Todd Cherches

There's nothing like an infusion of young blood to rejuvenate a team, so I say, if this is the best person for the job, then: Go for it...without hesitation!

With generational issues in the workplace one of the hottest topics out there in the workplace right now (I just finished a 4-part series on the subject on my blog: http://thehiredguns.com/is-gen-x-the-jan-brady-of-the-generations/ your que... Read more

Great answers from all my colleagues!

The main thing that struck me immediately upon reading the question was that In order to encourage employees to actively seek help -- from their managers and from their peers, organizations in general, and the managers specifically, need to create a culture and a climate that not only allows for help-seeking, but encourages it. In too many companies I’ve se... Read more

Good questions! Regarding your first inquiry, it’s not an either/or: You can have a coach AND a mentor! While there are some similarities in these two types of relationships, they have different characteristics and serve different purposes.

A mentor is more of a trusted advisor, perhaps someone who IS where you’d like to be in the future -- for example, a current or former CIO. This is some... Read more

One of the most common realities of the business world -- just as in the world of sports -- is that the best "players" don't necessarily make the best "managers," "coaches," or "leaders." We see this time and time again. High performers who succeed based on their talents often have no patience or tolerance for those who cannot keep up or perform at their level. Having someone like Michael Jordan, ... Read more

You raise some interesting points and questions. We just did three Performance Review training workshops for a client last week, so this hot topic is definitely fresh in my mind.

First of all, the "Elephant in the Room" is that almost no one (neither managers nor employees) likes having to go through the performance review process. Therefore, many people approach it with a "let's just get this ... Read more

The single best piece of advice I can give would be to encourage you to order a copy of Garr Reynold's "The Naked Presenter" and read/skim it cover to cover! It's by far the best book out there on the subject of presentation skills and public speaking. Beautiful to look at and inspiring to read, I consult this book as a resource more than any other in my extensive business library.

You can also v... Read more

There's a classic saying by Dale Carnegie that "People support a world they help create."

If you want to create a sense of ownership and accountability, and create a culture of openness and transparency, invite the direct reports from Day 1 !

If they are involved in the process from the beginning, they will feel a sense of ownership and help drive the process. That's how you create the next... Read more

What immediately jumps out at me are your statements that there is "no clear learning" happening, accompanied by a lack of ownership and accountability.

(Is there something ironic about "accountants" lacking "account-ability"?)

Mistakes happen. As Einstein once said, "Anyone who has never made a mistake, has never tried anything new." So that's a given. But you hit the nail on the head by recogn... Read more

It is very rare for an "Ask a Mentor" question to have such a simple and obvious answer, but this one is a no-brainer (and I very rarely, if ever, use this term as most questions are not obvious and have varying levels of complexity). But the answer to this question is: "NO"...with a capital N. And a capital O as well.

My colleagues (above) all provided excellent responses, and Michael Stratfor... Read more

One of the top responsibilities (and privileges!) of a leader is developing the next generation of leaders. As the leader of the organization, the CEO should already know this. But if that's not enough, the WSIC (Why Should I Care?) and WIFM (What's In it For Me?) for the CEO is that he or she will not be able to achieve their vision, execute their strategy, and produce results all by him or her s... Read more

One of our mottos is that “Team-bonding should come before Team-building and Team-working.” In other words, to create an environment for a high-performing team to emerge and flourish as it goes through the classic Tuckman stages of Forming, Storming, Norming, and Performing, it’s important and valuable to lay a solid foundation…and just, even briefly, provide an opportunity to meet, greet,... Read more

I, too, was terrified of public speaking for most of my life...and now I do it every day for a living. So I am living proof -- and a true believer -- that this common fear can be overcome.

Three key "P" words to keep in mind are: Preparation, Practice, and Persistence.

(1) PREPARATION: Know your material (which I'm sure you do). Be clear on the key points you want to make. Organize your conten... Read more