The Essentials for Effective Leadership Development

Not all people who conduct leadership development are sensitive to the needs of different kinds of leaders. They don’t realize that there are those leaders who rely or depend on other people or experiences just to keep them going, while there are those, like charismatic leaders, who rely on themselves in bringing out their leadership skills.  If you are part of a group that conducts leadership development, then you must know that using the traditional and formal approach no longer works. Now, even leaders want activities that are not purely based on books and theories, but real life learning. 

Since many clients prefer non-traditional leadership development, you must know how to develop strategies to ensure that they will be satisfied with the outcome. Today, one of the most common and effective approaches that is being used in leadership development is incorporating the concept of self-motivation.  This is because many experts believe that leaders these days need lots of reflection and self-assessment. Self-motivation is very important for leaders because it helps them become better aware of their strengths and weaknesses. If a leader knows what his strengths are, he will be able to continue what he is doing and even build upon it. On the other hand, knowing one's weaknesses is as equally as important, because the person will know what areas he should improve. If one knows his weaknesses, he might be able to turn these weaknesses into opportunities that will make him successful in the future. 

To ensure that the participants will be receptive to the idea of using self-motivation to develop good leadership skills, you must carefully explain to them how it works. Encourage them to understand that it is through being self-motivated that an effective leader sets his mind into accomplishing something extraordinary. Setting one’s mind towards something helps him aim for and achieve an objective.

The next best thing that you can tell participants during leadership development is to start with small and simple tasks. Being a leader might be easy for some, but for others, it may be very difficult. Make your participants understand that if they start small and simple, they will be able to accomplish these goals an easier and faster way. If simple goals are set and achieved early, they will be able to earn the self-confidence that they will need in facing greater and bigger challenges ahead. 

Experts agree that leadership development is a very important factor for people who are aiming for success in their lives. This is also important because it gives the person a sense of freedom in choosing paths that he has to take. Through the values that are taught during these activities, leaders are given the chance to maneuver or control their own lives, which in the future will help them become the best persons they possibly can be.

To develop the skills for effective leadership, visit: http://coreedgehrworkforcesolutions.core-edge.com/ and http://charismaticleadership.coreedgecharisma.com

IBAR Critical Thinking Method Workshop

How do you turn new hires, newly promoted supervisors, and employees,
needing extreme supervision, into critical thinkers who can solve problems?


Core Edge Image & Charisma Institute developed the IBAR Critical Thinking Method after researching for what CEOs believed were the essential skills needed within today’s marketplace. Among the responses, Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Leadership skills ranked at the top.

In the IBAR Critical Thinking Method Workshop, employees learn…

• How to increase corporate productivity and profitability by spotting industry trends and effectively responding to customer needs.

• How to become a critical thinker needing less supervision and direction.

• How to apply critical and strategic thinking to life’s challenges—personally and professionally.

• And much more!

For more information or to request a complimentary 30 minute introductory seminar on the IBAR Critical Thinking Method, visit: http://go.ibarcriticalthinkingmethod.com or call: (404) 767-6592 today!

The Trend Towards Greater Leadership Development Within Companies

In the past, companies maintain their office machines better than their employees. Today, however, the most forward-looking corporations are all into leadership development. This shift in perspective on people had actually been triggered by the long-term shift itself of the world economy. From a total dependence on financial capital, economies all over are now dependent on human capital.

Human resources

In the midst of economic upswings and downswings, companies have realized that money for investment is a precious commodity. Even in the middle of the present economic crunch, money had been deposed as the number one scarce resource in business. Human talent, however, is now the scarcer commodity. As the CEO of a top recruiting company says, “Organizations need talented people a lot more than talented people need organizations.”

Companies of a feather

There is now a growing trend of companies that developed their people with opportunities to learn and grow to become higher-performing organizations. A closer look at these companies reveals a striking resemblance of their practices. Operating all kinds of businesses and based from all over the world, these organizations share similar traits in creating leadership development programs.

Time and money investment

To cut to the chase, running leadership development programs is expensive – both in money and time. CEOs, however, think that this is “the single best investment” they make in their company. Many companies claim they are all interested in developing leaders. Today, most of the companies evaluate their own executives partly on how they develop people.

Promising leaders’ early identification

Spotting promising leaders early on can result in their earlier development. Some companies who have internship programs use the time the interns spend with them to evaluate their potential. Companies who nurture their future leaders early on believe that they have a competitive edge. Their talent reserves become bigger and better than the others.

Strategic assignment choices

In a typical leadership development process, two-thirds of the candidates come from job experience, one-third from mentoring and coaching and a smattering come straight from classrooms.

Mixing job assignments are tough, even if they looked okay at first. Organizations tend to assign people based on what they are good at, and not on what they need to work on. Managers have consistently reported that their hardest experiences were the most helpful in the end.

Developing leaders on the job

There is tension among the CEOs who want to develop their people by moving them about in their need to develop leaders in their expertise in certain areas. Other companies solve it by leaving their leaders in their exact productive places and having them rotated in other jobs through short-term work assignments. These leaders do not leave their present positions, but they can take on short additional assignments.

Feedback and support

In learning, if you do not know how you have performed, chances are you will not learn at all and may not care later. In some companies, feedback is rare. Many successful CEOs declared that frequent and honest assessment with plenty of mentoring and support has propelled them to the top.

All in all, companies now view leadership development as a real investment venture, albeit in human forms, rather than in cold forms of machines made of metal. Investing in creating “knowledge workers” is the wave of the future.

For more information on developing leadership skills for great productivity and profitability, visit: Charisma

The IBAR Critical Thinking Method Makes Employees More Productive and Profitable Like Charismatic Leaders

Edward Brown, M.S., of Core Edge Image & Charisma Institute provides questions and answers about the impact of the IBAR Critical Thinking Method on corporate productivity and profitability.

Q: What is the IBAR Critical Thinking Method and how did it come about?

Brown: IBAR is an acronym for Issue, Benchmarking, Analysis/Application, and Recommendation. Each section of the process is designed to resolve a business problem, but can be used generically. The IBAR Critical Thinking Method was developed from our work on charismatic leaders.  Research showed that the “visioning” trait of charismatic leaders was nothing other than a leader’s highly evolved critical thinking skills.

Q: What influenced the IBAR Critical Thinking Method?

Brown: Essentially, I took the legal analysis method I learned in law school combined with the research methods I learned in my master’s degree program and created a user friendly method that average employees can learn to solve complex problems.

Q: Why was it important to create another critical thinking method? Aren’t there already other methods in existence?

Brown:  I wanted a proprietary method that we could create that focused on tackling business related issues. Although the other critical thinking methods are effective, the IBAR Critical Thinking Method is designed to make the average employee a “knowledge worker.”  As a knowledge worker, an employee can become an expert within a specific subject matter and think and research on a graduate school level. 

Q: What corporate need does critical thinking fulfill in the marketplace?

Brown: Research suggests that the top skills employers are looking for in employees are: Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Leadership skills. The IBAR Critical Thinking Method was designed to address the top needs of employers for the 21st Century.  The information Age requires employees not only to be able to find information on the Internet, but to develop the skills to analyze and apply the information to specific problems in real time.

For information on the IBAR Critical Thinking Method and charisma, click: Charisma 

IBAR Critical Thinking Method Helps Employees Become Subject Matter Experts

For immediate release:                                                                                   

December 14, 2012

12:00PM (EST)

                     

Employers rank Critical Thinking as a priority in the global economy

Atlanta, GA—December 14, 2012---Core Edge Image & Charisma Institute recently developed the IBAR Critical Thinking Method (IBAR) after research showed that employers want more critical thinkers in their ranks.  According to the Critical Thinking Academy website, a Hart Research Associates study interviewed 302 employers about the skills they thought were most valuable in their business environment. Critical thinking and analytical skills topped the employers’ list.  IBAR is a hybrid critical thinking method influenced by the legal analysis used in American law schools and the qualitative and quantitative research methods used in master’s degree programs, but geared towards the business community.

Core Edge Image & Charisma Institute founder and developer of IBAR, Edward Brown says, “After reviewing the needs of corporate leaders and managers, it was essential to develop a critical thinking model that addressed how businesses could enhance their productivity and profitability by average employees becoming more effective critical thinkers.  IBAR allows employees to become in-house subject matter experts as well as consultants for solving business problems within their organizations.”

The IBAR Critical Thinking Method will be taught through live workshops and webinars. The first one (1) day workshop will be held Tuesday, February 26, 2013 at the Georgian Club, 100 Galleria Pkwy., Suite 1700, Atlanta, GA 30339. Seats are limited to the first 15 registrants and a graduation certification ceremony follows for those who successfully complete the workshop.

Core Edge Image & Charisma Institute investigates, analyzes, and synthesizes how charismatic leaders think, act, and make decisions about organizational development, public speaking, and critical thinking. Core Edge Image & Charisma Institute was founded in Atlanta in 2002.

For more information on the IBAR Critical Thinking Method, visit: http://go.ibarcriticalthinkingmethod.com or call: (404) 767-6592.

What is the Impact of Critical Thinking on Charismatic Leadership?

Edward Brown, M.S., of Core Edge Image & Charisma Institute responds to questions about the impact of critical thinking on the charismatic leadership model.

Q: What significance does critical thinking have on charismatic leadership?

Brown: The research suggests that the “visioning” trait often attributed to charismatic leaders is not the “pie in the sky” notion of merely dreaming up a mission or crusade. In fact, this visioning by charismatic leaders is merely a highly evolved critical thinking skill set.

Q: Interesting. Why do you believe charismatic leaders aren’t given more credit for this critical thinking skill as opposed to being seen merely as great self-promoters?

Brown: The passion, oratory, and “big picture” thinking of charismatic leaders overshadow the process that brings everything together. Charismatic leaders may not explain the process as eloquently as they do in articulating the mission ahead. They don’t bog down employees and followers with what they may perceive as unnecessary details. Moreover, people don’t necessarily care about the minutia of the details.

Q: So, if people become better critical thinkers, does this translate into them becoming more charismatic?

Brown: The goal of developing this research is for business and corporate dwellers to emulate the habits of charismatic leaders for organizational development. If individuals effectively use public speaking, critical thinking, and advanced interpersonal communication skills like charismatic leaders to enhance corporate productivity and profitability, they may be perceived as being charismatic. Stockholders want whatever skills increase corporate revenue for their dividends.

Q: What, if any, critical thinking model do you follow?

Brown: Recently, I developed the IBAR Critical Thinking Method. This was a result of my research showing that companies wanted employees with greater critical thinking skills. The IBAR Critical Thinking Method is geared toward solving business problems. I took my law school, master’s degree program, and business experiences and formulated a critical thinking method that even a high school student can use to solve business problems.

Q: What does IBAR stand for?

Brown: IBAR stands for: Issue, Benchmarking, Analysis/Application, and Recommendation. The process involves dissecting the problem, looking at best practices and industry leaders, analyzing and applying outcomes, and recommending solutions.

Q: So, what do you predict will be the essential career skills necessary for thriving in the global economy?

Brown: Based on the current research, leadership, decision-making, critical thinking, and communication skills are essential for increasing productivity and profitability within companies. If you are not making or saving the company money, you are expendable. But, that’s not new. This is the case within any economy. Fierce competition in the marketplace makes these skills indispensable, now more than ever, for long term success.

For more information on developing charismatic leadership skills, visit: Charisma

Assessing the Impact of Your Mind Over Your Thinking

If you want to learn the true art of mind power then it is of the greatest importance that you understand two functions of your mind and how they interact with each other.

You only possess one mind, but it has two totally different functions - and the names generally used to distinguish these two different functions are as follows.

1.        The Conscious Mind

2.        The Subconscious Mind

There are many other terms used to describe the mind, but these are the commonly used names.  To help us better understand the conscious and subconscious mind, they may be compared to a tree and its roots…

•    Your conscious mind being the tree, which helps you with daily situations like, decision-making, rational thinking, or just simply figuring out what to do and how best to do it.

When we think of ‘me’ we think of our conscious mind, the mind of which we are fully aware.  This part of the mind makes decisions for us and directs our activities; it also analyzes, criticizes, and even commands us.

•    Your subconscious mind being the roots; it deals mostly with the repetitions of learned behavior.  This can be very helpful for you, because it enables you to deal with situations easier due to the predictable patterns that have been established.  For instance, once you have learned to ride a bike you don’t have to consciously think about it anymore.  This is because the stored information will come to you automatically the next time you get on your bike to ride it. Whatever we see, hear, smell, taste, touch or feel passes through the conscious mind and reaches the subconscious mind where it is stored.   Not only is this memory stored as the incident itself, but also any feelings which went with it at the time are also stored.

Your subconscious mind does not only store your memories and feelings.  It is the maker of all the great ideas you have ever had and the seat of your intuition and creativeness.  Your subconscious also keeps you going without you even being aware of it.  It takes care of your bodily functions – your heart beat and automatically runs such activities as: movement, language, visual perception, and a whole host of other processes of your mind and body for you.  It also scans your mind for conflict and distress; assesses your environment for danger and threats, and relays and interprets perceptions, sensations, and feeling… last but not least it is also the storehouse of all your experiences and decisions – everything which makes you the person you are.

Understanding your mind is important for becoming more profitable in developing innovations.  James Allen, author of the classic book, “As a Man Thinketh,” said “The outer conditions of a person's life will always be found to be harmoniously related to his inner state...Men do not attract that which they want, but that which they are.”

If you want your life to become more prosperous, it essential not only to monitor your behavior, you must be vigilant over your thinking.

For more information for improving your thinking to become more productive and inventive, click here: http://ibarcriticalthinkingmethod.com

Self-Assessment Through Critical Thinking Is The Key To Productivity

Lacking productivity is one of the major reasons why there are so many people who are unhappy in this world.  Due to unproductivity, many people are unable to get the job they want or meet the people they desire.  The sad fact is that many people are unproductive, because they have not developed the critical thinking skills to become more productive. In part, it isn’t their fault.  My educators up until college seldom asked me what I thought about anything. Kindergarten to Grade 12 education is fundamentally about remembering—facts, dates, and people.  It wasn’t until I went to college and later graduate school that I began improving my critical thinking skills. Fortunately, part of my graduate school experience included law school, where critical thinking is the core of the curriculum. So if I had to go to law school and later receive a master’s degree before I became an effective critical thinker, how could the average person become a better critical thinker without enjoying similar experiences?

Whether you have a college or graduate degree or no degree at all, it is important to determine whether you truly have developed the critical thinking skills to be productive in the workplace as well as your personal life. It all starts with an adequate assessment of yourself.

Getting started

Although self-assessment, for some people in group settings, can be a good start in building a positive attitude and outlook in life, this might not be applicable to all people, especially to those who prefer to do things on their own.

If you are one of these people who would rather do things on his or her own, then now is the time to realize how big self-assessment can contribute to your being productive. Experts say that if one starts with the process of self-assessment now, it will be easier for him or her to be productive and accomplish greater things for themselves and for the people that they love in the future.

Experts agree that for one to excel and become successful in life, the concept of productivity is very essential. This is because knowing how to be productive, even when you’re down, creates unforeseen opportunities unavailable during any other time.  Being productive also serves as an inspiration that keeps your spirit high no matter how challenging the times may be.

For those who want to start being more productive, it would be best to begin with a self-assessment by following these two tips:

- Discover and re-discover your purpose in life. Indeed, the most powerful thing that can help a person get started with self-assessment is discovering your cause or your purpose in life. Once you are able to do this, you can find a reason in your heart for becoming more productive. The reason may be for the betterment of yourself or for your family.  No matter what it is, it is important to anchor yourself to a motivation that promotes productivity.

- Be thirsty and hungry for something. For people who are just starting out with the process of self-assessment, enjoy the process for the end result. This is because wanting to learn the concept of productivity alone would not fuel your drive to aim for greater heights.  If you really want to use self-assessment to excel and be productive, don’t be content with what you have right now nor merely go through the motions without an objective.

It is best to always be hungry for knowledge as fuel for learning. If you are consistently learning new things, you will be able to acquire new skills and even boost your self-confidence in the long run.  Although it may be unlikely or impractical to immediately enhance your critical thinking skills through formal education, if you can engage in some form of critical thinking training to improve your productivity, you are encouraged to do so. One of the greatest yearnings we have as human beings is to be seen as significant as well as leave a legacy that defined our life.  If we can understand and embrace our unmet need to create legacies, we will be moved to become more productive.

To gain the tools for becoming more productive through critical thinking, visit: http://ibarcriticalthinkingmethod.com 

How Charismatic Leaders Use Critical Thinking to Innovate

Charismatic leaders use their insatiable curiosity and ability to spot business inefficiencies through critical thinking to innovate products and services.  But what is innovation?  Innovation is simply the foundation of new beginnings. Through innovation, you can find new products, learn new techniques, offer better quality, and even help to bring the dollar out a little farther.  But, what many business owners do not realize is that you can use innovation to help move your business to the next level, one that is better for the customer and for you. Can you ask for more than that?

There are several ways in which you can use critical thinking like charismatic leaders to innovate and transform your business. For example, it can be as simple as having access to the right information so that you know what the latest and greatest is. From the Core Edge Image & Charisma Institute’s IBAR Critical Thinking Method, this is called “Benchmarking.” In benchmarking, you compare and contrast your business operations to industry leaders, standards, or best practices. By juxtaposing your operations with these standards, you are able to select the options best suited for innovation.  

Think it is too difficult to manage on your own? Send your most promising employees to a critical thinking class to encourage them to look at your internal operations differently.  Or, simply hire a group of creative people to manage innovation on their own. You would be amazed at the quality that can be improved as well as the efficiency of even the simplest of tasks when you encourage innovation in some form.

Innovating is challenging to get started. Innovation research will be needed, brainstorming will have to be done and ideas will have to be brought to the forefront. But, there are enormous resources open to everyone in every type of business out there. Books, websites, organizations, and many more avenues are available to you.  Although you are spending time, resources, and money on finding the answers, learning how to make it better for you will help you increase your business’s profit margin.  Innovation changes every single day. Do you know what it can do for you, yet?

For more information on developing the critical thinking skills necessary for innovation, click here: Charisma

New Critical Thinking Method Makes Students and Employees Smarter

For immediate release:                                                                                    

November 12, 2012

12:00PM (EST)

Atlanta, GA—November 12, 2012---Core Edge Image & Charisma Institute recently developed the IBAR Critical Thinking Method (IBAR) in response to corporate employers’ desire to see employees become more effective thinkers in the workplace.  According to St. Olaf Institutional Research & Evaluation website, “Eighty one percent of employers say students should place more emphasis on developing critical thinking and analytical reasoning skills; 63% say they should place more emphasis on developing quantitative reasoning skills.” IBAR is a hybrid critical thinking method influenced by the legal analysis used in American law schools and the qualitative and quantitative research methods used in master’s degree programs within universities, but geared for the lay person.

Core Edge Image & Charisma Institute founder and developer of IBAR Edward Brown says, “Although the Internet was supposed to make individuals smarter, it actually has done the opposite-produced a society of non-thinkers.  If you can begin critically thinking about the world, inside and outside, of your organization in a more enlightened form, you’ll begin creating options for yourself as well as benefits to your company. Typically, to be valuable as an employee, you should be either making or saving the company money. If you are not doing one or the other, you are expendable.  IBAR allows you to do both.”

IBAR will be marketed to corporations and educational facilities as a one (1) day workshop as well as a webinar for online education.

Core Edge Image & Charisma Institute investigates, analyzes, and synthesizes how charismatic leaders think, act, and make decisions about power, productivity, and profitability. Core Edge Image & Charisma Institute was founded in Atlanta in 2002.

For more information on the IBAR Critical Thinking Method, visit: http://go.ibarcriticalthinkingmethod.com or call: (404) 767-6592.

Trends in Productivity the Obama Administration Should Consider

Productivity, defined as a measure of the amount of output per hour of work, is shown to be typically pro-cyclical. This means that productivity increases during economic upswings and slows down (or even declines) when the economy is in a downturn.  Several causes have been forwarded to sustain this. One declares that labor and capital inputs are worked harder during boom times than in busts.  Another observation pronounces that the reallocation of resources to more productive activities is faster when the economy grows rapidly than when it slows down.

   

Pro-cyclical exceptions

In 2009, productivity growth was expected to slow down further in many countries. However, there appeared to be some exceptions to the pro-cyclicality of labor productivity. The experiences of the United States and Europe are two examples reflecting this economic wrinkle. Compared side by side, striking differences are evident between these two regions in terms of the productivity growth rates with which they entered the current recession.  For the long period of 2000-2008, labor productivity in the United States increased at 2% against 1.5% in the European Union. (The 1.1% figure is even much smaller in the original EU-15 member states that exclude the new member states from Central and Eastern Europe.)

These differences reflect a more efficient use of capital, labor, and other sources of growth in the United States. The most recent productivity advances of the U.S. have been realized, however, through rapid layoffs. This further suggests that the productivity of the remaining workers and firms is actually strengthening.

Traditional productivity growth rates 

During the run-up of 2008, the Euro Area showed a surprisingly weak productivity growth (below 1%). This was attributed to the large increases in employment coming from a relatively large labor reserve pool.  In the same quarter, output and productivity growth rates in the Euro Area turned negative following the traditional pattern that employment growth does not adjust as quickly to a deteriorating economy in Europe as it does in the U.S.  Presently, productivity growth rates in advanced economies are falling below historical structural productivity trends. These represent the rate where productivity can grow.

To get back to the structural growth trend, an increased productivity through investment in new capital and innovation is needed - and not just through cost-cutting of the current resource base.  This would comprise investments in technological change and innovation, skill and performance level of the labor force, and all the organizational intangibles (management and workplace practices, organizational structure, and human resource strategies).

Given the current constrained economic climate, all these are big challenges. Added to this is the expectation that high productivity growth rates also imply greater efficiency of resources once the economic environment improves.  Productivity growth will also translate into high levels of output per hour. These higher productivity levels will also reflect the presence of a strong resource base in terms of human and physical capital per worker.  When maintained during the downturn, they will provide the firms with the means to more easily innovate themselves out of the recession resulting in a better resurgent productivity growth.

Click this link to discover how productivity and profitability can be increased through Charisma.