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by Dan Oswald Last night, my wife encouraged me to watch the movie Saving Mr. Banks, and I’m glad she did. The movie, which stars Emma Thompson and Tom Hanks, tells the story of Walt Disney’s quest to obtain the rights to make a movie based on P.L. Travers’ Mary Poppins and her role in […]
Succession planning is vital to ensuring that key roles stay filled with qualified, talented individuals. This is especially of importance for roles deemed critical to the success of the organization. If a key role becomes vacant without a plan to fill it, this gap can negatively impact an organization’s bottom line. If this happens too […]
Bosses come in various forms. Some rule with an iron hand, others take instructions from on high and then make sure the orders are carried out by underlings, and others truly inspire everyone on their team. It’s not surprising that an inspiring manager is likely the most effective, but it’s up to the HR department […]
Now that you’ve convinced top management that leadership training is worthwhile for your managers, supervisors, and high performers, you need the right content for training. The first skill great leaders learn, for example, is how to manage all the resources at their disposal, including personal, human, technical, informational, and perhaps most important, time. In this […]
Managers who wonder why employee morale is low, why turnover is high, and why employees aren’t performing at their peak may be overlooking the real problem–how managers in the company lead–says Scott Love, a nationally syndicated leadership columnist and a speaker on leadership issues. “They refuse to change, to learn, to grow, and to develop […]
by Dan Oswald I’m sitting in the airport in Austin, Texas, and the faint and rare sound of a bagpipe can be heard in the background. It seems, at the very least, out of place in a major-city airport. As the sound grows louder, it’s clear that whoever is playing the instrument is drawing closer. […]
In a recent conversation with an organizational psychologist, I was asked, “What are the top three things you look for in the members of your management team?” That’s a big and important question. Yet I was able to answer it quickly and easily: “Trustworthiness, compatibility, and talent.” The next sentence I uttered might surprise […]
by Dan Oswald In a recent conversation with an organizational psychologist, I was asked, “What are the top three things you look for in the members of your management team?” That’s a big and important question. Yet I was able to answer it quickly and easily: “Trustworthiness, compatibility, and talent.” The next sentence I uttered […]
by Dan Oswald One of the national hotel chains, in an attempt to attract business travelers, advertises that if you stay at its hotels, you’ll be able to take on “the 800-pound gorilla in the room.” The ad shows Regional Manager Amy, after spending a night in one of the hotels, being able to tame […]
In today’s Advisor, business and leadership blogger Dan Oswald offers his thoughts on qualities of great leaders. (Oswald, CEO of BLR® offers these thoughts weekly in The Oswald Letter.) Marvin Bower joined McKinsey & Company in 1933 and served as the management consulting firm’s managing partner from 1950 to 1967. In 1997, he published a […]