From Potential to Performance

Competent leadership is crucial for a company’s success. Recent studies indicate that businesses with strong leadership are 13 times more likely to outperform their competition, and three times more likely to retain their most talented employees.

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Developing a Global Mindset

Last week I attended the Developing Leaders for Global Roles Summit at the Thunderbird Najafi Global Mindset Institute in Glendale, Arizona. The summit brought together academics and practitioners from around the world to discuss the concept and issues surrounding global leadership, and approaches to closing the talent gaps that virtually every organization experiences. The stories and insights from the other attendees were enlightening, so I thought I’d summarize a few of the takeaways here in our blog.First, this will come as no surprise, but nobody is defining their problem in terms of a surplus of global leadership talent. Talent in this area is particularly scarce and extremely valuable. This is a prime battle in the broader war for talent.Second, good leadership skills do not necessarily generalize to a global setting. Leadership skills are distinct from having a global perspective, and successful global leadership requires both. The folks at Thunderbird have a robust body of research on the concept of global mindset, complete with a measurement tool (the Global Mindset Inventory, or GMI) and taxonomy of skills and attributes. The good news is that global mindset can be developed. The bad news is that not nearly enough organizations are actively developing global mindsets in their leadership talent pools or organizations. Third, success in a global environment requires not just leaders that think globally, but an entire organization that sees itself as global and thinks in those terms. Making this transition is difficult. For example, moving from being a U.S.-based business that works in China to an organization that does business in both the U.S. and China is a big adjustment, and requires commitment from the entire workforce. From this perspective, global mindset is an organizational development issue, not just a leadership development issue.So what are people doing to move towards a global organization? I heard a few things from a fantastic lineup of speakers, including:

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SIOP 2012 Session: Do Values Really Differ by Generation? A Multi-Assessment Review

  Drs. Kevin Meyer and Jeff Foster will participate in a group forum discussing one of the most popular topics in management training and development – managing workers from different generations. Results will be presented that represent a unique and comprehensive examination of generational differences in individual workplace values and interests to test the popular assumption that differences exist between generations. The session will be held Friday, April 27 at the 27thAnnual SIOP Conference in San Diego.  

Don’t Settle for Brewing Coffee

For young adults with long-term career aspirations in a creative industry (i.e. advertising, performing arts, design), getting to their dream job can be a challenge. For one, substantial job opportunities do not present themselves often without having prior experience. Further, securing internships to gain such experience can be equally difficult. Not only is it challenging to showcase one’s imagination and creativity through a standard résumé or online application, but some companies still believe interns are hired only to brew coffee and run errands. Why would you need a bright, imaginative candidate for that? Needless to say, it’s easy to see how talented individuals could be overlooked.

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Meet the Worrier

Meet the worrier. The one with the well-worn policy manual and the absurdly large bottle of hand sanitizer on her desk. She prefers structure, routine, and rules. Taking the road less traveled? Forget about it.

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Q&A with Dr. Hogan: Rules of Engagement

From casual Fridays to corporate retreats, companies spend thousands of hours and millions of dollars to develop passionate, committed employees. Yet, according to a recent Gallup poll, more than 71% of employed adults aren’t engaged at work.

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