PA Facilitator Receives U.S. Army Commendation

          Pam Hager, Vice President of Instructional Consulting at Psychological Associates, has received a Freedom Team Salute Commendation from the U.S. Army. It is based on the recommendation of a participant in the May 2009 LEADERSHIP THROUGH PEOPLE SKILLS^® seminar, which Pam facilitated.
          Cynthia Houston, Program Principal U.S. Army Freedom Team Salute, submitted Pam’s name as a thank you “for the wonderful LTPS seminar I attended.” Ms. Houston went on to say, “I will be applying the many skills you shared as I manage this Army program; your instruction will have a positive impact on our outreach to the Army Family.”
          Ms. Houston’s firm, Summit Marketing, works with the U.S. Army to recognize veterans, parents, spouses, and employers of U. S. Army soldiers. The program also recognizes special supporters who promote the interests of U.S. Army soldiers and the Army’s mission.
          Pam was cited for her “contributions to our Army community,” and received a certificate of appreciation and a lapel pin.

Lena Article Featured in SMT Newsletter

          The newsletter team of the Professional Society for Sales and Marketing Training (SMT) recently asked itself: “What are companies doing to gain — and, more importantly, keep — customers around after the recession is over?”
          Vice President, Performance Consulting John Lena provided one answer in his feature article, "Pursuing Relationships Leads to Greater Sales." Read the article on the SMT web site to discover how building relationships and understanding behavior lead to both sales and loyalty.

Psychological Associates Hosts Talent Development Seminar
For HR Executives at Olin Business School

          Over the next 10 years in many organizations, leadership positions at all levels will be vacated and, yet, there’s a worldwide shortage of replacement talent. Where will the next generation of leadership come from? How quickly can high potentials be identified? Developed? Ready to lead?

          These were the timely issues examined by a group of senior human resources executives who participated in the distinguished Olin Partners’ Program held at the Knight Center on the campus of Washington University in St. Louis on November 6, 2008. The seminar, Pedal to the Metal: Accelerating Leadership Development, was sponsored by Psychological Associates.

          The table was set by Dr. Ann Beatty, President of Psychological Associates, who underscored the trends and challenges that organizations face because of monumental changes occurring in the marketplace, our workforce and talent pools, and the need to adapt to these changes in order to succeed.

          Representatives from three organizations then addressed these concerns by discussing their best practices for managing and developing talent quickly.

          Bob Smith, director of leadership development and capability at BFS Retail & Commercial Operations (Bridgestone-Firestone), provided insights and models used by his company to identify, develop, and manage a workforce of over 20,000 nationwide.

          Ron Cox, founder and president of Tailwind Consulting, is a consultant to BFS in the area of implementing strategy. He stressed the importance of aligning talent with corporate strategy. Both speakers presented tools and processes that participants could apply to their own organizational needs.

          In contrast to talent development in a large organization, Steve Lourie, principal and director of human resources at Buckingham Family of Financial Services in St. Louis, described what it was like to become the sole HR manager at a thriving investment firm. He discussed his approach to designing programs for selecting and training talent in his organization, as well as giving practical tips for collaborating with the rest of the company about talent management issues.

          All three presenters used their organizations as case studies for interactive learning in which participants formed teams to tackle some of the real-world issues of the guest speakers. Throughout the day, participants were encouraged to participate and discuss their own situations in terms of the topic.