I became aware of Pelocity through an inter-office e-mail in the Florida National Guard. It sounded like a great deal and I immediately contacted [them] for a log-in code. I enjoy self-awareness exercises and self-assessments, and believe they are integral to our continued personal and professional development. Pelocity satisfies both of these ends. Even upon first impression, I felt Pelocity was going to be an accurate and richly-detailed assessment of my strengths and weaknesses, likes and dislikes in relation to future careers. I completed the four assessments quickly, and with ease. My goal was to remain as objective as possible and the results came out rather well. I believe Pelocity was the most effective self-assessment I have taken in years. While I was as objective as possible, Pelocity identified 5-6 careers in my top 25 that I am highly interested in pursuing. One of my goals has been to eventually use my master’s in fine arts to teach creative writing at the college level. Pelocity didn’t just list “various” teaching positions among my careers, it specifically listed graduate and postsecondary teaching positions. Not only did Pelocity offer career suggestions to focus me in a particular direction, it confirmed that I am already well […]

  This week members of the local OD (Organization Development) Network are meeting to talk about “Next Generation Leadership”.  But does anyone really know what next generation leadership is?  The OD Network members may find themselves the members of the Over Dose Network as they try to parse the ambiguity of this phrase.   Does it mean organizations should be led by those who currently are the followers, a situation where the inmates run the asylum?  Or could it mean that each generation requires its own leadership, a situation in which several age-linked cadres of leaders compete for ultimate control?  Hopefully neither of the above absurdities is the real intent of this phrase.  A look at some relevant research may be helpful.   In 1996 the founding event of ATG’s Futures Leaders capability was a gathering of educational leaders from all over the United States who were brought together to create a model of “The 21st Century Educational Leader”.  This model became the driver for the preparation, selection and development of community college leaders across the country.  Then, thirteen years later, these leaders were at the forefront of the reinvention of the community college and the evolution of many of […]

INTRODUCTION: Contract furniture dealerships face many talent management challenges, but conversations with several dealership leaders and principals indicate that the greatest talent management concerns center on the various stages of building the dealership talent pipeline. Although individual dealerships might differ in the priorities they place on each talent pipeline concern, all agree that four talent pipeline processes are critical for dealership success and sustainability. Those talent pipeline processes are: Selecting the strongest entry-level talent who will stay and grow Developing individual contributors into supervisors and managers Powering sales people to optimize their contribution to revenue Preparing leadership and dealer principal succession Let’s look at each of these critical talent pipeline processes and explore the systems and activities that would optimize its effectiveness. Many of these systems and activities until fairly recently were available only to organizations much larger than the typical dealership. Now with online communications, scalable talent management architectures and expert system databases, even the smallest dealership can afford to access these talent pipeline resources. SELECTING THE STRONGEST ENTRY LEVEL TALENT WHO WILL STAY AND GROW: Sourcing and selecting entry level talent may be the single most important talent pipeline process for a dealership, since the depth of entry […]

An Occupational Psychologist should play a key role in transitions of ownership and/or leadership in family owned or closely held enterprises. Yet most advisors who work with families on these sensitive transitions don’t realize that occupational psychologists should be part of the team of transition professionals. While these advisers often seek the participation of a clinical or counseling psychologist or a licensed clinical social worker to address the emotional issues that often emerge among family members during a transition, to optimize transition outcomes, an occupational psychologist should be engaged to work directly with the enterprise itself. The occupational psychologist guides the transition of roles, responsibilities and reporting structures that emerge during the typical three to five year transition period. The occupational psychologist uses assessments of individuals and job roles to assure that transition decisions are data- based decisions. Whenever possible, models of future leadership roles are created, and potential role occupiers are assessed for both current goodness of fit to the role and the need for development toward a better fit to the role. The occupational psychologist should not be the ultimate decision maker about whether a given family member or non-family member is best suited for the role; that […]