Driven Forward / Blog  / Human Resources
April 3, 2019
In Human Resources, Leadership
2 Comments

Executive Coaching – Caring Criticism

Executive coaching is all about asking questions. Executive coaching is about being critical without criticizing. Judging without being judgemental.  Good executive coaches don't tell clients what to do, they get clients to figure out what to do. People have a higher probability of succeeding on plans they've developed themselves than on plans developed for them. When a client asks me, "What would you do?" My answer is, "I could tell you what I'd do and it would work...

November 30, 2018
In DCTech, Human Resources
2 Comments

Former Trustify Employees Available For Hire

Hello, DCTech here's an opportunity to help some needy fellow DC Techsters during this holiday season. According to multiple, recently-ex Trustify Employees. Monday, November 26, 20018, in a loud and aggressive screaming match, Danny Boice fired 8, Trustify Employees. These Trustify Employees were guilty of going to the Labor Relations Board seeking back pay. Danny was so aggressive that the Trustify Employees called the police. (UPDATE 9/03/2019 - the eight fired employees won a court judgment for back pay of $32 thousand). Trustify Employees that I've talked to have not seen Jen Mellon in the office for months, with one exception. Two weeks ago, she breezed into the office and printed a few things out. According to multiple witnesses, she and Danny had a loud argument and she left. This is a terrible time to be out of work and looking for a job. These are employees who were originally inspired by the stated mission of the company and while, I am not able to render an opinion on their competence or work ethic, I was impressed with them in the short time we spoke. Danny Boice's company appears to be crumbling and I'm told that the few employees who remain are also competent and only stayed because...

June 20, 2018
In Culture, Human Resources
0 Comments

Hiring Right

The point of hiring is not to get people on board the bus. Hiring right is getting the right people on board the bus. In fact, it's to get the right people in the right seats on the bus.  That's the key. Running a business is like chess and not checkers. In business, you don't need people who all walk alike, talk alike and share the exact same strengths and weaknesses. In business, different roles require different types of people. Some roles require the ability to move diagonally, other roles require you move like a knight. What's the key to hiring right? Four factors in hiring right are: Cognitive Ability - Does the candidate have the mental capacity to think, learn, solve problems and perform the mental tasks required to fulfill their duties? Personality Traits - Are the candidate's hard-wired personality traits compatible with the tasks they will be required to perform? Knowlege - Do they have the training and experience to perform the task? Cultural Fit - Do they fit in with the company's belief system? Which of these factors is most important? It depends on your situation. Hiring Right For Cognitive Ability - Smart people figure stuff out! I figured that out myself which is...

May 1, 2018
In Human Resources
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Foundational Strengths Creating Happy Employees

Foundational Strengths That Create a Consistent and Happy Employees By Michael Matalone The 3 Foundational Strengths Knowledge: Specific to the jobs requirements Skills: Application of the above specific knowledge that creates consistent results Traits: An alignment of the individual’s hardwired personality traits and the required behaviors of the role Knowledge: While these three strengths may appear to be simplistic, many people misunderstand them when hiring and/or making promotions. For example, with regards to the first strength Knowledge. Many people assume that if a person has a college degree or especially an advanced degree, this sets them apart from those that do not and therefore they have a greater ability to succeed in the role. This is simply not true. We have all read about or even have known or worked with people who defy this belief. Maybe your one of them. For example, let’s say you graduated from a top university with a degree in Finance, then you get your MBA and CPA. Based on their educational accomplishments, you hire them to be the Director of Operations for your company. Did their education prepare them with the required knowledge to be a successful Director of Operations? Well, it may have provided “some” of the required knowledge, but not a majority...

February 25, 2018
In Human Resources, Leadership
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Emotional Intelligence and Leadership

According to Harvard Business Review, Emotional Intelligence or EQ is an essential ingredient for success as a leader. In a study of one company, leaders with high Emotional Intelligence outperformed the average manager by 20% while low EQ leaders performed nearly 20% lower than average. What are the elements of Emotional Intelligence? There are five major factors: Self-awareness - defined as an awareness of who you are and your effect on others. People who believe they have no room for improvement are not self-aware. People who recognize, admit and work to overcome their shortcomings make better leaders. Self-aware people are: Realistic about their self-assessment Display a self-deprecating sense of humor Are confident Self-regulation - defined as controlling one's impulses and thinking before acting. Leaders with strong self-regulation tendencies create an atmosphere of trust resulting in higher productivity. They display: Thoughtfulness Comfort with ambiguity Integrity Motivation - motivated people are driven to perform beyond expectations. Their drive to exceed goals is contagious. They are motivated by greater things than just money. Motivation is displayed by: Passion for the work Desire to continuously improve - Daniel Pink Calls this Mastery Optimistism - everything is an opportunity Empathy - is essential to coaching, motivating individuals and creating cohesive...

Skills Versus Traits - Clint Burt
February 15, 2017
In Culture, Human Resources, Leadership
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Skills Versus Traits: You Can’t Teach Tall

What do I mean by Skills versus Traits? Nineteen Seventies Matinee Stars Clint Eastwood and Burt Reynolds (for you kids out there they were the George Cloney (too old?), Brand Pitt (still too old?), Ryan Gosling (Still too old?), Sunny Pawar (what? 8 years old too young?)) early in their careers were sitting in a Hollywood Studio waiting room to find out if they got the part. In walks the casting director and he says to Burt Reynolds, "You didn't get the part because you can't act. " He then turned to Clint and said, "You didn't get the part either because your Adam's Apple is too big." As the casting director left the room, Reynolds laughed hysterically to which Eastwood said, "What's so funny?" Burt Reynolds replied, "I can learn to act!" Acting is a Skill. Adam's apples are a Trait. Skills Versus Traits. You can learn a skill. You can't learn or unlearn a trait. You can teach someone to make a free throw in basketball. You can't teach a 5'1" basketball player to be 6 feet tall. Those are physical traits. Very visible and easily identified. Personality traits are just as difficult to change and yet not quite as visible. All of us...

February 3, 2012
In Human Resources
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The Talent Gap

  A client and friend of mine who has been in business almost 20 years has been enthusiastically telling me about his 3 year strategy to grow his...