The ability to effectively respond to a crisis or to lead change have long been considered leadership imperatives. However, change on the scale that organizations now face, combined with the strains of a continued global crisis, have many reconsidering their leadership needs.
According to a Learning and Development Roundtable study from Gartner, 60% of new managers underperform during their first two years, driving performance gaps and employee turnover across the entire frontline. This is dismal news for organizations. The good news, however, is that when your frontline managers are equipped with the leadership tools, training, and development needed to succeed this risk can be avoided.
Cultivating a diverse workforce is important and this notion is supported by economic trends and research. With many Atlantic Canadian regions experiencing population decline and the impact of the ‘brain drain’, as newly minted graduates head west, the topic of enhancing diversity within our organizations has moved to the forefront of talent management conversations.
There comes a time in every leader's career when they must let an employee go. It could be the result of restructuring or that the individual is no longer the right fit for the business needs. Whatever the reason, planning for a termination meeting can cause anxiety and loss of sleep for even the most experienced leaders. What should you say, or not say? How will the employee receiving the news react? How will you handle the transition of the employee’s responsibilities? What security precautions do you need to take?
While we will all be grateful to have 2020 behind us, as business and community leaders, we have an opportunity early in 2021 to pause, reflect on lessons learned, and think about how we may want to shape the definition and influence of our leadership going forward.
Most leaders have embraced the idea that a diverse workforce will improve their organization’s overall performance. Numerous studies tie diversity and inclusion to innovation, productivity and profitability. Yet the path to creating a diverse workforce is far less obvious. ‘How can we attract more diverse talent?’ is often asked when recruiting new employees. The answer is different for every team but starts by asking five key questions.
What are our organization’s diversity and inclusion goals?
May 28, 2020
Having found ourselves in a world dominated by virtual interaction, we are all navigating new territory in the activities and communications we used to conduct in person. Over the past ten weeks, our Executive Search Partners have participated in more than 200 hours of virtual panel-style interviews – those interviews where a panel of people interview a candidate.
Finally. You have the signed offer from the finalist candidate in hand. It may seem like the hard work is over. In fact, the most important work is just ahead – for both your organization and your new leader.
Effective orientation and onboarding are critical for the short- and long-term success of leaders. Supporting new leaders during their transition can expedite the path to optimal performance. Yet, many organizations struggle to do this well.
We all have biases – consciously or not. It’s a natural part of our human condition. We rely on mental short cuts to make sense of the world and the enormous amount of information we encounter daily. However, biases can have unintended and adverse consequences in the assessment of leadership talent. Left unchecked, bias can derail the best intentions to build strong, diverse and inclusive organizations.
