Take Advantage of Executive Coaching
Coaching
Coaching is designed to increase worker effectiveness. This naturally brings up the discussion of how we measure the value and return on investment for coaching. It must be determined how this effectiveness will be measured and how we deal with the corresponding data that is not directly linked to the coaching activities. Increasing workforce engagement and the resulting effectiveness comes from measurable change within those that are being coached.
Human Resource Development Theory
Coaching begins with an understanding of how workers are motivated and influenced to change their behaviors for the better. Coaching is truly the pinnacle of applied adult learning theory. Andragogy provides a basis from which to understand how the adult worker is able to learn and provides the best approaches for this learning (Berg & Karlsen, 2012, p. 179). Experiential learning and transformative learning provide theoretical basis for the coached worker to build upon the coaching experience by using past learning and relating the topics of discussion to events that have already occurred in their adult, working life and accelerate the learning opportunity to apply to new behaviors that will provide new ways of completing their work and interacting with others (Berg & Karlsen, 2012, p. 179). These theoretical framework give coaching a basis from which the character and work approach of the coached worker can change for the better and result in higher productivity.
Expanding coaching to better managing the individual that is begin coached permits opportunities to further develop the underlying character and attitudes that drive the behavior that leads to successful involvement and interaction. Using self-management, self-coaching, and cognitive behavior theory in a manner that increases positive self-talk and recognition of self-improvement opportunities as the coached worker continues through their work is a value of the coach approach that transforms how workers think, their attitudes, their behavior, and their work product (Berg & Karlsen, 2012, p. 189). The use of human resource development and related theories provides a research-based approach for coaching that will deliver certain results as expected from the underlying research.
Workforce Engagement
Workforce engagement is important to organizational productivity. Coaching increases workforce engagement (Weyland, 2011, p. 444). Engagement is a key outcome for measuring coaching effectiveness (Robson, 2011, p. 39). Given that coaching is expected to result in greater worker engagement and that this engagement leads to greater productivity, it seems that the necessity of coaching would be an organizational requirement.
Coaching is a designed strategy for performance improvement as a result of individual change. While change can be perceived by workers as an adverse event that brings uncertainty and stressors; the desire for workplace advancement and professional development overcomes this change aversion for many talented workers (Dearstyne, 2010, p. 36). This change in behavior results in greater workforce engagement as noticed by coworkers and subordinates (Berg & Karlsen, 2012, p. 191). Change, as a result of coaching, is a desirable driver for millennials, who are not as easily coaxed into pay for performance models as derive a great deal of work satisfaction from career advancement and development (Weyland, 2011, p. 444). Measuring the increased productivity and employee engagement prior to coaching and after a predetermined length of effective coaching would provide a valuable organizational metric.
Assessing Value
The value of coaching can be measured through a number of metrics. The overall effectiveness metrics should be determined before entering into an agreement for coaching. Current measurements that have shown positive results are improved working relationships with direct reports, peers, clients, and supervisors; increased teamwork, productivity, job satisfaction, cost reductions, profitability, and retention are also noted improvements from the coaching experience (Horn, Elliott, & Forbringer, 2010, p. 50). Regardless of the chosen metrics, the realistic measurement of results prior to coaching and after coaching should be assessed and given a monetary value to ensure a positive return on investment from the coaching experience.
Conclusion
Organizations exist to provide services and products to customers in a manner that also provides excellent jobs to workers and a favorable return on investment for stockholders (or stakeholders of not-for-profit and government entities). Increasing the utility or return on rare societal resources is a responsible economic model for providing the described benefits of the organization. This includes increasing the value and resource output of workers (labor) of the organization. Coaching is shown to increase the effectiveness of human capital in organizations.
– Eric Roesler
Developing Leadership Talent – Eric D. Roesler
The goal of developing leadership talent is to place the characteristics and skills an organization needs from its leaders into their high potential talent pool. This can be done through leadership training, experiencing leadership opportunities, or a combination of both ideas. There are organizations that are not able to provide the experiences necessary to raise a new generation of leaders. There are also high potential talent individuals who are not able to learn best through training alone.
Leadership Training
Developing leadership talent through training is a rather traditional form of workforce development. Using training courses to develop leaders allows the future leaders to better understand the theories, studies, and background research that has been done on organization leadership. Many courses originated from universities and business schools (Silzer & Dowell, 2010, p. 283). The use of formal development approaches has resulted in heavy reliance on individual skill development (Silzer & Dowell, 2010, p. 286). Using skill development to build leaders should be done after the organization has completed a thorough assessment of the organization’s future skill needs (Stephens, 2010, p. 3). Building new skills is a certain advantage to advancing the organization’s capabilities.
New skills for developing leadership talent require a serious plan for building hard and soft skills into the high potential workers. Hard skills show the competency and ability of the leader to perform the tasks that they will oversee. These hard skills extend from technical ability to the hard skills of leadership that create competence in actually leading people (Church & Rotolo, 2013, p. 201). This skill development creates certain leadership competencies that must be developed in leaders (Silzer & Dowell, 2010, p. 292). Being technically exceptional does not make one a leader.
Experiencing Leadership
The practical side of leadership is that it must be demonstrated in order to ensure that it exists in the high potential talent. Learners can be thrown into leadership opportunities with little preparation in order to see how they react. This form of training is less effective as mistakes can be costly to the organization and harm future relationships and potential (Silzer & Dowell, 2010, p. 324). Leaders can also be matched to the appropriate learning opportunity and given achievable objectives that are likely to be adopted and make a difference for the organization (Silzer & Dowell, 2010, p. 307). Demonstrated outcomes are a very strong indication that the leadership skills are being manifest.
A Mixed Approach
The organization that follows a well-researched and proven leadership development model will have the best results from their training program. Understanding who should be developed is always the first step (Church & Rotolo, 2013, p. 201). It is very important to accept that not every person in the organization will be given the opportunity to be developed into leadership material. Many are excellent technicians and have not given indication that they are prepared for the leadership role.
High potential employees should be the focus of the evaluations for leadership development. After the assessments are completed and leadership potential has been clearly identified, it is important to begin building within the future leadership cohort a culture of leadership (Frerichs & Kuriloff, 2012, p. 205). The building of hard skills and the introduction of soft skills are now instilled in these high potentials using a number of adult learning techniques (Short, 2012, p. 37). This building of technical skills and initial people skills will allow the candidates to realize better return on their learning opportunities.
Introducing experiential leadership opportunities allows for the learners to practice and solidify the soft and hard skills that the organization has been building in the members of the cohort. The experiences should be modeled upon organization needs that are exploratory rather than operational to begin this process. This exploratory model permits the learner to fail without damaging the organization or the reputation of the learner. Finding solutions to organizational problems allow the learners to build key relationships in the organization and solidify their position as a future leader. Maintaining the feedback loop with these learners is extremely important to building trust in the team and its management as well as confidence in the project outcomes.
Experiences can move from exploratory projects into managing an actual production and people after the hard and soft skills have been fully instilled. The production projects will provide the learners with the opportunity to further refine the skills they have learned while also giving the organization leaders an excellent tool to evaluate competency and outcomes (Silzer & Dowell, 2010, p. 324). Supplying ongoing feedback to the learners will further strengthen the learning opportunities and allow the organization to avoid costly mistakes; thus, still giving the futures leaders the ability to develop in their leadership aptitudes (Church & Rotolo, 2013, p. 217). Confidence in the new abilities develops over time and correcting deficiencies must be done in a timely fashion in order to minimize costs and prevent personal failure.
Conclusion
The development of leadership talent is one of the more difficult talent management needs. Most organizations fail to realize desirable results from their leadership development (Ellehuus, 2011, p. 38). The learning potential for leadership development in the workplace should be the principle learning environment to fill future gaps in organization leadership (Silzer & Dowell, 2010, p. 340). The use of a collaborative approach to identification of talent and mixed methods for instilling leadership skills with projects for developing the leadership potential provides the organization the best opportunity to overcome the failures that are realized in most organizations.
References
Church, A. H., & Rotolo, C. T. (2013). How are top companies assessing their high-potentials and senior executives? A talent management benchmark study. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 65(3), 199-223. doi: 10.1037/a0034381
Ellehuus, C. (2011). Improving returns on leadership investment. Strategic HR Review, 10(6), 38-39.
Frerichs, K., & Kuriloff, P. (2012). Reinventing leadership training using a participatory research model. Thymos: Journal of Boyhood Studies, 6(1/2), 203-212.
Short, T. (2012). The importance of balance in leadership development. Human Resource Management International Digest, 20(4), 36-39. doi: 10.1108/09670731211233357
Silzer, R., & Dowell, B. E. (2010). Strategy-driven talent management: A leadership imperative. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Stephens, N. (2010). Talent management: ensuring your people give you the competitive edge. Strategic Direction, 26(7), 3-5. doi: 10.1108/02580541011048948
Adult Learning Practices
Interestingly, this week has seen an increase in the consideration of andragogy in ensuring occupational safety among my safety professional peers. The application of adult learning principles to the actual processes found in organizations is noteworthy. It is the use of andragogy in the workplace that feeds the need for integrated talent management in the most successful organizations. The human resource development function that implements the adult learning practices will be in position to help drive the strategic outlook of the organization.
Andragogy and Human Resource Development
Human resource development drives the organization’s ability to transfer knowledge and create systems of knowledge management that facilitate the creation of new knowledge. The three economic inputs of land, capital, and labor can all be improved in a manner that provides the organization competitive advantage. Upgrading a factory or changing production from land is reasonably seen as influences on the ability of an organization to compete and maximize financial output by better utilizing these two resources. The same is true of the human resources in an organization. The human capital (labor) can be developed in the most efficient and effective manner in order to increase the value of this rare resource for the benefit of the organization (Knowles, Holton, & Swanson, 2012). This upgrading of labor is accomplished through human resource development.
The Future of Andragogy
It certainly can be credited to Knowles and the many other contributors to adult learning theory that organizations are better positioned to enhance their workforce. The theory, itself, is still quite young. The entry of millennials into the workforce is again providing an opportunity to further develop andragogy. Knowles four assumptions of adult learners will take into account the observed need of our younger workers that learning provides social rewards (Schullery, 2013). It is fair to assume that this fifth assumption may have existed all along, but is certainly more visible in our newest workers.
Adult learning theory will continue to develop. The theory is too young to realize the maturity of other theories. We will learn a great deal more on how to position learning to maximize the self-directed nature of adult learners. We will also see assessment use grow and the surrounding theory to substantiate pre-, post-, and continuing-assessment to place a value on the learning that is provided in the workplace.
– Eric Roesler
References
Knowles, M. S., Holton, E. F., & Swanson, R. A. (2012). The adult learner (7th ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.
Schullery, N. M. (2013). Workplace engagement and generational differences in values. Business Communication Quarterly, 76(2), 252-265. doi: 10.1177/1080569913476543
Do our environmental protections work to destroy the environment?
The production of oil is a tricky case study, or series of case studies. After the Deepwater Horizon explosion and spill, our administration froze all permitting and drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. This freeze on U.S. drilling shifted the ownership of rigs to other nations and moved the Gulf production to non-U.S. waters while stunting the production for the U.S. that still affects that industry today (Taylor, 2013). Prior to the spill, the President pledged $2 billion to facilitate offshore drilling in Brazil (Wall Street Journal, 2009). This drilling would occur without the occupational safety and environmental controls afforded U.S. drilling. The President reiterated his support for Brazilian drilling after the Deepwater Horizon spill (Yapp, 2011). Brazil actively stores, and plans to store the new production, their oil offshore in very massive floating platforms that are hopefully designed to survive hurricanes (McCall, 2013). These platforms are not used in the U.S.
The study of economics is a great opportunity to better understand the underlying issues that result in decisions and the manipulation of public opinion. It is decisions, like Brazil and the production of rare earth minerals in China, that leverage an uninformed public in a way that hijacks environmental concerns to shift production to places that do not protect the environment the way we do. Our environmentalists may be being used to destroy the environment.
– Eric Roesler
References
McCaul, J. (2013, April). Orders for floating production systems forecast to grow 40% over the next five years. Retrieved from http://www.imastudies.com/id421.htm
Taylor, P. (2013, March 5). Oil and gas: Production rose on federal land last year, fell in Gulf of Mexico. Retrieved from http://www.eenews.net/stories/1059977311
Wall Street Journal. (2009, August 9). Obama underwrites offshore drilling: Too bad it’s not in u.s. waters. Retrieved from http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052970203863204574346610120524166
Yapp, R. (2011, March 19). Obama says us to be major purchaser of brazilian oil. Retrieved from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/energy/oilandgas/8393292/Obama-says-US-to-be-major-purchaser-of-Brazilian-oil.html
Taxes and Policy Coal Exports to China
China is a quickly emerging market in many ways. China has one of the fastest growing economies and a rapidly emerging middle class with a standard of living that is far better than the previous generation of workers (Cheng, Wong, & Woo, 2013, p. 370). The prolonged and quick economic, industrial expansion in China combines with the demand of a more affluent citizenry to create a growing demand on the electrical generation infrastructure of the country (Liu, 2012, p. 469). It is the access to inexpensive electricity that drives Chinese economic growth (Cheng et al., 2013, p. 371). This electrical demand requires the nationalized systems for delivering this service must ramp up their ability to provide this commodity to further drive the Chinese economic expansion.
Electricity generation growth can be a time consuming proposition. It takes several years to build new power plants and the associated distribution systems that service delivery requires. The demands of an emerging and growing economy must be done in the most economically-feasible manner in order to facilitate the need and to take advantage of the synergy created by their economic opportunity. This advantage is accomplished with the use of the least expensive fuels.
The need for electric expansion that drives the continuing growth of the industrial engine and the service delivery to the Chinese people is required to achieve the desired, higher standard of living that the people seek to attain. The least expensive generation facilities and the least expensive fuel per BTU is coal (Grubert, 2012, p. 174). Chinese coal reserves are not easily accessed. China lacks the infrastructure to ship their mined coal from the reserves in the west to the people and power plants in the east. Chinese coal is also lower in BTU value and more polluting than western coal from the United States.
The coal industry of the United States is able to provide the excess capacity that could replace more polluting fuels in the Chinese power plants. China has sought to ban low-quality coal imports from Indonesia in order to better comply with environmental quality standards (Hook, 2013). American coal is more easily produced in the west, with lower production costs, minimal environmental impact, and a source of low sulfur fuel (Grubert, 2012, p. 183). North America is in direct line of the prevailing trade winds that bring a great deal of Chinese pollution and would benefit, greatly, from reducing polluting emissions in the Chinese power plants.
The use of strategic trade policies that would ensure that China has access to lower polluting fuel that creates a valuable trade opportunity for a high value resource that is produced economically with little environmental impact would benefit both the United States and China. This additional export market would lower fuel costs (for low-polluting coal) for China and increase domestic profits for United States producers while providing employment for American workers (CapellaUniversity, 2011, p. 107). The strategic trade policies that lower the hurdles to shipping and exporting coal while negotiating out any tariffs that could impede the importing of American coal into China would raise barriers to other coal exporting countries that are not able to meet the import standards (CapellaUniversity, 2011, p. 107). The mutually beneficial relationship would create a more environmentally-friendly production of Chinese power to drive the expansion of the Chinese and American economies.
– Eric Roesler
References
CapellaUniversity (Ed.). (2011). Economics in global environments [custom textbook}. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Cheng, Y. S., Wong, W. K., & Woo, C. K. (2013). How much have electricity shortages hampered China’s GDP growth? Energy Policy, 55(0), 369-373. doi: 10.1016/j.enpol.2012.12.015
Grubert, E. (2012). Reserve reporting in the United States coal industry. Energy Policy, 44(0), 174-184. doi: 10.1016/j.enpol.2012.01.035
Hook, L. (2013). China coal import ban sparks industry battle. FT.com.
Liu, G. (2012). Electricity pricing in China and the role of the State. Economics Bulletin, 32(1).
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