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by Dan Oswald On November 7, 1967, 1st Lieutenant Lee Ellis was shot down over North Vietnam. He would spend the next five-plus years as a POW. Not only did he survive the North Vietnamese prison camps, but he also remained in the military after his release, finally retiring as a colonel. And his combat […]
by Dan Oswald We live in a world where everything moves fast and is interconnected. There was a time when 20 miles may have represented an entire day’s journey. Now we can travel that distance in less than 20 minutes. And information moves even faster. We learn about things that are occurring halfway around the […]
When using contingent workers, defined as non-traditional and non-employee workers (often either independent contractors or workers leased from temp agencies or professional employer organizations), employers remove a lot of the hassles associated with managing a workforce internally. However, they also introduce some risks, especially since the decisions are often out of their hands.
by Dan Oswald Last night, my wife encouraged me to watch the movie Saving Mr. Banks, and I’m glad she did. The movie, which stars Emma Thompson and Tom Hanks, tells the story of Walt Disney’s quest to obtain the rights to make a movie based on P.L. Travers’ Mary Poppins and her role in […]
Succession planning is vital to ensuring that key roles stay filled with qualified, talented individuals. This is especially of importance for roles deemed critical to the success of the organization. If a key role becomes vacant without a plan to fill it, this gap can negatively impact an organization’s bottom line. If this happens too […]
Bosses come in various forms. Some rule with an iron hand, others take instructions from on high and then make sure the orders are carried out by underlings, and others truly inspire everyone on their team. It’s not surprising that an inspiring manager is likely the most effective, but it’s up to the HR department […]
Now that you’ve convinced top management that leadership training is worthwhile for your managers, supervisors, and high performers, you need the right content for training. The first skill great leaders learn, for example, is how to manage all the resources at their disposal, including personal, human, technical, informational, and perhaps most important, time. In this […]
Managers who wonder why employee morale is low, why turnover is high, and why employees aren’t performing at their peak may be overlooking the real problem–how managers in the company lead–says Scott Love, a nationally syndicated leadership columnist and a speaker on leadership issues. “They refuse to change, to learn, to grow, and to develop […]
by Dan Oswald I’m sitting in the airport in Austin, Texas, and the faint and rare sound of a bagpipe can be heard in the background. It seems, at the very least, out of place in a major-city airport. As the sound grows louder, it’s clear that whoever is playing the instrument is drawing closer. […]
In a recent conversation with an organizational psychologist, I was asked, “What are the top three things you look for in the members of your management team?” That’s a big and important question. Yet I was able to answer it quickly and easily: “Trustworthiness, compatibility, and talent.” The next sentence I uttered might surprise […]