Recent Articles From EvanCarmichael.com http://www.evancarmichael.com/ http://www.evancarmichael.com/Human-Resources/3485/10-Commandments-of-LeadershipCoaching-and-Providing-Feedback.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Human-Resources/3485/10-Commandments-of-LeadershipCoaching-and-Providing-Feedback.html Coaching is defined in many ways, terms and contexts. For our purpose, coaching is a stream of communication from the leader to team members for the purpose of maintaining and improving performance. Often times, coaching is viewed as an athletic function and visions of Bobby Knight, Dean Smith, Tom Osborne or Lou Holtz are summoned. The model provided by the athletic version of coaching is not far off from the business model but there are some distinct differences. One of the comments that has often been expressed about coaching is the lack of time to devote to this activity. This is a classic symptom of a leader being too involved in doing and not involved in leading. When debunked this comment is really more about a lack of comfort in coaching skills than it is about available time. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Human-Resources/3485/Ten-Commandments-of-LeadershipNot-Being-a-Wimp.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Human-Resources/3485/Ten-Commandments-of-LeadershipNot-Being-a-Wimp.html Wimp. Wiener. Coward. Spineless. Jellyfish. And more not fit to print. All are words used to describe someone who lacks courage. The courage to do the right thing. The courage to confront. The courage to object. The courage to take risks. The courage to take a different path. All of these are needed characteristics of effective and winning leadership. In all types of settings and in all organizational structures, leaders need courage and, more importantly, the good judgment when to utilize courage and when to stand down. As important as courage is, the ability to not fight a battle is equally important. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Human-Resources/3485/10-Commandments-of-LeadershipNot-Breeding-Sheep.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Human-Resources/3485/10-Commandments-of-LeadershipNot-Breeding-Sheep.html Sheep. Need constant attention. Need to be told and shown every step along the way. Not thinking. Not deciding. Not innovating. Just following and doing what they are told. Nothing more and nothing less. Bah. Sheep in the Workplace Even if you have never left the comfortable confines of the big city, you have been exposed to sheep at work. They are the people that require constant direction, sometimes the same direction, over and over again. They cannot solve problems, cannot think creatively, cannot deal with change and cannot make decisions. There will never be independent risk taking. They develop a co-dependence on leaders to guide them on a constant and continuous basis. They require a great deal of time to get even simple things accomplished. There is no correlation betwe http://www.evancarmichael.com/Human-Resources/3485/The-Case-for-Training-and-Development-NOW.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Human-Resources/3485/The-Case-for-Training-and-Development-NOW.html It is sure easy to delay, defer and cancel training programs in this economy. As a lot of training professionals will tell you, it is one of the first line items to be axed from any budget. Unfortunately, reductions in training also carry a significant penalty. It will prolong the length of time needed to recover from a downturn. It will limit the ability to capitalize on the faltering of competitors (in fact, they may prey on you). It will reduce your ability your ability to perform at the high levels required when staffing is cut. It will harm your ability to attract and retain good talent when the economy recovers. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Human-Resources/3485/Talent-Management-in-Difficult-Times.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Human-Resources/3485/Talent-Management-in-Difficult-Times.html Talent management is always an important functionality but it difficult or lean times it becomes even more critical. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Human-Resources/3485/Leadership-SuccessCoach-Constantly-and-Provide-Feedback.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Human-Resources/3485/Leadership-SuccessCoach-Constantly-and-Provide-Feedback.html Coaching is defined in many ways, terms and contexts. For our purpose, coaching is a stream of communication from the leader to team members for the purpose of maintaining and improving performance. Often times, coaching is viewed as an athletic function and visions of Bobby Knight, Dean Smith, Tom Osborne or Lou Holtz are summoned. The model provided by the athletic version of coaching is not far off from the business model but there are some distinct differences. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Human-Resources/3485/10-Commandments-of-LeadershipEthics-and-Integrity-in-Leadership.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Human-Resources/3485/10-Commandments-of-LeadershipEthics-and-Integrity-in-Leadership.html The high road in this commandment describes a commitment to and consistency with ethical behavior in the working environment. Even beyond the workplace, it is the application of value sets to daily decision making and interactions with the team being lead. It is also a core competency related to protecting the credibility of the leader. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Human-Resources/3485/10-Commandments-of-LeadershipTone-Setting.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Human-Resources/3485/10-Commandments-of-LeadershipTone-Setting.html One of the lead questions that we routinely ask in leadership training programs is “who do your people work for?” Routinely the common response is the company name or a division within that company or even the parent organization. Occasionally we will hear a response about working for themselves painting a picture of self-motivated team members. Rarely we will hear the correct answer that they work for you. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Human-Resources/3485/10-Commandments-of-LeadershipCommunication.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Human-Resources/3485/10-Commandments-of-LeadershipCommunication.html Communication is a tricky combination of art and science. In it’s basic form, communication is the flow of information between humans. The last part about being a human phenomenon is important to remember. Communication is a human connectivity that is critical to the leadership role because it enjoins people in a unique and personal way to the tasks and mission of an organization. It also relates directly to the personal nature of leadership and the connection point of why people will follow a leader. To have people to want to follow, the leader must communicate with them. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Human-Resources/3485/GAPS-SWOT-and-Segments-Oh-My.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Human-Resources/3485/GAPS-SWOT-and-Segments-Oh-My.html SWOT is an acronym for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. When performed normally, this type of analysis yields almost cursory and useless results. Typical responses when looking at an organization as a whole include comments about having good people (a strength), lacking suitable space (a weakness), growth of a business in a strong economic market (an opportunity) or the presence of a competitor (a threat). This provides a brief snapshot of where an organization is and what might be on the horizon in very high overview. This approach contains only the singular dimension of flat area.