Articles
Solutions do not always happen most effectively from trial and error. This selection of articles from The Odyssey Group, Inc. represents a slice of our research and experience that you may use to consider your practices and options.Coaching and Feedback
10 Tips for Feedback
As individuals and organizations work to improve personal contributions and overall performance, feedback continues to be a critical tool. In one U. S. national study, professionals in a wide range of industries reported that “timely, development-focused feedback” is their number one career development need. No matter where feedback rates on your list of what you need to be more effective, we all need high-quality information to manage our work and learning.
Still, far too often, feedback is limited to an annual or semi-annual performance review or to criticism for something that did not turn out well. These tips can help you ask for feedback in a way that helps others give you the most useful information and offer feedback in ways that other people can hear it and use it.
Still, far too often, feedback is limited to an annual or semi-annual performance review or to criticism for something that did not turn out well. These tips can help you ask for feedback in a way that helps others give you the most useful information and offer feedback in ways that other people can hear it and use it.
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Style Savvy: Revving Up Relationships and Results Using Thinking Styles
What’s your style? Are you cutting edge, innovative, and out-of-the-box? Do you tend to prefer neat and structured tasks? Just as you have a set of preferences for what work you do and how you work, so does everyone that you work with. These “styles” are associated with how you prefer to think and learn – how you take in and use information.
Each person has a preference for different thinking, learning, relating, and communicating styles. This does not mean you cannot work in other ways; it means that your tendency is to approach tasks first in a way that fits your preference. Your style is simply a preference, not a competence. By understanding the way you think and learn (and thus how you approach your work) and using simple techniques to better “get” the way you think, learn, and work, people become more effective together.
Each person has a preference for different thinking, learning, relating, and communicating styles. This does not mean you cannot work in other ways; it means that your tendency is to approach tasks first in a way that fits your preference. Your style is simply a preference, not a competence. By understanding the way you think and learn (and thus how you approach your work) and using simple techniques to better “get” the way you think, learn, and work, people become more effective together.
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Mentoring
A Fresh Look at Mentoring
At The Odyssey Group, Inc. we define mentoring as guiding another's learning and development through advising, teaching, coaching, and providing feedback. The goal of mentoring is to build a developmental relationship in which the mentor provides information and challenges to accelerate the other person's performance, increase capability, and guide career development. Other processes, such as coaching, are often compared to mentoring, and we review the similarities and differences, as well as offer advice about maximizing the benefits from your mentoring process.
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Making the Most of Mentoring
Mentoring is a development process that allows organizational wisdom and experience to work for you. Changes in the workplace, such as increasing demands for quality, speed, and efficiency mean that mentoring programs must achieve results. The structure of the mentoring program, the people involved, and program management are all important to the success of the mentoring program. The following twelve lessons were learned for highly successful mentoring programs.
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Leadership
How Innovation-Friendly Is Your Organization?
How Innovation-Friendly Is Your Organization?
Are you doing the things that contribute to increased innovation in your business? Check out this Innovation Index to see what helps organizations become more innovative and to identify some areas you might want to work on. More information? Contact us using this form.
Are you doing the things that contribute to increased innovation in your business? Check out this Innovation Index to see what helps organizations become more innovative and to identify some areas you might want to work on. More information? Contact us using this form.
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Identifying and Developing Leadership Skills
What does it take to be an effective leader? Research used to develop the Leadership Effectiveness Analysis (LEA) indicates that there are 6 key areas, with 22 specific behavior sets, that comprise these effective leadership behaviors. From an organizational point of view, leadership success is built on many factors, including placing the right people in the right position and ensuring that they are using the appropriate skill at the appropriate time. Leaders and their organizations must be aligned, working towards the same agenda, in order to be considered “effective.”
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Leadership Best Practices
Ensuring leadership talent for the future is one of the top three things that “keep CEO’s up at night,” according to recent reports from leading consulting organizations. Your leaders are important to your organization, and so is their development. Building development systems that assure that you have a viable leadership pipeline is vital successful business.
What works in developing leaders? This article highlights 6 areas documented through data-based research to most effectively create a leadership development program that works for your organization.
What works in developing leaders? This article highlights 6 areas documented through data-based research to most effectively create a leadership development program that works for your organization.
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New Thinking on Innovation
Innovation is not just for the "creative" and organizatons need to learn to tap into everyone's innovation potential. Using different approaches to innovation and creating a culture in which innovation is encouraged can lead to increased revenues, improved cost efficiency, and a more inspired and engaged work force. Learn about various innovation styles and tips to create a culture of innovation.
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What are Your Leaders Thinking?
What are your leaders thinking? Although this question may be read with a wide range of meaning, a more important question might be “how are your leaders thinking?” How your leaders take in and use information (i.e., their thinking and learning styles) has a direct impact upon not only what priorities they have, but the way that they approach the issues that they face.
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