Viewing Author Archives:

Does Praying for Effective Leadership Work?

April 19, 2009 by Ken Nowack

“If you talk to God, you are praying. If God talks to you, you have schizophrenia.” Thomas Szasz In previous blogs I’ve mused a bit about the relatively high base rate of leadership incompetence (estimated to be 50%) and the challenge of predicting future leadership behavior. Maybe praying for leaders can’t hurt–or can it? I’ve become a […]




Posted in Engagement, Leadership Development, Selection

Comments Off on Does Praying for Effective Leadership Work?

Feedback Can Be Harmful to Your Health

April 12, 2009 by Ken Nowack

“Sticks and stones will break my bones but words will never hurt me.” Unknown Remember this old saying from childhood? No doubt someone was saying something to you that could have been emotionally hurtful. Well, it seems this old saying really doesn’t have any scientific merit at all. In fact, recent research suggests that indeed […]




Posted in Engagement, Relate

3 Comments

More Talent Management Facts #6

April 5, 2009 by Ken Nowack

“Reality leaves a lot to the imagination.” John Lennon Another edition of leadership and talent management “facts” from all over the world. Some intuitive and some not….what do you think? 1. “Most of the investment in organizational training and development is wasted because most of the knowledge and skills gained (well over 80% by some […]




Posted in Engagement, Leadership Development, Relate, Selection, Wellness

2 Comments

Coaching is Largely a Sham and Leaders are Largely Born and Not Made Part II

March 29, 2009 by Ken Nowack

“Don’t measure yourself by what you have accomplished, but by what you should have accomplished with your ability.” John Wooden   Coaching has been around as long as anyone can really remember.  Executives have always had trusted advisors, mentors, Board Members and outside confidants to help them succeed. Mostly it has been informal but in […]




Posted in Engagement, Leadership Development, Relate

2 Comments

Coaching is Largely a Sham and Leaders are Largely Born and Not Made Part I

March 22, 2009 by Ken Nowack

“A good coach will make his players see what they can be rather than what they are.” Ara Parasheghian   I really wanted to believe that Santa Claus was real. I really wanted to believe the tooth fairy was the Federal Reserve. I really wanted to believe that leaders are made and not born. I […]




Posted in Engagement, Leadership Development, Selection

Comments Off on Coaching is Largely a Sham and Leaders are Largely Born and Not Made Part I

Working for a Bad Boss, Periodic Depression or Caring for Elderly Parents: What’s Worse?

March 15, 2009 by Ken Nowack

“The quality of leadership, more than any other single factor, determines the success or failure of an organization.” Fred Fiedler & Martin Chemers  It’s not surprising that research suggests unequivocally that leadership has tremendous impact on talent engagement, retention and productivity ((Nowack, K. (2006). Emotional intelligence: Leaders Make a Difference. HR Trends, 17, 40-42)). Can […]




Posted in Engagement, Leadership Development, Relate

3 Comments

Are You Happy With Your Social Network? Part II

March 8, 2009 by Ken Nowack

“When you look at your life, the greatest happinesses are family happinesses.”   Joyce Brothers I just read a research paper that suggested that marriage might not improve men’s health as once thought ((Liu, H. & Umberson, D. (2008).  The Times They Are a Changing: Marital Status and Health Differentials from 1972 to 2003.  Journal […]




Posted in Engagement, Relate

Comments Off on Are You Happy With Your Social Network? Part II

Are You Happy With Your Social Network? Part I

March 1, 2009 by Ken Nowack

“Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family.  Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one.”  Jane Howard It seems intuitive that being around co-workers, friends and family members who are happy should “rub off” on us.  We even call this “emotional contagion.” New research […]




Posted in Engagement, Relate

1 Comment

Does Personality Change?

February 22, 2009 by Ken Nowack

“We change, whether we like it or not” Ralph Waldo Emerson I read an interesting article in Newsweek the other week on “When DNA is Not Destiny.” So, just how easy is it to change personality? Do zebras rally lose their stripes? Despite increasing evidence that most personality traits are highly genetically determined (current estimates suggest as […]




Posted in Engagement, Leadership Development, Relate

2 Comments

More Talent Management Facts #5

February 15, 2009 by Ken Nowack

Another addition of leadership and talent management “facts” from all over the world. Some intuitive and some not….what do you think? 1. Of 3,000 hiring professionals and managers surveyed in 2008 by CareerBuilder.com, 49% said they had discovered a lie on a resume sent in for a job opening.  In general, candidates exaggerated their past […]




Posted in Engagement, Leadership Development, Relate, Selection, Wellness

Comments Off on More Talent Management Facts #5

Follow Envisia Learning:

RSS Twitter linkedin Facebook

Are You Implementing a Leadership Development Program?

Call us to discuss how we can help you get more out of your leadership development program:

(800) 335-0779, x1