings […]
Build your network to boost your resilience in times of change The world is changing so fast. It’s as if the ground is shifting and the wave is building and either we get dunked onto the sand with our bikini around our necks, or we build a surfboard and learn to surf the wave. The […]
In 2019, BEFORE the COVID-19 pandemic, the Brandon Hall Group Competency and Skill Development Survey revealed that: Only 19% of organizations felt prepared to develop the skills required in the near future. Some 75% said they were “somewhat” prepared, and 7% admitted they were completely unprepared. Additionally, this research showed: 66% agreed employee engagement is […]
One foundation of great leaders is having and understanding their own leadership mindset philosophy — a set of beliefs, values, and personal rules related to the kind of leader they aspire to. This foundation will drive the workplace environment and culture of the team the leader leads, whether this is a four-person department or a […]
Unlike at a tertiary level, workplace feedback sounds and looks different. Feedback from the classroom came by the way of test scores, comments, and final grades. These methods revolve almost entirely around the accuracy and content of your work. On the other hand, workplace feedback takes into consideration the content and quality of your work […]
Let’s face it, the vast majority of us in today’s business world is facing this dilemma. Global competition is fierce, business disruption is everywhere, senior management is relentlessly driving for increased productivity … and whose desk does it land on? If you’re in senior management, and you consistently hear “too many priorities” or “initiative overload” […]
There is a quote attributed to Epictetus, which states “We have two ears and one mouth so we can listen twice as much as we speak.” This quote came to mind when I was chatting with Paul Ruinaard about his experiences with the Enneagram and how he and his sales team use it to ensure […]
One area of particular weakness in mid-level leaders and new supervisors that I have noticed in my 25 years of international leadership development training and coaching is their inability to give relevant, useful, and beneficial feedback. In fact, giving feedback is one of the greatest fears of new leaders at all levels of an organization. […]
It has been said that E.Q. is more important than I.Q. and in today’s ever-changing world leaders must have the emotional intelligence to lead people. It is always a sad situation to watch a person with a high intelligence remain stuck on the ladder of success because he/she has never developed the awareness and social […]
The author, inspirational speaker, and leadership visionary Simon Sinek posted a video recently, which critiqued the use of the term soft skills. As a learning and development professional, this really spoke to a common bugbear of mine and pretty much all my HR-related colleagues. We used those scare quotes almost like a nervous tic because […]