As the summer rolls along, so does Astron!
The next stop finds the Astron Family in Orlando, Florida for the 2008
HR Florida Conference, from August 26th through the 27th. Come out and
say hi to Paul Hart Miller, Director of Client Services; Jennifer C.
Loftus, National Director; and Stephen A. Lella, Marketing Specialist. After Orlando, Astron’s Paul Hart Miller and National
Director, Michael Maciekowich can be found at the 2008 Vermont State
SHRM Conference held between September 8th and 9th. Then immediately after that, we see Michael Maciekowich
hitting the road to exhibit at the 2008 North Carolina SHRM Conference,
held between September 10th and 12th. Come out and say hi to your
favorite company, Astron Solutions! See you there!
Our last addition to our Mini-Interview series is upon us. This week we
ask Francine E. Giocondo, Statistical Analyst here at Astron Solutions.
The format, as always, remains the same: 5 questions, mixing business
and pleasure (so taboo!). Enjoy!
I began working part time as a Statistical Analyst in April of 2008.
After graduating from my MA in Human Resource Management program at
Rutgers University, I joined Astron full time.
As a consultant, I have the opportunity to learn from organizations in
a variety of different industries. Changing workforce demographics, US
and global economic shifts and regulations all create such a dynamic
environment for business leaders and employees. There will always be a
need for creative solutions to these evolving business needs and I
enjoy the challenge! I look forward to working with many more clients
in the future and providing unique solutions to their unique
situations.
Practicing yoga has been a great way for me to focus on a healthy
work-life balance, so I try to attend as many classes as possible. I
also enjoy watching movies and trying out new restaurants.
I recently went to a friend’s wedding in Thailand and I would love to
return soon. However, I have to admit that my new favorite place to
visit is Northern California to see my new niece Lucia.
I have tremendous confidence in Astrons’ National Directors and any
predictions I make will surely be surpassed. All of the employees here
are so intelligent and innovative and I expect in 2009 Astron will
offer even more services to meet clients’ changing needs. Now that we finished the Mini-Interview series, we turn
our eyes and ears towards you, our reader. What were your thoughts of
this addition to Astronology? Would you like to see this, or other
similar additions, to Astronology? Feel free to send any feedback to
me, Stephen A. Lella, at
salella@astronsolutions.com; I’d love to see what you think!
Ralph
Stogdill noted, “There are almost as many definitions of leadership as
there are persons who have attempted to define the concept.” How true
he is! The word “Leader” has been defined and redefined so many times,
it can be hard to keep track with, let alone demonstrate in our
respective places of work. In previous years leadership has been
described as a process as well as a property. In process, leadership is
being able to indirectly or directly influence and coordinate an
organization’s attempt to fulfill a group goal. As a property,
leadership is described as possessing the qualities and characteristics
needed to help an organization to succeed. In this day and age, good leadership is needed in
organizations across the globe in order to grow, and to be successful.
Why? Simply because as the world changes, organizations in various
capacities are in the need to adapt to the changes. When organizations
don’t perform well, one of the #1 comments that are stated in reference
to its failure is: “They had bad leadership”
However, to place a company’s failures on one individual is somewhat erroneous. An organization is made up of
people and so it is the organization as a whole, or its,
people, that determine whether all will succeed.
Understanding this key issue leads to the discussion of leadership not
just from individuals, but from the entire organization. This
“broad-based leadership” means in every nook and cranny of an
organization, a leader can be found. It is up to every individual to
decide for themselves whether they will go beyond just minimal work…and
be a leader. Traditionally, within organizations, the word “leader”
sparks the position: “Management”, or “Supervisor”. However, are these
words really related? In examination, the very answer may be no. One
article in the Australian newspaper, The Age noted, “Managers feel comfortable with
hierarchies and a command-and-control type of environment where orders
come from above and those who receive those orders get paid for
executing them.” In comparison supervisors, typically influence an
organization’s sub-group through formal rewards (perhaps promotion) and
punishment (write-up) under contractual agreement. Both positions seem
very structured, and leave no room for growth ---which is a dire need
in today’s organizations. Leaders, however, according to the same article are
comfortable in horizontal (“pancake”) organizational structures. They
are not “a person in charge,” but, rather, a coach…part of the network
in the organization in order to support everyone.
Are organizations really trying to cultivate leaders within their organizations? Yes. Another article from
The Age
entitled, “First It Was Teamwork,--Now it’s the leadership industry;
Just Managing” reported that in the year 2000, 50 billion dollars were
spent in leadership development within organizations. Yet, not all
companies seem to be reaping the benefits from the investment.
Ranked #5 on Business Week’s list of the
World’s Top 10 Management Gurus, Leadership expert Jay Conger noted in
The Age
that some organizations sabotage their own efforts to gain leadership.
He noted that many corporations have an internal culture of
“conservatism and risk-aversion.” This causes an organization to look
great face-wise, but internally, there isn’t any growth, or internal
success. He states that traditionally, “You could argue that
organizations, although they say they want leadership, actually they
don’t want too much leadership. They want the leadership of the CEO,
not the leadership from the ranks below.”
So how do organizations get past this traditional internal culture? First the organization must realize that they need two
kinds
of leadership. The first kind deals with the entrepreneurial aspect of
an organization. The second kind involves crisis and/or turnaround
situations. If members in an organization learn how to cultivate both
types of leadership capabilities, success is sure to follow.
Organizations also need to be able to focus on building a leadership culture. Some attributes include
the following:
• Learning
• Coaching
• Team Building
• Regular Appraisal
Leadership from all levels has to be promoted not as an executive
position, but as a privilege and an obligation to the organization.
Former CEO of Telstra Corporation Limited, and current CEO of JI
Ventures, Inc., Frank Blount once highlighted five "ingredients" that
any CEO can use to generate the right environment for leadership. Here
are three main ingredients: • Public knowledge that status quo behavior is dissatisfactory
• Creating a widespread shared vision across the organization
• Leaving room for growth due to changes externally and internally
Leadership development is a worthy investment for any organization. It
is important, however, that we make sure the organization is properly
prepared for and anticipating the changes due to the organization’s new
leadership culture. It is not up to just a handful of people to make an
organization successful. It takes everyone to make it successful.
Wonder what your fellow readers think about critical HR topics? Is your organization unique from or similar to others?
Click here to view the results of our past polls!
Our next issue will be monumental!
The Pros and Cons of Facial Hair in the Office
The Astron Road Show
Mythbusters
If you have a topic you would like addressed in Astronology, or some
feedback on a past article, don't hesitate to tell us! Simply reply to
this e-mail. See your question answered, or comments addressed, in an
upcoming issue of Astronology. Looking for a top-notch presenter for your human resource
organization's meeting? Both Jennifer Loftus and Michael Maciekowich
present highly-rated sessions on a variety of compensation and employee
retention issues. For more information, send an e-mail to
info@astronsolutions.com.
Are you reading a pass-along copy of Astronology? Click on
this button
to start your own subscription today!
Send inquiries to
info@astronsolutions.com or call 800-520-3889, x105.
We hold your e-mail address in trust. Astron Solutions promises never
to share or rent your personal information. We also promise never to
send you frivolous e-mails and will allow you to leave our list, at
your option, at any time. To remove yourself from this list, please follow your
personalized subscriber link at the bottom of your Astronology alert
e-mail.
Copyright 2008, Astron Solutions, LLC
ISSN Number 1549-0467
|