Horizon Point Consulting

Category: Talent Management and Development

We provide full service talent management and talent development consulting services. Read our blogs in this category for stories and best practices from real clients and real research.

  • Leaders are Noticers

    Leaders are Noticers

    “The real heroes anyway aren’t the people doing things; the real heroes are the people NOTICING things, paying attention.”  John Green, The Fault in Our Stars

    According to my editorial calendar, I’m supposed to be writing about job shadowing today, but I’ve noticed something. In the past week I’ve had conversations with three people about their work.  One just quit. One is DONE with her work and is planning her quit, and one just realized she wants to quit, but hasn’t started the plotting of her exodus yet. (By the time I see her again next week though, I imagine she will have it all mapped out.)

    Why are these three DONE with they’ve been doing? Through these conversations, I’ve decided that the two reasons people quit a job (they are actually quitting a boss, not a job) is because:

    They don’t feel like they have the opportunity to make a contribution and/or

    They don’t feel like the contribution they are making is valued.

    Long and short, what they are doing isn’t being noticed. And the one who needs to be noticing, their boss, just isn’t. More often than not, the boss is too busy “doing things” instead of noticing people and the contribution they are making or have the potential to make. 

    As the boss, don’t let it take cancer (read the book) or a resignation letter to make you wake up and notice.  Want to be a leader or a “hero” as the quote states, then start noticing people- who they are, what they value, how they want to contribute- and give them the avenue to make a contribution that is valued. If you do, you become a hero in their eyes and you get to keep them as valuable talent. If you don’t, they will demand to be noticed with a resignation letter.  And if it takes the resignation to get you to stand up and take notice, as the guy who just quit boss did by offering him at $15,000 raise, stock options and a VP title to stay, you’re already too late. Your employee is already done, mentally moved on to a place where they think someone may stand up and take notice of their talents without having to demand it.  

    But I must end here; my three month old is demanding to be noticed by her cries. No one said the noticing was easy, as I delay picking her up to write these last few sentences, continuing to pretend to unnotice. No one said leadership (or parenting) was easy either. There is so much to be noticed. But if you can be half a percent better at noticing than the rest of the population half a percent more of the time, you’ll be able to do what everyone is trying to do but hasn’t quite figured out yet how to do it- retain the best talent.

  • The What and Why of Competencies as Seen through CDF Training and SHRM’s new move

    The What and Why of Competencies as Seen through CDF Training and SHRM’s new move

    The HR world has been all a buzz with SHRM’s announcement of a switch to a competency-based certification.

    In an email to members, the SHRM CEO stated,  “We believe a competency-based certification is the new standard for HR professionals around the globe. Our members have told us this; and we have listened.”

    Regardless of whether or not you agree or disagree with SHRM’s move, competency models are prevalent.  The career development world has been competency-based through its Career Development Facilitator Training for quite some time.

    What is a competency?

    Good ole Wikipedia provides us with this definition: “A competency is a set of defined behaviors that provide a structured guide enabling the identification, evaluation and development of the behaviors in individual employees.” 

    Why I like competencies

    Competencies are behavioral-based.  Whereas an assessment of knowledge is just that, knowledge that may or may not be acted upon or put in to practice, a competency begets action through behaviors.

    If you have knowledge of something, you can tell me about it, but if you are competent in something, you can show me how to do it by demonstrating it.  You apply your knowledge and demonstrate it through your behaviors.  This aids others in learning through your behaviors.

    What are the CDF Competencies?

    CDF competencies emphasize the broad scope in which career development professionals practice.   They are:

    1. Helping Skills
    2. Labor Market Information and Resources
    3. Assessment
    4. Diverse Populations
    5. Ethical and Legal Issues
    6. Career Development Models
    7. Employability Skills
    8. Training Clients and Peers
    9. Program Management/Implementation
    10. Promotion and Public Relations
    11. Technology
    12. Consultation

    To read more about the competencies click here.

    If you are tied to the career development world in any way, are these things that you think you need to be able to DO not just know as they relate to delivering services to whoever your “client” may be?  If so, CDF training may be an option for you, as it provides a path that can lead to your Global Career Development Facilitator (GCDF) certification.

    Among other reasons, the emphasis on GLOBAL may be why SHRM is driving towards a competency-based model.  The National Career Development Association (NCDA) already sees competency-based training, education and certification as the best method for preparing practitioners to operate in a global environment. It also emphasizes the need for the same standards of practice for a profession around the world.

    More to come in our next post about the CDF competencies as we sample what a couple of them look through the doing of them, not just the knowing of them.

    What do you think?  Is knowing something the same thing as being competent in it?   Is it all really just six of one and half a dozen of the other?

  • 2 Reasons You Should Consider Dual Career Ladders

    2 Reasons You Should Consider Dual Career Ladders

    Being in a leadership role seems to be the ideal in most companies. Leading is what people strive for, and in most cases I think this is the norm because it is the only path by which advancement can take place. Want to move up and get paid more? Well then you have to lead and manage others.

    Another way to help people grow

    A client we’re working with is considering dual career ladders for the organization. With this organizational structure, there are advancement opportunities into the traditional route of leadership, but there is also a path by which people can grow by demonstrating technical expertise in their field.

    Why you should consider dual career ladders

    Dual career ladders may be a good route for your company because:

    1. Not Everyone is suited for or has the desire to get work done through others. Quite frankly, some people would rather do the work themselves and may be best suited to do so. Getting work done through others can be extremely challenging, and for some, can be draining instead of stimulation. If people are in roles that are constantly proving to be draining instead of energizing, productivity will suffer. Which leads to the 2nd reason to consider dual career paths…

    2.  Dual Paths can help your company be more successful. By placing people in the roles where they contribute the most, the company gains success through talent.

    Dual career paths may not be feasible for all companies due to size of the organization or the nature of the work, but the structure begs the question for any organization about how to provide opportunities for people to advance and grow in their careers.

    The best place to start if you are considering how to determine who is best suited for an expert role or a leadership role is to assess your talent. There are a variety of instruments that are effective for this purpose (email us if you want some recommendations), but the most important way to assess people for advancement opportunities is to ask the hard but simple question, do you want to lead? It’s much easier for people to honestly answer “no” if there is an option to grow in their career through another path. I think we hear the answer “yes” to the question do you want to lead more than we should because it’s the only option.

  • 4 Steps for Handling and Diffusing Conflict

    4 Steps for Handling and Diffusing Conflict

    Last week, I had to share some information with someone that was unpleasant. I was nervous about how to deliver the message, but I went back to the steps I recommend to leadership coaching clients when they have to deliver and discuss issues that involve conflict. This is a very common issue that leaders have to navigate, and the best method to handle or diffuse conflict is to address it. The worst thing that can be done is to ignore.

    If you’re struggling with how to handle a situation head on, use these steps to make it easier:

    1.  Get your facts before proceeding. There are two sides to every story and a he said/she said issue is not ready to approach until you’ve gathered your facts. Make sure you know the ins and outs of the issue before discussing and address it.

    2.  Seek counsel of the wise. Before I went into my “unpleasant” discussion last week, I sought the counsel of three people that I trust. There was consensus on how to handle the issue from the three individuals (who had no idea what the other people recommended), so I felt confident that the approach was the best method. Make sure you have 2-3 trusted advisors as a leader. This is why hiring a coach may beneficial.

    3.  Plan and practice your approach. Write it out if you need to. This will help you feel confident in your delivery and anticipate questions or concerns that may arise from the party(ies) you are addressing.

    4.  Address it. Like I said, the worst thing you can do when conflict arises is to ignore it. To address the situation effectively:

    • Frame the issue with the facts
    • State your concern as well as why you are concerned making sure that potential effects on company and individual performance are addressed
    • Ask open-ended questions of the parties
    • Provide time for comment from all involved
    • Develop an approach or plan of action to resolve the issue. Ensure that everyone involved is clear on his or her responsibilities.

    How do you address difficult issues and/or resolve conflict in the workplace?

    Want more? You may like this post:

    2 Tips for Resolving Conflict Wisely

  • Drop Lots of FYIs to Communicate Effectively

    Drop Lots of FYIs to Communicate Effectively

    I was mad. Really mad. I had an appointment with a client. He asked to reschedule because he said he would be out of the office all day the day we had scheduled to meet. I showed up at the company the day we were scheduled to meet in order to meet with one of his colleagues and out he walks. He’s there. I felt lied to and intentionally blown off.

    He said nothing. I said nothing. I expected an apology or at least an explanation e-mail or phone call to come from him. I got nothing.

    In inquiring about his presence at the office when he said he was going to be gone, I found out he was waiting on another person to leave for the day. He hadn’t lied, but he hadn’t clarified anything with me. I’m glad I did some inquiring before I blew off the handle at him, and I was embarrassed that I got so worked up about the situation. But it all could have been diffused if he had just informed me about what was going on, instead of leaving me assuming.

    I often find that with business communication, we assume a lot. We assume people know certain things are happening, or we assume they have the information they need to complete a task, or we assume people think the best of us. More often than not, our withholding information by assuming leaves people, well mad. Like I was.

    Taking on the mindset of informing others helps to steer communication in a way that does not leave unanswered questions.

    Are you informing people enough? Consider this list from the coaching tool, For Your Improvement(maybe it’s not a coincidence that the book is referred to as FYI). If you find yourself thinking one or more of these statements describe you, then you’d be well served dropping a few more FYIs every now and then.

     

    Unskilled Informer:

    -Not a consistent communicator

    -Tells too little or too much

    -Tells too late; timing is off

    -May be unclear; may inform some better than others

    -May not think through who needs to know by when

    -Doesn’t seek or listen to the data needs of others

    -May inform but lack follow-through

    -May either hoard information or not see informing as important

    -May only have one mode- written or oral or e-mail

     

    For more on improving communication:

    Saying too much is like saying nothing at all

    How to combine communication with teamwork

    Team communication: It’s not what you say but how you say it