Profiles Global is conducting our next one and two day DISC Certification program in Vancouver, BC on September 22-23, 2011.  Please call 1-888-568-9120 or email us at [email protected] for more information or to register.

We have a few spots left for our April DISC certification program.  We strongly recommend that you have at least one DISC certified expert in your organization to administer your DISC assessment program and to support your executive and management teams in the use of the Position Analysis and Person Analysis.  Call us at 1-(888) 568-9120 to learn more about this program or to register.

Global Survey of 4,741 Executives in 83 Countries, Conducted by the Boston Consulting Group and the World Federation of Personnel Management Associations, Identifies HR Priorities of Today and the Future

(TORONTO, ON - May 28, 2008) Managing talent is the most critical human resources (HR) challenge worldwide and will remain at or near the top of executive agendas in every region and industry for the foreseeable future, according to a new global study conducted by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and the World Federation of Personnel Management Associations (WFPMA)/Canadian Council of Human Resources Associations (CCHRA). Key findings of the report, Creating People Advantage: How to Address HR Challenges Worldwide Through 2015, are being released in Canada today.

The study, which is based on a global survey of 4,741 executives in 83 countries, found that managers also rated improving leadership development and managing work-life balance as urgent priorities. The report provides rankings and analyses of 17 HR challenges in seven major regions of the world and suggests specific actions to address those issues.

"Our workforce is aging, and demand for talent is increasing. Finding talented, future leaders has become more difficult than raising financing," said Kilian Berz, Canadian Organization Practice Leader and managing director of The Boston Consulting Group (BCG). "Many Canadian companies serve global clients, but their leaders have limited global experience. It is critical to re-evaluate how to recruit." He adds, "This is also a big challenge for our own business." This will place exceptional pressure on the financial services, consumer goods and energy sectors.

http://www.cchra.ca/Canada_experiences_a_global_phenomenon_A_Aging_workforce_creates_talent_gaps_/

Very few of us work alone. At some time or another we are asked to work with others, as part of a cohesive team. And usually these teams are thrown together, with very little thought given to the dynamics of the group.

But putting people to work together on a task, based on no more than “Stephen is the best with clients” and “Tricia is the best speaking in front of a crowd” isn’t going to garner the best results. That’s like tapping all the best Canadian hockey players to represent us in the Olympics. More often than not it just doesn’t work. We end up with too many stars on the ice fighting for the puck and not enough players taking the time to set up the plays.

There needs to be a balance of talents in order for any team to get the job done well. That means a balance between leaders and followers; big picture thinkers and detail oriented workers; people-focused and task-focused team players; and innovators and standard bearers. In other words, we usually need a bit of everything. More importantly, we need to understand and appreciate the varying strengths of our teammates in order for our team to be truly successful.

Of course it’s easier to work with people who share our behavioural preferences. Few things are as frustrating as, say, working with a colleague who likes to ‘bend’ the rules, when we adhere to them like glue. Yet, there are times when rules should be broken, when the old way of doing things is no longer getting the job done. In those instances, we need the rule breakers to open our eyes to new possibilities. Just like we need people to tell us when we’re ‘fixing’ something that isn’t broken.

And that is where a behavioural assessment like DISC could, and maybe even should, come into play. By determining the objective and the behavioural needs of the project first (by completing a behavioural benchmark), and assigning people to the team second (based on the results of their individual behavioural assessments and comparing it to the needs identified through the benchmark), we’re much more likely to reach our goal successfully and with fewer set-backs.

Again, to ensure our team is a success, it is also important that the people chosen to be a part of the project team understand and appreciate the different strengths of the other team members. By sharing the behavioural needs of the project with the team, and explaining where each team member fits into the equation (which behavioural needs each person is fulfilling), we are helping to guarantee the success of the project.

So here is the process for creating a project behavioural benchmark and selecting appropriate members for the project team:

Step 1 –

The project manager completes The Position Analysis form, keeping in mind the purpose of the project, to create a behavioural benchmark. It is important to have at least two other individuals who are cognizant of the project complete the Position Analysis as well. The key consideration to keep in mind when answering each question is: "How critical is this statement in the day-to-day performance of the team who will fill the position?"

Sample questions from the questionnaire:

·  The Ability to Deal with New and Varied People (Influence)

Having the ease to meet and interact confidently with new and often varied people in an outgoing and active manner.  The "stranger's" could be within one's own company e.g. employees from another division and at a different location.

Step 2 –

The individuals who completed the Position Analysis then discuss their results to achieve a consensus. (It is important that each person filling out The Position Analysis does so independently and then gathers for the consensus meeting). As a result of this meeting, a project benchmark is established, which can then be used to determine which workers would be best suited to fulfil the project’s objectives.

Step 3 –

The project manager then compares Graph III from the Person Analyses (How you see yourself) of the potential team members to the established benchmark, determining which workers are best suited to fulfil the project’s objectives.

It is hard to know where to start when determining how Robin Sharma has shaped my thinking on leadership. About ten years ago I was fortunate enough to have been exposed to his book The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari – the bestseller that shot Robin to fame and has sold millions of copies around the world.  Since then I continue to learn from, and be inspired by, Robin through an almost daily diet of his blog, vlogs, podcasts and subsequent books on leadership.

My experience is shared by people across the globe. Robin is ranked in the top 5 (along with Jim Collins, Jack Welch and John Maxwell) of the world's leadership experts by leadershipgurus.net. Pretty impressive reach when you consider he grew up in a small town in Nova Scotia.

If you have heard of Robin Sharma then you’ll be excited to learn that The Saint John Board of Trade is showing great leadership by bringing Robin, a world class speaker, to town tomorrow to share his inspiring vision of ‘leading without title’ with our business community. If you are not familiar with Robin and his message, then I’d highly encourage you to see him live - you will not be disappointed.
 
I recently had the privilege of asking Robin about authoring bestselling books, leaving his career as a lawyer and what he’s learning as he consults and speaks to leaders around the world. Here are his thoughts on “blocking out the noise and crafting an exceptional life . . .”

Dave: I¹ve made a point of re-reading The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari and I¹m struck by how much it still resonates with me after over 10 years. When you were writing this book, did you have any sense of what a classic it would become?

Robin: I really am so humbled by how The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari  has become such an inspirational classic around the world. It started off as a self-published book at a Kinko's copy shop. My mom was my editor and my father helped me sell it at Rotary Clubs. I still remember the boxes of books in my small apartment's kitchen. But people read it - and then told everyone they knew about it. What's best for me is all the people the book has helped to create exceptional business and personal lives.

Dave:  What compelled you to leave your career as a lawyer and to devote your career, and life, to working in the organizational and personal leadership space?

Robin: I've always been very committed to trying to improve myself so I could fully express my best. Over a decade ago I was a successful but unhappy litigation lawyer. So I started working on myself. I learned some very powerful ideas and tactics that really revolutionized my mindset and way of being. I thought that if an ordinary person from a small town in Nova Scotia could make such a transformation in his life, I should write about it and share the tools I learned with other people. So I wrote The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari. With the success of that book, I started writing other books and that led to me forming a leadership consultancy. Now, my entire professional life is devoted to helping people in businesses around the world “Lead Without a Title” and do their best work.

Dave: You are in a unique position to interact frequently with leaders around the world. As you listen to the leadership challenges people are confronting, do you see any patterns emerging? If so, what are the patterns and how are leaders overcoming these challenges?

Robin: Yes, I think many leaders are struggling with the same things. We live in a world where it's really easy to be busy doing nothing. And majoring in minor things. In The Leader Who Had No Title, my new book, I teach people how to block out the noise and focus on doing genius-level work and crafting an exceptional life. Because life's just too short to waste it getting seduced by unimportant things.

Dave:  What is in the message ‘lead without title¹ that seems to strike such a cord with people? What kind of reaction are you getting to this message?

Robin: Globally, the response to The Leader Who Had No Title and the "Lead Without a Title" message I've been sharing with organizations has been overwhelming. What I'm really sharing is "Leadership 2.0". The old model of leadership is broken. Now, for a business or a person to really succeed, we need to show leadership at every level. Whether you are a taxi driver or a CEO, we all need to lead and innovate and work at wow. Gandhi said it well: "Be the change you wish to see in the world."

Dave:  What is your advice on how a leader can help his or her organization embrace the philosophy of ‘leading without title¹?

Robin: Lead By Example, Be inspirational-not just excellent, Focus on deep relationships, Deliver outrageous value, Be ridiculously competent, Leave a trail of leaders behind you.

Dave: As you consider your upcoming trip to Atlantic Canada, what do you see as the opportunities available to the leaders of this region?

Robin: To really develop "Lead Without a Title" cultures.

Dave Veale is a business and leadership coach and founder of Vision Coaching Inc. in Saint John. He can be reached by email at [email protected]. His column appears every other Thursday.