Managers who coach their people become known as good managers to work for, developers of talent, and achievers of business results. They also become better leaders in the process. Jack Welch, Former CEO GE. The key to employee coaching is giving effective feedback. Feedback is information about performance that leads to the person changing poor …

Social media has changed how we do crisis management When I say as I have repeatedly in presentations recently, that the role of the JIC (ed. note: Journalist in Charge) has shifted to being the first and best source of information about the event to one of rumor management, this is what I mean. The …

Ultimately, success in business depends on finding your competitive advantage, which is to say that which makes you superior to your competitors and is perceived as valuable by your customers. One approach for figuring that out is through value chain analysis, as developed by Michael Porter. The value chain is a sequence of activities that …

I read. I read a lot. I read a lot of books, blogs, magazines, whitepapers, and articles on a variety of topics related to HR, talent management, training and development, metrics, leadership, and management (I am sure there a few more I missed). I have read a million buzz words in the past several years and hundreds of works that discuss why HR will never have a seat at the table. In fact, I have written a few of these works myself. Recently, I keep reading and hearing a phase (you know all those free webinars which are really just audio white papers that allow for a few minutes of questions at the end) over and over.

There are many reasons why good employees quit and go to another company, perhaps even your competitor. Good people don’t leave good companies, they leave poor managers. Here are seven managerial practices that drive good people away. Are they prevalent in your organization? Managers demand that one person do the jobs of two or more …

It’s easy to think of the trainer as the leader–at least in the moment, but he or she is a leader in other ways, too–keyed to the human factor that makes the company work and its people resource rewarded and fulfilled. The trainer/leader listens to his audience and works with them. He or she teaches …

What was I doing trolling the Recruit Military Opportunity Expo? It never hurts to see what is out there and to network. For me, I had a different plan, but the networking is always a good idea. I’m always open to new opportunities. You never know when a gem of an opportunity comes your way. …

You know when you are in a job you like. You also know when the tasks you’re doing just aren’t right for you. What lies behind our feelings of job satisfaction or job dis-satisfaction are our fundamental work interests: Those are the things we enjoy doing, whatever the industry or the job title. One of …

Delegation is often very difficult for new supervisors and managers. Many managers want to remain comfortable making the same decisions they have always made. They believe they can do a better job themselves. They don’t want to risk losing control of the situation or outcome. Often, they don’t want to risk giving authority to subordinates …

It’s that time again! Perhaps the most dreaded management practice is the annual employee performance appraisal. Whenever the subject comes up, out comes the groans from both managers and staff no matter what industry or type of company. Many say employee performance appraisals are like having a root canal — only more painful. It shouldn’t …