Tag: leadership

Embrace your workers’ curiosity

by Dan Oswald I’ve been reading Tell My Sons . . . by Lieutenant Colonel Mark Weber. The book is filled with the life lessons he has learned. After a routine Army physical revealed he had stage IV intestinal cancer, he began a battle for his life that he ultimately will lose. When he realized […]

Is Learning an Integral Part of your Company Culture?

Continuous learning and development are high priorities at U.S. Security Associates—a fact that is evidenced by the firm’s many training awards and accomplishments of individual employees. In the fall, the Atlanta-based firm received an American Society for Training & Development (ASTD) BEST Award for the second time. The firm, which provides national security services and […]

Coaching Can Be Effective—But There Are Challenges

In a recent survey of 230 organizations by AMA Enterprise, a division of the American Management Association (www.amnet.org) that offers advisory services and tailored learning programs, executive coaching programs are seen as being “very effective” by 26% of companies offering such programs and “somewhat effective” by 62% of companies. In addition, 12% reported that their […]

How do you make people feel?

by Dan Oswald I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. —Maya Angelou On Saturday, the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers football team held its annual Red-White Spring Game. With time for just one final play, Jack Hoffman walked […]

How Effective Are Executive Coaching Programs?

Executive coaching programs are seen as being “very effective” by 26% of companies offering such programs and “somewhat effective” by 62% of companies, according to a recent national survey. In addition, 12% reported that their executive coaching programs are “ineffective,” according to the survey of 230 organizations by AMA Enterprise, a division of the American […]

Following basketball’s lead can bring slam dunk for your teams

by Dan Oswald If you’re like many, you have been watching the NCAA basketball tournament. And if you’re one of the lucky few, you might be on top of the leader board in your office pool or your team might be one of the Final Four. What makes watching the tournament fun for me, in […]

Train Employees to be Leaders—on the Job and in the Community

Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America (www.allianzlife.com) has received recognition both for its strong commitment to employee development and to the financial literacy of youths in the Minneapolis area. In addition to providing training and development opportunities for its employees, Allianz Life offers college scholarships for local students and supports financial literacy programs in […]

Are Your Employee Development Training Programs Award Worthy?

Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America has received recognition both for its strong commitment to employee development and to the financial literacy of youths in the Minneapolis area. Employee development “Allianz Life is committed to the well-being and professional development of our employees; they are the key to our success,” president and CEO Walter […]

The importance of trust

When I was 12 years old, my family moved from Milwaukee to a small town in Iowa. How small? Well, we didn’t have a McDonald’s or even a single traffic light. On our first day in town, my brother, who was and continues to be a year younger than I, walked four blocks with me […]

It’s better to be Dorothy than the Wizard

Over the weekend, an adaptation of The Wizard of Oz was released. If you’re like me, you grew up watching the 1939 classic. The new film got me thinking about those wonderful characters created by L. Frank Baum. There’s the Cowardly Lion, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and of course Dorothy. Each one is etched […]