STORIES FROM THE FIELD
“But what if we train them and they leave?” is a question we often hear. “What if you don’t train them and they stay?” is our answer.
Developing people and growing talent internally is one of the most important things great organizations do.
Here are 5 types of professional development that create huge and positive impact for organizations...
Leadership is hard.
This is the central theme that emerged from our first Leadership Circle session last Friday morning. The phrase coined by one of the members resonated with the group. It is hard. That's why there are thousands of leadership books written every year! There is not any one magic way to be a good leader, as evidenced by the broad range of topics our first group generated. Their interests ranged from "use of self as a means of inspiration" to "the balance of confidence and humility" to modeling work-life balance. This is only a snippet of what we discussed -- we are headed for great dialogue this year!
During the group check-out, we found out this group does not want to wait. They were looking for ways to "get started now". Guess that's not surprising from a group of stellar leaders!
Luckily, we get to start with our second group this Friday when another group of leaders from diverse backgrounds and workplaces will begin their journey with each other. I have no doubt that the dialogue will be just as rich.
The Leadership Circle is a unique offering from Floricane. It is a facilitated monthly dialogue that will occur on the same day and time each month with a small group of leaders -- no more than 8 per group -- who have committed to come together for nine months. It is designed to attract a diverse blend of leaders from corporate, non-profit and governmental entities. It is a confidential space in which to explore the issues, opportunities and ideas that are central to effectively leading an organization or department/division.
We're expecting to start a few new waves of the Leadership Circle next year. Drop me a line if you want to learn more about it!
Perhaps you’re wondering if you should attend our upcoming Sales Effectiveness workshop series. Or maybe you want to attend, but don’t know how to convince your boss to pay for it. Well, let us help by laying out the top 7 reasons you should register today.
1. You get an Insights® Discovery personality profile.
Insights® Discovery is an incredibly useful tool for increasing self-awareness and awareness of others – both of which are key to effective selling. Profiles are about 30 pages in length and include 3 chapters: Foundation, Management, and Effective Selling.
2. You’ll learn to quickly assess your clients’ needs.
We’ll show you how to rapidly determine what drives your clients and what barriers may be standing in their way. Moreover, you’ll learn what you can do to meet your client where they are, not where you want them to be.
3. Time to put learning into action.
Since our workshop is a four-part series, you will have the opportunity to put your learning into action in between sessions.
4. A room full of awesome people (like you).
You will have the opportunity to learn, share and interact with other awesome professionals from across Richmond.
5. We’ll make it personal.
We’ll help you identify and refine your personal selling approach. Your clients are all different and unique, so why not approach them in your own unique way?
6. It’s a Floricane workshop!
If you’ve ever been to one of our workshops, then you know what we’re talking about. In addition to giving you meaningful and useful content, our workshops are relaxed and fun.
7. Donuts.
Need I say more?
Our friends over at Insights® created this stellar infographic about the benefits of mentoring. At Floricane, we know just how positive mentorships can be. This week we're beginning our fourth year of work with MENTOR Richmond, which is a team-based mentoring program organized by the Greater Richmond Chamber of Commerce. We're looking forward to sharing with them the power of self-awareness in leadership!
Take a look at this infographic (after the jump) and let us know what you think in the comments:
Photo from blog.brika.com. Click through for the original blog post!
I'm a big fan of this blog post about how to make time for creative projects. Even if you're not an artist or designer, these are still useful tips for how to make time for your "passion projects."
Here's a tip that I found helpful: "Walk away from a project, come back, and make revisions."
Looking at a project with new eyes is a great idea, and it's definitely something I need to do more at the office, not just with my creative projects. Getting up from my desk, grabbing a cup of coffee, and taking a mental break is usually really fruitful for me and the work I'm tackling at the moment. And yet, I usually forget to simply take some time to free my mind and walk around for a few minutes.
Goal for the Fall: take more strategic breaks at work, and leave some room for creativity to manifest!
Lucky for us, we have Monument City Coffee & Records super close to our office, just across Grace Street.
Last summer, I wrote about watching Thea wade through her personal developmental journey at swimming boot camp. It was a difficult experience for her - and for us! She was pleased as a peach to have completed the four-session immersion program. And she never wanted to go back.
As we moved into her sixth summer, Nikole and I were determined that our daughter would learn to swim. We had beach and river vacations planned, and wanted her to be safe and to be able to have fun without clinging to us (me).
Early in the summer, we managed to squeeze a handful of lessons in at the Jewish Community Center, one of which I observed from the sidelines. It became clear to us that once a week wasn't cutting it.
Even Thea was frustrated. She quickly went through the Three Phases of Swimming Frustration: dismissive swagger, confusion, and then frustration.
[video after the jump]
When things go wrong, it's human nature to place blame on anyone and anything other than ourselves. "So-and-so didn't do what they said they would." "I wasn't given the necessary resources." Etcetera.
That's why working with teams is both challenging and rewarding - it's hard to get folks to look at how their own actions impact teams, but when they do incredible changes can take place. I'm reminded of this often these days as we work with the Development and Alumni Relations (DAR) folks at VCU on Team Effectiveness.
“Meet people where they are, not where you want them to be.”
Like most of us, DAR staff work in a fast-paced environment and can find it difficult to slow down and reflect on how they are directly impacting their team members. And when they do reflect, no one wants to readily admit that they are hindering, rather than helping, their coworkers. Yet that is exactly what we are asking them to do.
One of our favorite quotes at Floricane is "Meet people where they are, not where you want them to be." It seems that the DAR staff at VCU is taking it to heart; and while their teams are not going to transform overnight, we anticipate great things to come.
![MENTORING [Infographic]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/532c67a3e4b085a89f27e320/1411484391166-NP231QID7MUEK01BADNY/image-asset.png)
