by Doug Gray | May 12, 2013 | change, Employment, Leadership, strengths, talent, talent assessment
Throughout my career I have always done one thing: leadership development.
And my career has catapulted at many times… Specifically, whenever I partner with smart people doing great work.
In 2012 I partnered with Adam Ortiz, PsyD, Chris Leupold, PhD, and the team to provide predictive talent assessments for a large global F100 company.
These multi-rater, multi-method assessments are described below. The process is the most effective, valid talent assessment I have experienced to date. Please call me at 704.895.6479 to learn how we can provide this assessment for your senior leaders.
Executive Development Consulting
As a premier provider of executive assessment and coaching services, we excel at understanding our clients’ situations and helping them drive business results. EDC employs experts who are Ph.D.-level Organizational Psychologists, and possess more than 15 years of consulting and corporate experience working with C-suite and senior-level executives. Our depth of experience in working with companies of all sizes, and across the globe, is a key differentiator, and rather than relying on abstract concepts, EDC integrates proven methods for assessment and development. We design these methods to work within the parameters of your environment and can be tailored quickly and cost effectively. Our solutions equip individuals and organizations with the tools they need to achieve their goals.
Our Approach
Understanding what is required to excel is critical to individual and organizational advancement. We systematically define success in each client’s organization by asking questions that hone in on core competencies and underlying behaviors. We then use in-depth, behavioral interviews, 360-degree assessment, and psychological inventories to objectively assess those competencies and behaviors. Our goal is to provide a clear, accurate and relevant picture of your talent and where to most meaningfully invest your resources.
How We Add Value
We help our clients identify and develop their number one resource, their people. We do this by partnering to define the competencies critical to success, measuring them and developing the organization’s leaders with those competencies as the focal point. We equip individuals and organizations with the tools they need to turn executive assessment and development into sustainable advantage. Our practices are proven to achieve and sustain higher levels of leadership effectiveness, and are based on best practice research of leadership development strategies.
Our Philosophy
Our philosophy on development and coaching is that people grow by applying learnings to real world situations. EDC directly links executive development to individual and organizational needs by addressing values, motivations and behaviors in ways that support the achievement of development targets. Our approach links self-awareness with business results.
by Doug Gray | May 12, 2013 | Business, Coaching, strengths, Success
Imagine a mega-lottery where they winner gains a lifetime of wealth…
All you have to do is rank the following in the correct order.
Question: what are the most important secrets to success in life and work?
____ talent ____ luck ____ambition
Yes, there is a correct answer.
Yes, I know the answer.
DO YOU?
Call me at 704.895.6479 or comment below…
by Doug Gray | May 11, 2013 | Business, change, Coaching, exercise, Managers, money, Personal Development, Sales
Fact: We all aspire to be a superhero
Fact: I have written a book with a purple cover called “Passionate Actiuon: 5 Steps to Creating Success in Life and Work” (2007)
Fact: There is no sex in the book. Sorry.
So what does it mean to be the Passionate Action guy?
1. Passions are expressions of strong emotion. They help us create. Passions lead to something else. Think of any relationship– there are passionate impulses at the start, yet relationships are hard to maintain over time. Think of any business- there is a passionate focus at the start- yet it is hard to maintain most businesses over time. Sparks start fires. But they do not maintain fires.
2. Actions require focused accountability. Nothing sexy involved. Daily habits lead to results. Make your sales. Focus on delivery.
This is HOW I help my clients make money and serve others. Call me at 704.895.6479 for details.
My experience is that we create success when 1) luck meets 2) prepared opportunity.
In that formula, the only thing I can control is preparation. And so I continue, day after day, year after year. Since 1997.
Success starts with the physical actions. Like running and yoga stretching. Like daily calls to prospects. Like KPIs.
So why wait? Call me at 704.895.6479 with your story.
Most of us need a little more passionate action in our lives.
by Doug Gray | May 10, 2013 | Business, change, Employment, money, Personal Development, Sales, strengths
GOMO stands for Going Through the Motions.
Some 70% of workers are dissatisfied with their jobs.
Some 50% of marriages end in divorce.
Some 20% of people make a living doing what they love… Huh? Yes, it is possible. Here are two stories.
1. One of my clients, Matt, co-founded an IT company that provided a unique service. Over 10 years they were acquired by 3 companies. Matt was the principal architect of the software. But he was getting restless. His young family was not happy in the D.C. metro. He was tired of being a GOMO. We had worked together 6 years previously. So he re-hired me to explore “what’s next?” He realized that several of the executives on their team were working remotely. In short, he could live anywhere. So within 4 months he relocated to Colorado. And he re-designed how he managed his product development team. That process occurred in months, not years…
2. Another client, Allen, had been an HR manager for many years, but he aspired to be a global talent director of a nearby F500 company. We met at a Vistage International meeting. Shortly thereafter he realized that he could not imagine staying at his current employer. He felt trapped. There was no evident career ladder. He struggled each day, and hated the fact that he called himself a GOMO. So we explored options. He did not want to move. His divorced wife, and their children, were nearby. So he designed a virtual talent recruitment program, using former HR colleagues who wanted to work from home. He built the system and sold services to F500 clients. In short, he developed and moved into his dream job.
So how about you? Are you feeling stuck as a GOMO?
If ready to explore what’s next, then call me at 704.895.6479 now.
There is no wisdom in waiting.
by Doug Gray | May 9, 2013 | change, Coaching, Employment, money, strengths
Option 1. Americans are known throughout the world as a country of optimists.
We were founded as the “New World”, we foster Nobel Prizes and Patents and innovations that imply global leadership for centuries to come.
The defining question is “What’s next?”
- Consider every political campaign… or product launch… or new business…
- Consider any Apple product launch, and the fact that Steve Jobs spent 6 weeks (consider that time investment) preparing to announce “what’s next?”
- Consider media descriptions, such as the West Wing television series. Fast action. Continuous movement– walking between rooms or hallways. Glib banter. And after any dramatic moment, that long pause, and the president or chief of staff turns to the exhausted team and asks, “What’s next?” Perhaps the defining question of that television series.
- Consider sports. I played ice hockey in college, so I recall the Wayne Gretsky quote, “I skate to where the puck will be…” Pick your sport.
In business we focus on “What’s next?” We make our daily to do lists. And we choose markets. And we make calls to those who need our products and services. We wake each morning with that ancient optimistic faith that we can “Make it a great day.”
Or not.
Option 2. Some people choose to hide or protect their interests. They do not reach forward, or look up, to embrace what’s next. They are fearful.
Wags often state that there are two kinds of people. Those who think there are two kinds of people. And those who disagree.
Lately I think there are only options to the “What’s next?” question.
Are you option 1, based on optimism, or option 2, based on fear?
Call me at 704.895.6479 with your answer.
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