Confronting Ethical Dilemmas at Work: Why Do Good People Do Bad Things?

Do only "bad" people do "bad" things or do sometimes "good" people make "bad" choices as result of failing to recognize that the problem they are confronted with has an ethical dimension. As a result people often lack the skills to be able to analyze a problem from an ethical standpoint, therefore the role of any ethics training may be to equip people with the tools to manage ethical dilemmas within an organizational framework clearly articulated values of what is expected of people.

John R. Boatright, Raymond C. Baumhart Professor of Business Ethics at Quinlan School of Business, Loyola University Chicago, writes a thought provoking article on this very subject http://preview.tinyurl.com/k8ra24t with specific reference to the Finance industry.

Redifining Workplace Learning in the 21st Century

What will workplace learning look like in the 21st Century? The advances in technology and the expectations of learning are changing the way learning will be delivered with an emphasis on social collaboration, decentralized peer-to-peer learning and team-based activities. Jenny Dearborn has written an interesting article in Forbes on this very topic http://tinyurl.com/kal5azg.

How will this impact the learning & development profession and how our value on the organization is measured, as Dearborn says "Companies won’t care how their employees acquire knowledge or obtain a certain skill or ability, but only that they can prove their expertise." Will this move us away from the traditional ways of evaluating learning in organizations? Time will tell.

Women Rising: The Unseen Barriers

"Even when CEOs make gender diversity a priority—by setting aspirational goals for the proportion of women in leadership roles, insisting on diverse slates of candidates for senior positions, and developing mentoring and training programs—they are often frustrated by a lack of results. That’s because they haven’t addressed the fundamental identity shift involved in coming to see oneself, and to be seen by others, as a leader.

Research shows, the authors write, that the subtle “second generation” gender bias still present in organizations and in society disrupts the learning cycle at the heart of becoming a leader. Women must establish credibility in a culture that is deeply conflicted about whether, when, and how they should exercise authority."

Authors Herminia Ibarra, Robin Ely, and Deborah Kolb http://hbr.org/2013/09/women-rising-the-unseen-barriers/ar/1 outline the case that organizations should take three steps to promote gender diversity: educate women and men about second-generation gender bias, create safe "identity workspaces" for women, and encourage women to define their development in relation to leadership purpose rather than gender stereotypes. This topic is one of increasing importance in the 21st Century workplace and the authors have added thoughtful insight to the debate.

Bring your own device policies help improve ROI in training

The increase in "Bring your own device" policies are helping improve ROI in training, particularly IT skills where the opportunity for hands on tasks allows the opportunity to utilize and retain new skills. David Day in his article http://bit.ly/17PDRYX explains how these mobile strategies are providing a cost effective solution to organizations seeking to bridge the skills gap.

Do What I Do - When Leaders Mean It

"Do what I say, not what I do" a boss might say, I know I've had it said to me directly and indirectly on more than one occasion during my career. However a leader says "Do what I do" and leads by example, providing a role model for others to follow.

In his article "When Leaders Mean It" http://bit.ly/1gkX2yf Stephen Paskoff gives the example of a senior leadership team of educators who are passionately committed to their institution and its mission. Their goal is to build an inclusive, welcoming culture that engages people of all backgrounds and differences. To help achieve this goal they have started by focusing on themselves considering their own approach and communication skills, rather than start by simply asking others to change how they behave, they are leading by example.

Remember be a leader, not simply a boss.

Work Hard, Nap Hard

Si Robertson one of the stars of A&E's hit TV show Duck Dynasty is famous or should that be infamous for his habit of taking naps at work, much to the dismay of his co-workers. However, studies carried out have shown that a nap during the working day can improve cognitive function, creative thinking, and memory performance. In fact there is research that suggests that as humans we are designed to have two sleeps a day. Perhaps Uncle Si is onto something! To read Beth Belle Cooper's article click here http://bit.ly/1e9vMAM

10 Things Extraordinary Bosses Give Employees

Jeff Haden has written an interesting article considering how exceptional bosses get the best out of the employees http://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/10-things-extraordinary-bosses-do-for-their-employees.html?goback=.gde_144864_member_264034420#!

These include creating a sense of purpose, setting clear expectations and meaningful objectives, clarity over independence and freedom of action. I found this very interesting as this echos the approach we take at Bluegem when introducing clients to the objective briefing process which helps facilitates peak performance.

Mediocre managers who 'fly under the radar' are just as damaging as the David Brents of this world

Not taking responsibility, passing on stress, panicking about deadlines and telling staff what to do rather than consulting them, are some of the worst attributes of bad managers identified in new research by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).

 These characteristics are identified alongside some of the more obvious 'David Brent' style behaviours, such as inappropriate humour or favouritism, as ways in which managers undermine employee motivation and wellbeing.

These CIPD research, Managing for sustainable employee engagement: Developing a behavioural framework, pinpoints how managers need to behave to get the best out of people, by both engaging employees and preventing and managing stress.

The report highlights how managers who are calm under pressure, invest time in talking to their staff, get to know them as individuals and discuss their career development are likely to benefit from higher levels of employee engagement and lower levels of stress and absence. These characteristics are among a number of positive manager behaviours identified by employees as encouraging them to go the extra mile at work, while also supporting their wellbeing.

To read the article in full visit click here

High Performance Coaching

High Performance Coaching is a program that develops the key skills supervisors and team leaders need to become a high performance coach using an easy to master but highly effective set of coaching tools. Equine Connection has partnered with Bluegem Learning and Development to create a new and innovative experiential approach to developing leaders and managers in Calgary’s business community. Equine Connection are Alberta's leading providers of Equine Assisted Learning who in partnership with Bluegem offer a unique perspective on Leadership Development.This program features;

• Highly interactive participative workshops with lots of skills practice
• BuildingBlock™ equine-assisted learning program with Equine Connection
• Real time high performance coaching skills practice sessions
• MiRo Behavioural Mode Assessment
• Certificate of completion