We have all had someone make a difference in our life. I have had many mentors throughout the course of my life and their impact has been long-lasting. Here are 5 things I learned from them.
Five ways mentors have made a difference in my life
Three tips to overcome roadblocks to your development
Growth doesn't follow a straight line due to setbacks along the way. In part four of our five-part series on the importance of a development plan we provide tips to overcome common roadblocks.
Latest Posts
Feedback: The lifeline to a successful development plan
Feedback is your lifeline to a successful development plan. This is part five in our five-part series on the importance of a development plan.
You’ve just been promoted! How to build a transition plan that leads into your development plan
What's in a transition plan and also continue to fuel your career growth.
Tips to distinguish between a business goal and a development goal
Read about the differences and similarities between business and development goals. This is part two in our five-part series on the importance of a development plan.
You did everything right yet it fell flat: Why a development plan could help you hit it out of the park
This is the first in a five part series on development planning with an actual leader who was recently promoted to her first VP role.
3 things I learned using LUMEN on my internship
LUMEN provided an enriching learning opportunity for our Leadership and Development intern, Ms. Mahlik. Read about her 3 key insights.
Now is the perfect time to invest in mentoring
As companies are rethinking their business models, read why now is the perfect time to invest in mentoring for both mentors and mentees.
10 tips to manage your well-being as pandemic fatigue sets in
It’s been a tough year for many reasons. In my 5-part series on how the pandemic has affected the business ecosystem, it was clear that the health and well-being of people is top of mind for everyone.
Mental and physical well-being of employees during COVID-19
This is the final blog of our 5 part series on the impact COVID is having on the business ecosystem. COVID-19 challenged leaders in wholly new ways. For employees who were deemed essential, how to protect them from a novel, potentially deadly and highly contagious virus while continuing to run the business.
COVID-19 and its galvanizing impact on technology in the workplace
This is part 4 of our 5 part series on the impact COVID is having on the business ecosystem. A year ago, if someone said they would set up a Zoom meeting the majority of us would not have known what they were talking about. Virtual meetings have taken over in absence of in-person meetings, but that’s only the tip of the iceberg.
Survival of the business supersedes profits during the pandemic
This is part 3 of our 5 part series on the impact COVID is having on the business ecosystem. Since the pandemic hit in the United States and around the world, businesses have been in a survival mode. For the majority of organizations, their focus shifted from making a profit to fighting for the heartbeat of the business.
Rising to the challenge as a leader during COVID-19
Part 2 in our blog series about COVID-19 as a forcing function in the workplace: How it’s leading to progress whether we’re ready for it or not.
COVID-19 as a forcing function in the workplace: How it’s leading to progress whether we’re ready for it or not
This year has been full of change, uncertainty, anxiety and disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. While there remain a lot of unknowns about the “new normal” there is one thing we do know: We can absolutely learn and grow during this time of trials and tribulations.
Why you should move to instant feedback: You wouldn’t want your health tracker to give feedback once a year.
Consider they way you use feedback on a daily basis - e.g., alarm clock, waving flag to signal wind. Now ask yourself what are the benefits for regular vs. annual feedback. We offer 4 in our blog.
Three key ingredients to motivating change
Want to understand what are the 3 key ingredients to motivating change? Do you wonder how performance management is related, if at all, to motivating change? Then this summary blog is for you.
Why you’re doing performance management wrong
The world is changing and changing rapidly around us, yet we continue to do performance management the way it was done 10, 20, even 30 years ago. With these simple steps you can bring your performance management into the present.
I used my own app and here’s what I learned
As the inventor of LUMEN, a talent development app that provides real-time feedback, I obviously believe in its effectiveness. But I put myself to the test by consistently using the app for six months. Here are my 5 key takeaways.
If you make this 1 change in 2020, you will see your team take off
Do you want to see your team take off in 2020? Don't have the resources you would like to "do" more to support your team? A must read...
Five leadership trends to watch in 2020
The more things change, the more they stay the same. This is true in life and in business. This blog addresses five leadership trends for 2020 which are more dynamic than the categories would suggest.
5 tips to providing feedback to the candidate you didn’t hire
The hiring process is a two-way street; candidates are interviewing you just as much as you are interviewing them. Your reputation and the potential to recruit future talent can and will be impacted by the way you conduct the process so make sure you’re not inadvertently closing a door you want to remain open.
Do's and don'ts when seeking feedback as an unsuccessful candidate
This blog delves into the do’s and don’ts of seeking feedback as an unsuccessful job candidate who has made it far into the interview process, only to find out he or she was not selected for the role. This is an extension of the “seek input” step in our blog “Didn’t get the job? Three tips to follow after a job rejection.”
Q & A with Lyle Maryniak, leadership development consultant and adjunct professor at MSOE
DEAL is a competency-based assessment test that helps front-line to middle management determine employee career and development plans. Read how one leadership development expert, Lyle Maryniak, uses the product, Developing Employees As Leaders and how we plans to deploy the talent development app, LUMEN.
Didn’t get the job? Three tips to follow after a job rejection
This blog describes actionable steps on what do do after you receive word that you didn't get the job. This blog will help you stay motivated and learn through the process.
Four takeaways from the 2019 HR tech conference
The 2019 HR Tech Conference, October 1 - 4 in Las Vegas had approximately 500 HR technology vendors showcasing their products. There were informative breakout sessions across a variety of tracks such as analytics, the future of work, talent management, HR transformation, and core HR. Select keynote speakers included Barbara Corcoran and Josh Bersin. Adding to the excitement was a Startup Pitch Fest where startups competed for seed money. Overall, the amount of information was vast and insights many. Read about my top four takeaways.
How to hire a leader: Three requirements necessary to hire top talent
In my previous two articles, I talked about what to look for and what to avoid when hiring talent. But above all else there are three requirements that are “must haves” when looking for top talent. If you look for these three requirements, you will the key ingredients for an emerging leader.
3 common traps to avoid when hiring talent
In my last blog, I looked at best practices to look for when selecting talent. Today, as part of our three-part series offering advice on hiring talent, I’ll suggest three common traps to avoid.
Three tips to help you hire the best employees for your team
When a position opens up on your team it provides a tremendous opportunity to add depth and dimension. Here are three tips to help you approach the hiring process thoughtfully and thoroughly.
Develop your employees from team members to first-time managers
Develop your employees from team members to first-time managers. Learn how the DEAL assessment drives a coaching and development conversation between employee and manager. The competency assessment is a cost-effective, self-service resource to develop your employees as leaders. It takes less than 15 minutes to complete and easily converts into a development plan.
LUMEN: Using AI to motivate employee development
Ever work on a new habit, complex project, or health goal only to realize that after a month of consistency, no one recognizes the depth of your efforts? This is a common challenge when it comes to acting on growth goals. How can technology help and what we can do reward process and outcome goals?
Team dynamics in sports and in business: Reflections from the college world series
Seeing how someone reacts under pressure is never more evident than through the lens of sports, when hundreds and thousands of people are viewing, judging, criticizing and celebrating along with the athletes.
Psychology benefits both business and sports performance
Watching the College World Series was an exercise in psychology. Certainly, as I watched the athletes get ready, it was obvious that they have very clear warm up routines for their bodies.
How to differentiate talent... on the hockey rink and in business
As the NHL Draft approaches, I found myself in an intriguing conversation with a hockey advisor about what differentiates true, lasting hockey talent from the flash in the pan variety. Steve has been a hockey advisor to many junior hockey athletes and former AAA Tier 1 coach.
People managers: Don’t let yourself be intimidated by Artificial Intelligence
It can help you elevate leader effectiveness and drive employee engagement. Artificial intelligence (AI), simply defined as intelligence demonstrated by machines rather than humans or animals, has been around for decades but is undergoing rapid evolution more recently as it’s applied broadly to all disciplines.
Be the leader your intern deserves: Five tips for developing our future generation of leaders
Summer internships are getting underway and no one will deny they want their interns to have a great experience. Internships provide our next generation of leaders with meaningful, hands-on experience in their future career.
Kentucky Derby offers lessons for the workplace
As race fans eagerly await this weekend’s Kentucky Derby, the first leg of the famed Triple Crown, final preparation work is well underway for the jockeys, their trainers and the scores of others who make a Derby victory possible.
How to quench a development desert
While company leaders understand the value of talent development and have an appetite for supporting growth, they also have very real constraints. Read about key ingredients for employee development and common traps to avoid.
Developing employees as leaders (DEAL)
Avant developed its first technology product, DEAL, to help small and mid-sized companies overcome obstacles they face in talent development.
5 keys for executive development
I am commonly asked, “What are the critical areas for executive development?” Since the context for an executive is exceedingly complex, there is no simple answer. However, there are many ways to organize the challenges they face.
Why a development "stay-cation" makes sense
Instead of sending talent to costly offsite programs, companies might consider a development "stay-cation."
Developing emerging leaders
Research over the last few decades has helped us understand that leadership can be developed – if you start with the right talent and provide the right type of experiences.
The truth about executive coaching
One of the most in-demand services Avant delivers is executive coaching. It’s is one of the most significant investments organizations make in terms of how they manage and grow talent.
Assessment best practices and pitfalls
When executives see leaders fail, they often search for the characteristic that was so lacking in the previous one. Be careful.
Leading through turbulence
Leadership is no small undertaking – even during good times. How then do you effectively lead during turbulent times when your company is facing industry or market headwinds, restructuring or during economic downturns?