Not the same approach works with both of them and I have to adjust my approach with them to get the desired reaction. The same goes with people. As a sales engineer I supported over 100 sales reps, so obviously my time was limited. When someone was impolite to me I was not as apt to help them over someone who seemed to appreciate me. It’s hard to admit but the truth is we are prone to go extra for people who value others time. If I went around demanding things (yanking on leashes) I am sure no one would go above and beyond for what I am asking for.

The senior manager was so brilliant that his bosses didn’t want to fire him. But he was wearing them out with his constant arguments and resistance to authority. They were hoping desperately that coaching would help him make changes.

With senior leaders retiring in great numbers, many organizations lack candidates with the skills to replace them. Yet few are getting adequate help in planning for succession.

“I saw a growing need because of the aging of the population,” says Jocelyn Bérard, “People are just starting to retire en masse. Many organizations are saying we have a gap here and we’re concerned. Especially in government, the percentage of people who are going to retire in the next six years is frightening.”

The CEO of a large health care organization was approaching the renewal of his contract, but the 360-degree feedback diagnosed him as lacking decisiveness.

Jocelyn Bérard, an innovator in the use of 360 with senior executives, used the feedback to show several contradictions in the CEO’s performance and helped him to make positive changes. Here Bérard describes the case.

To develop effective leaders, organizations should invest in a 360-degree feedback to diagnose their development needs.

“Self-awareness adds a great deal to the growth of leaders,” says Jocelyn Bérard, “and 360-degree feedback, accompanied by an effective debrief, makes a world of difference there.”

“If people are not self-aware,” Bérard points out, “or don’t realize that they need to improve, they may not see training and development as aligned to their needs. Or worse they may not see any need for improvement.”

Bérard has found if you have X amount of dollars to spend on developing people, you should use a good proportion of it to assess them, raise their self-awareness, and make their boss aware of what they need.

Leaders are vital to an organization and are found at many levels. They provide direction, guidance, support, feedback, and decision making. A project manager leads a team or teams of people using the resources of the organization to meet goals that support organizational goals. Effective project management and leadership require effective communication.

Sometimes work sucks. No shock, Sherlock.

I don’t know how your 2012 turned out work-wise, but if it was less than perfect, I wouldn’t bet on 2013 being a walk in the park either. While your co-workers are preparing for the zombie apocalypse (Who needs a Mayan calendar right?), I’d suggest you take a moment or two to reassess your job satisfaction and consider a few ways to make 2013 more rewarding.

Luckily, I love my job, but on more than one occasion, I’ve had managers tell me they’re surprised at how well I evaluate my position. I grew up on a farm so I know there are way worse places I could be on a winter’s morning than a cubicle at Global Knowledge headquarters in Cary, NC.

If someone who is as jaded and sarcastic as I am (okay, at times I’ve even been called an insatiable whiner) can see the bright side of my job, surely I can help you do the same:

It often seems that there should be a natural progression within a company from a job role to a management position. Maybe the person getting promoted wanted to become the team leader, worked hard for the position, put in the long hours, and was finally rewarded for her hard work. But the question is did she learn how to be a good manager? If she had taken the time to invest in training would she have realized that a management role may not have been right for her?

A physician will not prescribe treatment without a diagnosis; a language school teacher will not register you for a class without testing your level of mastery of the language you want to learn; and your golf pro will observe your swing before giving you advice. The same rules apply in the world of leadership and professional development, where various assessment tools are being used. The reason for using assessment is more than to select the right learning solution; there are powerful reasons for using assessment as part of a development solution. The key is to improve the learner’s self-awareness level.

From the earliest cave dwellers to modern corporate executives, people have told stories to make a point. Using the magic of the narrative form, stories summarize complex information and transform it into communication that is both entertaining and memorable.