Click here to learn more about Interpersonal Influence – a collection of articles about how our behavior effects others, and how we can use that knowledge to improve our relationships.

Available at the HRDQ Store, the Interpersonal Influence Inventory is a learning tool that will show individuals their Influence Style, and provide guidance on how to increase their assertiveness to produce successful interactions in and out of the workplace.

The Interpersonal Influence Inventory can be used as a standalone training instrument, or it can be incorporated into a more comprehensive program on communication or leadership.  It also makes an effective component in training programs for a variety of topics, including coaching, management, and supervisory skills.

With the Interpersonal Influence Inventory, you’ll be well on your way to improved communication and better results throughout your organization.  Get your team started today!

Our training solutions don’t just tell how something should be done. They show you. With HRDQ’s materials, your audience is asked to reflect, experience, practice, modify, and integrate. Learners are given the opportunity to engage in exercises that enable them to discover the value of a skill—and then practice doing it. Once they’ve done it, they know they can do it even better the next time. And that’s what leads to improved performance and results for your organization.

We also believe that learning is never complete.  In order to remain a healthy (employee, leader, teammate) person, we must always be learning – about ourselves and others, about what we do and how we do it.

While Experiential Learning lends itself very well to in-depth training sessions with ample time for discussion and reflection, it is also a fantastically appropriate vehicle for refreshing your team with interim support.

With HRDQ’s range of training activity collections, you can make sure your team is always learning, always engaged, and always working toward common goals.

Pump them Up is a collection of 35 two-hour workshops on various aspects of teambuilding.  The collection includes a team assessment to determine needs and areas for improvement, and activities for enhancing your team’s goals and procedures, leadership, communication, trust and conflict resolution, problem solving and decision making, group dynamics, and growth and development.

The Exploring Personal Styles Activity Collection, the perfect follow-up to any personality-style training, helps participants learn to accept and appreciate their differences. With over 30 activities ranging from light and easy-going to more in-depth, this Jungian-inspired collection generates compelling group discussions and insight into the unique qualities of each personality dimension.

Pen and Paper Games for Training, a collection of 40 activities that exercise both the logical left and creative right sides of the brain, is appropriate for both group learning and one-to-one coaching. The collection has many different applications including communication, presentation, listening, and problem-solving skill development. The exercises range from quick, adrenaline-raising energizers to complex activities.

25 Problem-Solving and Decision-Making Activities takes your team through the process of solving problems – from recognizing the issue at hand to developing a plan to acting on that plan to reviewing the results.  This collection provides activities that strengthen and reinforce the skills needed at each step of problem solving – ensuring preparedness no matter where you are in the process.

Keep your training active and memorable with Experiential Learning from HRDQ!

You’ve probably seen and heard it all – employees who point fingers, tell half truths, or refuse to take responsibility for their actions in an effort to avoid confronting a performance issue. Well, it’s time to end the blame game once and for all. When it comes to effective coaching, the key is to disarm employees and redirect their attention to productive problem-solving meetings. And this webinar tells you exactly how to do it.

The third in a series of popular coaching performance webinars, Excuses, Excuses: How to Overcome the Employee Blame Game is an hour-long session dedicated to the topic of recognizing and overcoming employee excuses. Subject matter expert and author Ken Phillips explores four different types of excuses and offers strategies for handling them effectively and with skill.

Ken Phillips is the author of the Coaching Skills Inventory – an assessment that measures the effectiveness of manager’s performance meetings, and offers a formula for holding a successful coaching session.

What You Will Learn:

• How to begin a performance coaching discussion and keep it on track
• Techniques that prevent employees from becoming defensive or withdrawn
• The difference between debating with employees and responding empathetically
• Four common types of excuses that surface during coaching conversations
• How to approach and overcome each type of excuse
• Next steps and action plans that encourage improvement

Who Should Attend:

• Supervisors
• Managers
• Front-line leaders
• Human resources professionals
• Organizational coaches

About the Presenter:

With more than 30 years of experience in the field of workplace learning and performance, Ken Phillips is an expert in the performance management, learning evaluation, and sales performance arenas. He is a frequent university presenter and speaker at ASTD and SHRM conferences. He has authored many learning instruments, including the bestselling Coaching Skills Inventory.

Click here to register!

Can’t make it?  Don’t worry – all HRDQ webinars are available for free download after they’ve been presented live.  Click here to view past webinars.

In The 85% Solution, Linda Galindo writes,

“Be responsible for the success or failure of the endeavor, for your choices, behaviors, and actions –before you know how it all turns out. Own all of it, even if you’re working for or with somebody else.”

She’s talking about accountability – accepting, through action and reaction, one’s part in the success or failure of one’s team.  Not compartmentalizing a task or project and assigning “property” (positive or negative) to individuals, but engaging as part of the team – expecting each member to be accountable and responsible, equally, for any measure they can take to achieve a team goal.

A special difficulty comes with avoiding blaming behaviors in performance evaluations.  When discussing team and individual performance, it’s important to keep the conversation on a productive track.  Focusing on problem solving and how to achieve better results will help not just you and the individual you are reviewing – but the whole team – move forward together as a strong set of accountable individuals with a real interest in the future of your organization and their contribution to it.

Learn how you can help eliminate blame from the culture of your organization – register for our free webinar, Excuses, Excuses:  How to Overcome the Employee Blame Game, presented by Ken Phillips, on Wednesday, May 16^th from 2:00 to 3:00 pm (Eastern Time).  Click here for more information, and sign up today!

What does your team need to keep on track?

Somewhere to Go.

Consistent, periodic training sessions are essential to the maintenance and growth of teams – not only for the information and skill-building they provide, but as a forum for gathering experience in functioning and learning as a team.  As each individual in the team is offered a path for growth, the team as a whole will grow better results and stronger cohesion.

The Right Amount of Leadership.

Teams need leadership to rally and move forward.  They need leaders to empower them, guide them, and keep them working towards common goals.  But, at a point, every leader needs to remember that they, too, are members of the team, and step back to allow the strengths of each member to benefit the whole.

A Stake in the Game.

Members of a team must understand that individual results and compensation are not necessarily measures of team success.  It is not just an individual member’s performance that will impact the overall dynamic of the team, but how their performance relates and contributes to team goals.  An individual win never trumps a loss for the team, but a loss for the team definitely calls for reflection by every individual member.

Beyond leadership, accountability, and a path for growth, teams also benefit greatly from open communication.  Each member of a team will have his or her own way of relating to other individuals and to the group at large.  This is an effect of Personality Style.  By clearly understanding our own style, we can be more aware, and more selective of the behaviors we exhibit as a team member.

The What’s My Team Member Style? assessment measures a preference for one or more four basic behavioral styles: Direct, Spirited, Considerate and Systematic. The 18-item assessment also evaluates how individuals typically behave on a team. With increased awareness, they are better equipped to appreciate team member contributions, learn how to become more flexible, and build relationships.

Team success can be among the most rewarding accomplishments of your organization.  Let HRDQ help you develop your team – we’ll continue to develop ours!

Meet HRDQ at the ASTD 2012 International Conference and Exposition!

HRDQ will be showcasing our Reproducible Training Library (RTL) – the best customizable, reproducible and affordable training programs on the planet. Covering a comprehensive range of topics, and growing all the time, the RTL provides solutions for all areas of professional and personal development.

Be sure to stop by Booth 124 for a free customizable training program!

One of over 70 training programs in the RTL, you’ll be receiving both the classroom and e-learning formats of one of our best-selling titles – a $599 value!

With the RTL, it’s easy to build your own unique and robust training system, fully tailored to your company’s brand and needs. And you’ll already have your first piece!

The RTL is your training, your way. See it in action May 6th through May 9th at ASTD 2012 in Denver, CO. We can’t wait to see you there! Look for the booth with the giant robot!

Expo passes are free!  Click here and enter code 2560.

ASTD 2012 International Conference and Exposition
May 6 – 9, 2012
Colorado Convention Center
Denver, Colorado
Halls A, B, E, and F
Booth #124

For more information visit www.ReproducibleTrainingLibrary.com or call 800.633.4533

The path of least resistance in a high demand work environment is to lean hard on high performers and expect more from them without regard for the likelihood of burnout. Too often, the candle that burns the brightest burns for the shortest amount of time. Don’t let that happen to your best managers and leaders.

Can your peak performers see their future in the organization? Do they see how their own leadership is influencing others? Helping them refine awareness of their own role may give you just as much benefit as sending them to a training program. Knowing about Leadership Style – their own and those of others – can improve a leader’s positive influence, effectiveness, and team-building abilities.  With the What’s My Leadership Style? assessment, they will learn about their own tendencies in a leadership role, how they compare to other types of leaders, and how their leadership style affects each member of their teams.

Research shows that providing a road to career growth and development results in increased engagement rates and, in turn, higher productivity. Engage your high performers in the difficult conversations that will show your belief in them while encouraging them to stretch themselves as leaders. Here are some conversation starters:

1. How do you think your team measures up to other teams? Is it more or less cohesive, more or less productive?
2. What opportunities do you think this organization has passed up or
   ignored?
3. How can I help you take greater ownership of this team?

“The wealth of the nation is its air, water, soil, forests, minerals, rivers, lakes, oceans, scenic beauty, wildlife habitats and biodiversity… that’s all there is. That’s the whole economy. That’s where all the economic activity and jobs come from. These biological systems are the sustaining wealth of the world.”

- Gaylord Nelson

What do you know about Earth Day?

The first Earth Day was April 22, 1970.  It was organized as a demonstration by Senator Gaylord Nelson in response to a massive oil spill in Santa Barbara, California.  It was a time when individuals were becoming more aware, and more critical, of the systems in which they lived – seeking not perfection, but plasticity and growth. Protest and demonstration were becoming a more commonplace and more necessary medium for large scale reform and change.  The spirit of Earth Day was – and continues to be – one of a great individual responsibility; reaching out to likeminded others in the hope that organizing a large enough discreet mass can effect change on a global scale.

How is HRDQ taking responsibility?

Our commitment to life-long learning works hand-in-hand with a commitment to sustainable practices and to being active, critical citizens. Our strategic initiative to maintain an environmentally friendly business includes a partnership with CarbonFund (a non-profit organization that provides certified carbon offsets and greenhouse gas reductions to individuals, businesses, and organizations) as well as internal measures to increase efficiency and reduce waste.

We are making electronic solutions a priority and choosing the most environmentally responsible materials for our products. We are:

• Working towards the creation of e-learning alternatives and digital formatting for training materials.  Our Reproducible Training Library offers a full range of training solutions in digital format – cutting down on the need for printed materials while still delivering quality experiential content that is ready-to-train.
• Getting rid of CDs, plastic cases, and other petroleum-based materials and delivering a digital solution where possible.  With HRDQ’s Online Assessment Center, you can have participants take a digital version of the assessments we offer, and get instant, accurate results with automated scoring.
• Moving away from direct mail in favor of email and web promotions and interactive digital catalogs (sign up for email here, and view our digital catalog here).

How can you reduce waste in your training?

Even the smallest measures are a great help to the environment.  Something as simple as switching to online assessments to cut down on the use of paper and inks, or even choosing to purchase materials that you receive electronically (to reduce the fuel and packaging impact of shipping), makes a difference.  And, extending those gestures to those you train may inspire them to start making changes of their own.

We are proud to partner with CarbonFund.org to offset our carbon imprint, transition to an energy-clean future, and minimize our impact on the Earth.

HRDQ’s Carbon Fund partner page

HRDQ on carbonfund.org blog

Presented by Bill Treasurer

Wednesday, April 18, 2012 from 2pm-3pm EST

Space is limited.

Special offer for attendees! Join us for this presentation and receive an exclusive offer from HRDQ.

Women make up almost half of today’s workforce – a significant jump from past decades. This means women have more opportunities to shape organizations in a meaningful way, whether they are mid-level managers or top-tier executives. But developing this influence takes skill, persistence, persuasiveness, and most of all, courage.

Courage is what gives strong women leaders their backbone. It’s what enables them to accept challenges, overcome obstacles, inspire others, and drive the bottom line.

Join us for an enlightening webinar that will show you how to develop women into courageous leaders. Subject matter expert and best selling author Bill Treasurer will discuss this important virtue, provide practical strategies to transform courage, and share real-world examples about women who have used courage to broaden their leadership influence.

What You Will Learn:

• Why courage is essential to human and organizational success
• Current data about the debilitating impacts of fear on performance
• Real-world examples of courageous women at work
• The differences between two different leadership dispositions
• Strategies women can use to be more courageous at work
• How women can inspire more courageous behavior among those they lead

Who Should Attend:

• Employees
• Managers
• Trainers and OD consultants
• Human resources professionals
• Women professionals

About the Presenter:

Bill Treasurer is a leadership expert and the originator of the new organizational practice of “courage-building.” He is also the author of several books, including Right Risk and the international bestseller, Courage Goes to Work. Bill is the founder and chief encouragement officer at Giant Leap Consulting (GLC), a courage-building company that helps people and organizations live more courageously. His clients include Accenture, PNC Bank, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, NASA, UNICEF, the Center for Creative Leadership, the U.S. Forest Service, CNN, EarthLink, Monster.com, the National Science Foundation, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Read a recent interview with Bill in the Huffington Post here.

Check out Bill’s Courageous Leadership Profile at the HRDQ Store.

Click here to register!

Can’t make it?  Don’t worry – all HRDQ webinars are available for free download after they’ve been presented live.  Click here to view past webinars.

by Sharon M. Gazda
President
Edizen

In the past six months, I have observed a trend while coaching senior managers. The topic of delegation, and the challenge it presents, is coming up in every session. This is not a surprise given today’s work environment with tighter budgets, fewer resources, and less time. Managers are responding by taking on more work. However, this reaction is counterproductive and may actually lead to manager derailment.

What is Manager Derailment?

Manager derailment is the result of behaviors that cause managers to overestimate their own capacities, lose sight of how their actions impact others, and alienate peers and subordinates. Such behaviors can have a detrimental impact on organizational effectiveness, financial performance, and the “climate” of the organization. Failure to delegate is one of the leading causes of manager derailment.

As the work environment continues to get more complex and competitive, demands on managers are increasing and changing. Managers must empower employees and then hold them more accountable. What’s more, they must be able to maximize employees’ knowledge and experience to get the results they want.

When the pressure is on, delegating is the most crucial of all managerial skills needed to stay on track. 

Why Delegation Fails

Although effective delegation is recognized as one of the skills of exceptional managers, many hesitate to assign tasks to others, thinking they personally are the only one who can do the job well. Even when managers have the best of intentions, the inability to let go can create real problems in the workplace.

Generally, there are reasons why delegation fails such as:

• Lack of planning. Outside factors, such as a fluctuating economy and organizational shifts, pressure managers into acting in a reactionary, crisis mode. They don’t dedicate the time needed for thoughtful reflection when, in fact, that is when it is most needed.
• Need to manage the whole task. Too often managers don’t step back and look at all the activities and tasks they perform, believing it is faster and easier to do what’s familiar to them. Unfortunately they use their time ineffectively, negatively impacting their overall success.
• Lack of training. Effective delegation is a skill – it must be learned and practiced. To delegate effectively, there are steps in the process. It’s not just “Do what I tell you to do.” It’s important that you don’t mistake delegating for dumping. Studies show employees are highly motivated when they have challenging assignments and variety in their work. Conversely, morale will sink if employees feel you’re taking advantage of them.
• Fear of failure. Letting go is not easy. Sharing your work and responsibilities involves taking risks. Any successful manager will admit he or she was anxious when moving from a hands-on supervisor role to management. Insecure or inexperienced managers may not accept or recognize the performance of their employees, fearing that if someone else can do the work better than they can, they open themselves up to being replaced.

Delegation Basics:

• Start with the end in mind – be clear about what results you expect
• Delegate the whole job, not pieces
• Make certain to provide the proper level of resources and authority
• Actively review progress and follow up
• Make certain you track all assignments and ensure that everything is on track to head off potential problems.

Delegation for Success:

1. Plan your delegating strategy; write a list of all the major projects your team is responsible for.
2. Decide which tasks only you can do, such as performance appraisals, disciplining employees, or handling situations that are politically sensitive or confidential.
3. Decide which of the remaining tasks are high priority and high risk, and must be done within a short timeline. Be realistic. Not everything has to be done immediately.
4. Determine which tasks can be given to others on the team. Are there certain items that are recurring or routine, such as monthly sales reports, budgeting or activity reports? Someone else can handle those duties. One point of caution: Provide adequate training on how the project should be done and, more importantly, clearly explain the goal.

In delegating responsibility, managers always should look for opportunities to encourage employee development. Get your team involved in learning new things and accepting developmental projects. If you establish a learning environment, you will, in effect, be training the person who succeeds you when you move up in the organization.

Most importantly, be sure to praise a job well done! Don’t worry about sharing the glory. If you help your staff look good, they will do likewise. Jack Welch, legendary CEO of GE, says his greatest pride was grooming people to become CEOs themselves. His best advice: Surround yourself with good people and get out of their way.

If you don’t, the good people will move on.

Sharon Gazda is President of Edizen, a small, woman owned business specializing in Employee Engagement, Coaching, and Leadership Development. Sharon is also one of the creators of a proprietary card system for managers, called ENGAGE: Connect at a Higher Level.