Episodes
Friday Aug 13, 2021
Friday Aug 13, 2021
In this episode, Andrea Butler interviews Adam Yamaguchi about applying skills and competencies to learning and development. Adam is the Talent and Organizational Development Consultant at Zoom Communications
Key takeaways from this episode:
- Take a consultative approach to really understand what the business needs are, and what the individual needs are, and offer learning and development opportunities that align to both.
- Self-awareness and Empathy are two critical skills right now. The ability to understand others' experiences and how they are feeling is critical. These two skills are also really hard skills to develop.
Tuesday Aug 10, 2021
Tuesday Aug 10, 2021
In this episode, Andrea Butler interviews Lauren (Carroll) Mandel about applying skills and competencies to performance management. Lauren is the Director of People Operations at Tread.
Key takeaways from this episode:
- Most companies have moved away from the annual performance review towards regular performance feedback in the form of one-on-ones or more frequent reviews.
- The best feedback is timely feedback. For example, providing feedback after a project ends, or after a sales call, or after some other performance event.
- Three competencies that are critical for successful performance right now are communication, coachability, and adaptability.
Thursday Jul 29, 2021
Applying Skills and Competencies to Employee Engagement - with Stefanie McNeil
Thursday Jul 29, 2021
Thursday Jul 29, 2021
In this episode, Andrea Butler interviews Stefanie McNeil about applying skills and competencies to employee engagement. Stefanie is the Director of People and Talent at Field Effect, a global cybersecurity company.
Key takeaways from this episode:
Within employee engagement, there are a few main areas that organizations should really focus on and do a temperature check on to make sure they are focusing on the right things.
- Is there a high level of trust in leadership and management? In an engaged workforce, employees see leaders as credible, reliable, and trustworthy.
- Is there a communication approach that embraces two-way communication? Ideally, there should be a feedback loop so that you are not waiting for your annual engagement survey results to learn about any issues or challenges. There should be a clear line of visibility and communication to employees.
- What does employee growth and development look like? Employees want to feel they can grow and develop in their current role or any future roles.
Wednesday Jul 28, 2021
Developing and Maintaining an Organizational Culture
Wednesday Jul 28, 2021
Wednesday Jul 28, 2021
In this episode, Andrea Butler interviews Sadie O'Neill about developing and maintaining organizational culture.
Key takeaways from this episode:
- One way to be more active in communicating culture is to use a bottom-up feedback process called continuous listening, where you have an open platform where employees can share their thoughts. This platform should be a direct line to leadership and allow employees to feel that their voices are heard. It is particularly important to keep these lines of communication open during remote work.
- When collecting employee data on culture, only ask about topics that are actionable. For example, don’t ask about satisfaction with pay if you are unable to increase pay.
Wednesday Jul 14, 2021
Wednesday Jul 14, 2021
In this episode, Andrea Butler interviews Carlin Dominique Rensburg about applying skills and competencies to learning and development. Carlin is the Director of Talent Development at Mediabrands Canada.
Key takeaways from this episode:
- Driven by the new realities of work, Emotional Intelligence and upskilling in the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion space is critical right now.
- These skills are particularly important for new leaders who may be leading people who are both in-person and virtual. In this environment, it's important to understand the unique perspective of all people on your team and be able to pivot to their individual needs while keeping DEI top of mind.
Monday Jul 05, 2021
Monday Jul 05, 2021
In this episode, Dan van der Werf interviews Caroline Faulds about applying skills and competencies to Performance Management. Caroline leads People Operations at Canada Pooch.
Key takeaways from this episode:
Take more of an agile approach to performance management and goal setting. One way is to make performance management more dynamic through ongoing coaching, one-on-one meetings, and goal setting, rather than doing this once a year.
One great way to measure performance is using a balance of Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) and competencies. What is great is that OKRs get at the “What” needs to be accomplished, while competencies get at the “How” it gets accomplished.
Thursday Jul 01, 2021
Applying Skills and Competencies to Leadership Development - with PJ Rovinelli Jr
Thursday Jul 01, 2021
Thursday Jul 01, 2021
In this episode, Christine Lamothe interviews PJ Rovinelli Jr about applying skills and competencies to leadership development. PJ is the Director of Talent Development at Ewing Irrigation & Landscape Supply.
Key takeaways from this episode:
Leaders need to spend less time on x’s and o’s and strategy, and more time with their people. Leaders should strive to create a culture of feedback, through effective team meetings, engaging with people one-on-one, and holding regular meetings to enable coaching conversations.
Three competencies that are critical for leadership right now include:
1. emotional intelligence – having self-awareness and leading with empathy.
2. Communication skills – continually communicate in an effective manner. Asking good questions, and listening to others.
3. Emotional endurance – putting in the emotional work and energy to lead each individual differently, in the way they need to be led.
Thursday Jul 01, 2021
How Unconscious Bias Impacts Leadership - with Avelia Stewart
Thursday Jul 01, 2021
Thursday Jul 01, 2021
In this episode, Christine Lamothe interviews Avelia Stewart about how unconscious bias impacts leadership. Avelia serves as the Diversity and Inclusion Lead at Western Financial Group.
Key takeaways from this episode:
Unconscious bias is very prevalent, and most times happens without people being aware of it. These biases can impact who is hired or who is promoted.
To combat unconscious bias, leaders need to be able to identify biases, assess which biases impact them and their organization. Implement structures that can help to minimize biases. Example structures include recruitment processes or tools, and promotion processes or tools. Accountability is also critical. Hold each other accountable. Call bias out when you see it. Create opportunities for discussion and dialogue around these biases.
Tuesday Jun 29, 2021
Applying Skills and Competencies to Hiring - with Leah Merli
Tuesday Jun 29, 2021
Tuesday Jun 29, 2021
In this episode, Dan van der Werf interviews Leah Merli about applying skills and competencies to hiring. Leah is the Head of Global Talent Acquisition at McCain Foods.
Key takeaways from this episode:
Skills or competencies that are important to hire for right now are those needed to help guide transformation. Skills like problem solving, agility, and change management are critical, especially during these quickly changing times.
In order to make sure you are hiring for the right skills, it's important to understand your internal and external talent market. Workforce planning is key to clearly understand what you will need, and when you will need it.
Wednesday Jun 23, 2021
Applying Skills and Competencies to Leadership Development - with J.D. Slaughter
Wednesday Jun 23, 2021
Wednesday Jun 23, 2021
In this episode, Christine Lamothe interviews J.D. Slaughter about applying skills and competencies to leadership development. J.D. is Vice President of Talent Management at Huge
Two leadership skills that are critical right now are:
1. Managing change and ambiguity. Not just managing change for yourself, but more importantly for others – teams, departments, organizations. Helping people see more clearly is mission-critical right now.
2. Developing others. It's critical to actively develop your people, align them to career-defining experiences, and help them to accelerate their careers. If leaders don’t do this, they will lose their talent to other organizations.