September, 2010
Redeemer Church in O’Fallon, Missouri would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to Paul Paese, of PMC, for facilitating two half-day leadership development workshops for the pastor and elders of their church. The second of these workshops was completed this month. The workshops focused primarily on how leaders wishing to open the hearts and minds of others must simultaneously remain open to change themselves, and delved specifically into the difficult conversations that church leaders have encountered, or expect to encounter, in the course of their work. The workshop discussions were lively and passionate, and the content was very helpful to the pastor and church elders. They are extremely grateful to Paul for giving his time and expertise.

August, 2010
Congratulations to Dayna Tomlin, Gerard Fleming, and Jennie Cunningham on completing the PMC certification process for facilitating “Candor with Respect” (CWR) workshops for associates at Edward Jones. Dayna, Gerard, and Jennie are members of the Organization Effectiveness department at Edward Jones. In addition to serving as CWR case group coaches (for which they were previously certified), these three are now certified to facilitate the plenary portion of CWR. Dayna, Gerard, and Jennie each have a PhD in Industrial/Organizational psychology. In fact, Jennie completed her dissertation and received her PhD just this month from the University of Missouri – St. Louis, so this has been an especially big month for her. CWR is a professional development course created and led by Paul Paese, of PMC, and offered on a regular basis to general partners, leaders, and associates at Edward Jones. Paul will continue to facilitate sessions for general partners and leaders, whereas Dayna, Gerard, and Jennie will facilitate sessions for associates.

July, 2010
PMC owner, Paul Paese, accepted an invitation this month from the Olin Business School at Washington University to teach in the new Leadership Essentials program starting in 2011. This executive education program is designed to provide managers with the relationship- building, conflict management, team development, and change leadership skills that leaders must have to be successful in today’s workplace. The program consists of five 2-day modules. Participants who successfully complete all five modules receive a certificate from Olin Business School documenting the attainment of leadership expertise. Paul will be teaching a module entitled, “Leading Teams for High Performance,” that builds managers’ knowledge and skills in managing team conflict, creating productive conversations, and facilitating effective group discussions.

June, 2010
This month, the Board of Trustees of the Kirkwood Public Library elected Paul Paese, of PMC, to serve as Vice President of the Board for the 2010-11 year. This is a critical time for KPL because the library has been completely renovated over the past year, and in July will be moving back “home” from its temporary location. Paul has served on the Board since March, 2008. Retained for his expertise on personnel matters, group communication, and process facilitation, Paul is pleased to serve as Board Vice President, and looks forward to helping steward the Library through its physical move and strategic planning over the next year.

May, 2010
Are you a leader in the midst of assembling or restructuring your team? If so, and if you’re like most people, your tendency will be to surround yourself with others who think as you do and agree with most of what you say. Before you assemble your team, consider the actions of Abraham Lincoln, arguably the greatest leader our country has ever had. As described by Doris Kearns Goodwin in her epic biography, Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln , “Lincoln, after winning the presidency, made the unprecedented decision to incorporate his eminent rivals into his political family, the cabinet… [and] The powerful competitors who had originally disdained Lincoln became colleagues who helped him steer the country through its darkest days.” As Lincoln knew, differing points of view contain a tremendous wellspring of strength, creativity, and wisdom. Remember Lincoln as you assemble or restructure your own team.

April, 2010
Consider the following scenario: During a casual conversation, a colleague of yours at work begins complaining about the actions of another employee. The complaint is not new. In fact, you’ve listened to your colleague levy this complaint many times before. While your colleague’s complaining is obviously unproductive, what about your behavior? Is there anything unproductive about what you’re doing? “No,” you say, “I’m just supporting my colleague by listening and empathizing” (at PMC we often hear this sort of response from clients). The problem, however, is that empathic listening by itself may only encourage the pattern of complaint. In other words, your well intended “support” may be just as unproductive as the complaining itself. If you really want to support your colleague, your best – and admittedly more difficult – move may be to 1) point out that you see the complaining as unproductive, and 2) inquire into what he or she is hoping to accomplish by talking about the situation again. In conversations like this, candor and curiosity are better than mere listening and empathy, as the former are more likely to help your colleague move beyond the unproductive pattern of complaint.