Stillness Breaks at BluEra

At BluEra, before we begin our sharing, we take a minute of silence and stillness just to be with each other.   The stillness re-centres our team on what is most important and allows for more fluidity for ourselves, our relationships, our clients, and our community. Consider taking a minute of stillness and notice what emerges.

BluEra builds evolved and awakened teams through executive search, team transformation, and coaching practices.

BluEra keeping fit

This week, BluEra decided to take our weekly bootcamp outside to Olympic Plaza in order to enjoy the unseasonably warm weather. While there we were photographed by Gavin John, photographer for the Calgary Sun. The pictures will appear in this weekend’s edition of the Sun but below is a sneak peak.

Tara McCarney using the TRX in Olympic Plaza. Photo by Gavin John/Calgary Sun

Personal trainer Tyler McRae puts Joelle MacDonald (left) and Kim Smith (centre) through their paces during a fitness bootcamp at Olympic Plaza on Tuesday, April 2, 2013. Photo by Gavin John/Calgary Sun

BluEra’s weekly bootcamp is provided by Tyler McRae, BHkin of Kin-etics Personal Training. If you are interested in organizing a bootcamp for your workplace then we highly recommend Tyler. His work-out routines are always varied and challenging.

BluEra builds evolved and awakened teams through executive search, team transformation, and coaching practices.

What to Expect from BluEra’s Blog

On February 19th BluEra attended the Strategic Capability Network annual Wine and Cheese Event. This years event included a presentation given by David Gardner of TMP Worldwide on how to leverage Social Media to recruit top Talent. Among other topics covered in the presentation was the point that Some companies have jumped on the ‘Social Media Bandwagon’ without really having a strategy in place. It was noted that some companies seem only concerned with increasing the number of followers, connections, friends on their respective sites without ever really seeming to have an end game in place. Here is a related article from a blogger on LinkedIn who laments the lack of identity tools to help him measure the true effectiveness of his blog. Such a tool would help massively with understanding the success of a ‘blog strategy’. However, until one exists, blogs (BluEra’s included) most continue to post and hope that our target audience are seeing, reading and getting value from our regular postings.

The Social Media strategy of BluEra can be explained as follows:

1) Posting our new searches: BluEra uses our blog to advertise our active searches. This is aimed at both active and passive job seekers. If you are interested in hearing about the roles that we search for this will keep you up to date. We always post the roles we are working on to our blog.

2) Research on leadership, team work, growth, entrepreneurship, etc; We come into contact with many business leaders through our daily work. We also like to stay informed with what eminent thought leaders are saying. We use our blog to highlight particular articles or papers we have uncovered which we found interesting and which we hope our followers will find interesting also.

3) Letting you know more about our world (executive search): We also come into contact with job seekers on a daily basis. We blog about topics such as networking, interviewing, getting noticed in a crowded job market and many others. Once again if we come across a particular article we found enlightening we will share it with you through our blog.

4) Letting you know more about us: This is where we allow ourselves to share a little piece of ourselves with our blog followers. We would like you to know a little bit more about each of us. We are not just a voice on the other end of a phone, we are not just our LinkedIn profiles. Either are you. In this section (Presence Practices) we show some of what makes BluEra, well BluEra- the people.

We hope that our blog postings are informative, insightful and sometimes enjoyable for you to read. Much like our company, our social media interactions will continue to grow and change. However we will endeavor to live our BluEra values of  online as well as in person.

BluEra builds evolved and awakened teams through executive search and team transformation practices.

BluEra’s online network recognized by Linkedin

BluEra continues to grow their network and their online presence.  Last week BluEra’s Bryan Arthur, Catherine Bell, Colin Richardson, Julie Kemp and Shahauna Siddiqui were recognized for having profiles which were among the 1% most viewed LinkedIn profiles in 2012.  Also, Tara McCarney and Rick Lancaster were credited for having profiles in the top 5% of most viewed.

Bryan Arthur’s online network stands out, even at BluEra. With over 30,000 1^st degree connections, Bryan not only has one of the largest networks on LinkedIn, but the largest network in Canada.  If you aren’t already connected to him please reach out and ask him to share his network with you.

He can be reached via LinkedIn at ca.linkedin.com/in/barthur/

BluEra builds evolved and awakened teams through executive search, team transformation, and coaching practices.

BluEra – Search Consultant

BluEra delivers excellence by building evolved and awakened teams through executive search and team transformation practices. Based in Calgary, we specialize in renewables, energy, infrastructure/construction, information technology, and everything entrepreneurial, offering customized human capital solutions that strengthen our clients’ competitive edge.

We are looking to add to the BluEra team! We are seeking a Search Consultant. In this role you can expect to:

• Help build evolved and awakened teams by identifying top talent through researching and networking as well as following social media with leading companies and individuals;
• Expanding our research through all avenues (in person, on the phone, internet, library, associations, social media, etc.);
• Maintaining and building relationships with candidates (career objectives and skill set in particular so we can contact them about appropriate roles in the future);
• Identifying, pre-screening, and coaching candidates forward that match the search profile for interviews when appropriate;
• Answering any questions or concerns candidates may have, particularly in the early stages of the search;
• Attending client meetings and taking notes to ensure you clearly understand the company and the role;

For more information on the role and our company, click here.

BluEra builds evolved and awakened teams through executive search and team transformation practices.

Presence Practice: Kimmie

In mid-January a few members of the BluEra team (Catherine Bell, Tara McCarney, Shahauna Siddiqui and I) attended the long-awaited “Evening with Oprah” here in Calgary.  Among Oprah’s many insightful messages, there was one simple statement that resonated with me, and I have tried to focus on it more since that evening: Listen to the whisper in your soul that guides you.

Elaborating further, Oprah talked about how important it is to take the time to develop one’s spiritual muscle, and be centered in yourself in order to hear your “whisper”.  In her opinion, the development of the spiritual muscle comes from a daily practice that allows you to be with yourself … a peaceful time to be present and focused on yourself. She suggested that those peaceful moments can be found in yoga, running, a relaxing bath or shower, anywhere that gives you the space and time to re-center yourself and be present. These words of wisdom came on the evening of BluEra’s introduction to our “Presence Practice”  and we were thrilled to know that we were on the same wavelength as Oprah!

For those of you who know me, you know that I love to run.  And not just a nice little jaunt around the block … I prefer to push myself to the limit all the time, both in distance and difficulty of terrain.  This year alone I will be running a number of races, including half marathons, full marathons, 50 km races, and in the fall, much to the amazement and dismay of many, my running partner and co-worker, Joelle MacDonald, and I will be running a 100 km race.  There are few people outside of the running world who can understand why running like this would be my presence practice, but it is in those hours of running when I find peace.  The steady beat of my feet hitting the ground, my even and calculated breathing, and the beautiful vistas that greet me on my runs center me.  The noise and chaos of daily life fades away and it is during those runs when I am truly with myself, taking the time to listen to my inner whisper.  For me, there is no feeling like the completion of a great run, when you have pushed all of the worldly worries out of your body through your feet, one step at a time into the ground, and stop, with a beautiful view greeting you.  It is then that I am with myself, centered and present.

BluEra builds evolved and awakened teams through executive search, team transformation, and coaching practices.

Leadership and the art of plate spinning

As the holiday season approaches, we can quickly feel overwhelmed at work and at home.  This season typically makes it tough for individuals to find an appropriate balance. We find sudden competing demands at work; to complete projects by year end, to plan the upcoming year, and to begin projects for the new year. All of this is combined with goals of fitness, health and increasing social demands.

Colin Price recently published an article for McKinsey on Leadership and the art of plate spinning that we thought is a great reminder to pace ourselves while still instigating change at work. Price and Keller published a book, Beyond Performance, last year that looked at data over a decade, which found that achieving superior performance over the long-term is all about “enabling” things whose immediate benefits aren’t always clear. These healthy organizations, are internally aligned around a clear vision and strategy; can execute to a high quality thanks to strong capabilities, management processes, and employee motivation; and renew themselves more effectively than their rivals do. In short, health today drives performance tomorrow. This is something BluEra was founded on and is the premise of our vision: to build evolved and awakened teams through executive search and team transformation practices. We have been helping organizations measure and improve their level of health since we started.

In this article, Price examines 3 criteria that will ensure change, while maintaining performance.

1. Change and stability. He realizes change is imperative in today’s world, but that it can be done more consistently and must be integrated from the top. In other words, ensuring all change initiatives are aligned throughout the organization. This sounds simple and obvious, yet how many of us have received competing priorities from marketing, finance, and human resources, that often aren’t aligned? Most managers simply freeze in this environment, there is simply too much change at once.
2.  Control and empowerment. He agrees that a certain amount of control is necessary in all organization to ensure we are compliant, follow rules, etc. however, if we empower people to be creative and innovative within those borders, great things can happen. We witness this at BluEra day in and day out – our team constantly comes up with new and innovative ways that we are able to implement – everyone feels empowered to try something new.
3. Consistency and variability. The author examines the fine balance required between consistency and variability – we want to ensure our clients always receive the same, high quality product, yet we need variability to drive change. Use the 3M post-it-note example.

Enjoy reading this article, it is a thought provoking one, and one that reminds us that change is necessary, not easy to achieve, and requires constant “tweaking and balancing” along the way.

Read the article.

BluEra builds evolved and awakened teams through executive search and team transformation practices.

BluEra’s Coaching practice

At BluEra we pride ourselves on finding and keeping top talent. This means when we search for a leader, we find one that fits your organization’s culture, your values and is ready for the “Now and the New”.  As we evolve, awaken, and transform, we can support the evolution of our clients more rigorously.  BluEra is excited to announce our Coaching practice for Executives and Leaders.  We are already working with clients who want to accelerate their growth & development as they evolve themselves and transform their teams.

Peter Senge once said “There is no organizational transformation, only individual transformation, individual learning”.   As part of our Awakened Team Cycle, we believe work on the individual, relationships within the team, and the team, leads to the fullest potential of the company to emerge.   BluEra’s Coaching practice is committed to supporting the development and learning of leaders who want to build, evolve and transform themselves to support their organization’s needs for today and the future.  Our focus is on learning agility.

A key time in your organization’s life, when Executives and Leaders truly set the stage for success, is the onboarding process – yours and your key leaders.  Research suggests 30% – 50% of new Executive hires are not effective or leave after 18 months. Mercer Delta Organizational Consulting produced an article “Executive Onboarding – Research Summary of Effective Practices” and they found the following:

• Executive Onboarding should help executives understand the organizational context and performance expectations; and,
• Shorten the learning curve to enable them to perform to their full potential.

Two fundamental mistakes are referenced that result in a lack of success:

• Organizational mistake – “We have hired a senior person. They should be able to figure it out on their own.”
• Executives mistake – “I am a smart guy. I need to prove myself and make my mark as soon as possible.”

These issues are at play for internal promotions and transfers as well and the roles of the Manager, Executive, and other support groups (like HR) need to be clear and transparent.

A one-on-one coaching relationship provides the necessary challenge and focus to accelerate your development at this time and support the shift that is required in your new situation, whether that be building relationships, effectively understanding the strategy and key expectations, building the team, monitoring performance etc. It’s all about you individually shifting your perspectives and behaviours for a new role. It is not for the faint of heart and it is well worth the investment in you.  Let us help you awaken what is possible for yourself, your relationships, and your organization.

Bliss Aime, BluEra Team

BluEra builds evolved and awakened teams through executive search and team transformation practices.

Board Diversity

“Canada’s corporate boards are overwhelmingly male and white, but a vast majority of directors are satisfied with their board diversity” – Global and Mail. Of course they are! They are male and white.

According to the Bloomsberg article, Stocks Perform Better if Women Are on Company Boards, companies with women on their boards performed better in challenging markets than those with all-male boards. Further research also indicates that the dynamics of the discussion in the boardroom and the quality of the decision making when women are present are superior. It tells us the range of issues canvassed increases and includes usefully different perspectives from female board members. In addition it also shows that boards with women are more likely to be “best practice”. In theory then, you would think boards would be motivated to have better diversity but the numbers show they are not.

This led me to think about whether we should have quota’s for public companies to ensure more diversity on boards and therefore ensure better performance from the public companies many of us invest in. In the Nordic Labour Journal article, Effective Sanctions make Norway’s quota law a success, Norway leads the way with 40% female board representation in the country’s largest companies, but only after their parliament passed the law on quotas in 2003 and then had to follow up with sanctions on top of that when the quota only delivered them 12% under the self-regulated model.  Similar legislation has since been passed in Spain (2007), Iceland (2010), France (2011), the Netherlands (2011), Belgium (2011) and Italy (2011).

Many say the problem is relevant experience but today the vast majority of new female directors can include not only CEO’s but Division Presidents, President/COOs, CFOs and other functional heads such as Chief Human Resources Officers. With a focus these days on the HR and executive compensation committee this is a win for all. I also saw in CTPartners article, Women on Boards: Review & Outlook, that out of 78 female CFOs 53 were not currently serving on an outside board. Why is that? Women are choosing not to? The company that employ’s them has a policy against it? They are not “marketing” themselves?

The goal is to create a boardroom with diverse perspectives, which leads to better-informed discussions, more effective decision making and ultimately better performance. The onus is on us as an executive search firm to inform, educate and push boards to ensure that qualified women are given consideration in the director recruitment process.

Sarah Hawitt, BluEra Team

BluEra builds evolved and awakened teams through executive search and team transformation practices.

Fresh Eyes….BluEyes

There is pool of educated, talented, experienced, adaptable, creative people in our community who are currently unemployed – by choice.  They have made the decision not to commit to a traditional full-time work environment.  They value family, health and well-being, and they value flexibility.  They have a strong desire to contribute….but on more contemporary terms.

This means there is an accessible talent pool that is searching for ways to engage in meaningful work without over-extending themselves beyond their ‘life’ commitments – namely children, aging parents, “bucket-list” adventures, maintenance of health, retirement benefits!   One creative way to “commit” is through project work – a defined deliverable managed against a known timeline.

This also means an organization searching for talent in a tight marketplace will be at an advantage if they can connect to individuals from this pool of resources.  Engage these goal-oriented individuals motivated to affect change without fear.  Individuals with a set of “fresh eyes” that can help see new opportunities, alternative methods.  Efficient contributors.  Experienced professionals.

Can you ‘see’ the possibilities?  We can.  Through fresh eyes….BluEyes.

BluEra builds evolved and awakened teams through executive search and team transformation practices.