Tag Archives: Europe

Why you need to pay attention to Gen X leaders

Posted on

By Gwen Moran

Members of Generation X (typically defined as born between 1965 and 1981) are used to being in the shadow of the massive generations that came before and after them. Baby boomers and millennials tend to get the lion’s share of attention as far as demographic groups go. And, of course, the novelty of emerging generation Z is capturing a few headlines as well.

“It’s kind of been the neglected or overlooked generation in a lot of ways,” says Stephanie Neal, a research scientist in Development Directions International’s (DDI’s) Center for Analytics and Behavioral Research (CABER). But their growing influence and unique attributes are worthy of more attention, she says.

Neal says that gen X leaders now hold more than half (51%) of leadership roles globally. And new DDI research shows a wealth of attributes—including tech-adept, loyal, and committed to development—make them especially valuable to the companies that employ them. Continue reading →

WHAT IS TOP TALENT AND HOW IS THAT IDENTIFIED?

Posted on

As a part of our talent acquisition engagements, we ask our clients how they define “top talent” and how they would assess those traits in the interview process.  Reflecting on the insightful comments we hear every day, we thought there would be great value in a new blog in which senior executives/thought leaders share their “Take on Talent.”

This is the fifteenth in a series of blogs/interviews with senior executives who are thought leaders in the areas of Talent Acquisition, Career Development and Leadership who will share their perspectives on this ever present question.

 

Jacqui Canney is executive vice president of the Global People Division for Walmart Inc. She is responsible for attracting, retaining and developing talent within the nation’s largest private workforce.Jacqui joined Walmart in 2015 after more than 25 years of experience in global human resources. She has the unique role of engaging more than 2 million associates globally.

She’s focused on making Walmart the best place to work and shop through delivering an experience that gives associates access to the best technology, training and education opportunities. She’s modernizing the company’s total rewards and performance programs, and is also driving Walmart’s inclusive culture through the work done by Walmart’s Global Culture, Diversity and Inclusion Office.

Prior to joining Walmart, Jacqui led the strategy and implementation of programs at Accenture to attract talent, and transformed its workforce to strengthen business capabilities and industry focus. Continue reading →

Leadership: What not to do

Posted on

by Susanne Biro

In my career, I have learned more about exceptional leadership by being on the receiving end of its opposite. Here are three fundamental things I have learned never do to others, simply because I know first-hand how damaging they can be.

1. Don’t lie. This includes blatant lies, half-truths and errors of omission. If you make a mistake, own it, clean it up, and apologize to all impacted. If you don’t know the answer, say so. Be transparent, sharing your thinking and your decision making process. Share what you can, as soon as you can, so people don’t need to make up a story. Be brave, pick up the phone and have the real (and often hard) conversation with the person you need to have it with. Live your values, as everyone is always watching. Call yourself on your own bull. This is perhaps the most important one, as few human beings handle power well. Keep your ego in check. When you need help, ask for it. Be human alongside the rest of us mortals. Remember whom you serve. Keep your promises. Be your word. Address reality. Discuss the undiscussables. Do the right thing. I repeat: do the right thing. You will not be trusted otherwise. And trust is the only thing you have. Continue reading →

Should I stay or should I go?

Posted on

The topic of counter offers is an interesting one. I am sure you have seen articles and thoughts about the subject and they are usually one person’s perspective on the topic. For a somewhat different approach, we’ve reached out to people in our network to gain their thoughts and perspective on the topic.

 

 

We asked:

You have just received an offer to join a new firm. You are giving notice to leave your current position and your employer makes a “counter offer” to keep you from leaving. You start to think about whether or not to take that “counter offer.”

Why would taking a counter offer can cost you more in the long run?

Read their responses below:

“My experience in being on the other side of the counter is that they only delay the inevitable.  Whatever, led that individual to go as far down the path as getting an offer at another firm (in most cases) will not have fundamentally changed. They will just be paid more to tolerate whatever it is that they didn’t like before. So now if they turn down the other offer they’ll be back in the market again in 6-12 months or less and most likely unable to go back to that original firm that recruited them.”

                                                                      Monty Hamilton, CEO, Rural Sourcing

” I think the reason few people accept counter-offers is simple, you have exhausted all avenues of resolution with no resolve.   If you are underpaid given the market, then either your employer isn’t in tune with the market or does not feel you are of value.  You shouldn’t have to threaten to leave before someone is willing to do something.  If you accept the counter, what is going to change, all of the same conditions still exist and it could be to your detriment as you could get pegged as a problem person.  Further I think the same thing could be said for any reason you would want to leave, career progression, problem co-worker, etc.  If you have a good people manager and a good HR department then your issues would have been addressed and you wouldn’t be looking for a new job.  And if your HR department and people manager can’t work together (or around each other if one of them is the problem) to remove appropriate obstacles then you don’t want to work there anyway.”

Peter Magladry ,Client Relationship Director at Willis Towers Watson

“Don’t take the “counter” of equal pay unless it comes with a fast-track commitment to greater responsibility.”

Reed Keller, Former PWC Consulting/Vice Chair.

“It has always been my perspective that if the person you are trying to keep is absolutely critical to your operation, and he or she comes to you to say they are taking a competitive offer then shame on you for not recognizing their value up to that point. You may be able to keep them  for some period of time but you have lost a piece of their heart and passion to work for you. 

From the employee perspective, unless the employer makes the counter offer so good and you were not sure about the other company, then by all means consider the new offer from your current employer.

But prepare yourself to be able to walk out that door in the future because your current employer obviously doesn’t really value you on a day to day basis. If they really valued your contribution to the team, they never would have put you in the position of looking to the outside. I have only left an employer when the passion I needed to succeed at my job has been lost. Rarely has a counter offer ever brought the passion back to keep me for the long term.”

Tom Mezera, Mezera Consulting LLC

This is the first installment of this series. We hope you find these perspectives interesting. If you would like to share your thoughts on this for future blogs, please let me know.

Larry Janis, Managing Partner, ISSG, janis@issg.net

Cultivating the essential ingredient in leadership: Energy

Posted on

By Brett Steenbarger

There is a very simple measure of the health and culture of any team or organization: its energy level. Among high-energy groups, we witness motivation by inspiration. There is a buzz in the air. Individuals and teams are innovating, displaying enthusiasm and optimism about their work. In lower-energy organizations, we see motivation by tasks and timelines. There is a sense of busy-ness, but little excitement about the business of the group.

In this article, we will examine the role of energy in leadership, including the novel perspectives of a military Special Operations leader who has lived leadership on the battlefield and in the boardroom.

Leadership As Focused, Directed Energy

When we examine the writings of those who have worked extensively with leaders and organizations, the energy factor pops up repeatedly. Tom Peters, in his book The Little Big Things, explains that “the ‘business’ of leaders at all levels is to help those in their charge develop beyond their dreams” (emphasis mine). Consider what this means: the effective leader perceives strengths and potentials that may be invisible to team members. Such leadership is more than instrumental; it is grounded in a vision. It transforms.

Continue reading →