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Robert Tanner is the founder and principal consultant of Business Consulting Solutions based in Bellevue, Washington. He is a recognized thought leader in the areas of high performance management and effective leadership, and the founder of the popular business blog, "Management is a Journey." Robert’s professional work and his leadership voice reflect his own early struggles in management—as a young man, he was promoted into management for his technical skills with no regard for his then underdeveloped people skills. As a result of his early struggles to become a better leader and manager, Robert is passionate about helping leaders with the people side of business. Today, Robert is an accomplished consultant and a top-rated national leadership seminar facilitator and course developer for a global top 20 training firm. He is a certified change management consultant, a certified administrator of psychological type assessments, and a leadership professional with management experience in the private and public sectors. He’s been an adjunct professor of management at several universities including California State University and Keller Graduate School, where he taught human resources and management courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Nationally, Robert has helped business professionals at all levels in the public and private sectors to enhance their leadership and management effectiveness. Robert holds an MBA in strategic management and a BS in organizational behavior. He was awarded lifetime membership to the International Honor Society Beta Gamma Sigma based on his graduate academic course work. His professional associations include the American Society for Training & Development and the Society for Human Resource Management.

Robert Tanner

Interviews executive Robert Tannenbaum concerning organizational change. Expected changes in the management profession; Interorganizational relationships.

Development in an Era of Paradigm Shifts Changing Boundaries and Personal ChallengeA Dialogue with Robert Tannenbaum

Reviews the book 'Human Systems Development,' by Robert Tannenbaum.

Human Systems Development Book

(From PRNewswire) -- The use of gadgets such as smartphones and other handheld devices may make employees more productive, but they haven't made the workplace more polite, a new survey suggests. More than half (51 percent) of chief information officers (CIOs) interviewed have seen increased instances of poor workplace etiquette resulting from more frequent use of mobile electronic devices.The survey was developed by Robert Half Technology, a leading provider of IT professionals on a project and full-time basis, and conducted by an independent research firm. It was based on telephone interviews with more than 1,400 CIOs from companies across the United States with 100 or more employees.CIOs were asked, "In your opinion, what effect has the increased use of mobile electronic gadgets -- such as cell phones, smartphones, handheld devices and laptops -- had on workplace etiquette in the past three years? Have the number of breaches in workplace etiquette increased, decreased or remained the same?" Their responses:Increased significantly22%Increased somewhat29%Remained the same42%Decreased somewhat4%Decreased significantly2%Don't know/no answer1%Read the full release.

TECH-ETIQUETTE OUTLAWS: ARE YOU ONE OF THEM? Poor 'Gadget' Manners in the Workplace Increasing

Is there a ratio of positive to negative communications, interactions, and behaviors that predicts individual performance, relationship success, and even how effectively a team performs?

Ouch! The Neurobiology of Feedback (Part 2)

May 2017 - TD Magazine

Going Online: Perspectives on Digital LearningBooks1By Robert UbellRoutledge, 106 pp., $34.95Ubell considers questions about the quality of online learning settled: "Research tells us that digital instruction is as good as—and often better than—face-to-face learning," he writes. However, the author has yet to come to terms with the fact that "while nearly every other Internet activity is pursued breathlessly with hardly any argument, virtual education remains a question mark." In other words, he remains skeptical of others' doubts about online learning.When readers open this volume, they will find a collection of 10 essays divided into two sections: virtual classes and migrating online. The first section, which contains six essays, focuses on the capabilities and limitations of digital learning. The second, with four essays, emphasizes the process for bringing learning content online.Each essay evaluates online learning from a different perspective, covering everything from its history to the reasons people resist it. The length of the essays makes them accessible—most are short enough to consume in just a few minutes of close reading—but their content also is substantial enough to inspire profound thought. That makes the book convenient for busy professionals who might not have time to comb through an entire volume at once.Consider the third essay, "Action Learning, Interaction, Diversity and Evolution in Online Learning," as an example of the book's accessibility. Although it's only 15 pages in length, which places it among the book's longer sections, the piece stands alone as a valuable text. It introduces readers to the importance of social interaction in digital education, lays out a framework for stimulating that interaction, and offers a detailed explanation of how the framework's three components function in concert with one another. The components—which are interactive adaptive models, advanced discussion boards, and live virtual learning sessions—all come with suggestions for technology that can support them.While other sections of the book may follow slightly different structures, many of them will be valuable reads for learning professionals. In particular, readers might enjoy the second essay, which discusses the importance of online learning for virtual teams; the fourth essay, which examines the capabilities of online learning relative to the constraints of classroom learning; and the ninth essay, which presents differences between digital learning in the academic and professional worlds.This well-structured, well-researched collection gets to the root of the world's skepticism about digital education, and snippets of humor make it a more entertaining volume than readers might initially expect. Collectively, the essays argue that, despite our misgivings, online education is the best tool for advancing, creating, and distributing knowledge in the modern world. Ask More: The Power of Questions to Open Doors, Uncover Solutions, and Spark ChangeBooks2Frank SesnoAmacom, 272 pp., $14.04In Ask More, Sesno's experience as one of the world's premier interviewers is clearly evident. The Emmy Award-winning news anchor, White House correspondent, and talk-show host for CNN draws on his past to explain and explore 11 types of questions, from ones that can help you understand others to those that define common values, and from conversation-starters to confrontation winners. To Sesno, each type of question is a tool, and his well-told stories illustrate just how and when to use every inquisitorial technique at your disposal. Whether that's to effect change in the world, your office, or your personal life is up to you. The Leadership Gap: What Gets Between You and Your GreatnessBooks3Lolly DaskalPortfolio, 240 pp., $13.68Apte and Sheth believe that sustainability is the next major competency that businesses will need to remain competitive. This book provides a step-by step road map to achieve long-term prosperity, showing how best-in-class companies work with multiple stakeholders to embrace a triple-bottom-line mindset—taking social, environmental, and financial concerns into account. Each chapter focuses on one of the nine key stakeholder groups, providing guidance on how to make sustainability an integral part of a company's culture and its overall strategy. You've Got 8 Seconds: Communication Secrets for a Distracted WorldBooks4Paul HellmanAmacom, 208 pp., $17.95Hellman speaks the truth when he says everyone in your organization will do one of three things today: talk, listen, or pretend to listen. They're all busy, and most often they're inclined to do either the first or last of those—but life doesn't have to be that way. Written to be read fast by the busy manager or executive, Hellman's book shows readers how to capture an audience's attention, then keep it. Enhanced by actionable techniques and smile-cracking commentary, it's a great field guide for talent development professionals who want to improve their presentations. What's on Travis Bradberry's Bookshelf?The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni. When it comes to business books, I don't read many of them. Don't get me wrong, I scan and speed-read almost all of them because I want to know what they're about and what's trending. But I don't read them for pleasure. Lencioni is an exception. What strikes me about Pat and this book is he's incredibly smart and pragmatic. He teaches you critical concepts in a compelling manner, but doesn't waste your time by padding pages to please his publisher.The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. I love Steinbeck's ability to take your mind places and leave you fully engrossed in the story. His plot lines aren't too crazy, which shows you how little story you need when an author is that incredibly descriptive.Emotional Intelligence 2.0 by Travis Bradberry. I understand that it's taboo to list your own book in a list of books that you love. But writers, you see, write to be read. When you write a book that's well read, it feels incredible and makes you fall in love with it. I've written seven books and I don't even think that Emotional Intelligence 2.0 is my best work. It has, however, sold more than 1 million copies, and that's an accomplishment that I will cherish forever.

Taking the Doubters Offline

ATD’s Senior Leaders and Executives Community of Practice recently talked to Robert Siegel, a lecturer in organizational behavior at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business, about ways to build good HR practices in start-up businesses. Q: Why is it important to establish the best talent development and HR practices in the earliest days of a start-up business?A: Often the tyranny of the urgent in a start-up prevents early founders and entrepreneurs from thinking about the long-term growth of their team and a staff. As a company grows and scales, the skill sets required to run a business are obviously different when a company has 5 or 25 or 250 people. If an entrepreneur believes that developing one’s team and people are a company’s strongest assets, it is important to establish that hygiene in the organization from the earliest days. (I use hygiene to mean talking about the proper way of doing things). You need to think about the hygiene of feedback, of growth, of how to help people extend their runways, and how to deal with performance issues. It’s easier to begin that in a firm’s earliest days, than to clean up the accumulated challenges when the company is larger.**Q: Why do you think the importance of a talent strategy is often overlooked and neglected?**A: During the earliest days of a start-up there are two big issues that a company is dealing with: developing its product or service, and finding its first customers. Those two things can be all encompassing, and often the issues around developing a team take a back seat. Often, the people skills fall below the line and are not addressed. Most start-ups don’t have an HR person from day one. The CEO or vice president of marketing or engineering—the person managing HR—has all of his other responsibilities and doesn’t have the time to think about people skills and development. Even if we assume natural proclivities for such HR issues, these leaders are dealing with other issues, and often haven’t been trained in the HR function. Q: Many people think that HR is solely about benefits, but you say that the real focus of an HR department ought to be staff development. Please expand on that thought.A: Let’s start with the broader economic changes happening in society. We are continually automating a variety of functions in the labor force that computing power does substantively, effectively, and efficiently better and faster than humans. The people you do have in an organization need to be continually groomed and grown. They need to be able to learn new skills as the business changes. If you’ve got good talent, you have to make sure they stay trained in the technology du jour. It’s critical. If you’re going to be a learning organization, the mindset has to be one where you are thinking about taking an existing talent and training him. It’s much more expensive to replace someone than take an existing talent and grow him. For the survival of the organization, and the speed with which we’re dealing with these issues, companies have to think through their long-term growth of their people. Executives need to ask if employees not only can do their first job, but also can they do the next two positions as the company grows and scales? The question is where is that competency going to reside in an organization? HR is the logical and proper place for that.Q: Do you find that start-up businesses often lack clear, transparent, and direct communications? If so, why is that important and what can they do to improve that situation?A: I believe that for the reasons we’ve already discussed, when the tyranny of the urgent gets in the way, start-ups don’t embed the DNA of open and direct communication into the company. Improving the situation starts from the top. The CEO of the business has to think about it when he starts the organization. Even if he doesn’t have a head or HR when the business starts, management has to be thinking that having that person on board within the time frame of relevance needs to be done sooner rather than later. Until an HR person is in place, the CEO needs to own this. Leaders need to inculcate how to give feedback and grow more people until a full-time function staff member on board. In the early days of a start-up, it’s fine to hire an HR consultant 10 to 20 hours per week. The most important thing is to have the culture embracing and modeling that from day one. Q: You also write, “Employers must ask themselves certain questions: Are you giving your employees the tools to be effective in their jobs? Are you providing them with tools to grow their careers? Are you enabling opportunities for them to accomplish all the things they want to do?” Please talk a bit more about those questions and the answers employers need to gather to answer those questions.A: One of the things that happens in start-ups and large companies alike is this notion that people will come back to interact with you many times, sometimes over decades and in different contexts. If you’re a manager of an organization, understanding the hopes and goals and professional aspirations of your team enables you to put your team into roles and positions where they’ll be highly motivated to work hard. If people believe you’re looking out for them, it’s amazing what they can accomplish. The question a strong leader needs to ask is does he really know the goals of the team and can he help his teammates get there? It’s a mindset that takes a long-term view rather than a transactional view of people development. Providing employees tools to grow their careers has a wide range:teaching how to be good leaders themselvesteaching people how to model good behaviorteaching how to be good managers (especially if it’s the first time they’re managing people)teaching how to give feedbackteaching what’s required to motivate peoplehelping your team think through not only what they want in this job, but also in the next twochallenging them to exercise muscles they haven’t exercised before. Some of my best mentors consistently pushed me into my zone of discomfort. When I was doing well, they’d say that’s enough, let me raise the bar on you. Leaders can give people specific tools such as workshops for particular skill sets, but also they need to push and challenge people. Q: How do employers in start-up companies, deal with bad behavior quickly and professionally? A: If someone is causing trouble, highlight the behavior, talk about the problems, set expectations of how the company deals with hard issues or stress, as well as the expectations of how the team will perform together. We talk about this at Stanford in our course called Interpersonal Dynamics. The first thing is to make sure you give the feedback in a positive and constructive manner. If someone is given the feedback, “You’re doing A we need you to do B,” and if the situation is not getting better, then the person needs to be told a second time, “This isn’t improving and it’s not fair to everyone else on the team.” In addition, giving frequent feedback is essential. If you see someone is doing well, tell him. Feedback should be given weekly and if you can’t do that, then it’s important to give it at least once a month over lunch in an informal setting. The contents of a review should never be a surprise. The recipient should know what’s going to be in the review ahead of time. It’s incumbent upon the manager to be giving feedback on a consistent basis.Some people are afraid to coach someone out (fire them) because they’re afraid it will reflect poorly on him. They’re afraid it will hurt the team because everyone’s so busy and all of a sudden the team will be down a person. That’s short-term thinking. As CEO, your job is to put the best team on the field. If you don’t make a change, you might lose the rest of the team. Q: How can employers in start-up companies find and use the best practices for how to motivate, how to grow people, how to manage people, and how to help people succeed who are struggling?A: The great news is you don’t need to reinvent the wheel. There are a lot of talented people out there who have been in organizations and have figured out how to do things right. Many experienced HR and talent development leaders fit well in start-ups and understand what companies need. Go look for them. I’m intrigued with the work that some companies are trying, which turns employee feedback on its head. A lot of companies are doing away with the “dreaded annual performance review.” Performance reviews are dreaded when they’re not done well. There are best practices on how to do them well. I encourage companies to try new things if they can’t find something that works for them. As a leader, what you’re trying to accomplish is to make your people successful. If your people are successful, the company has a better chance of being successful. Stay focused on enabling your people to perform. Empower people to accomplish great things.

Talent Challenges for Start-Up Companies

If you have been following this series, you are now starting to become more conscious—or aware of the acknowledgments that populate your brain many times during the day—for your co-workers, for the barista in the coffee shop who knows your order by heart, for your son or daughter who is struggling at school, and for your boss whom you’ve always held in high regard.Now we will examine the second C, for choice. I would love to be your very own Jiminy Cricket and serve as your “personal conscience.” I would yell loudly into your ear after you recorded one of the acknowledgments of which you had just become conscious, as advised in the previous blog post. I would say, “Tell your boss right now what a great job she has been doing. No one else ever tells her, and it will mean the world to her!”But unfortunately, I can’t be your conscience. I can simply alert you to the many joys and successes that lie ahead if you do deliver that beautiful, inspiring thought to your supervisor. Choose “yes,” even though you have the choice of saying “no, not now.” Choose to make her day!I had one student who told our class rather apologetically: “I’m sure our instructor is aware of this (she wasn’t!), but maybe others haven’t noticed the word “now” within the word “acknowledgment.” The time for an acknowledgment is the moment you become conscious of it. There are few real excuses for not delivering it now.I share the following story as a dramatic example of the power of choice. In the webinars I present for people across the globe, I lead an acknowledgment exercise. Below is an account of what one participant named Robert texted to us all during this activity:“I can’t send the (acknowledgment) message because the person I have in mind is now deceased. He was a former boss who in one sentence set my entire career. He called me into his office to ask me to deal with a particular situation. He started to tell me what to do and then stopped and said, ‘You know what to do, don’t you?’ I said ‘yes.’ He said, ‘Then I don’t need to do anything here. Just let me know if anyone gets in your way.’ I learned that I could take charge, and from there, I kept taking on more responsibilities and moved up the chain to management. I never got to thank him. He died from cancer a year after that conversation.”As I read this acknowledgment aloud to the webcast audience, my voice broke. I heard Robert’s sadness and frustration, and I knew we all felt his painful realization that now he would never have the chance to deliver his acknowledgement. How many of us have withheld this kind of simple, yet extraordinarily powerful statement—the essence of which might be: “You have no idea what a huge and positive impact you made on my life in that one moment. I will never forget you.”I’m sure that every one of us in that virtual room thought of those we had not fully, profoundly, and generously acknowledged. I do believe that Robert’s statement moved each of us to commit or recommit to making sure we let those who made a difference in our lives know about it—as soon as possible.And wouldn’t it be better if you could choose “yes” most (if not all) of the time when you become aware of the acknowledgments floating through your brain? If you are still uncertain, send me an email at judy.umlas@iil.com with the subject line, “URGENT: Choose Yes or No?” I will do my best to respond to you immediately. In the email, be sure to list your considerations for both choices.Next week we come face to face with the third C, for courage. And that’s what it really takes to deliver acknowledgments in a heartfelt, profound, and generous manner. Stay tuned!

Grateful Leaders Choose “Yes”

The Excellence in Practice awards program recognizes results achieved through the use of practices and solutions from the entire scope of training and development. Award-winning organizations will share their best practices at the Awards Fair, Tuesday May 21, during the 2013 ASTD International Conference and Exposition from 12:45 p.m. – 1:45 p.m.Make time to stop by and learn from practitioners at the top of their game. Here is a brief look at what you’ll see:AMP Horizons: The Career Changer ProgramAMP Horizons recognized that the success of new financial managers required more than just competency with numbers and sales skills. The company created a career-development program focusing on self-belief and convictions in the difference they make as financial advisors.Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago: Moment One Readiness OrientationAfter moving into their new location, all employees and physicians working in the new hospital were expected to navigate the 23-floor facility, use new equipment, new systems, and new workflows while continuing to provide the highest level of patient care. The learning team supported leaders in transitioning teams while preserving aspects of the culture that were identified by employees and physicians as essential to bring to the new facility. The Moment One Readiness Orientation (MORO) project incorporated an inclusive educational strategy that addressed the needs of staff, volunteers, and patients.China Telecom: Social Learning Practice in Accelerating the Scale Development of 3G BusinessesThe Social Learning Practice was designed and implemented to address the need for faster and more effective knowledge sharing among dispersed teams. This practice was piloted in the 3G business line, while considering the corporate strategy for scale development of mobile businesses.College of American Pathologists: Breast-Predictive Factors Testing Advanced Practical Pathology Program (AP3)The College of American Pathologists collaborated with expert practitioners to develop an intensive learning program. This program teaches physicians who conduct breast-predictive factors testing how to accurately interpret and report these critical tests, and how to appropriately process breast tissue in preparation for these critical tests.E\*TRADE Financial: Managed Account Product Launch TrainingTo help investors meet their long-term investment goals, E\*Trade launched managed investment strategies. This helped clients keep their portfolios well-diversified and learn to balance risk with investment performance.HCL Technologies Ltd: A New Model for Business-Aligned TrainingThe challenge for HCL Technologies was to improve the skills, knowledge, and performance of more than 84,000 individuals located in 26 countries in a scalable, flexible, and sustainable manner. There was need for a robust, scalable, and flexible training model for development of employees, along with a focus on business goals. In order to address these challenges, the business-aligned training academy model was implemented by the organization.MTR Corporation: Learning Organization – Fostering ContinualLearning and Innovating CultureThe generational shift of its workforce, combined with rising customer expectations for more attentive and innovative service, meant MTR Corporation needed to both retain and transfer critical knowledge while fostering a culture of continual learning, sharing, and innovation. The “Learning Organization” program was developed and executed with four foci: learning, innovation, people, and sharing.Veridiam: On-the-Job Training (OJT) ChecklistsTo ensure Veridiam could effectively train new employees and develop the skills needed to support growth, a structured On-the-Job Training (OJT) program was developed for technical training areas in the company’s most mature plant.Yapı ve Kredi Bankası: Operation Manager Development Simulation ProgramTo help branch teams achieve success in their roles, the learning function—which operates as a business partner—designed the Operation Manager Development Simulation Program to foster a sales culture, cultivate a customer service orientation, strengthen coaching skills, and improve core business performance with efficiency and improved productivity.The ASTD 2013 International Conference & Exposition is the premier event for training and development professionals. This year's event will take place in Dallas, Texas, U.S.A. from May 19-22, 2013. Learn more about ASTD 2013's keynote speakers, educational sessions, andexposition at www.astdconference.org.

Learn From Leading Practitioners

 Technological advancements have brought about a global interconnectedness that has forever changed business. This new interconnectedness transforms how business is done and provides access to a wealth of new and diverse customers, suppliers, partners, talent, or competitors. Operating successfully in this new world requires a new set of skills—those that enable business leaders to operate effectively both within and across different cultures. But what are the critical skills that leaders need to be successful? And how can companies ensure they develop leaders with the skills and expertise to navigate the global business landscape? To pinpoint these skills, the University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School and the Human Capital Institute surveyed more than 300 HR and training and development professionals. Their findings are reported in Compete and Connect: Developing Globally Competent Leaders, which examines how organizations can develop global competence in their workforce. “A globally competent individual has the right attitude, knowledge, skills and functional business expertise to effectively work within and across cultures,” says David Roberts, a UNC Kenan-Flagler professor who teaches about effecting organizational change to achieve strategic goals for UNC Executive Development. When asked about the qualities most important for leaders to work effectively in a global business environment, the top answers are:multicultural sensitivity and awareness (57 percent)ability to communicate effectively (49 percent)strategic thinking (47 percent)leadership and the ability to influence others (45 percent)respect for differences (44 percent)ethics and integrity (42 percent)flexibility and willingness to change (41 percent)adaptability in new environments (40 percent)collaborative (37 percent)decision-making ability (36 percent). Some 63 percent of respondents say the need to develop global competence is urgent, and 92 percent agree that this can be developed through training. “Unfortunately, global leadership development at most organizations is in a poor state,” contends the UNC report.   According to the findings: organizations are underdeveloped in multicultural sensitivity (38 percent)high-potentials managers are able to meet future business needs (43 percent)organizations have a strong leadership pipeline (35 percent)senior leaders are satisfied with their current bench strength (24 percent)organizations with global operations struggle to recruit talent for global leadership positions (52 percent). So what can organizations do to develop global competence? Regrettably, the study finds that the top two most popular ways organizations currently develop global competence are still passive: international travel and encouraging networking outside of the organization. Indeed, the survey reports that “most organizations aren’t taking a proactive or hands-on approach,” even though the “most effective methods are deliberate and experiential.” “They need to do much more than send individuals on business trips; they need a complete top-to-bottom training strategy. That kind of investment gives both organizations and individuals a competitive advantage,” Roberts says. A 2014 American Management Association (AMA) study, Global Leadership Development: Preparing Leaders for a Globalized Market, offers organizations some general guidance for developing global leaders. According to AMA, leaders should practice developing and executing strategic business plans, learn to communicate and work effectively with diverse internal and external colleagues and customers, and be trained on how to deal with change, complexity, and uncertainty in a confident manner. High performing organizations know that the four elements essential for effective global leadership development and market performance are:immersion in cultures and customers for local marketsfocus on collaboration and influenceselection made by objective behavioral evidencetraining curriculum based on long term goals. Specifically, the UNC study finds that there are a number of methods that can help organizations develop leaders with global skills, including:increasing the diversity of the senior executive leadershipdeveloping knowledge and appreciation of different cultures and languagesproviding immersion experiences that range from months to extensive cultural learning programshaving opportunity for cross-border projects and teamsimplementing job rotation across geographic regions, business divisions, and functionscultivating interpersonal and social ties among people based in different locations. The message is clear: Every organization will become global in one way or another, driving the need for companies to work today to enhance the global competencies of their leaders. “Key to success is understanding the variances of not just the locations you expand your business to, but also the unique needs and development requirements of the leaders you’re trying to develop. Through such a tailored approach, organizations can be sure their leaders have the global competencies to be effective wherever their business takes them,” concludes the UNC report. To learn more, download Compete and Connect: Developing Globally Competent Leaders.

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