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Pat Lynch Articles

Written by: Pat Lynch

Three Key Elements for Addressing Organizational Challenges Effectively - Click To Read Article
One critical success factor stands out above others as a determinant of leaders’ effectiveness in addressing them: having a clearly articulated “big picture.” More specifically, an optimal “big picture” focuses on outcomes or impact, and it is stated in the affirmative.

The Courage of Your Talent - Click To Read Article
Not everyone uses their talents. Why not?

2 Simple Steps to Organizational Alignment - Click To Read Article
“How can leaders align employees’ interests with organizational goals?”

The Gift of Your Talents - Click To Read Article
Each person is born with talents that she/he is free to share or to hoard. When people share their talents, the world literally becomes a different place. Those who hoard or hide their talents deny the world the benefit of their gifts.

How High a Priority Are Your Employees? Are You Sure? - Click To Read Article
Leaders who want their organizations to be successful first and foremost must focus on helping their employees become fully successful. When employees are fully successful, their productivity skyrockets, and customers are delighted because the organization is able to deliver, or over-deliver, its promised value.

How to Accelerate Success: Create an Appreciative Culture - Click To Read Article
More than a dozen years ago a friend introduced me to a relatively new concept called appreciative inquiry. It has changed my life dramatically, as well as the lives of individuals and organizations who have adopted this framework. And it is a critical component of organizational success.

6 Critical Organizational Success Factors for Embracing Volatility - Click To Read Article
Organizations no longer have the luxury of allowing their employees and leaders to sit back and enjoy the tranquility of a stable environment, which required relatively little upkeep to maintain the status quo.

What You Don’t Know about the NLRB Could Hurt You and Your Employees - Click To Read Article
It is safe to say that relatively few employers and even fewer employees can accurately identify the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and describe its role. Yet this five-member panel is about to transform the nature of the workplace.

7 Tips to Prepare for the New NLRB - Click To Read Article
While there is little or nothing that individual employers can do to stop the anticipated shifts toward union-friendly rulings identified by Board Chair Wilma Liebman, there are legal and ethical actions you can take to mitigate any negative effects they may have on you and your employees.

8 Obstacles to Public Sector Success - Click To Read Article
In my experience, public sector agencies and government entities (i.e., cities, counties, states) face eight common obstacles to their success.

Public Sector Pensions: Why “Fixing the Problem” IS the Problem - Click To Read Article
Dramatic increases in public sector pension liabilities at a time when state and local governments have seen their revenues shrink drastically have resulted in an explosive backlash against public sector unions and the workers they represent.

Budget Cuts: Why Fire Departments and Police Departments Need to Change the Question - Click To Read Article
Instead of focusing on money, politicians and administrators need to begin with the end in mind – i.e., the services to be provided.

Succession planning myths and realities - Click To Read Article
Succession planning is a concept that often is misunderstood, to the detriment of all concerned. People tend to use the term incorrectly, thinking it means one thing when actually it means something quite different.

Wanted: Courageous Leaders - Click To Read Article
There are two critical success factors required to enable decision-makers to devise an effective process for allocating their organizations’ scarce resources in ways that will allow them to re-group successfully.

Why City Governments are Floundering - Click To Read Article
What is preventing decision-makers from devising an effective process for allocating their cities’ scarce resources in ways that will allow them to re-group successfully in the aftermath of slashed budgets, plummeting revenues, forced furloughs, and layoffs?

How public safety professionals are shooting themselves in the foot - Click To Read Article
“Things will continue to be normal” mantra is a charade that must stop. Decision-makers and the public need to be educated about the trade-offs that result from allocating fewer resources than required to maintain service levels.

Set Priorities Like The Experts - Click To Read Article
One set of skills that is critical in any organization is that of setting, aligning, and implementing priorities. These skills are particularly important in times such as those we have experienced recently, when management has to find effective ways to “re-group” in the aftermath of devastating changes caused by economic conditions.

Survive or Thrive: It’s Your Choice - Click To Read Article
The U.S. economy is experiencing a rough patch right now, and organizations in all sectors are faced with the challenges. While the media focus on stories about how people & organizations are suffering financially & otherwise, everything is not doom and gloom. There are businesses that are doing just fine, and opportunities abound for those who seek them. Whichever scenario fits your situation, my contention is that you have the ability to optimize your quality of life, and that of your organization, by choosing how you view your circumstances. Though there are things we are unable to control, we can control how we perceive our respective situations. How we view ourselves and the world around us leads us to take actions that shape the quality of our lives. That perception is a choice each of us is free to make at any time.

What Do We Do Now?: Options for Allocating Scarce Resources When You Haven’t Planned Ahead - Click To Read Article
Although advance planning for resource allocation is the ideal scenario, many organizations found themselves caught short by the severe constraints imposed by the economic downturn. What are the alternatives when organizations are operating in crisis mode and there is no “Plan A?” Given the need to make decisions about how to curtail their operations immediately, there are two options that can help in the short-run: (1) increase inputs or (2) decrease outputs - each with several alternatives

From Chaos to Calm: The Experts’ Guide to Setting Priorities - Click To Read Article
One set of skills that is critical in any organization is that of setting, aligning, and implementing priorities. These skills are particularly important in times such as those we have experienced recently, when management has to find effective ways to “re-group” in the aftermath of devastating changes caused by economic conditions.

Guidelines for Allocating Scarce Resources - Click To Read Article
Scarce resources are a fact of business life. In the wake of devastating budget cuts, furloughs, and/or layoffs, however, “normal” levels of scarcity have been exacerbated. The question for many organizations has become, “How do we move forward from here most effectively?” I recommend to my clients that they begin by identifying some crucial information that will guide their subsequent actions and decisions.

Warning! Values May Be Detrimental to Your Organization’s Health - Click To Read Article
What percent of your employees can identify your organization’s values? How many of those individuals can tell you what each value “looks like” in terms of their own performance? Unless you are able to answer nearly 100%, you may want to consider taking these steps to improve the health of your organization!

Candid Conversations: How to Drive the Political Correctness “Elephant” Out of Your Workplace - Click To Read Article
Individuals who are faced with difficult issues frequently choose to ignore them entirely or discuss them only indirectly. While most people would concur that issues such as disagreements over a course of action or poor performance should be addressed clearly and directly, the reality is that many are not comfortable doing so. It's so much easier at those moments to revert to the "politically correct" indirect methods that are the norm in many organizations. The failure to honestly and directly confront poor performance or unwise courses of action, for example, becomes the proverbial elephant in the living room – or in this case, the workplace.

Transforming HR and IT from “Wayward Children” to Drivers of Business Success - Click To Read Article
It is my belief that sound human resource (HR) and information technology (IT) practices are capable of driving organizational success. Yet my observation and experience indicate that far too many HR and IT departments do not even come close to realizing this capability. To the contrary, both areas often are viewed internally as obstacles to individual and organizational success that divert scarce resources from areas that do the “real” work. What actions will you take today to stop these behaviors in your organization and support business success?

Ten Ways to Create an Employee-centered Workplace - Click To Read Article
An employee-centered workplace is one in which all individuals, programs, processes, and systems are focused on helping employees become fully successful. Individuals who feel valued will provide excellent products and service, which will result in the achievement of organizational goals. In such an environment, everyone wins: workers, management, customers, vendors, and other stakeholders.

Employee Free Choice Act: An Opportunity for Employers to Choose their Future - Click To Read Article
The proposed Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) before Congress is making many employers feel threatened they could be bargaining with unions instead of dealing directly with their employees. Instead of focusing on whether the law is going to pass – which it will, in some form – you need to be paying attention to the real issue: How are you treating your employees every day? The fact is, union representation holds little attraction to employees who feel respected, valued, trusted, challenged, and recognized for their contributions. Based on these sample criteria, how would your employees rate their experience in your workplace?

How to Prevent Your Employees from Becoming Collateral Damage in the Labor-Management Battle - Click To Read Article
While members of Congress talk about improving the workplace for employees, the actions of many indicate that they are far more interested in serving the interests of either management or unions than they are in securing better conditions for workers. Unless this attitude changes quickly, employees are likely to become collateral damage in the on-going tug of war between labor and management. Organizations that make their workers a high priority and treat them well on a daily basis won’t have to worry about what legislation is passed. It’s management’s choice – for a limited time only.

How To Ensure Customers and Employees Recognize Your Organization’s Value - Click To Read Article
Organizations cannot optimize their business results unless their customers and their employees clearly recognize the significant value they provide. How can you discover whether these two important groups really see this value? Ask them. When the ability to achieve optimal business results is at stake, can you afford to guess whether your customers and employees recognize your organization’s value?

6 Steps to Optimize Results When “Business as Usual” Doesn’t Work Any More - Click To Read Article
Is your organization one for whom “business as usual” no longer works? Whether that result is precipitated by fewer customers, budget cutbacks, employee layoffs and/or furloughs, or some other unplanned change, the point is that you find yourself having to do more with less. The question I hear most often is, “How do we operate given our new reality?” There are three important reasons why the answers to this question are critical





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