28
jul
1

Managers as Mentors: Building Partnerships for Learning

Posted by Coaching Skills, Leadership Style AssessmentNo Comments

Managers as MentorsMuch has changed about mentoring in the modern organization. Nowadays leaders at every level—from the bottom to the top—have the responsibility to perform as learning catalysts and trusted advisors. The questions now is, how can managers effectively carry out insight goals from in-charge roles? According to bestselling author and relationship expert Dr. Chip Bell, the key to success is to build a partnership in learning.

Grab a cup coffee and dial into Managers as Mentors: Building Relationships for Learning. Inspired by the book Dr. Bell co-authored with Marshall Goldsmith, you will discover new perspectives, practical tips, and proven strategies for developing relationships based on safety and trust.  Don’t miss this valuable webinar—after all, an organization’s ability to learn faster than its competition is its only sustainable advantage.

Participating in this webinar will give you insight into:

  • What is mentoring…really?
  • What are the reasons mentoring is critical?
  • What is the goal or aim of mentoring?
  • What are the steps (stages) in reaching this goal?
  • How do you mentor? What are the techniques to take those steps?

The webinar will be held on July 30th at 2PM EST. Register today!

Chip R. Bell is founder of the Chip Bell Group and manages their Atlanta office. Prior to starting the Chip Bell Group in the early ‘80s, he was Director of Organization and Management Development for NCNB, now Bank of America. He is the author of best-selling books and his work has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and USA Today. You will not want to miss this very powerful hour.

23
jul
1

Leave the Gate Open for Protégés

Posted by Change, Communication Styles, Experiential Learning, HR Training, Human Resource Training, Learning Style AssessmentNo Comments

CarnationBy Chip Bell

In 1907, Carnation introduced a new advertising tagline for its condensed milk product: “Milk from Contented Cows.” Growing up on a cattle farm where we produced our own milk, I often heard the ads and wondered what made a cow contented. Cows seemed to already have a life without much stress. My dad suggested it probably meant milk from a cow that was (or thought it was) free and not confined to a set geography.

“Someone left the gate open,” was the usual explanation for those rare occasions when a group of our cows escaped their fence and barbed wire bordered field to wander into the woods, along the public road, or into a neighbor’s fields. When a group of cows shed their prisoner status for an early morning hiatus, my father’s directive to me or my brother was to go retrieve “the contented cows.”

The contentment of cow freedom, however, carried a modicum of cow challenge. Cows in our fields could always count on water plus shelter from the hot sun or rain. There was green grass to graze in the summer and hay bales thrown from the back of a truck in the winter. However, outside the walls of security they were subjected to fast cars on the road, no shield from the stark elements of nature, and vulnerable to unscrupulous farmers willing to quickly load up a few strays and take them to market instead of returning them to their rightful owner.

Protégés are like cows. No, I did not say protégés were cows. But, the concept of freedom and contentment are similarly linked. When mentors “leave the gate open” giving protégés the freedom explore, experiment and risk, their contentment results in greater learning and enhanced innovation. Empowerment does not mean unlimited license; it means responsible freedom. There is no place in organizations for reckless actions or foolhardy performance.

When mentors treat protégés like partners, protégés respond by acting like owners who are eager to take care of the organization. They embrace challenge and change instead of acting like an entitled victim when a part of the realities of business challenges. And they deliver excellence when barbed wire fences are removed—those barriers of purposeless learning, threat of retribution for error, or the perception of no reward for responsible risk-taking. If you are a mentor, leave the gate open and become an obvious champion of contented protégés!

Chip Bell is the founder of the Chip Bell Group and manages their Atlanta office. Prior to starting the Chip Bell Group in the early ‘80s, he was Director of Organization and Management Development for NCNB, now Bank of America. He is the author of several best-selling books and his work has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and USA Today. He is hosting a webinar for HRDQ-U on July 30th at 2pm called Managers as Mentors: Building Partnerships for Learning.  Don’t delay!  Register today!

 

11
jul
0

Go Forth and Be Agile!

Posted by Communication Styles, Experiential Learning, HR Training, Human Resource Training, Leadership Style Assessment, Learning Style AssessmentNo Comments

agility

On Wednesday, we hosted the free webinar Leadership Agility: Four Steps to Getting more Done with Less with Ann Herrmann-Nehdi, the CEO of Herrmann International. Over 200 people tuned it to listen live.

You can view the archived webinar if you missed it.

Due to greater demands for performance, complex issues, and limited resources, doing more with less is an everyday reality for leaders in today’s organizations. The good news is that you can stay ahead of the competition—if you know how to expand your brain bandwidth. With the proper tools, it is possible to build your thinking agility so you can tackle tough mental demands and develop a more strategic mindset.

There is a challenge to get more done with less.

We live in VUCA World. Established by the US Army War College over a decade ago, it was created to define the critical factors of the future. Turns out it was very accurate.

  • V – Volatile
  • U – Uncertain
  • C – Complex (dense layers or organizations)
  • A – Ambiguous
All 4 of these elements have a direct impact on leaders and the organizations they serve. The idea of Organizational Agility is the “capability of a company to rapidly change or adapt in response to changes in the market”. Organizational Agility is the anecdote to the YUCA world. It requires Leadership Agility.

A recent study by Forbes estimated that only 10% of employees have the appropriate levels of leadership agility. That is simply not enough.

Warren Bennis, author of Rethinking the Future wrote, “to grow and transform … executives have to have extraordinary adaptability.” Leaders need to be able to flex on leadership. This is not just executives. It applies to all leaders.

How do we define Thinking Agility? It is the ability to consciously shift your thinking when the situation requires it. Our brains reactively shift our thinking all the time.

To understand Leadership Agility, we need to to discuss why Leadership Development programs fail.

  • Overlooking context
  • Decoupling reflection from real work
  • Failure to measure results
  • Underestimating mindsets

Our mindset drives what we see.

Our perspective changes what we see and how we see it. As a leader, that is key.

The webinar also delved into what constraints leaders see. Participants were urged to share their thoughts. They ranged from politics to time to listening to limited to resources to conflicting priorities. No wonder there are so many issues with leadership today! Then the question was posed, “How can we use the constraints to get more creative?” In other words, how can we turn the chaos into a little bit of order?

We can solve many problems by seeing a variety of solutions. Using the 4 Q approach will help, too. You can watch the archived webinar to learn more about that approach.

Relationship mapping is also vital.  Leaders need to understand who they work with, serve, and report to, and how they think, need information and learn. Mapping key relationships helps everyone involved.

The brain changes through learning so the more learning one does, the more the brain can change.

Not to DoMultitasking was always thought to be good, but in reality, it can cause 50% more errors. The brain cannot function at full capacity when it’s distracted. Try a “Not To Do List” to help erase what you should not be doing and then you can focus on your true “To Do List.”

Help leaders grow by rethinking their competencies. Help leaders adapt by thinking outside their comfort zone. Make more changes. Perception is critical. Stop multitasking. Remember that discomfort is a sign of learning.

Sign up to make sure you don’t miss the next free webinar.

7
jul
3

Leadership Agility: What is it and why does it matter to me?

Posted by Communication Styles, Corporate Team Building Games, Corporate Training Materials, Experiential Learning, HR Training, Human Resource Training, Leadership Games, Leadership Style Assessment, Team Building ExercisesNo Comments

velcro

“In this volatile world, more and more companies will strive to become ‘Velcro organizations’ in which people and capacity can be rearranged and recombined creatively and quickly without major structural change…”  C. K. Prahalad

So what does that mean for you?  It means you need to become an master at Leadership Agility.

Leadership Agility is not a single competency. It’s the master skill-set needed for sustained success in today’s increasingly complex, fast-paced changing business environment.

Doing more with less is an everyday reality for leaders in today’s organizations. So how can you stay a step ahead of the competition? Learn how to expand your brain bandwidth! Sound complicated? Well, it’s not as difficult as you may think. Join Ann Hermann-Nehdi for Leadership Agility: Four Steps to Getting More Done with Less, an exploration of thinking styles and their impact on leadership, communication, and decision making. You will soon learn how to develop the agility you need to tackle tough mental challenges and develop a more strategic mindset.

Herrmann International’s Whole Brain® Thinking System gives people, teams and organizations the skills and tools to increase their thinking agility so they can achieve exponentially higher levels of performance.  For more than three decades, they have been at the forefront of the most progressive research exploring the connection between thinking preferences and business performance. They have turned their knowledge into practical, easy-to-apply programs and methods that help clients adapt their thinking, optimize their brainpower and maximize their results.

It’s time to master Leadership Agility – rearrange and combine – don’t be left behind! Register for this free webinar today.

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