SHRM Blog

Reality Check

• 52% of middle leaders claim they have more responsibilities since the recession but no new title
• 89% of middle leaders do not feel well-prepared to lead change and make tough decisions
• 83% do not feel satisfied with their overall performance as a business leader
• 70% would take a demotion to a non-leadership role for the same or less money
• 64% say they are not likely to be with their current employers in 2 years – are we surprised?

(All resources available upon request)

What went wrong?...

What’s your Philosophy on HR? 

Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to interview a lot of managers and leaders.  One of my favorite questions to ask when I interview professionals who claim to have successfully managed people in the past is this: “What is your management philosophy?”  In my experience, good leaders have an easy answer for this question.  It may not be something they have written down on a piece of paper in their desk at the office, but they can always articulate an intentional way they go about managing others.  Often, there are a couple...

I saw Jack Welch speak at the 2009 Society for Human Resource Management's annual conference in New Orleans. Welch delivered the opening speech for the conference and completely dissed the idea of work-life balance for women in corporate America.

As reported by The Wall Street Journal, Mr. Welch told the audience, "There's no such thing as work-life balance. There are work-life choices, and you make them, and they have consequences."

Welch said, "We'd love to have more women moving up faster, but they've got to make the tough choices and know the consequences of each one."...

Note: This series is based on the paper My Generation.

The makeup of formal – and informal - organizations has always mirrored that of society as a whole. As societal demographics shift, organizations have no choice but to consume the transformation.  A “failure to respond to the demographic changes of society will make it difficult, if not impossible, for the modern organization to meet employee needs and productively move forward.” This will leave the organization unprepared to compete – for talent or in the marketplace - eventually leading to its demise.  We are confident that businesses...