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Corexcel Training, Tips & Resources Blog

Build Trust – Be a Star Team Player! | Webinar

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Trusting Team Players

Most of us think we are trustworthy. But do we always behave in ways that builds trust with others? Since trust is the foundation for teamwork, when you or other team members do things that derail trust, those behaviors can result in diminished returns for your team.

There is a simple but powerful model that helps you develop the skills to become a better teammate and start building a better team.

Join us to discover:

  1. 4 ways to build trust within your team
  2. The type of trust that promotes healthy conflict.
  3. How to get from Trust to Results

Date: May 22, 2019

Time: 2:00 – 2:30 PM EST

Cost: Complimentary.

Can’t attend? Register anyway and we’ll send you the recording.

Contact Us for More Information

5 Key Ways How Leadership Style Impacts Corporate Culture

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Corporate CultureYour organization’s culture comes from its history and the values, beliefs, and attitudes that it holds. What behaviors are acceptable? What traditions are followed? What is your mission? These factors, and your team members’ styles, are your culture’s ingredients. Mix them together, add a dash of group dynamics, and voila! Your corporate culture is complete.

The style of your organization’s leaders also has a dramatic effect on your corporate culture, in five key ways:

  1. The pace at which decisions are made. Leaders who make quick decisions produce a fast-paced environment, which can be stressful. More methodical leaders provide a more relaxed atmosphere. However, this can diminish your competitive edge.
  2. The process for making decisions and getting things done. Some leaders take a look-at-the-big-picture approach while others obsess over details. When employees are left to work independently, self-starters shine but team camaraderie is minimized. In more collaborative settings, employees have less opportunity to showcase their own accomplishments.
  3. The standards of perfection. Do leaders expect work to be uniformly perfect, or is trial-and-error accepted in an effort to achieve innovation? Striving only for perfection can cause missed opportunities while leniency can diminish quality.
  4. The perspective on risk. Do leaders make bold decisions or proceed with tiny steps? A constant push for innovation can result in missteps while cautiousness can cause missed opportunities.
  5. The predictability of the work experience. Predictable leaders give employees a comfortable atmosphere, though things tend to remain status quo. Leaders who react to clients or the market encourage innovation. This can become a negative if the atmosphere becomes chaotic.

As leadership style directly affects corporate culture, it’s essential that leaders understand the implications of their style. An easy-to-use online tool, Everything DiSC Work of Leaders®, provides a customized strategy for leadership success. The assessment gives your leaders the personalized information and guidance they need to maximize their effectiveness.

Email us at learn@corexcel.com to learn more.

Webinar: Build Your DiSC Capabilities & Strengthen Culture

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Building DiSC CapabilitiesDiSC® is an amazing, simple tool that dramatically improves communication, teamwork and enhances culture. It is easy to understand and remember. However, good managers know that completing DiSC assessments are just a first step.

It takes a conscious effort to reinforce DiSC concepts and use the learning across different workplace challenges. Ones like improving management and teamwork, reducing conflict, and embracing change.

In this short 30-minute webinar we’ll explore 5 steps to create a DiSC culture and review available resources, facilitation kits and materials that will help you use DiSC every day to improve your workplace.

Date:  April 24, 2019

CONTACT US FOR MORE INFORMATION

Taking the Sting Out of 360 Feedback Profiling

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Feedback UnderlinedEvery thriving organization relies on honest feedback. For leaders, input is crucial not only from their bosses, but also from subordinates and colleagues. To solicit input, many organizations use 360-degree performance feedback profiles. However, with the way these assessments are structured, the comments can sting—and even cause damage to morale. Fortunately, there’s a better way. Let us explain.

A Traditional 360 (The Old Way)

In typical 360-degree performance assessments, leaders assess their own performance. Their peers, subordinates, and managers assess them as well. Challenges arise because:

  • Free-form comment sections give reviewers free rein to say whatever they wish. With input provided anonymously, the comments can be mean-spirited and demoralizing.
  • In small organizations, leaders can figure out who commented. This can make people hesitant to provide honest feedback. It also causes resentment when people are brutally honest.

So how can you get the information you need to help your leaders excel? Use Checkpoint 360, a revolutionary, online feedback profile!

360 (The New Way)

Why Checkpoint 360?

  • It produces a detailed report that conveniently highlights key points in a top section. This presents leaders’ greatest strengths and their top development opportunities, so leaders can start to improve their results right away.
  • It replaces a section for free-form comments with carefully crafted questions to produce instructive, informative comments for leaders. The focus is on constructive feedback that reduces the sting!
  • It uses the DiSC® model, so it looks at behaviors and delivers detailed, easy-to-understand data—with helpful graphs.

Here’s an example. A traditional 360 assessment might ask, “Does this leader clearly communicate team opportunities?” Meanwhile, Checkpoint asks, “Do you think this leader needs to be more active about finding new opportunities for the group?” with multiple-choice answers:

  • Yes, a lot more
  • Yes, a little more
  • No

Reviewers then select additional, pre-populated comments, such as “Their passion for finding new opportunities encourages the rest of us to show initiative” or “They already do a good job of finding new opportunities.” This allows for useful, sting-free actionable feedback that your leaders need for positive development.

We’re here to help you revolutionize the way your organization delivers feedback. Email us at learn@corexcel.com to learn more.

5 Ways Style Impacts Culture | Webinar

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According to recent studies, culture remains a top issue of concern to business and HR leaders across the globe.

What is culture? Culture is a combination of behaviors, values and attitudes that many take for granted and have major implications in the workplace. It affects such things as the pace work gets done, attention paid to details, how outsiders are treated or the risk that your group or organization takes.

Join us to explore five ways that the personality style of individuals and behavior style of your group influences their workplace and their success in meeting goals. You’ll gain an understanding of areas in your culture you want to reinforce and those you may want to change.

Date: March 27, 2019Office Culture

Contact Us for More Information

 

Planning a DiSC Workshop? Set Yourself Up for Success

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DiSC WorkshopAs an employer, you likely know about the power of DiSC profile tests for assessing your employees’ personalities, learning about team dynamics, and taking action based on the results. Hosting a DiSC workshop is a fantastic way to educate your team on what DiSC offers and how to use it for your organization. To ensure a successful DiSC Assessment Training workshop, ask yourself these questions:

Who is your audience?

This affects not only who should participate, but also how the workshop should be structured. Are you looking to teach first-time managers? Employees who started in the last quarter? Senior management? An entire department? You’ll want to adjust the workshop’s content and approach accordingly.

What is your goal?

What do you want participants to know or do as a result of the DiSC workshop? For example, do you want to: pinpoint the cause of an ongoing problem, improve communication, reinforce sales skills, or boost customer service? This determines which DiSC assessment to use-and how to tailor your workshop.

What is your schedule?

Can you dedicate the three or four hours typical of a workshop that includes participant exercises? Would a 90-minute workshop on two different days work better? Or would incorporating DiSC training into an existing workshop be best? Your schedule affects the workshop’s design.

What is your trainer preference?

Is someone on your staff willing and able to conduct the workshop? There are excellent facilitator kits to guide those who are comfortable in that role. If you would rather hire an experienced DiSC facilitator, we can point you to local experts.

Do you prefer an in-person or virtual workshop?

There are advantages to each. A virtual workshop lets you train employees across multiple locations. However, for some folks, nothing compares to an on-site facilitator interacting with your team.

Whether you’re using DiSC to resolve issues with individuals, improve your workplace culture, or enhance any other aspect of your organization, you should host a DiSC Training workshop to properly educate your team. Prepare yourself with these questions ahead of time, and you’ll be off and running.

Six Essential Steps to a Great Hire

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Essential Hiring StepsWhen your organization has a job opening, you want to hire the right person. You also want the hiring process to be as smooth as possible. Whether you’re filling a new position or replacing an employee, follow these steps:

1. Update the job description or create a new one.

Clearly state the education, experience, and skills that you seek. Include the job’s compensation.

2. Publicize the job

Post the job opening on LinkedIn, Indeed, or other job boards. Also, post it on your internal job board, so that your current employees have an opportunity for career growth. Spread the word through your network of contacts as well.

3. Screen and narrow your pool of candidates

Review the applications/resumes for experience, education, and work history. Does the candidate’s experience match what you’re seeking? Are there unexplained gaps in job history? Has the candidate jumped from job to job? The answers help narrow down the pool to those most qualified.

4. Conduct phone interviews

Phone interviews help you gauge each candidate’s energy. If you’re filling a customer-facing job, assess the candidate’s speaking ability. If you’re hiring for a solitary job, the individual’s enunciation on the phone is less important.

5. Use a hiring assessment tool

Now that you’ve spoken with a candidate, you’ll want to “look under the hood.” We recommend using PXT Select™, an online tool that measures behavioral and thinking styles, interests, verbal and numeric skills, and even assertiveness. Importantly, it helps set apart candidates who otherwise seem equal. With PXT Select, you can compare an individual’s results with the job’s performance model—and with other candidates’ results. This adds a layer of objectivity to the hiring process.

6.Conduct in-person interviews

Interview your final, select group of candidates. PXT Select provides personalized interview questions designed to clarify discrepancies identified in the assessment.

Now you have the information you need to select the best candidate. Once your offer has been accepted, you can use PXT Select’s onboarding tips. Happy hiring!

Yes, You Can Minimize Workplace Conflict

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Meeting Involving Conflict

There’s conflict in every workplace. It’s inevitable. Colleagues with different communication styles working together every day are bound to have friction sometimes. Surely you’ve seen this in your own workplace.

For instance, consider the “no-fluff” boss. “I need this report on my desk by 10:00,” she might announce Monday morning. The employee, however, had started his day with a cheerful “Good morning! How was your weekend?” to his co-workers. With his softer communication style, he might react negatively to his boss. Neither style is right or wrong, but it’s easy for someone to misunderstand another’s intent. That’s how conflict arises.

In your workplace:

  • Is there an employee who repeatedly offends others?
  • Is there an employee who’s often mad?
  • Do team members fail to effectively convey ideas to one another?
  • Are employees just not getting along?

Let us help.

Tell us about the conflict your workplace is experiencing. If you can’t pinpoint the root of the problem, we’ll help you identify it. Then we’ll establish an action plan on how to minimize conflict in your workplace. We might recommend:

Personality assessments. These assessments shed light on the group’s culture and the tendencies of the individuals. You can even compare the priorities of two individuals and uncover their potential communication roadblocks. You’ll have a roadmap to success, with advice on how the individuals can best work with each other.

Coaching or training. Our on-site and virtual workshops let you learn how to achieve smoother interactions, at your convenience. If you prefer to run a workshop yourself, we can provide the necessary materials.

Your customized action plan for resolving conflict in the workplace is designed to eliminate dysfunctional communication that creates roadblocks. Our goal is to deliver the “aha” moments that come from employees learning to understand themselves and one another. There’s no better way to minimize conflict in the workplace.

To get started, please email us at learn@corexcel.com.

3 Ways Unconscious Bias Can Hurt Your Workplace

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People Greeting Each OtherThe Wall Street Journal recently ran a fascinating article, “Why We Stereotype Strangers“. It stated that we all have unconscious biases, even if we don’t want to. We form perceptions from childhood, based on what our parents tell us, what we see on television, and even what we observe in strangers. It’s not our fault that we’re biased–but we must understand the workplace implications.

Implicit bias directly affects your workplace. Interviewers, for instance, might be unconsciously drawn to candidates similar to themselves. Bias can hurt your organization because:

You can pass up talent

Finding good people is hard enough. It’s a shame to rule out excellent candidates because of bias.

You can miss out on your team’s expertise

If a team member’s race, sexual orientation, or religion is the root of a manager’s implicit bias, the employee’s valuable input might not be heard.

You can create an insular culture

If your organization lacks diversity, decisions can be made by a group of people not reflecting the diversity of your clients.

Thankfully, you can work around bias by having a goal. Where is your organization now, and where does it want to go? This includes revamping your hiring process:

  1. Describe the open position.
  2. State the competencies and traits necessary for it.
  3. Match candidates’ qualifications to desired competencies and traits without knowing their name, gender, race, age, etc.
  4. During interviews, be mindful of potential bias.

Perhaps the best way to work around implicit bias is to use an objective hiring tool, such as PXT Select™. This hiring assessment helps you select the best candidates by producing reports with objective data. PXT can’t tell if a candidate is male or female, black, white, or purple! With PXT, qualified candidates shine on merit.

To learn more about this topic or PXT Select, send an email through our contact form.

 

“PXT Select” is a trademark of John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

DiSC® Myths—Busted

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DiSC® Myths—Busted

How much do you know about the DiSC® Personality Test? When it comes to behavior assessment profiles, DiSC is simply unmatched. Participants complete a short survey, which then generates insightful results on their behavior. DiSC offers valuable information for your organization, yet misconceptions abound. Here are some DiSC assessment myths debunked.

Myth #1: You can’t use DiSC as part of your hiring process.
Truth: While DiSC shouldn’t be your sole decision-making tool, it can be helpful during the hiring process. DiSC provides insight into a candidate’s behavior and communication preferences, so it can help you find someone who fits nicely in your organization.

Myth #2: You must have special certification to use DiSC in training sessions.
Truth: Unless you’re outside North America, you can use DiSC without receiving certification. This makes DiSC highly accessible to organizations that would benefit from this tool.

Myth #3: DiSC is like other behavior assessments out there.
Truth: DiSC measures so much more. While other assessments label individuals in one of a handful of categories, DiSC identifies an individual’s primary—and secondary—style. So instead of simply identifying participants as having a “D,” “i,” “S,” or “C” style (for Dominance, Influence, Conscientiousness, and Steadiness), DiSC notes their style as CD, Si, and so on. It’s a more layered approach to reflect that no individual has a “one-note” personality.

DiSC is differentiated even further by diving deeper into the intensity of each participant’s personality. With an individual’s results plotted as a dot on a graph like the one here, the location of the dot is very telling. Is your dot toward the edge of the circle? If so, then your personality is firmly in the identified style. Is your dot towards the center of the circle? In that case, you have those characteristics to a lesser degree.

Circular DiSC Model

Do you have questions? You can find common DISC questions and answers here.

To learn more, please email us at learn@corexcel.com.

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