Category: Creating a Culture

Those corporate games, Part II

On to Part II, highlighting some of the games at work most of us have experienced, or participated in.. [framed_box] Selective editing Ubiquitous at the office,but some take it to heights that are pernicious or worse. Example: a report or presentation is due, and the only information presented is to support a certain point of…
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Those corporate games, Part I

I thought it would be good to highlight some of the more consistent corporate political posturing that I see and hear. The point is NOT to say, “Ain’t it a shame that people behave so poorly,” but to make you cognizant of what may well be going on at work that you may either ignore…
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Seeing, but not believing

When it comes to senior level hires, there is often talk of chemistry’, how pleasant or well liked the company and/or candidate was, the overall bonhomie and friendliness of the interview and conversation. Without question it’s an important component, but insufficient to make a decision, based on some talks and gut feel. Whether you’re hiring…
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Ain’t what you do but the way you do it

The people I work with in my coaching practice average 20 years work experience, some more, some less. Most know their business reasonably well and are proficiently good or excellent in their jobs (let’s skip over those that hate what they do; that’s another blog..). What these people have in common is their functional, industry-specific…
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My rules of how not to drown at the outset

Onboarding? More like waterboarding… …So said a friend to me the other day when I asked him if his new company was on-boarding him at all. And recently met up with someone else who said the new company’s on-boarding was to go around the office and meet the COO, CMO, CIO (who said, “Don’t bother…
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8 steps to (interviewing) heaven

When I receive mandates for a search, clients often remind me of urgency and completion by a certain time. All well understood and expected. The fast time frame, however, is often not adhered to, sliding into a “hurry up and wait” cadence. Why is that, given such urgency and need? I have observed that many…
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The good coach

The actor David Duchovny wrote a widely read op-ed in the Wall St Journal the other week. Titled, “What A Good Coach Does”, he recalls his high school basketball days in New York. Long hair, cursing on the court, jumping up and down every time he scored. “I was concerned with how many points I…
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Stop, listen, and wise up

There are those who revel in being contrarians, doing the opposite of what others expect. On occasion it can be advantageous, catching an opponent off-guard and using it to bolster ones position, and knowing when to do so is a strength. But usually it is the domain of those who think they know more than…
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HR: value-add or vapour

[framed_box]A man in a hot air balloon realised he was lost. He reduced his altitude and spotted a woman below. He descended a bit more and shouted: “Excuse me, can you help? I promised a friend I’d meet him an hour ago, but I have no idea where I am.” The woman below yelled back…
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