Let me first say that I am one of those people who see the cup as overflowing (most of the time – yes, I have my down days), the world as full of opportunities, and anything as possible.  No, my middle name isn’t Pollyanna…my eyes are wide open.  I only begin this way to highlight the positive perception I have that a LOT of employers in this region care for their people, our community, and the future of the region.  And, Soapbox helps with its’ dedication to showcasing the positive and sustained transformation in the Cincinnati USA region.

The professional and personal development piece of this is evidenced by the work that we specialists in training, facilitation, coaching, and leadership development are called to do every day.

In 2008, I’ve been approached by organizations and individuals requesting coaching and development around various issues including:

    1. A technically competent manager experiencing performance short falls in areas of interpersonal communication skills, negatively impacting relationships with internal staff and clients as well as putting a strain on productivity.

    2. A valued, talented director exhibits an aggressive, confrontational style resulting in loss of staff, avoidance by co-workers, and diminished project outcomes. 

    3. Development challenges of a team in transition, as they are between leaders, causing chaos while forgetting the ultimate mission of the organization.

    4. High level professionals working in environments that don’t support work/life balance, leaving them burnt out and feeling lack of enthusiasm when performing their job.

This gives an overview of just a few of the areas receiving training, leadership development, and career management to retain employees while allowing them greater satisfaction and productivity on the job.  It can cost from 150% up (of an employees annual compensation) to replace a worker. It seems to me that employers who provide growth opportunities are ahead of the revenue game in the long run. And, they are usually places where people like to work.

Fortunately for those of us who live here, there are many organizations that advocate for development in different ways (and I’m not talking about just technical skill training).  Each year multiple businesses (catch phrase including non-profits, health-care institutions, etc.) sponsor high potential candidates for the Chamber leadership programs (Leadership Cincinnati, WE Lead, C-Change – all awesome learning and social networking opportunities by the way).  Several of the large companies in town support women’s leadership networks as inspirational, learning and development tools.  And, there’s more out there too.