Leadership Development and Succession Planning: They’re Not Just HR’s Responsibility

Jul 24, 2012 | Leadership Development

We're making headway, but many executive managers in the public and private sectors still believe the human resources department is primarily responsible for leadership development and succession planning. It's a shame to say it, but those organizations are going to face a long, hard road ahead. The longer executive management continues this limited mindset, the further behind their organizations will be in developing their future leaders and their organizations' succession plans. You see,...

Good Managers Are Not Necessarily Good Leaders

Jul 17, 2012 | Leadership Development, WBS

I was speaking with a client recently about his company's heir-apparent: his son. He wants his son to take over as the company "leader" in a few years. His son is very organized. He runs a solid department, manages his staff well, satisfies customers 90+% of the time, and manages his project and department budgets well. However, he's lost when it comes to thinking long-term, studying the industry and competition, identifying new opportunities to pursue or ponder, or in developing the company -...

If You Want Change, You Need to…Change

Jun 19, 2012 | Leadership Development

Change is hard. Changing the way we think, behave, work, and lead others is really hard. It takes dedicated, intentional focus. It takes dedicated, intentional restraint. It takes dedicated, intentional action. It takes dedication to change. I've circled back and had interactions with two client groups recently who are experiencing the frustrations of change. Their organizations have been working to enhance their leadership teams, implement focused strategic plans, and implement a number of...

Succession Planning – Your Next Big Project

Jun 5, 2012 | Succession Planning

Every day, there are stories in the media discussing the importance of succession planning, yet many of us business owners aren't paying heed. According to a global study released by Korn Ferry International, "40% or less of organizations today have a capable CEO-in-waiting." Also, according to a report released by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), four out of ten small to medium-sized business owners intend to retire and exit their businesses within five years....

Love to Hate Meetings

May 16, 2012 | Leadership Development

If you ever want an easy topic to generate debate among a management team, try: Meetings - A waste of time or an effective use of time? I've had several conversations with clients lately concerning meetings. Invariably, the newer or less effective managers have the position that meetings are a waste of time. However, my clients who are successful as managers find tremendous value in meetings. But let me be perfectly clear: They find tremendous value in meetings that are necessary, focused, and...