Google Ad #1 - desktop - 728x90

Google Ad #3 - desktop - 728x90

Google Ad #1 - mobile - 300x200

Google Ad #3 - mobile - 300x200

ATD_Half_Page

Googel Ad #1 - Side Bar - Content pages

ATD Footer Logo

Terry Buss

August 2010 - The Public Manager

Before the election of Barack Obama and the global financial crisis that soon followed, many pundits, scholars, and practitioners believed that the era of big government was over. Government was becoming smaller, more nimble, and less hierarchical. It was oriented toward efficient and effective serv...

American Government 3.0: Wither Governance?

Winter 2011 - The Public Manager

Transforming American Governance: Rebooting the Public Square Alan P. Balutis, Terry F. Buss, and Dwight Ink, editors (M.E. Sharpe, 2011) Do we really need another book on transforming government to prepare us for the myriad challenges that are sweeping over the public sector? Yesuntil government picks ...

Rebooting Governance to Connect With an Interdependent World

There are many stories, examples, and a wealth of data that prove organizations and their talent management functions aren't doing as well as they need to in developing leaders. But it's not all doom and gloom. Here's the story of how one leader is making the most of what he's being given to grow his own leadership capability. By sharing what he's learned, along with using relevant tools, he is positively impacting his team's—and his own—performance. This is his story.Meet TerryTerry had been identified as a leader with the potential to move up at least two levels within the organization. He went through a full assessment center experience, in conjunction with 360 and personality assessments. Approximately a month later, Terry and I met for the first time. The purpose of our time together was to provide Terry with feedback, generate insights for him, offer ideas about his developmental priorities, and create a plan to accelerate his development.Terry was engaged throughout the feedback and coaching process. His ability to take analytical approaches to decision making was a key strength. He is also a pragmatic and independent thinker. Terry readily admitted that to broaden his perspective and take his business impact to the next level, he needed to apply a strategic lens to business situations. He also knew that he needed to work on leading change and developing talent.The assessment data showed he lacked the ability to influence. He was getting people to comply, but he struggled to gain commitment. The bottom line was that Terry had the IQ to succeed at the next level, but he needed to raise his EQ. Metaphorically, Terry was in danger of heading down a road believing his team would follow him, but, if he didn't change, he would look in the rear-view mirror and discover that the road behind him was empty.Creating a Data-Driven Development PlanOur conversation turned to development planning and prioritizing one strength to leverage and one area where he needed to grow. Here are some of the development suggestions that emerged from our meeting:Terry must build stronger relationships with his team members. He needs to know who they are and what makes them tick. Getting to know them personally will give him the opportunity to utilize his EQ as well as his IQ. Terry wanted to schedule meetings with these folks in neutral settings, such as over coffee or lunch, to better focus on the individuals and their needs, motivations, and aspirations, as opposed to business needs or the demands of their roles.Once Terry knows more about his team members and begins to build stronger relationships with them, he will be able to consciously adapt his communication style to better connect with each individual, enabling him to meet the needs of his audience and further strengthen the engagement level of the team.With greater awareness and knowledge of the types of people he has on the team, he can create the appropriate strategies to leverage his influencing skills and apply his executive disposition to gain commitment.In addition, Terry should continue to leverage his strength as a disciplined decision maker and work on being a more effective communicator who delivers clear, direct, and straightforward messages—both in person and in writing—with a strong business rationale.Terry took the assessment data and the ideas we discussed and drafted two development plans—one for a strength area and one for a growth area. A couple weeks later, we met again so that Terry could review his plans and get feedback before he presented them to his manager, Sally.The strength area Terry chose to leverage was his communication skills and positive demeanor to further engage and inspire his team. His growth area was to improve his effectiveness in building organizational talent through empowering and developing others.Following our meeting, Terry revised his plans and met with Sally to seek her buy-in and support. Terry's challenge was that Sally didn't view his growth area as that much of a weakness. Using some DDI research data, Terry put together a business case that included some personal data to justify why his proposed actions were a good starting point for his development journey. He wanted to make it clear he knew the direction he needed to take, and he was motivated to make the most of his development. He also identified multiple application opportunities. Sally agreed to support Terry's plans and his journey began.Surfacing, Activating, and Accelerating PotentialTerry's story is an excellent example of how potential can be surfaced, activated, and accelerated.Terry had been identified as a leader with potential. He was on a leader-to-be-watched list, so he was visible to the organization's senior leaders. In other words, his potential had been brought to the surface.Through the assessment, the feedback and coaching he received in preparing his development plans, and Sally's buy-in, Terry tapped into his motivations, dispositions, and qualities. He had enhanced self-awareness of how development and growth could impact future opportunities. He also received feedback on his strengths and development opportunities from multiple data points, and he had a realistic course of action for what he needed to do to activate his potential and expand his capabilities.With the development plan in place and Sally's support, Terry could then benefit from immersive development opportunities that enabled him to accelerate his growth.In other words, the conditions were very favorable for Terry's potential to be unleashed.Recently, I had a progress-check meeting with Terry and Sally. Here are a few of the insights and some results we talked about during that discussion:By spending time getting to know the team, Terry realized there is wide disparity in how team members view work–life balance. Because motivations are very different for each individual, a one-size-fits-all approach to communication and gaining commitment won't work. As members of the team get to know Terry as a person, they are opening up to him, offering ideas, and sharing concerns that impact performance and morale.He also discovered that flat organizations can lead to employees becoming discouraged about career growth, raising the risk they will look outside the organization for new opportunities.To counteract that perception and improve performance and morale, Terry changed up team members' responsibilities to provide them with fresh challenges. This resulted in at least one of his team members putting a halt to their job search. This change also created a mutually supportive environment in which individuals were less inclined to act as lone wolves and more likely to consider themselves as part of a team. In addition, it led to the team securing a large piece of new business.Are you unleashing your leaders' potential?Terry realized that by sharing what he was learning along with the tools he was using, he could facilitate personal development within his team. And by taking the time to get to know his team members and what makes them tick, he could have better conversations and drive better outcomes. Because of his coaching, some of the personality clashes that had impacted the team's performance in the past faded to memory.Want to learn more about how you can unleash the potential of the Terrys on your team? Check out our resources on how to do just that.

Unleash Leadership Potential: Learn From a Real-World Case Study

As vice president for Orasi Software, David Hand manages DevOps sales teams and oversees revenue growth for various Orasi solutions and services. He’s responsible for strategies that help customers quickly deliver high-quality, secure software and increase adoption. In addition, David directs the Microsoft Azure hosting practice and leads teams that bring new solutions to market, managing all aspects of sales and go-to-market strategy.David brings more than 30 years of experience in the software industry working with DevOps, analytics and business intelligence, cloud computing, hands-on virtual labs, application security and testing. He has served in various roles from consultant, pre-sales and sales, to leadership positions. Leveraging his extensive knowledge in all facets of software development and delivery, David brings a unique perspective to how technology can provide maximum value to customers.Previously, David held strategic sales positions at SkyTap, Dell, IBM and HP where he was National Account Manager of Disney and AT&T. A graduate of the Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia, David is a frequent industry speaker, trusted media source and active volunteer across various professional associations.

David Hand

Rebekah McElwain is the Director of MBA Admissions for the Executive, Professional and Online MBA Programs at UGA's Terry College of Business. 

Rebekah McElwain

Íñigo Sánchez-Cabezudo, SHRM-SCP, Strategic Learning consultant and entrepreneur on purpose Washington DC, (USA)Spaniard and American consultant and entrepreneur, dedicated to talent development, specializing in transformational leadership, storytelling, and change management. He is change management certified (Change Quest® model) and team management certified (Four Gates to Peak Team Performance® model) by the neuroscience expert Dr. Britt Andreatta. He is passionate about entrepreneurship with purpose.He defines himself as a multipotentialite. He is currently exploring his IKIGAI, his life motto is the African life philosophy UBUNTU, and he considers himself an eternal learner.He was the former director of global markets, for the Americas, Caribbean, and Spain at SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management), the largest professional society in the world dedicated to HR professionals for three years.Prior to SHRM, he was senior regional manager at ATD (Association for Talent Development, formerly ASTD), where he managed international relations with Europe and Latin America for six years.Prior to his role in ATD, Íñigo worked as director of sales and marketing at Fonexion USA, a European bluetooth and wireless accessories distributor, managing U.S. and Latin American operations. Before that, he was deputy director for AGRAGEX (the Spanish Farm Equipment and Irrigation Exporters Association) for 10 years in Bilbao, Spain. He extensively promoted farm equipment products, organizing trade shows and trade missions, and bringing entrepreneurs to more than 86 countries around the world.He holds a BA in economics from the Complutense University of Madrid (Spain) and a diploma in economics from the University of Wolverhampton (UK), and has taken several doctorate courses in development economics at the University of the Basque Country in Bilbao (Spain). He has taken several ATD training and coaching certificates. He regularly speaks at different L&D and HR conferences and workshops throughout Latin America and Europe. He holds SHRM-SCP (Senior Certified Professional) certification.In 2020, he became certified by CLICK-Institute’s (Washington DC) digital facilitator program and he is currently a faculty coach. In 2021, he has also finished a master's in entrepreneurship from Instituto Pensamiento Positivo in Madrid (Spain). He recently took a certificate for Mastermind success accelerator facilitation by The Success Alliance group (USA). He is also ISO-3045 Diversity and Inclusion Professionals (DIPs) certified by the University of Georgia – Terry College of Business.  He is multilingual: bilingual in English and Spanish, fluent in French, and is currently learning Portuguese. He is a world citizen and has worked in more than 86 countries and counting…

Inigo Sanchez-Cabezudo

Jason Parrish is director of corporate programs, Executive Education, at the University of Georgia Terry College of Business.

Jason Parrish

Laura Lee Gentry, chief people officer, is responsible for all HR functions across the company as well as overseeing the development and execution of human capital strategies. She is an operational and strategic leader with expertise in building business through talent management, leading operational and organizational excellence. Gentry was previously senior vice president of employee experience at Ultimate Software, where she led a 250-person team responsible for talent acquisition, total rewards, talent and career development, and learning for both employees and customers. Prior executive roles had her leading a range of functional areas, including operations, strategy, execution and business impact, innovation, talent management (including executive search and board of directors performance and recruitment), team effectiveness, and organizational optimization. Gentry has a Master of Business Administration from London School of Business and a Bachelor of Business Administration from University of Georgia – Terry College of Business.

Laura Lee Gentry

Terry Heiney manages Learning.net, a boutique-sized LMS provider that specializes in customized LMS implementations designed for unique business niches. Terry has worked in corporate training and education for 40 years. Until taking over the reins of Learning.net in 2002, he developed curriculums for a list of Fortune 500 companies in verticals, including hospitality and restaurants, financial services, airlines, and high technology. Learning.net bought his lifestyle consulting firm in 2002, and Terry took an upside-down continuing education provider and turned it into a profitable SaaS company.

Search Results For "Terry Buss"

Compare Courses