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Original article from TrainingIndustry.com: https://www.trainingindustry.com/articles/leadership/effective-mentor-programs-recruiting-and-training-mentors/ Mentoring is a relationship in which an experienced person provides guidance to a less experienced person to help with his or her career development. Brendan Keegan, founder and managing partner of velocityHUB, defines it more specifically as “volunteering to develop individuals to achieve their goals … with nothing expected in return.” At Ipsen, a biopharmaceutical company that has created a global mentoring program, a mentor is defined “as someone who [...]

We all have the same 24 hours in a day. How you use those hours is what determines how productive or successful you’ll be. Normally we have a smart phone or a tablet on us at all times, so by utilizing apps will help keep you organized and even more productive. We’ve outlined a few apps that we find really useful, here is the list below.   To Do List Management Asana https://asana.com Free [...]

There are over 4.35 billion email accounts worldwide. This figure is predicted to reach 5.59 billion by 2019, a growth of more than 26%. There are 3.5 billion email users worldwide, including both business and consumer users.1 72% of US online adults send or receive personal emails via smartphone at least weekly.2 Email users send hundreds of billions of messages every single day. Conclusion: Email is a fundamental part of human interaction. With all this email activity, what types of [...]

If you look at some of the most successful organizations in the world, you can bet they didn’t get that way doing the same thing every day. They had to think differently, adjust when conflict came up, react to change, and make strategic decisions to move the organization forward. This type of thinking & decision making rarely happens by one person sitting behind a desk. For many of these organizations, it often requires the [...]

Do you feel like a lot of your work week is comprised of meetings? Either with co-workers or meeting with clients? Meetings are certainly important, but they are not always productive. According to Atlassian, “31 hours are spent in unproductive meetings each month!” That’s alarming, however there are things we can do to make our meetings more effective. In our facilitations with companies, we have discovered some of the most important—and simple—ways to collaborate [...]

As a young professional, I feel comfortable saying this. There are plenty of employers who are frustrated with the employees that are currently joining their teams. Working in the line of work that we do, we hear this more often than we would like to. It’s visible in the statistics that are all over Google, Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook and other resources that share both anecdotal and factual information. “...while 87% of recent graduates feel well [...]

All of our 45 United States Presidents made it to that prestigious position because they possessed leadership qualities and attributes in some form. However, simply because you are elected President, doesn’t mean you are automatically a great leader. Leadership is a process. Leadership requires work. Leadership necessitates action. Personal Interlude: I’ll be honest - my inclination to write this blog stems from my lack of observance for the Presidents Day holiday while growing up. I [...]

Transitions, layoffs, company downsizing, and corporate culture changes. These are some of the many reasons why executives find themselves in career transition situations. For some executives in senior-level positions, it can be a scary thing to have had a 15 to 25-year successful career at one company, and suddenly find yourself staring down your next decision.  You might be performing at your best, but there are just some things that are outside of your [...]

Have you ever wondered what separates average performers from high performers? We think about this question everyday. The Velocity team has studied over 50 performance traits of high performers, from personality to work ethic to leadership, and everything in between.  We have reviewed high performers across virtually every industry, job level and geography. Our research, surveys and experience drew us to the conclusion that there are two categories of high performance traits: ž  Born [...]

You have just been thrown into a new role – to lead the turnaround of a division of your company or perhaps the entire company. You have your work cut out for you and your team. Here are some tips to think about as you embark on this exciting challenge. DON’T throw stones at previous management. Everyone knows that there has been a leadership change and that you are in and your predecessor is out. [...]

“Whatever you hold in your mind on a consistent basis is exactly what you will experience in your life.” – Tony Robbins We have heard “them” say hundreds of times that participating in youth and college athletics prepares us for careers in business. Growing up, intuitively I understood that the lessons of teamwork, leadership, and community I learned from sports would translate into my professional life, and it continues to become more apparent. Through our [...]

Head turners. We all know a few—those people who walk into the room and without even looking at them, you know they are there. What is it that makes them so special? What is it that causes people to glance their way or crowd around them? The simplest explanation: these people have PRESENCE. SEE IT & BELIEVE IT Anyone who ever successfully assumed a leadership role understands that SEEING YOURSELF as a LEADER is [...]

Almost everyone could improve his or her success with a stronger understanding of and commitment to networking. From at least college, we have heard about the three most important things of getting ahead in the business world: network, network, network. While the delivery of this advice is quite humorous the first time one hears it, there is not much value unless one learns how to network. For example, a real estate agent can increase [...]

The terms “leadership” and “management” are often used to describe the same thing. “The project manager is the leader of the team.” This may be true, but just because Joe is the project manager does not necessarily make him a leader. Not to mention, what makes a leader and a coach different? Is a coach a manager? Let’s explore the unique qualities of each of these labels. How would you describe a manager? Management [...]

Recently, I faced a challenging experience during a board meeting for an organization. We were all passionate about the organization. There was a decision to be made and a difference of opinions. A fellow board member and I advocated our positions. I went first. Once the floor was my colleague’s, she became my opponent. At that precise moment, my walls went up, and I shut down. She went on the attack, and I sat [...]

What makes or breaks a project? The beginning—the VISION. Typically, the team is well meaning and the idea is great, but more than anything else, the project must have Goals, must have Values, and most importantly, must have a VISION. Why You Need a VISION Flour, baking soda, eggs, sugar, and chocolate. What can these five things make together? Well, they could make brown mush. If we simply mixed them together without paying attention [...]