CIASTD Monthly Newsletter

I’m going to pick up where I left off last month and continue a bit longer with the theme of “Why are we often the first to go?” The ASTD Competency Model provides some direction that, if followed, will help us be recognized as critical contributors to the business and not just a nice-to-have that is an easy spot to find some quick expense cuts.

The first of those indicators is the one I ranted about last month in the Business/Management competency. I want to focus on a particular behavior in that competency and that is “Thinking Strategically.” How much of what you do is a reaction to requests from business unit managers that are frequently short-notice and have the appearance of fire-fighting? If you’re doing a significant amount of that, I’d suggest you are not Thinking Strategically. If you are Thinking Strategically you’ll find you are being more proactive and conducting truly value-added learning activities that are consistent with your organization’s strategic direction and plan.

The second indicator is at the top of the Competency Model in the Roles grouping. That is the role of “Business Partner.” When you manage the three foundation competencies, you will put yourself in a position to enable you to earn the acceptance of business unit managers as a Business Partner. When you do that, you also earn a seat at the planning table and can have some impact on the strategic direction of the business unit. If you aren’t at that table, you will continue to react to business unit requests. You also run the risk of introducing development activities that are perceived as “fluff” because they don’t fit the priorities that were determined at that planning table. When fluff appears to be coming out of your shop, you’re a prime target for the next swing of the cost-cutting ax.

If you’re already at that table, good for you!!! My experience has been that too many of us have been guilty of narrow thinking and have produced activities that weren’t consistent with the organization’s direction because we haven’t mastered these two elements and haven’t earned that seat as a Business Partner at the planning table.

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Member Profile

Vic Holove
Profiled by Karen Zwick

Vic Holove has been involved in human resources consulting for the past ten years. For the past three years, Vic has been an Account Executive for the PeopleWise division of Lexis Nexis (headquartered in Dayton, OH).

The PeopleWise division performs background checks on employee candidates as part of their pre-employment screening. Vic sells this service to companies in a nine state region. He conducts training for their service and is involved in all phases of implementation. Vic follows up with existing clients to service their needs.

In previous positions, Vic served as Account Executive for Franklin Covey for four years followed by a position as Account Executive for Paradigm Learning for over two years. His position with Franklin Covey is what moved Vic and his family from the greater Detroit area to Indianapolis. Vic sold training programs, custom simulations, learning maps, and other experiential learning programs for Paradigm Learning.

When asked to suggest good reading, Vic recommends Business Think, Tuesdays with Morrie, and the autobiography, Gordon B. Hinkley. Vic’s favorite book is Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Album. He feels that the author captured the essences of a wonderful man in his last days sharing his most treasured gems of life.

Vic is an active member of CIASTD. In the past several years, he has volunteered his time and talents on the committee for the Fall Education Conference.

Vic’s advice to new professionals is, “Get focused on your passion, and follow it. It will help you form your career and life’s work. Many CIASTD members have done that successfully and are very good at what they do.”

Vic’s parting wisdom is, “Serve others and your life will be very satisfying.”

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Books in Review

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team
By Partick Lencioni
Review by Jay McNaught

Lencioni (2002) has developed an interesting formula for his books. He begins with a “fable” which he describes as a fictitious story where his main points are illustrated in a way that is easy to understand. Then he summarizes his main principles and explains them in detail. The fable is an interesting read, and the characters are easy to relate to. The story grabs you immediately. He has written other books with similar structures, perhaps the most notable is The Five Temptations of a CEO.

Lencioni (2002) begins this book by emphasizing the importance of teams, “Not finance. Not strategy. Not technology. It is teamwork that remains the ultimate competitive advantage, both because it is so powerful and so rare” (p. vii). In the introduction, he speaks of a teamwork paradox, “Like so many other aspects of life, teamwork comes down to master a set of behaviors that at once theoretically uncomplicated, but extremely difficult to put into practice day after day” (p. viii)

If you are involved with teams, you will find this book very interesting. It is an easy read and makes some interesting points. It will give you something to think about.

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Help Wanted

Do you enjoy writing? We need some help with the Facilitator. Fred Oaks used to write the Member Profile article for each newsletter, but he has recently moved to a different city. We wish Fred well, and truly appreciate the work he did for the Facilitator. So if you would you be interested in helping with the Facilitator, contact Jay McNaught by sending an email to jmcnaught@cinergy.com.

New Members

In each issue of The Facilitator, we will list members that have joined or re-joined CIASTD since the previous issue. Since the last issue of The Facilitator, we have had these new members.

Sue Amyx
Angela Downey
Crissy Goode
Tracy Laycock
Robert Luczak
Melanie McCArter
Cynitha McCorkle

Linda Potts
Michelle Prieb
David Rice
John Robinson
Adam Stedham
Juli Strattman
Will Willoughby
Daniel Wilson

If you are a member of CIASTD, and would like access to the complete membership list, it is available on our web site at www.ciastd.com.

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