4 Reasons Why Bad Experiences are the Best Lessons in Leadership

David Letterman most likely had it right when he said, “Life experience is the best teacher.”  But I’d add a word and say that BAD life experiences are probably the best teacher, at least when you’re trying to grow in leadership and you’re willing to learn from them.  Our Horizon Point team had a discussion about something related to this concept in a meeting based on some client experience that I can’t even recall now. This led to the idea of using this theme for a blog post.   My team encouraged me to write about the lessons learned from difficult

Unlimited Paid Time Off- The What, How, and Most Importantly, the Why

  If you believe employees need strict rules and enforcement to be productive, hiring and retaining high-performance people will be a challenge for you. You hired these people for their tenacity and talents. Get out of the way and let them be great. Deal with any people who choose not to meet expectations on a case-by-case basis.”  Sue Bingham, HBR article   My husband came home one day and told me about a conversation he had with a friend about her company’s recent switch to unlimited paid time off (PTO). “Is that really a thing?” he asked me. “Yep,” I

Benefits Benchmarks: North Central Alabama

A few weeks ago, I asked the question “Are Employees Utilizing Those New Perks?” and highlighted benchmarking as a critical activity for evaluating workplace benefits. Now, we have the published results from the 2022 North Central Alabama Wage & Benefit Survey! First up, Average Benefit-Cost Per Employee (Annual) increased 25% over 2021. Employers reported an average of $16,608 spent annually per employee in benefits, compared to $12,459 one year ago. Some hot categories for increased benefits spending are Child Care Support, Adoption Support, Pet Insurance, and Elder Care Support. These types of benefits are increasingly attractive, and the Huntsville/Madison County

3 Leadership Lessons from Garth Brooks

We call them strong Those who can face this world alone Who seem to get by on their own Those who will never take the fall We call them weak Who are unable to resist The slightest chance love might exist And for that forsake it all They’re so hell-bent on giving, walking a wire Convinced it’s not living if you stand outside the fire Standing outside the fire Standing outside the fire Life is not tried it is merely survived If you’re standing outside the fire Garth Brooks- Standing Outside the Fire   My husband and I attended a

Repost! Career Development as Performance Management

Career Development is becoming even more relevant in the workforce arena these days. Career Development as Performance Management is a great tool to attract and retain employees.  Revisit this blog post from 2021 for ideas on how to use Career Development as a Performance Management (& retention!) tool.   I will be presenting at BSHRM on May 11 on this topic. We would love to see you there! Check out where else we will be in the coming weeks here.