CategoryEmployee Engagement

Feedback is a Gift

By Sean P. Murray
February 3, 2010
3 Min read
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“Get a feedback loop and listen to it. … When people give you feedback, cherish it and use it.” – Randy Pausch (1960 – 2008) was a Professor of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University and a best-selling author, who achieved worldwide fame for his speech The Last Lecture, after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and having only a few months to live. Most people, by now, know the story of Randy Pausch and his Last Lecture.    The book was a best-seller and the video of the lecture...

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Something to be Thankful for: Your People

By Sean P. Murray
November 25, 2009
2 Min read
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As we prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving tomorrow with our families, now is an appropriate time to take account of the many things to be thankful for at work.  As a leader, what comes to mind for me is the debt and gratitude I have for the people I have the honor to work with everyday.  So how do I, as a leader thank the many people around me who not only contribute to my success, but more importantly to the success of the organization?  One way is to simply say “thank you.”  But another more...

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Leadership and Time Management

By Sean P. Murray
October 28, 2009
5 Min read
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Earlier this month, while catching a flight home to Seattle from New York City after a long week on the road meeting with clients, I made it to my seat, sat down and breathed a huge sigh of relief.  For a moment, it was bliss.  I knew in a few hours I would be home to see my family.  But then the slow, creeping realization set in that my email in-box was overloaded with hundreds of emails I was unable to get to while on the road.  Furthermore, I had five voicemails on my cell phone and probably...

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Turning Employees into “Owners”

By Sean P. Murray
September 28, 2009
2 Min read
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The Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index is a joint venture between Gallup and the health management company Healthways.  The Index is designed to measure the overall well-being of the United States and its various regions by randomly administering a comprehensive survey measuring the overall mental, physical and emotional health of individuals across the country (Hawaii and Utah top the list). Healthways being a client of RealTime Performance, I have been following the index carefully and I was...

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Applying the 5As Framework

By Sean P. Murray
September 18, 2009
5 Min read
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Often when working with clients to design and deliver leadership training, I’m told to create an experience where participants have fun, are fully engaged in the program and learn new skills.  Recently, I partnered with a client, a major U.S.-based insurance company, that decided to raise the bar and set the expectation that learners would also apply what they learned back on their job in a way that impacts business results. To achieve this goal we applied the 5As Framework to the design and...

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Creating a Learning Culture

By Sean P. Murray
September 9, 2009
3 Min read
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One of the great business challenges of the 21st century will be building the capacity of large, complex organizations to change and evolve continuously in order to deliver ever-increasing value to customers.  In the world of leadership development, we often think of this pursuit through the narrow lens of developing individual leadership skills and competencies through training. Creating a Learning Culture However, an adaptive and flexible organization is the result of a true learning culture...

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The Downside of Multitasking

By Sean P. Murray
September 1, 2009
2 Min read
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One of the long-standing assumptions about leadership in today’s wired and global economy is the critical importance of multitasking.  With information coming at us through email, RSS, Twitter, smart phones and the like, the ability to perform multiple actions at once, quickly prioritizing tasks and making decisions, would seem to be an important contributor to leadership success.  However, the more this vaunted “skill” comes under scrutiny, the more doubts there are about the correlation...

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U.S. Army Embraces Wikis

By Sean P. Murray
August 25, 2009
4 Min read
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In July, the U.S. Army broke with long-standing tradition and began encouraging all personnel to contribute to U.S. Army Field Manual.  The Army Field Manual, which contains detailed information and how-to’s, serves as a playbook for soldiers operating in the field.  The New York Times reports: The goal, say the officers behind the effort, is to tap more experience and advice from battle-tested soldiers rather than relying on the specialists within the Army’s array of colleges and research...

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The Economic Value of Trust

By Sean P. Murray
June 30, 2009
3 Min read
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Trust can be difficult to define and measure, but there is wide-spread agreement that high levels of trust correlate with high levels of employee engagement.  RealTime Performance has done considerable work helping companies define values and identify competencies, and in almost every instance, establishing and building trust is designated a critical component for leadership development and organizational culture.  This result holds up across all industries, job functions and leadership levels...

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How do you build trust?

By Sean P. Murray
June 16, 2009
3 Min read
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The following is the fourth in a series of five questions and corresponding answers on leadership. See questions:  How to motivate and inspire others? What is the biggest challenge for leaders? What steps or strategies do you use to develop others? 4. How do you build trust with your team and peers? There are a few things I try to keep in mind.  First, I always try to keep the interest of others above my own.   People will trust you if they believe you have their best interest at heart.  A good...

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