Organizational Design Archives

August 21, 2020August 29, 2020

Leadership Teams Must Do This Now

This is part three of a four-part series on Predictive Index (PI) drives.

Leaders possess competencies that include both skills and behaviors that result in superior performance. For many organizations there is a suite of leadership competencies that, when deployed effectively, delivers the desired results. In recent months, organizations have been required to pivot quickly and to navigate numerous shifting regimes. Leadership teams must do this now:

Acknowledge leadership strengths and blind spots
Analyze and position to optimize success SWOT
Gain leadership alignment to strategy
Identify operational, procedural, or people refinements
Map success in people-centric terms

August 6, 2020August 13, 2020

Introverts, Ambiverts, Extraverts and Everyone in Between

This is part two of a four-part series on Predictive Index (PI) drives.

Extraversion is defined by Predictive Index as the drive for social interaction with other people and it is one of four drives mapped by way of a scientifically-valid, six decade old algorithm known as the PI Behavioral Assessment. Understanding drives is the direct path to understanding the needs of people. When employers understand what drives, or motivates, the people who comprise their organizations, the possibilities are endless.

Why does PI measure only four drives? While humans have many drives, these four—Dominance, Extraversion, Patience and Formality—are the most influential drivers of workplace performance.

July 8, 2020July 8, 2020

Navigating Virtual Internships

As summer 2020 officially begins, many managers are launching their scheduled summer internships. While some programs have always been advertised as remote positions, like SHIFTS’s Digital Marketing Coordinator role, managers who envisioned a meaningful office experience for their interns are now faced with a change in plans. Much of the world’s workforce has transitioned to a remote experience. Employers and employees now find themselves distanced at-best, immersed in Zoom, or sadly unemployed. As many have discovered over the past few months, virtual employment is very different than an in-person experience. Due to COVID-19, internships have been no less than modified and many canceled. Managers are rethinking how they will assign tasks to interns, how they’ll track the intern’s progress, and how

in Employee Engagement / Employee Lifecycle / Organizational Design / People Management / Team Development 0 comments

July 1, 2020July 1, 2020

Why You Need the Right Tool for the Job

Do you have the right tool for the job? Well, we must first ask, what’s the job?

If you are tasked with tilling densely compacted soil, a handheld trowel is arguably not the best choice. The lightweight, curved scoop might accomplish the task, but the result would not be optimal. Nor would the soil preparation be done efficiently or add value. A broadfork, hoe, or pickaxe are all better choices and would accelerate the gardener’s ability to grow a successful garden.

Tools are designed for a specific purpose, so choosing the correct tool decreases the amount of effort required to get a job done without causing negative side effects.

As a business leader, what tools

in High Performing Teams / Organizational Design / People Management / Talent Optimization 0 comments

The Twin Lakes near Aspen where The Human Shift is located

April 16, 2020May 14, 2020

Define Your Values and Live by Them

In good times and in bad, leaders define a clear set of values and they live by them. They inspire a shared vision, and they enlist others in a common pursuit. Leaders are self-aware and they encourage others to challenge the status quo. They recruit new perspectives, value different processes and welcome experimentation and risk-taking.

Leaders foster collaboration and healthy debate to strengthen individuals and the team. Thus, talent development is a never-ending cycle where leaders celebrate the accomplishments of their staff by recognizing and rewarding those who embody the organization’s shared values and victories.

SHIFT launched this blog to bring you the best in leadership theory and practice, including pertinent content on the development of your team. We hope it ignites a thoughtful debate, empowers you to try something new, or shows you a new perspective on an old challenge.

Val Yaw, SHIFT CEO

in Leadership Development / Organizational Design / Self-Awareness 0 comments