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“My eCornell experience has really opened my eyes to today’s business practices. This was a great way to get the credentials on my resume, and the experience and knowledge that I needed.”
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“To learn to behave like an executive was my goal going into this program. And I think I got that. Having gone to Cornell and being able to put that on my resume is certainly valuable when I’m out there talking to people. To gain these soft skills and be able to apply them is also valuable to the people you work with.”
Think of the classic mentor/protege relationship. Your mind may conjure up images of the benevolent, caring tutor and the eager, receptive student in a perfect give and take. A friendly, healthy exchange of ideas and wisdom. Sounds idyllic…
But the truth is, this scenario might not be ideal for your professional development. Having a mentor is a privilege that most people, unfortunately, don’t get to enjoy. But given the opportunity, is the best choice a mentor who validates your current assumptions and reinforces the way you already work?
We all know that things that “just feel right” or make us comfortable are often the worst things for us. So don’t settle. Move between mentors if needed. If you’re not challenged, it’s time to move on.
This isn’t to suggest that you should only pursue a mentor who doesn’t feel right or makes you feel uncomfortable. But take a moment and look outside of your comfort zone. Identify someone who can provide cold, hard advice, or steer you toward a path you might not have taken otherwise. You want to sharpen and diversify your skill set.
Consider seeking out someone at work who challenges your sensibilities, upends your idea of how things are supposed to be done—maybe even someone who flat-out frightens you.
Look for a mentor who’ll make you step up your game, who sets you back on your heels—someone who exhibits behaviors that you find professionally admirable, but difficult to imagine in yourself: shrewdness, unflappability, assertiveness. Does anyone in particular come to mind? Float the idea by them and see how they respond. People who scare others away often make the best mentors.
The question for many is “Who do I choose?” or “Where do I turn?” For those who work in mid- to large-sized companies, there are most likely opportunities within for mentoring partnerships. For telecommuters or people who work remotely, you shouldn’t have too much difficulty finding a mentor who’s willing to pair up remotely. It’s more common practice than you’d think.
In fact, many large international companies, such as IBM and Hewlett-Packard, have distance mentoring programs built into their learning and development systems. With hundreds of thousands of employees dispersed across the globe, sharing knowledge resources and leveraging in-house expertise across the company network makes perfect sense. It improves company culture and increases retention and engagement.
For the self-employed or small business owner with few connections, you’ll find no shortage of resources online. The reason mentorships are so desirable is that they aren’t just a winning proposition for the mentee. It’s a two-way street; the mentor has everything to gain as well. Teaching can be incredibly rewarding and there is as much to be gained by the mentor.
The ideal mentor/mentee relationship is one that balances harmony with tension, forces us to be creative, and helps us grow to become something greater than what we’d be otherwise.
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In this 6-course certificate program developed by Justin Johnson of Cornell University’s Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management, you will explore MBA-level case studies and engage in real-world strategic simulations to learn what it takes to develop and execute a winning business strategy.
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Melvin Miller on the Executive Leadership Certificate from eCornell
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Found this older post on Twitter-as-training-tool and thought I’d reshare it.
By now, most of us a thing or two about Twitter. It is a free social networking tool where users submit updates, called “tweets,” about what they are doing at the moment. These text-based tweets cannot exceed 140 characters. If you do a quick search on Twitter, many brand name companies use it as another way to connect and communicate with customers, partners, analysts and employees.
Updates are displayed on the user’s profile page and delivered to other users who have signed up to receive them. Senders can restrict delivery to those in their circle of “friends and followers.” Users can receive updates via the Twitter website, SMS text, RSS, or through any ever-growing number of applications such as Twirl and Facebook for mobile devices.
Can Twitter be used for training & development? A few ways to consider:
Provide real-time nuggets of learning
Even faster and more digestible than rapid e-learning, Twitter tweets could be used to distribute real-time/just-in-time nuggets of information as needed. Consider a Twitter network of geographically dispersed sales people who can instantly and constantly share competitive information and insights AS THEY OCCUR IN THE FIELD. Articles, news items, YouTube videos…almost anything can be shared instantly (and easily using the “shorten URL” feature).
Follow-up/archive method
Twitter is a great tool for communicating and asking questions on conference calls and webcasts. Another benefit: using Twitter enables you to keep a record of the questions and comments in a format not unlike a chat or blog post.
Reinforcement & reminders related to processes, policies and procedures
Twitter can be used to reinforce new content because it allows you to send and see quick snippets of information… ideal for sending out reminders, how-to’s, examples and clarifications… all important when it comes to maintaining consistency related to new processes, policies and procedures.
BTW, follow eCornell on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ecornell_online.
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Dr. Mike Goodboe, SVP and Regional HR Director for G4S Secure Solutions. G4S is the largest security company in the world, with over 650,000 employees. eCornell and G4S developed a 12-course custom certificate program that features MBA-style training for the company’s High-Potential Manager Program.
Mike was a presenter at eCornell’s Breakfast Briefing Roundtable Event in New York City, February 23, 2012.
“Through eCornell we have created a unique management development program, a mini-MBA of sorts, that is focused on developing the core leadership and management capabilities of high-potential team members from all G4S companies in the US and Canada. Achieving business results ultimately rests on the quality of our leaders and their strategic agility, understanding of the marketplace, ability to handle and effect change successfully, make informed decisions, and lead through creativity and innovation. The eCornell solution is the ideal combination of executive-level learning content and a flexible, compelling delivery model.”
eCornell invites you to participate in a complimentary webinar presented in partnership with Training Industry:
Emotional Intelligence:
Increasing Leadership Capacity & Performance
presented by Dr. Travis Bradberry, co-founder of TalentSmart &
author of Emotional Intelligence 2.0
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
1:00pm Eastern/10:00am Pacific
Register www.ecornell.com/apr18
Can’t make it? Download the whitepaper High Performance Leadership: Converting Potential into Execution from www.ecornell.com/hiperf.
Emotional intelligence (EQ) is responsible for more than half of workplace performance, and is the #1 predictor of leadership and personal excellence. Better understanding the “science of emotion” can help you to increase the effectiveness of your leadership development initiatives.
In this 1-hour webinar, you will learn about proven solutions to maximize the effectiveness of your training and leadership development initiatives. Your guide for this interactive webinar will be Dr. Travis Bradberry, the award-winning author of Emotional Intelligence 2.0 and co-founder of TalentSmart.
During this interactive session, you’ll interact with Dr. Bradberry as he shows you:
Register today! Attendees of this webinar will be eligible to win an autographed copy of Emotional Intelligence 2.0.
We hope you can join us for this educational event.
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“From the standpoint of a working professional, the Project Leadership Certificate Program is ideal. During the courses, it was easy to fit the work into my schedule since I was able to access the coursework anytime, anywhere there was an internet connection. I found the process really easy and intuitive.”
Lewis Parish
Project Manager, Management Sciences for Health
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“eCornell provides a quality, solid learning experience. The best part about the courses is that they are case-study based, which gives you a platform for lateral learning. I highly recommend the HR Management Certificate Program.”
Varnika Vijayvergiya HR Certificate Program Alumnus
