Human Resources – Nathan Magnuson

How to Host a Productive Generational Conversation

July 4, 2016 Human Resources Organizational Effectiveness

A decade ago, American organizations were largely unaware of the predicament they faced. The initial wave of Baby Boomers (many of whom occupied senior leadership roles) was set to begin a mass retirement. Many organizations were completely unprepared. Then something curious happened. The recession hit and many would-be retirees stuck around. In one…

How to Deliver a Leadership Event that Sticks

I’m constantly surprised at what passes for “leadership training” these days. Then I remember that most leaders work in business operations and their involvement is often extracurricular. I’ve also noted how easily many business operators are impressed with the leadership development support that comes their way. It’s almost as if the simple fact that…

9 Reasons Your Leadership Development Program is Failing

October 19, 2015 Human Resources Organizational Effectiveness

A recent Bersin study reported that U.S. companies invest over $2,000 in leadership development initiatives per company leader. That’s great news. But is it worth the investment? Just because an organization has a leadership development program doesn’t mean it’s successful, does it? I’ve been privileged to help develop several leadership development…

Stop it with the Interview Bias!

January 19, 2015 Human Resources Organizational Effectiveness

I was asked to sit in on a large group interview several years ago that a group of managers was conducting. There were a handful of openings and they wanted to efficiently select several candidates to move to the next level. I was supposed to provide input after the fact. In hindsight, I…

The Thing I Hate About Personality Assessments

January 6, 2014 Human Resources Leadership Learning Organizational Effectiveness Personal Effectiveness

Have you ever taken a personality assessment? What were your results? Were you an INFP? A “high D and low I?” A fire with a bit of earth mixed in? An eagle or an otter? If you spend much time on social networks, you’ve probably even seen personality quizzes that…

How Do You Diagnose an Organization?

October 14, 2013 Culture Human Resources Influence Leadership Organizational Effectiveness Questions Strategic Thinking

You’ve just been assigned to fix a problem or design a solution for an organization, department or team. Maybe you’ve been brought in as a consultant or joined a cross-functional task force. Regardless, management wants results. Where do you start? Just like in medicine, the last thing a change practitioner…

Which Stage of Competence Are You?

August 26, 2013 Engagement Human Resources Learning Organizational Effectiveness Personal Effectiveness perspective

Everybody wants competence. We want it for ourselves. We expect it from others in our organizations. We demand it from the people and organizations we purchase from. But how do we figure out if we’ve got it? How well do we develop it in others? Where do we even start?…

How to Measure Learning Programs Using the Kirkpatrick Evaluation Model

August 12, 2013 Engagement Human Resources Learning Organizational Effectiveness Strategic Thinking

All of a sudden you get put in charge of building a new training course for your organization. It could be leadership training, professional training or technical training. Doesn’t matter. So you do the hard work of analyzing the learning needs, developing objectives, designing content, coordinating the event and finally…

3 Simple Ways to Determine Hiring Fit

July 29, 2013 Human Resources Organizational Effectiveness

I remember the first time I asked my supervisors if I could sit in on an interview they had scheduled with an outside candidate. I figured it would be a good learning opportunity as well as a break from crunching financial numbers. (This was during my first job out of…

6 Ways to Change Your Learning Culture

July 8, 2013 Culture Human Resources Learning Organizational Effectiveness Strategic Thinking

When you were growing up, you probably spent hours sitting in a classroom listening to teachers deliver lecture after lecture in school. Now, as an adult employee, the thought of sitting through company training seems boring, unproductive, pointless and wasteful compared to actual work you could be doing. And if…

So… What Do Consultants Actually Do?

June 10, 2013 Human Resources Leadership Organizational Effectiveness Personal Effectiveness

“So Nathan, tell me what you do for a living?” “Well, I’m a consultant.” “A consultant? But what do you actually do?” This is a typical conversation whenever I meet anyone new – and not just me, but for most folks in my profession. I don’t know why, but it’s…

8 Critical Stages for Anyone Creating Change

May 20, 2013 Communication Culture Human Resources Leadership Organizational Effectiveness Strategic Thinking

It’s been said that the term “change management” is a misnomer because if you are trying to “manage” change, you’re already too far behind! Change must be led from the front. Because of that, when I first discovered John Kotter’s eight stage process for creating major change in a university…