Leadership & values in social media: Should your CEO be on Twitter?
I blogged recently about an exchange on twitter with the CEO of an e-learning company who, in a tweetchat, referred to his staff as his "subordinates" – a description which I challenged. I won't rehash the discussion that followed here because I want to talk about something else; something related, but different. I want to […]
Motivation is the ‘root cause’ of culture and performance
Until now, companies have never been able to define what really makes their employees tick, or to measure how motivated they or their teams are. But what actually is motivation and how can it really drive us as people? Combining the results of research in 2015 from Gallup, Blessing White and Towers Watson, an average […]
Leading development
If I asked you to name the top reasons why organisational development (OD) fails in many companies what would your answer be? Setting aside the obvious answer, that for some leaders the day-to-day is so all-consuming they never get around to looking towards the future, it’s a fair bet that lack of resources, resistance to […]
Soft skills secrets: let’s look at President John F Kennedy
Born on this day, 29th May 1917, John Fitzgerald Kennedy was president for 1036 days, has had over 40,000 books written about him and is the president that most Americans would like to see immortalised on Mount Rushmore. Famously charming, we look at JFK’s soft skills style secrets. JFK’s childhood shows little sign of the […]
OD through innovation
How do you approach organisational development? Is it imposed as a top-down highly defined structure or is it delivered as an intrinsic part of a culture which seeks to deliver solutions through innovation? I admit that these are two polar ends of a sliding scale but your answer could indicate your organisation’s current level of […]
A culture of development
Why do so many OD efforts fall by the wayside? It’s hard to understand isn’t it? After all the effort that the leadership team have gone to in order to define the strategy and with the OD team tasked with identifying and delivering the change required in order to deliver the strategy, what can go […]
Organisation Structure – Case Studies
Hi I am developing an exercise for 3 groups of five people each. In exercies, I need them to prepare vision, mission and revise organisational structure. I am looking for 15 different case studies to keep it unique to everyone. I have already developed 5 but was wondering if there are any sources available to reuse case […]
Directing organisational development
In my last article (investing in good governance) I concluded by highlighting the importance of good governance, of having a boardroom team which fully understands the potential which can be gained from making decisions which will have a lasting impact on the organisation. That article was looking at return on investment but my concluding comments […]
It’s one thing to create a culture of innovation, but how do you sustain it?
And they all lived happily ever after. The trouble is, successfully building a culture of innovation isn’t like a fairy story. Sure there have been triumphs and disasters along the way; moments when the plot seemed to be leading you inexorably towards failure, or twists of fate which led you along unexpected pathways, but innovation […]
Engaging your people in the innovation journey
There are many roads to building a culture of innovation within an organisation and one of the key tasks for the leadership team is to identify and scope the transition matrix which optimises results for their own business. Some may opt for a business wide transition, whilst others may prefer to smooth the way via […]
Bring on the intrapreneurs
The performance is about to start. It’s taken about 40 minutes to attract and engage a crowd that is willing to pay a couple of dollars each. Various members of the troupe have sung, danced, and performed acrobatics, teasing passers-by, gently cajoling young couples, and creating balloon animals for fascinated children. It’s hard work, but […]
Shaping the Company Culture After a Significant Business Change
Every business has culture, regardless its size, industry, or age. What separates successful companies from their competitors is the ability to leverage culture to bolster their business goal. It calls for engaging hearts and mind of employees and creating an environment where employees are inspired to achieve extraordinary results. Today, organization culture has received tremendous […]
Leadership training falls short of managers’ needs
Corporations always want to do more with less, but this is not cutting it when it comes to leadership training. High-performance companies do not scrimp on their training budget to get the results they want. They spend four times more than their rivals, placing great value on innovative training for their leaders. As a result, […]
Why You Need To Invest In Leadership Training
Organizations that invest in leadership training can retain employees and reduce costly recruitment expenses. Quality leadership is a combination of the right qualities and the right training. Why Leadership Training Is Worth Investing In It is said that effective management has the biggest impact on business success. Managers set the tone for behavioral standards and […]
Learning Lessons from Leicester City
The underdogs did it. Despite starting the season at 5,000:1 outsiders, Leicester City secured the Premiership title last night amongst much merriment in the Midlands and a sense of benign disbelief in the football world. From Brazil to Bahrain, from Birmingham to Bangkok, everybody’s second favourite team has triumphed against the odds. It’s an old […]
Five minutes with Mike Leavy, Learning Technology Lead, Virgin Media
Mike Leavy is the Learning Technology Lead for Virgin Media. In this brief interview he talks about what type of employee he wants in the L&D function and how his team help the business identify capability gaps. Mike will be speaking at the CIPD L&D Show in London on May 11th and 12th. Jamie Lawrence, […]
How to get the most out of your leadership training
Attending training courses is an essential part of most leadership development plans, but without adequate support, you won’t get the most out of your training. A workplace culture that values learning and development is not only essential for achieving business objectives, but also for retaining motivated and talented staff. Think of it as investing in […]
How to see the other side of an employer ‘betrayal’
Ugly word isn’t it? Betrayal. So much venom, poison and dark intentions yet it exists. I am sure that in our good human hearts we would like to believe that no one would set out to betray another intentionally. After all the feelings it leaves those reeling with are in no way positive and can […]
Coffee Briefing: Open plan learning, webcams and the truth behind gamification
Another week has flown by, and we've been devouring as many blogs, articles, newsletters and assorted tidbits to make sure we can bring you some of the more interesting and useful posts out there. Here is this week's pick of L&D news, opinion and research – let us know what you think in the comments […]
Investing in good governance
If I mentioned return on investment, it’s a fair bet that your thoughts would initially turn to plant and machinery, developing back-office IT systems or expansion through acquisition. You may even think about the costs associated with training, helping your people to develop skills in order that they can better serve the needs of the […]
