We have an active group text at HPC. It is rare for a day to go by that I’m not receiving (or sending) a text from (or to) our team. The content varies – a funny meme, a word of encouragement, a link to an innovative podcast or book, or a picture of a new pet. The subject of the messages change daily, but the intent does not. The constant stream of communication conveys how we encourage one another, share ideas and help us become a stronger team. As with most success stories, our team dynamic starts from the top.
The President of ATD Birmingham (and my friend) recently shared insights on The Leadership Pipeline with a room full of talent development professionals. I’m sure he said many, many great things, but the one thing I remember (and have talked about nonstop since then) was the idea that the first rung on the ladder of leadership is the hardest to climb. The first time you shift from being an individual contributor to being a manager is like putting on a pair of glasses that no longer work. We know an upward move in our careers means upgraded responsibilities, but we
It is 5:34 in the morning, and I am opening my front door to welcome a 17-year-old from Costa Rica. She’s seen her parents and brother off at the airport to return home, but she is staying. She will be living with us for almost three months. We first met her when she was a sweet seven-year-old who spoke better English than I will ever speak Spanish. Over the course of ten years, we’ve grown to love her family and the prison ministry work they do in Costa Rica. On our trip to Costa Rica last summer to visit, she
As we begin our series on the theme for the year, “Open the Door”, we realized it was important to also consider that in order to open doors, you also need to know how to close them. The first step in effective delegation is to identify where closing a door for one person or organization is opening one for another. As we sat around a table brainstorming our 2024 theme at our annual company retreat, we realized we were all in somewhat of a state of transition and so were many of our clients. We often work with people, organizations,
Remember Mary Ila’s take on “How to Be Authentic with Your Appreciation at Work”? We reference Chapman & White all the time in training and coaching with our clients. To celebrate Valentine’s Day with full hearts in the workplace, we’re bringing you an early look at the new updated version of The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace. We subscribe to the newsletter from Appreciation at WorkTM and got one of the first announcements of the new, post-COVID research on professional appreciation. Right away, I asked the team if we could do a blog about it. New research!? Yes!