Leadership matters: A general manager problem
The general manager of our organisation seems to have completely changed her personality. Judith Germain advises on how to cope with this strange situation. The dilemma The General Manager of our organisation has five senior managers and over the last year this general manager seems to have completely changed her personality to the point where […]
Companies continue with ex-pat execs despite downsides
The number of executives posted to emerging markets such as China and India will continue to rise over the next five years despite the difficulties in finding suitable candidates. A survey undertaken among 418 senior executives by the Economist Intelligence Unit on behalf of HR software supplier Regus revealed that just under two in five […]
Unleash your strengths with Marcus Buckingham
Help yourself and your employees think about your strengths rather than focus on your weaknesses with these mind-opening tests from Marcus Buckingham. These exercises are simple ones which you can do yourself and send to others as the first steps in understanding and developing your strengths. Who’s on your board? Draw an oval on a […]
Over 2/3 of organisations fail to evaluate training
In order to boost the performance of their coaching initiatives, organisations need to introduce well-thought through programmes and evaluation processes that are aligned with business strategy. According to the ‘2010 Learning and Development’ survey undertaken by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), however, more than two thirds of organisations currently fail to evaluate […]
Undercover Boss: Will new Crown Relocations FD Narin Ganesh pack it up – or in?
Undercover Boss is coming to an end tonight but it’s going out with a bang – or hopefully not actually, as we go undercover with Narin Ganesh, the FD charged with the financial workings of international relocations company, Crown Worldwide Group. The company literally packs up the belongings of people and moves them anywhere – […]
Undercover Boss – Narin Ganesh’s filming diary
Narin Ganesh is the FD of Crown Relocations, a company which offers packing and moving services worldwide. The new FD took his chance to go undercover in the organisation with Channel 4’s Undercover Boss in this week’s episode on Thursday at 9pm. In a preview to the episode, we get to see his filming diary […]
From the top to the tip – Undercover Boss with Colin Drummond, CEO of Viridor
Colin Drummond, CEO of Viridor, the recycling, renewable energy and waste management company went undercover to discover more about his business. Before the programme aired, we got a sneak peek at Colin’s Undercover Boss experience. Undercover Boss is one of those rare programmes which highlights relationships between bosses, employees and organisational culture to a mass […]
20% claim they are bullied by boss
In somewhat of an indictment of UK business leadership, just over one in five UK workers claim to be bullied by their boss, while almost a third believe their manager is incompetent. A study among 1,298 staff commissioned by HR consultancy Reabur.com also revealed that a further 22% of respondents felt their manager was ‘under-qualified’ […]
Leadership matters: Disruptive team member
This column answers your questions on leadership, talent management, performance improvement and the employee behavioural issues that can cause even the best leadership techniques to go awry. This time a disruptive team member is causing a management headache for a team leader. The dilemma A team leader in a government organisation has inherited a new […]
UK workers have lower ROI
Despite being subject to some of the least strict labour laws in Europe, UK workers generate a lower return on investment for their employers than those in either Western European or the US. These are the findings of a study undertaken among 10,000 companies in 40 countries by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). The report indicated that so-called […]
Business leaders offer advice to England football team
The most important learning from Fabio Capello’s failure to bring the England football team to victory during the World Cup was the value to be gained from creating strategies and tactics that played to the strengths of both individuals and the team. According to a survey of business managers, coaches, HR and learning and development […]
Book review: ‘The Why of Work’ by Dave and Wendy Ulrich
Following our interview last week with Dave and Wendy Ulrich, management consultant John Pope gives his review of ‘The Why of Work’. Title: The Why of Work Authors: Dave Ulrich and Wendy Ulrich Published by: McGraw-Hill ISBN 978-0-07-173935-1 281 Pages USD $27.95 This is an important book – organisations and senior managers who take up […]
Blame the Jabulani football, not the leader
At the time of writing, I’m not alone in reflecting on England’s exit from the football World Cup – the papers, the internet, the broadcast media seem to be talking about nothing else. But if you cast your mind back just a few days, one of the biggest talking points in South Africa was […]
Leadership Matters: Affair between director and her direct report
This column answers your questions on leadership, talent management, performance improvement and the employee behavioural issues that can cause even the best leadership techniques to go awry. This time an affair between a director and a person reporting to them is making life awkward. The dilemma My manager (a director) has been having an affair […]
Metrics are the key to effective business strategy
How are the best HR functions using metrics to inform and execute business strategy? Will HR ever add value to the business strategy through its development and execution of people strategy? If so, how will it prove it, and what are the benefits of being able to provide such proof? We at Orion Partners decided […]
Leadership training should be a ‘national priority’
A professional management body has called on employers to commit to investing in leadership training as a national priority in order to spearhead a return to sustained economic growth. The plea from the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) followed the launch of a public consultation on Northern Ireland’s skills strategy by Minister for Employment and Learning, […]
SMEs could add £15bn by applying HR planning
SMEs could add £15bn to the economy by using HR planning to become more effective and profitable, according to a recent survey. A recent study has concluded HR planning is one of six key principles SMEs should adopt to tap into their competitiveness. A six-month study commissioned by Royal Mail compared growth rates among 500 […]
Understanding leadership styles to navigate the leader maze
It hardly needs saying that effective teamwork and motivated team members increase the likelihood of optimising business outcomes. If good business results aren't achieved the buck stops with the team leader for it is the team leader who is responsible for ensuring that the team is motivated to achieve results and effectively deployed to do […]
Take the Alan Sugar leadership test
Alan Sugar has returned to our screens in the Junior Apprentice (Wednesdays, 9pm, BBC1), we present the Alan Sugar test – have you got what it takes to lead in your organisation? The thirst to find the next crop of leaders and entrepreneurs seems to show no signs of abating judging by […]
The leadership required to forge a coalition government
While political power talks continue and we wait to see if we will be offered a coalition, multi-party deal or minority government, Austin Swain considers the leadership skills needed to forge a strong, workable, multi-party parliament. The political landscape has shifted beyond recognition in the last 10 days. Clegg, Brown and Cameron have moved […]