TMG INSIGHTS

EMPLOYEE MENTORING PROGRAMS

Benefits/Risk Assessment and Business Case

Mentoring is being used by a large number of government and private sector employers to help win the war for talent and build a competitive advantage in the workplace. Mentoring is frequently cited as a best practice for:

• Attracting and retaining staff
• Developing leaders
• Focusing development on mission-critical goals and behaviors/competencies
• Increasing knowledge sharing, transfer, and management
• Cultivating new talent reducing the costs/time horizon of on-boarding/assimilation
• Building linkages across the organization
• Facilitating organizational change and communication
• Improving employee productivity and empowerment
• Reinforcing cultural values and desired behaviors
• Preparing individuals and organizations for new roles and leadership challenges

TRANSITIONING ORGANIZATIONS AT SPEED

Transition Framework and Foundation for Leadership Teams

Organizations and executives go through transitions great and small on a regular basis. In times of change, getting a team focused and rapidly aligned is the most important task of any leader. They need to cover a host of tasks well and in a short amount of time. Leaders need to deliver a solid, jointly understood point of view, creating engagement and ownership. Leaders require a framework to address in inevitable bumps in the road and which delivers long lasting, positive impact throughout the organization.

AT SPEED (Authority Transfer, Setting Purpose, Enterprise Engagement, and Direction) provides a newly formed executive team with a transition framework and foundation for focusing their energies on accomplishing shared objectives. It lays the foundation for a purpose-driven, performance-oriented and principle-led organization that is a shared product of executive effort. The central idea is to work as a team to define purpose, establish direction, and develop how to work together. This provides a baseline and common understanding of what should and is happening to the organization.​

PERFORMANCE ACCELERATORS AND DECELERATORS

Accelerating Performance in Changing Times

There is no question that change is sweeping throughout all facets of professional environments. This change is leading to an examination of the assumptions that were once thought of as fundamental operating principles. We are seeing changes to the bonds that are formed in relationships such as customers to vendors, employees to employers, investors to investees, government to constituent, and manager to subordinate.

MICROBEHAVIOR IN ORGANIZATIONS

Sweating the Small Stuff

Have you ever walked away from a conversation or staff meeting in your organization feeling somewhat uncomfortable, perhaps marginalized? You couldn’t put your finger on it. In fact, no one said anything offensive to you or criticized you in any way. But, somehow, you feel unmistakably devalued. There seemed to be a “message in there” somewhere. No doubt many of us have experienced this feeling at some point and found ourselves wondering if we were simply paranoid or seriously lacking competence in some indiscernible way. Certainly, if you were to mention that you felt uncomfortable because of the way the boss “looked” at you during the meeting, you very well may be subject to hallway ridicule.​

DON’T LET CHANGE MANAGE YOU!

Six Simple Concepts for Managing Change

We see change every day. Change happens all around you. Your organization may have new technology, a new organizational structure, a different process or a change in procedure. Success in today’s work environment requires focused effort. Organizations that apply sound change management practices, as a habit, to small and large initiatives find the process becomes easier over time. Our hope is to share some trade secrets to get you up and running.​

WORKFORCE RESTRUCTURING

For Federal Government Agencies

Government needs to reorganize to more efficiently and effectively deliver upon mission requirements. Agencies will need to examine the full scope of how it is organized and find approaches new ways of managing human capital. Work will need to be accomplished in new ways and sometimes with fewer resources. Agencies may need to restructure to meet mission changes. Employees will need to understand the changing nature of their organization and the way work will be structured and completed. ​

ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Solutions In Action Case Studies

We discuss five short case studies, where TMG partners with organizations according to need matching the best resources to the desired outcome. TMG has the flexibility to configure Project Teams from our team of subject matter experts, consultants, coaches, trainers, and facilitators so that each area of expertise essential to the outcome is applied.​

LEADERSHIP AT EVERY LEVEL OF AN ORGANIZATION

How Do You Know If Your Leaders Are Involved?

Traditionally, positions have defined the individuals we entrust to provide leadership across an organization. Leadership, however, doesn’t depend on job titles – leadership is based on skill rather than position. The creation of a leadership culture creates an unstoppable army of achievers yielding enduring benefits to the organization. Within this culture, leaders need to be collaborative, using tools of persuasion and respect. Leadership is not just about grand visions, but producing results that show ownership, accountability, an understanding of the organizational mission, and a sense of urgency.​

THE AMAZING POWER OF ACTION LEARNING

Need to Solve a Difficult Problem

Participants of Action Learning sessions quickly learn the power of questions. They discover that, by incorporating more views into their problem solving, they are able to achieve far more powerful solutions than they ever imagined. By seeking out the views of others, they easily engage all participants into the conversation. Even more powerful than the problem solving that emerges from the Action Learning session, the long-term positive effects spread to many facets of the participants’ lives. Team spirit within the organization deepens. These discoveries become a part of a new culture that emerges in the organization. On a day-to-day basis, the way people interact: whether it is water cooler talk, hallway conversations, or email whether committee meetings, or major boardroom consultations, these new communication and comprehension skills are quickly and effectively empowering all.​

THE RIGHT STUFF: WHAT TECHNICAL PROFESSIONALS LOOK FOR IN A LEADER

How Do You Know If Your Technical Leaders Have The Right Skills?

Are technical leaders substantively different than traditional leaders in service organizations? Are the required skills for technical leaders a completely different subset? Or are they simply applied differently? In this research effort, technical leaders were asked to identify the traits and behaviors of the best technical leaders they had experienced. No surprise that the skill set includes the same leadership behaviors exercised over time in complex organizations. Perhaps the difference is in the training design required to relate these skills more effectively to the context of a technical environment, and to demonstrate the synergies with technical prowess.