Relevant Musings

Yep, it's Wednesday, but I came Nine Minutes to Monday chart today by James Robbins.  I tend to like visuals like this. As leaders, we have to keep the environment, the employees and the job in mind. If we do so, this allows for you and your employees to produce results, to excel and develop personally and professionally. 

Be honest.  What's missing in this chart for you?  More importantly, are you going to ignore it, or are you going to change what you are doing from today until next Monday? 

What's wrong with this picture?

I thought I would share this BLR article with you.  What are you doing to ensure effective communication is taking place at your organization?

Communication tops the list of skills training provided to individual contributors, according to a survey of executives and managers from more than 700 organizations by AMA Enterprise, a division of American Management Association. AMA Enterprise provides organizations with assessment, measurement and tailored training solutions.

The survey probed development programs for individual contributors, workers who may have no direct reports, or formal leadership position. Those whose expertise is important for an enterprise’s success.

Among organizations that offer development to individual contributors, two-thirds provide communication training, more than any other content type. Next are skills or competencies specific to an individual’s role, such as information technology.

One question asked was, “If your organization makes an effort to develop individual contributors, which of the following kinds of content are included in such programs? The results below show that communication development tops the list.

“Being able to write and speak, as well as, understand others is so central to the functioning of the organization that it can’t be taken for granted, even for individual contributors who don’t operate as part of a team,” said Sam Davis, vice president of AMA Enterprise.

Developing interpersonal and communication skills ensures mutual clarity and understanding when dealing with others, advised Davis. “Such training and development will help to maximize all business interactions and aid the achievement of critical goals.”

For more information on this survey, view the AMA Enterprise press release.

Relevant Movement is a division of www.assethr.com.

Listen to your employees. Be open to their ideas. It can take so little of your time to do so, but can make a big impact on them.  

According to the APQC, there are some alarming deficits in leadership skills in many companies.  This may not surprise some, but it should be alarming to all. About 80% of those surveyed feel their organization’s leadership practices are ineffective and almost half of employers place little or no priority on leadership development and learning initiatives.

Yes, leadership development programs take time and money.  However, what it’s costing your organization to NOT provide leadership development?   Leadership development offers you to chance to improve your succession planning strategies. If an employee understands that you are grooming them for a particular position, they will be more engaged and committed to the company, and will feel a greater sense of belonging and accountability. Not only is this a benefit to the employee, but it is a helpful retention tool and can result in significant turnover/hiring cost savings to the organization.

 So where do you start? Check out www.relevantmovement.com for your customized leadership options. Or, you can contact Chris Kelly at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it