Despite rising unemployment recruiters of senior managers are claiming it is still far from easy to attract talent.  People in secure employment are far less willing to switch jobs than they were two years ago.

It's imperative to develop the talent within our organisations. This young man obviously has high aspirations but may be too young for the managment development training.

It is therefore imperative to develop the talent within our organisations, a fact supported by a Deloitte survey that found 60% of business leaders intend to increase investment in management development in the months ahead.  Another survey carried out by PwC reports that 85% of CEOs expect to overhaul the way their organisations manage people during change. Read the rest of this entry »

What separates the greatest teams from the rest is their mix of talents and, crucially their understanding of one anothers’ strengths.

Fortunately Brains knew that flying wasn't his greatest strength

When team building there are a number of questionnaires (or psychometrics) that can be used to help teams identify their strengths and preferences.  When this information is used to assign roles and tasks true teams are formed.

All teams need a blend of the following: Read the rest of this entry »

Wouldn’t it be good to know that every decision you take over the next 12 months will be the right one. This may sound impossible but there is a way to significantly increase the likelihood of your decisions being correct.

Trust, decisive leadership and openness will all significantly save time. Which one of these two asks the best questions?

The secret is understanding. Without understanding we are very likely to make bad or the wrong decisions, with greater understanding we should have, not just the facts but also the instinct to make the right choices.

The key to gaining understanding is to ask the right people the right questions, whether they be staff, colleagues, customers or even our bosses. Here are some pointers towards asking the right questions: Read the rest of this entry »