 December 2007Welcome to the December 2007 edition of New@Cambria – a newsletter designed to inform our clients and the broader world of business about new developments, share white papers on best human resource practices, press releases, upcoming presentations, and webcasts. New@Cambria provides an opportunity to highlight innovative solutions that address our clients’ needs and interact with our audience on the latest trends and leading edge approaches to building high-performance organizations through people. As always, we value your feedback and suggestions. – The Partners of Cambria Consulting, Inc. Happy Holidays! Click here to launch our special holiday greeting.
Of Immediate Interest
Blog: Passing Your Company’s Culture and Values to the Next Generation As Cambria’s Ray Elman has worked to develop new employee orientation (NEO) programs for a number of our clients, he has discovered a trend and an interest in using NEOs to pass along the culture and values of the company to the next generations of employees. His reflections on this trend and the challenges of preserving the seeds of company culture that have led to past success are contained in this blog. We invite your comments and reflections.
Designing Surveys with Business Impact: How Workspace Design Drives Workplace Productivity and Employee Engagement For over 20 years, Cambria has developed a unique, business-focused approach to designing surveys. In this white paper, Partner Bernie Cullen describes how we applied our approach to a high-technology client’s need to understand the impact of workplace environment – specifically building design and functionality – on employee productivity and retention. We worked with subject matter experts at our client to frame the workplace environment factors that we believed were most conducive to efficiency, productivity, and employee well-being. These results were applied directly to the design of new buildings and the retrofit of existing buildings, to significant economic benefit. This is an illustrative case of how Cambria’s systematic, creative, and results oriented approach to survey design can help organizations more effectively identify and address key strategic and business issues that impact people, processes and business outcomes. Download the white paper here.
Establishing the Value of Executive Coaching: ROI Insights for Coaches and Their Stakeholders It has been over two years since Cambria Consulting, Inc. launched what continues to be the only ongoing study of the impact of executive leadership coaching in large organizations: the Coaching Impact Study™. What was clear then – and is still the case today – is that coaches and their clients understand the value of coaching but other key stakeholders remain confused and, in some cases, skeptical of the return on investment of this effort. In this article, Cambria’s coaching practice leader, Ellen Kumata, shares her insights into the factors that make the difference between high-impact and low-impact executive coaching, defined both in terms of behavior change and return on investment. This article originally appeared in the CoachLeader Update, published by the International Consortium for Coaching in Organizations (ICCO.) Download the article here. Go here to find out more about how you can participate in the Coaching Impact Study™.
Developing Technical Program/Project Leaders for the Future - Part III Cambria Partner Tim Kroecker has been studying program and project management success factors in the public and private sectors for a number of years. In Part I of this series, Tim explained the need of organizations to capture the expertise of an aging, highly skilled workforce and to develop the next generation of program leaders. Part II explained the challenges of program management and how to create a complete understanding of the program manager role using a competency model. In this third and final part, Tim explores the alternatives available to create a program management development program. This article appeared in the May-June issue of Defense AT&L (Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics), published by the Defense Acquisition University. Download the article here. (Parts I and II are also available for download at this location.)
Colleen Gentry Joins Cambria’s Executive Coaching Practice Cambria Consulting, Inc. is very pleased to announce that Colleen C. Gentry of Charlotte, North Carolina, has joined the firm as a Principal Consultant in its Executive Coaching practice. Colleen created and led Wachovia’s Executive Coaching Practice since its inception in 2001, a practice twice named a Benchmarked Best Practice by Training Magazine. She was a founding member and chair of the Conference Board’s Executive Coaching Council and is a member of the National OD Network, the International Coach Federation and the International Consortium for Coaching in Organizations. We are delighted that Colleen has chosen to join us. She has been a wonderful colleague for many years in her former role at Wachovia, and her experience and skills as a coach and a leader will be an invaluable asset to us as we grow our strategic coaching practice. Go here for the complete announcement.
Cambria’s Innovative Approach to Behavioral Interviewing Behavioral interviewing has long been recognized as the standard for making better hiring decisions, based on the premise that “past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior.” As it has grown in popularity, however, savvy job seekers have learned how to get around typical behavioral interview questions and give examples that appear to show that they have the right competencies. In fact, a cottage industry has been formed to coach job applicants on how to navigate the interview, thereby compromising the power of this technique. Cambria, however, has developed a solution. Our Critical Behavior Interview™ technique is a variation on behavioral interviewing that is superior to other approaches and far more difficult to fake. Cambria’s Critical Behavior Interview™ is also more powerful and efficient, enabling interviewers to assess the presence or absence of critical competencies more effectively and in less time. Experienced interviewers and others who have taken behavioral interview training in the past have found Cambria’s program to be a superior method for assessing the presence or absence of critical competencies. Learn more here.
Your World: Building Realistic Simulations for Complex Jobs 2008 Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) Conference This presentation will help attendees understand the different types of simulations available, choose the most appropriate type of simulation based on their needs, and combine it with suitable participant learning or behavioral assessment techniques. Cambria’s Tim Kroecker and Jeff Peisach will discuss different types of simulations; current best practices in development, technology platforms, and delivery mechanisms; and when to use – or not to use – technology-enhanced simulations. Go here to visit the conference website.
Measuring the Impact and Value of Executive Coaching 2008 Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) Conference When the topic of the ROI of executive coaching comes up among professionals in the field, there is often skepticism about its viability, accuracy and usefulness. Cambria’s Derek Steinbrenner and Dr. Barry Schlosser of Clarity Consulting will discuss their research findings, experiences and efforts to develop meaningful methodologies for measuring the value and impact of executive coaching. They will then present an overview of the rationale for continued efforts to come to grips with the ROI challenge and lead a group discussion of others’ perspectives and experiences, drawing on their work developing and implementing the Coaching Impact Study™ with Booz Allen Hamilton, Credit Suisse, Deloitte, Citigroup and Wachovia. Go here to visit the conference website.
Cambria Consulting, Inc. is a human resource management consulting firm specializing in developing people solutions that drive business performance. Through our Consulting, Coaching, Survey and Interactive divisions, Cambria helps our clients achieve their strategic objectives more effectively by designing, developing and implementing HR solutions in the areas of workforce and leadership development, performance management, competency development, 360 degree feedback, coaching, selection systems, organizational surveys, and integrated e-HR applications. Visit www.cambriaconsulting.com to find out why more and more successful companies are turning to Cambria for a full range of human resource solutions, or call (617) 523-7500. If there is a topic that you would like us to address, please tell us. If you wish to unsubscribe to this newsletter, please let us know. © 2007 Cambria Consulting, Inc. One Bowdoin Square, Boston, MA 02114. Draft Current IssueWelcome to the April 2008 edition of New@Cambria – a newsletter designed to inform our clients and the broader world of business about new developments, share white papers on best human resource practices, press releases, upcoming presentations, and webcasts. New@Cambria provides an opportunity to highlight innovative solutions that address our clients’ needs and interact with our audience on the latest trends and leading edge approaches to building high-performance organizations through people. As always, we value your feedback and suggestions. – The Partners of Cambria Consulting, Inc.
Of Immediate Interest
Breakthrough Development White Paper Released McCreight & Company, in collaboration with Cambria, has released a guide to successful project management focused on creating customer value in new, difficult, or untested situations. Based on work with a large global client and supported by other research on project and program management conducted by our two firms, this model for managing breakthrough development initiatives is a customer- and talent-centered approach to success in achieving high-value development outcomes quickly – on-time, on-budget, and on-target. According to Steve Neubert, co-leader of Cambria’s consulting practice, “While we believe the blueprint for breakthrough performance is unique to each organization, we can group actions and competencies into seven guiding principles for breakthrough development success.” Neubert continued, “None of the elements of our Breakthrough Development Model are new. However, taken together, the elements focus on a new way to assemble the puzzle pieces and to behave differently in the launch and management of breakthrough initiatives.” “Breakthrough Development: A Concept and Process,” is chapter 18 of McCreight’s publication series, Strategy Implementation Insights.
Leadership Agility Assessment Enters Next Development Phase The ChangeWise Leadership Agility 360™ developed by Cambria, in partnership with ChangeWise, has entered its next stage of development. Based on extensive research, the original version was field tested last year in leadership development programs conducted by a number of our clients. The new version, available now, is more user-friendly, both for raters and for feedback recipients. The new ChangeWise Leadership Agility 360 provides an online assessment of what many now consider to be the “master competency” for leading organizational change, improving team performance, and engaging in productive business conversations. Based on groundbreaking research by Bill Joiner and Stephen Josephs, as described in their book, Leadership Agility (Jossey-Bass, 2007), the ChangeWise Leadership Agility 360 is available as a 360-degree feedback assessment and as an assessment of leadership bench strength for use as input to team development and succession planning discussions. Contact us for more information.
Business Week’s Best Undergrad B-Schools Survey Powered by Cambria Cambria Consulting has again collaborated with Business Week magazine to conduct its annual survey of the best undergraduate business programs. The results of the survey, including the top 50 undergraduate bsuiness degree programs, were published as the feature article in Business Week’s February 21 issue. Since 1998, Cambria has worked with Business Week to develop a series of well-respected surveys, including the surveys used to rank the best B-Schools and the best Executive MBA programs. Business Week has also turned to Cambria’s survey capability to explore issues around business education, including a path-breaking look at MBAs ten years after their graduation, and evaluating the best companies for graduates to start a business career.
Cambria Consulting Releases Coaching Director 2.0 Cambria Consulting has just released a major enhancement to Coaching Director™, the firm’s revolutionary web-based coaching management system. The upgrade to version 2.0 brings over 100 new or enhanced administrative capabilities, including sophisticated self-service functions that allow administrators to add, modify, and remove coaches, participants, coaching engagements and a more robust and flexible administrative structure to manage multiple coach groups and programs. Coaching Director is the only commercially available system of its kind, tailored to managing complex coaching programs and initiatives, and is a flagship product of Cambria’s executive coaching practice. Developed in partnership with Fortune 200 organizations, Coaching Director reduces the administrative burden of managing executive coaching programs and practices while providing real-time access to engagement status, progress, and other critical information, as well as sophisticated aggregate reporting capabilities.
Your World: Building Realistic Simulations for Complex Jobs 2008 Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) Conference This presentation will help attendees understand the different types of simulations available, choose the most appropriate type of simulation based on their needs, and combine it with suitable participant learning or behavioral assessment techniques. Cambria’s Tim Kroecker and Jeff Peisach will discuss different types of simulations; current best practices in development, technology platforms, and delivery mechanisms; and when to use – or not to use – technology-enhanced simulations.
Measuring the Impact and Value of Executive Coaching 2008 Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) Conference When the topic of the ROI of executive coaching comes up among professionals in the field, there is often skepticism about its viability, accuracy and usefulness. Cambria’s Derek Steinbrenner and Dr. Barry Schlosser of Clarity Consulting will discuss their research findings, experiences and efforts to develop meaningful methodologies for measuring the value and impact of executive coaching. They will then present an overview of the rationale for continued efforts to come to grips with the ROI challenge and lead a group discussion of others’ perspectives and experiences, drawing on their work developing and implementing the Coaching Impact Study™ with Booz Allen Hamilton, Credit Suisse, Deloitte, Citigroup and Wachovia.
Cambria Consulting, Inc. is a human resource management consulting firm specializing in developing people solutions that drive business performance. Through our Consulting, Coaching, Survey and Interactive divisions, Cambria helps our clients achieve their strategic objectives more effectively by designing, developing and implementing HR solutions in the areas of workforce and leadership development, performance management, competency development, 360 degree feedback, coaching, selection systems, organizational surveys, and integrated e-HR applications. Visit www.cambriaconsulting.com to find out why more and more successful companies are turning to Cambria for a full range of human resource solutions, or call (617) 523-7500. If there is a topic that you would like us to address, please tell us. If you wish to unsubscribe to this newsletter, please let us know. © 2008 Cambria Consulting, Inc. One Bowdoin Square, Boston, MA 02114. Cambria360 Leadership Inventory™Cambria Consulting, one of the originators of competency technology, has created a 360-degree feedback instrument designed expressly for use by a company’s leadership team. The Cambria360 Leadership Inventory™ is a comprehensive 360-degree feedback instrument base on what today’s most successful leaders actually do to achieve superior results. A research study conducted by Cambria for the Corporate Leadership Council, in which the competencies used by over 80 leading global companies, and interviews with over 1000 top executives in Fortune 500 companies, showed that 14 competencies repeatedly distinguished the most effective leaders from the rest. What It Measures The Cambria360 Leadership Inventory™ contains 56 distinctive leadership behaviors grouped into 14 competency dimensions that are essential for superior performance in a wide variety of leadership roles.
The Cambria360 Leadership Inventory™ is available with a complete manual that includes an interpretation guide, norms, and a Development Resource Guide containing on-the-job development suggestions, coaching suggestions, and reference materials supporting each of the leadership competencies. For more information about the Cambria360 Leadership Inventory™, download a detailed description about its features and benefits. Cambria ProjectManager360™Project management is a pivotal role and responsibility in today’s organizations. Your project managers may have the technical skills to accomplish their goals, but do they have the necessary “soft” skills that play such a critical part of project success? The Cambria ProjectManager360™ is a comprehensive feedback tool that assesses the key behavioral competencies essential to successful project management. It is applicable to both new and experienced project managers with individual contributor or management responsibilities. Although technical and business knowledge and skills are a foundation for effective project management, they are not enough to guarantee effective performance in the role. More often, the difference between the most and least effective project managers is due to interpersonal, communication and other “professional” skills. The Cambria ProjectManager360™ assesses these critical differentiating factors against the specific challenges facing people in program management roles. Key Features What is different about the Cambria ProjectManager360™ is that it focuses on the professional skills project managers need to be effective in their roles based on what successful project managers actually do to achieve superior results. The competencies and behaviors that underlie effective performance in the role were developed in concert with over 30 organizations across industry and government sectors. The Cambria ProjectManager360™ is offered in two versions:
For more information about the Cambria ProjectManager360™, download a detailed description about its features and benefits. ChangeWise Leadership Agility 360™How do we spot future leaders? How do we develop individuals that have significant potential into leaders? How do individuals in leadership positions become more effective? These are the recurring questions in boardrooms and succession planning discussions. The ChangeWise Leadership Agility 360™, developed in partnership with Cambria, is the first extensively researched online feedback tool to assess leadership agility - now considered by many to be the “master competency” needed to make wise decisions and take effective action amid complex and rapidly changing conditions. What It Measures Based on the award-winning book, Leadership Agility, by ChangeWise principals Bill Joiner and Steven Josephs (Jossey-Bass, 2007), the ChangeWise Leadership Agility 360 evaluates a manager’s level of agility in leading organizational change, improving team performance, and engaging in productive business conversations. Their in-depth research has shown that, in today’s turbulent economy, increased agility is the key to sustained effectiveness in all three of these key leadership arenas. The ChangeWise Leadership Agility 360 is an online feedback instrument with 24 items. Raters can complete an assessment in less than 30 minutes. Feedback from the instrument, designed using best-in-class feedback reporting and data-display principles, can be used to support multiple high impact applications for talent management:
For more information about the ChangeWise Leadership Agility 360™, download a detailed description about its features and benefits. Alliance Partners
McCreight & Company
ChangeWise
Corporate Coaching Partners
4 Total Success
Delta Partnership Ltd
Drawing Number One Cambria Consulting Releases Coaching Director 2.0Contact Information: Cambria Consulting, Inc. Upgrade to Cambria’s Coaching Director coaching management system includes major feature enhancements for managing executive coaching engagements. Boston, MA (March 13, 2008) – Cambria Consulting, a premier HR consulting firm, announces the release of a major enhancement to Coaching Director™, the firm’s revolutionary web-based coaching management system. Coaching Director is the only commercially available system of its kind, tailored to managing complex coaching programs and initiatives, and is a flagship product of Cambria’s executive coaching practice. Developed in partnership with Fortune 200 organizations, Coaching Director reduces the administrative burden of managing executive coaching programs and practices while providing real-time access to engagement status, progress, and other critical information, as well as sophisticated aggregate reporting capabilities. Coaches use Coaching Director to keep their activity logs, milestone status, and biographical information up-to-date so program managers can access them as needed. The upgrade to version 2.0 brings over 100 new or enhanced administrative capabilities, including sophisticated self-service functions that allow administrators to add, modify, and remove coaches, participants, coaching engagements, and other administrators; a more robust and flexible administrative structure to manage multiple coach groups and programs; and enhancements to report design and filtering capabilities. “We are thrilled to see these new Coaching Director features come online,” said Marcel Henderson, Vice President and Executive Coaching Practice Leader for Wachovia. “Because we use external coaches from multiple vendors, in addition to many internal coaches, the upgraded structure will be very helpful to us.” About Cambria Consulting, Inc. Breakthrough Development Model ReleasedContact Information: McCreight & Company Cambria Consulting, Inc. Study identifies seven key principles critical to project management success in breakthrough development initiatives. Boston, MA and New Canaan, CT (February 27, 2008) – McCreight & Company, in conjunction with Cambria Consulting has released their guide to successful project management focused on creating customer value in new, difficult, or untested situations. “Breakthrough Development: A Concept and Process,” is chapter 18 of McCreight’s publication series, Strategy Implementation Insights, and is available as a free download from www.implementstrategy.com or www.cambriaconsulting.com. “Whether inventing something new, combining existing elements in a new way, or overcoming operational barriers, organizations competing in today’s global economy must have the right people, processes, and tools to achieve breakthrough developments to outpace competitors,” said John McCreight, Chairman of McCreight & Company. “We’ve worked with many sophisticated and talented clients, who are well-versed in the science and methodology of project management, innovation, and high-performing teams,” continued McCreight. “Yet, their projects can be unsuccessful in delivering customer value in a timely or financially feasible way. Over decades of partnering with these clients – usually following a program that has failed to achieve expected value – we have identified a broad range of actions and competencies that can improve the chances for breakthrough success.” Steve Neubert, partner and co-leader of Cambria’s Consulting practice, added, “While we believe the blueprint for breakthrough performance is unique to each organization, we can group actions and competencies into seven guiding principles for breakthrough development success.” Neubert continued, “None of the elements of our Breakthrough Development Model are new. However, taken together the elements focus on a new way to assemble the puzzle pieces and to behave differently in the launch and management of breakthrough initiatives.” “By definition, delivering a breakthrough is delivering something that has never been done before. Therefore, breakthrough development initiatives should not be considered a training appointment for fledgling team members.” McCreight pointed out. McCreight added, “Because of the nontraditional freedom and charter to act quickly, not everyone can be successful in a breakthrough development environment. When constituting a team, senior leaders need to deliberately define competency requirements for the challenges presented by the breakthrough.” The Breakthrough Development Model will be described in detail in a book to be released this summer. About McCreight & Company About Cambria Consulting Colleen GentryPrincipal Colleen brings over 20 years of experience in executive and organizational development to Cambria’s Coaching practice. Prior to joining Cambria, Colleen directed several executive and leadership development functions with Fortune 200 firms, and most recently created and led Wachovia Corporation’s Executive Coaching Practice, twice named a Benchmarked Best Practice by Training Magazine. Her contributions include development and facilitation of several leadership programs for top talent, including designing and developing of high-potential leadership processes with foundations in succession planning and diversity. She also served as a founding member of The Conference Board’s Executive Coaching Council, and has been an advisory board member for The Conference Board’s annual Executive Coaching Conferences. Colleen holds a BA from Michigan State University and an MA from the University of California at Berkeley, and is a graduate of the Newfield Network’s Coaching for Professional and Personal Mastery. She is a member of the National OD Network, the International Enneagram Association, and the International Coach Federation. September 2007Welcome to the September 2007 edition of New@Cambria – a newsletter designed to inform our clients and the broader world of business about new developments, share white papers on best human resource practices, press releases, upcoming presentations, and webcasts. New@Cambria provides an opportunity to highlight innovative solutions that address our clients’ needs and interact with our audience on the latest trends and leading edge approaches to building high-performance organizations through people. As always, we value your feedback and suggestions. – The Partners of Cambria Consulting, Inc.
Of Immediate Interest
The influx of Gen Y in the workplace and the transfer of knowledge from Boomers to Gen Y has led many of our clients to take a new look at their organization’s approach to recruiting and onboarding (or new employee orientation). Over the past year we have been asked to conduct studies of public-facing career/recruiting sections on our clients’ web sites as well as to develop onboarding programs for senior executives and new employee orientation programs that address all employees. Cambria’s Ray Elman shares some highlights of our findings.
White Paper: The Nature of Effective Global Leadership Over the years, Cambria has studied highly effective leaders in a select number of successful global companies – companies that have successfully managed the transition from large, hierarchical organizations with centralized decision-making and slow-moving processes to agile and highly effective players in the global marketplace. Our research reveals that highly effective global leaders, despite their many differences, act in many consistent ways and have certain experiences in common that taught them how to lead. These lessons can help companies do a better job of developing people to lead with a global perspective.
Cambria Consulting, and ChangeWise, an innovative leadership and organization development firm, have announced their partnership to create a 360 degree feedback instrument that assesses and guides the development of “leadership agility.” The new online instrument is based on research underlying the groundbreaking book, Leadership Agility, by ChangeWise principals Bill Joiner and Steven Josephs. Jim Kouzes, coauthor of the bestseller, The Leadership Challenge, declared leadership agility to be “the new master skill of leadership,” and leading executive coach and author Marshall Goldsmith says it is probably “the most important competency for leaders to have in today’s rapidly changing world.” Now in pilot test, the ChangeWise® 360 Leadership Agility Assessment is available at discounted pricing for organizations wanting to be among the first to assess leadership agility and initiate a systematic approach to developing agile leaders. For information about how you can participate, go here.
Developing Technical Program/Project Leaders for the Future - Part II Cambria Partner Tim Kroecker has been studying program and project management success factors in the public and private sectors for a number of years. He has consistently found that the difference between success and failure in managing large-scale projects usually has less to do with the lack of technical project management skills and more to do with the lack of communication, people skills and leadership skills. When a project or program stalls, it is often the leadership skills in particular – the ability to re-create and communicate a vision and to motivate others with that vision – that revitalize it. In this second installment of a three-part series, Tim addresses the challenges faced when defining program management, and details the process for creating a complete understanding of the program manager using a “success profile” structure with the required competencies. This article appeared in the March-April issue of Defense AT&L (Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics), published by the Defense Acquisition University. Download the article here. (Part I is also available for download at this location)
Cambria Launches New Company Website Cambria’s website has been dramatically redesigned to showcase our evolution as a full service HR consultancy. Whether or not you have visited us before, you will find timely articles, position papers, and news of interest to human resource professionals and the organizations they support, as well as demonstrations of many of our applications in action. Our capabilities as a firm have grown from our traditional high-performer approach to human resource management to encompass our four practice areas:
Visit www.cambriaconsulting.com and see how we can address your most pressing business needs from an HR perspective.
Ellen Kumata Elected Cambria’s Managing Director Cambria Consulting, Inc., a leading strategic HR consulting firm, announced today that it has elected Ellen Kumata to lead the firm as its first Managing Director. Since its founding in 1985, the collective partners have managed Cambria, but with the growth and expansion of its service offerings, they decided to choose Ellen to coordinate the firm’s efforts toward future growth. Ellen’s experience at Cambria spans over 20 years, during which time she built its executive coaching practice with a network of over 175 coaches located around the globe. In addition to her work as an eminent executive coach, Ellen has led engagements in succession planning, performance management, and leadership development and assessment. Her clients have included Alcoa, AT&T, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, Citigroup, Deloitte, EMC, Fidelity Investments, Gap, JPMorgan Chase, Merrill Lynch, MetLife, Pepsi, and Wachovia. Go here for the complete announcement.
NASA Renews Executive Coaching Contract with Cambria Cambria learned last month that NASA awarded its 5-year agency-wide executive coaching contract to Cambria Consulting, Inc., which has been providing these services to NASA since it was awarded the first contract in 2004. In selecting Cambria as the winning bidder, NASA recognized the progress and success achieved through the partnership in the formative years of the initial contract. With the launch of the first agency-wide executive coaching program in 2004, NASA placed itself at the forefront of a growing awareness by public and private organizations of the value and impact of executive coaching as a vehicle for accelerating the development of leaders and high-potential employees. In 2007, the NASA coaching practice remains a clear leader in the field among federal agencies, and the commitment to a new 5-year contract demonstrates the continued recognition by top agency officials of the program’s strategic importance to long-term mission success. Go here for the complete announcement.
Cambria Interactive Launches OnboardingDirector™ Cambria Interactive has recently launched OnboardingDirector™, an innovative online solution that addresses the unique needs of onboarding new leaders into strategically important roles. OnboardingDirector™ embeds Cambria’s complete process for transitioning new leaders by providing a central access point to share best practices, tools and resources across the enterprise, and it provides grounding for the individuals who support the new leader’s onboarding process – such as the new leader’s manager, HR professional, coach and administrative assistant. OnboardingDirector™ is based on benchmarking successful onboarding in prominent Fortune 200 companies as well as Cambria’s executive coaching experience. The result is a robust onboarding solution with particular emphasis on the unique socialization needs of new leaders – such as leading unfamiliar teams and developing an internal network.
The Realities of Managing an Internal Coaching Practice 12th Annual International Coach Federation Conference Ellen Kumata, along with clients Colleen Gentry and Marcel Henderson from Wachovia, will be among the presenters. On Saturday, November 3, 11am-12:30 pm they will be presenting the session, “The Realities of Managing an Internal Coaching Practice: the Good, the Bad and the Ugly.”
From Managing Projects to Leading Programs: Defining and Building Program Leaders Project Management Institute (PMI) Cambria’s Tim Kroecker will introduce the attendees to competency models and the methods to create them, and describe a general project/program manager job profile and leadership competency model. He will then hold an open discussion of how leadership competency models can be used to develop leadership qualities in project managers.
Incorporating Engaging Interview Video Techniques for Sales e-Learning DevLearn 2007: The e-Learning Development Conference & Expo Joyce Quindipan of Cambria with Liz Spencer of Cisco Systems will present a case study about overcoming the challenge of delivering critical training on new products and services to people whose most important job is face time with their clients. Cambria will also be at the Expo with our company booth.
Cambria Consulting, Inc. is a human resource management consulting firm specializing in developing people solutions that drive business performance. Through our Consulting, Coaching, Survey and Interactive divisions, Cambria helps our clients achieve their strategic objectives more effectively by designing, developing and implementing HR solutions in the areas of workforce and leadership development, performance management, competency development, 360 degree feedback, coaching, selection systems, organizational surveys, and integrated e-HR applications. Visit www.cambriaconsulting.com to find out why more and more successful companies are turning to Cambria for a full range of human resource solutions, or call (617) 523-7500. If there is a topic that you would like us to address, please tell us. If you wish to unsubscribe to this newsletter, please let us know. © 2007 Cambria Consulting, Inc. One Bowdoin Square, Boston, MA 02114. Colleen Gentry Joins Cambria’s Executive Coaching PracticeContact: Stephanie Pinter A leader in the world of executive coaching helps Cambria Consulting expand its presence in this fast-growing leadership development arena. BOSTON, Mass. (December 03, 2007) - Cambria Consulting, Inc., a premier Human Resource Management consulting firm, announced today that Colleen C. Gentry of Charlotte, North Carolina, has joined the firm as a Principal Consultant in its Executive Coaching practice. Colleen brings over 20 years of organization and leadership development experience, ranging from culture integration and executive team development to helping organizations merge the best of both worlds for increased performance. “My decision to join Cambria allows me to work with an exceptional team of talent, providing meaningful, practical and strategic solutions to businesses and the HR functions that support them,” said Colleen. “I look forward to being involved in the exciting work that Cambria offers in executive coaching, consulting, interactive and survey solutions.” Colleen created and led Wachovia’s Executive Coaching Practice since its inception in 2001, a practice twice named a Benchmarked Best Practice by Training Magazine. She is a frequent speaker on topics related to the development of corporate executive coaching practices. Colleen served as a founding member and chair of the Conference Board’s Executive Coaching Council and is a member of the National OD Network, the International Enneagram Association, the International Coach Federation and the International Consortium for Coaching in Organizations. “We are absolutely delighted that Colleen has chosen to join us,” said Ellen Kumata, Managing Director of Cambria and the founder and leader of their executive coaching practice. “She has been a wonderful colleague for many years in her former role at Wachovia, and her experience and skills as a coach and a leader will be an invaluable asset to us as we grow our Strategic Coaching practice.” For more information or to schedule an interview with Colleen Gentry, contact Erin Daly at (617) 523-7500 or email edaly@cambriaconsulting.com About Cambria Consulting, Inc. Cambria DemosCoaching Director™ My360Coach™ OnboardingDirector™ PerformanceCoach™ The Program Management Development Center (PMDC) StrategicDialogue™ Program Manager Development Center Click here to launch. NASA Renews Executive Coaching Contract with CambriaContact: Stephanie Pinter BOSTON, Mass. (September 18, 2007) - In August, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced the awarding of a 5-year agency-wide executive coaching contract to Cambria Consulting, Inc., which has been providing such services to NASA since it was awarded the first contract in 2004. In selecting Cambria as the winning bidder, NASA recognized the progress and success achieved through our partnership in the initial contract. With the launch of the first agency-wide executive coaching program in 2004, NASA placed itself at the forefront of a growing awareness by public and private organizations of the value and impact of executive coaching as a vehicle for accelerating the development of leaders and high-potentials. Its commitment to a new contract demonstrates the continued recognition by top agency officials of the program’s strategic importance to long-term mission success. In her recent testimony before Congress, Toni Dawsey, NASA’s Assistant Administrator for Human Capital Management, said, “In order to build leadership ‘bench strength,’ we have developed a corporate, integrated approach to leadership development.” She continued, “This framework provides continuity through succession planning and executive development - creating a skilled pipeline for leadership within NASA.” Executive coaching is a key component of that framework. Ellen Kumata, Cambria’s Managing Director and Coaching practice leader, will be the lead on this engagement. “We are excited to continue our partnership with NASA and its coaching practice,” noted Kumata. “NASA, like other organizations facing leadership challenges, including accelerating the development of new leaders, coping with a globalizing workforce and competitive landscape, and adapting to the accelerating pace of change, is looking to find better ways to face these challenges. Executive coaching is a key component in its strategy to do so.” About Cambria Consulting, Inc. Cambria File Sending Utility This utility allows Cambria to send files to clients, and clients to send files to us. Large files can be sent that are too big to send via email. Just click on this link, enter your email, the email of the person you are sending to, and click the Browse button to attach files. Either the sender or the recipient must have a Cambria e-mail address. If you need a client to send you a large file, just direct them to this page http://www.cambriaconsulting.com/send/ Features to note: By default, the file will be deleted after it is downloaded, and will be deleted if it hasn’t been downloaded after 6 days. You can change those settings on the screen. You will get an email notification when the file is downloaded, and if it expires (is deleted) without being downloaded. Leadership Diagnostic SeriesRussell Reynolds Associates, in partnership with Cambria Consulting, has published a series of diagnostic frameworks for assessing “best in class” competencies for key executive roles. Current Leadership Diagnostics in this series can be downloaded below. (2007) (2007) (2007) (2006) Derek SteinbrennerPrincipal Derek specializes in the design and implementation of strategic coaching programs in large organizations, including Prior to Cambria, Derek worked as a psychologist at the Institute for Psychological Research and Application (IPRA), where he consulted on the development of staff allocation models, the evaluation of selection and performance appraisal systems, and job analyses for certification programs. Derek received a BA in Psychology from Tufts University, an MA in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from Bowling Green State University, and an MBA from Columbus State University. He is a co-author of Cambria’s Coaching Impact Study, and has frequently spoken and published on the subject. Derek is a member of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology and the International Coach Federation. Christa St. CyrConsultant Christa contributes to a wide variety of client projects, including recruiting and selection, executive onboarding, performance management, Prior to Cambria, Christa worked with The Boston Consulting Group and the American Chamber of Commerce to the European Union. Christa holds a BS in Business Administration from Northeastern University with a concentration in Marketing. Scott SimpsonPartner As Director of Information Technology at Cambria, Scott develops the infrastructure and systems to deliver online Prior to Cambria, Scott was a project manager in the UK Ministry of Defence, where he designed and implemented planning and data-gathering applications as a member of the multinational project management team for Europe’s largest defense project. Scott was previously a project management consultant to BlueCross BlueShield, where he developed and maintained the plan for a nationwide medical claims processing system and a major overhaul of their provider data management process. Scott holds a B.Eng. degree from Nottingham University, England and an MS in Information Technology from Harvard University. Joyce QuindipanPartner Joyce, who co-leads Cambria’s Interactive practice, specializes in designing and implementing online learning systems, tools and materials to support targeted training and development. Joyce’s client engagements have included creating and implementing management development programs, recruiting and selection processes, online performance management and development planning systems, video on-demand learning, and online resource centers for management development. Her clients include professional service firms; financial services, energy, technology, manufacturing, and pharmaceuticals companies; and large federal agencies. Joyce holds a BA in Mass Communication from Boston University and an MA in Administration from the Woods College of Advancing Studies at Boston College with a focus on adult and organizational learning technology. She is a member of the eLearning Guild, SF Beta (a Web 2.0 professional community) and the Silicon Valley Women in Human Resources Group (SVWHRG). Jeff PeisachConsultant Jeff supports a variety of consulting engagements at Cambria, with special emphasis on developing solutions in Cambria’s Interactive practice. Jeff holds a BS in Business Administration from Georgetown University, with a concentration in human resources management. Ayantika PaulConsultant Ayantika contributes to projects in selection and leadership development at Cambria. Prior to Cambria, Ayantika worked with Aon Consulting’s Talent Solutions division in the areas of personnel selection, training, and executive development. Previously, she was a consultant in psychometric assessment and development with the SHL Group. Ayantika holds a BS in Economics (Honors) from University of Calcutta, and a Master in Business Economics, with specialization in Marketing, from the University of Delhi. She has also completed the MA program in Educational Psychology, with a concentration in Psychological Measurement and Evaluation, from New York University. ArchiveJanuary 2007 October 2006 May 2006 January 2006 October 2005 June 2005 April 2005 January 2005 October 2004 May 2004 Web Site Developed for NLRB Recognized as One of Five Best in the Federal GovernmentContact: Stephanie Pinter BOSTON, Mass. (September 10, 2007) – Cambria Interactive, The NSA audited the web sites of 158 agencies to determine their compliance with the 1996 Congressional amendment to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) that required agencies to put more public information on their web sites. Following the audit, the NSA rated the NLRB website as an “E-STAR”, stating, “… excellent navigation scheme; site is well organized and very easy to follow; good guidance; electronic reading room with a lot of available information.” (Go here for text of full report) In a statement, NLRB Chairman Robert J. Battista said, “One of my main goals as NLRB Chairman is to use technology to enhance the ability of the public to do business with the agency, to make our processes more transparent, and to improve our administrative processes internally. The recognition that our website is one of the best in government means that we have achieved my commitment to the President’s E-Government policy to make government services more efficient, transparent, citizen-centered, and results-oriented.” About Cambria Interactive About Cambria Consulting, Inc. White Papers Archive(2005) (2005) (2004) (2004) (2003) (2002) (2001) (1998) Press Releases ArchiveCambria Interactive Powers NRLB Web Site Launch Targeted Executive Coaching Proves Itself Again at Wachovia Cambria Launches New e-Learning Program at Manheim Cambria Releases Interactive Strategic Communication Platform Cambria Launches Blended Learning Leadership Simulation Cambria Launches Unique Approach to Blended Learning Cambria Develops New Approach to e-Learning and Knowledge Management Cambria Opens West Coast Office Business Week and Cambria Team Up Again NASA Selects Cambria to Provide Executive Coaching Cambria Client Ranked High Among “Top 100” in Business Week Returns to Cambria for MBA Alumni Survey Cambria Launches Executive Coaching Management Cambria Consulting Awarded “Vendor of Choice” Status with US Government Business WeekSince 1998 Cambria has worked with Business Week magazine to develop a series of well-respected surveys that have been used to rank: Business Week has also turned to Cambria’s survey capability to explore issues around business education, including a path-breaking look at MBAs ten years after their graduation, and evaluating the best companies for graduates to start a business career. HomeAugust 13, 2008 Breakfast Event | Results-driven Assessment and Development: Making Assessment Feedback Count
April 29, 2008 Roundtable | 360 Feedback – What’s Next?
April 10, 2008 Roundtable | Sourcing Great Coaching Talent
February 11, 2008 Insights | Breakthrough Development
December 11, 2007 Blog | Preserving the Culture for the Next Generation
December 11, 2007 White Paper | Designing Surveys with Business Impact: How Workspace Design Drives Workplace Productivity and Employee Engagement
Interactive Solutions ConsultingOne professional services client needed help in designing both the specific steps and activities of its new global performance management process, as well as the technology framework and process for an online enterprise-wide system. Cambria consulted to and assisted the client’s internal technology team in conceptualizing the underlying technology architecture; designing specific user interface and data input and capture screens; and developing instructions, guidelines, content and screen designs to enhance the overall effectiveness and impact of the global performance management system from the user experience perspective. Online Learning CommunitiesA high tech client needed director-level company leaders to be more actively involved in developing the leadership skills and capabilities of next-level managers. First, the directors needed to be oriented on the business context for the renewed focus on leadership development, trained on the company’s coaching process and approach, and versed in the materials, tools and resources available to managers as part of the manager development initiative. With little chance of being able to get directors together for face-to-face orientation and training meetings, the ideal approach was to develop an online learning community – the Director Engagement Center – where the directors could access self-paced and just-in-time information, tools, on-demand e-learning, demos, case studies, etc. that they needed, when they needed it. To ensure that Directors would actually use the resources in the engagement center, much of the content was developed with input from the Directors themselves, including video coaching examples featuring real directors coaching real managers. Targeted e-Learning ProgramsA global high-technology client needed quickly provide its dispersed, global sales account teams with information about products, solutions, and service/support offerings in a clear, concise and practical way. Cambria developed a series of on-demand e-learning programs, each focused on disseminating information about a specific service offering. The programs presented the information in an engaging “news commentary” format, involving a program host who interviews a panel of subject matter experts and facilitates a lively discussion about when, how and why to propose the service to customers. Cambria’s delivery platform allows for multimedia presentations, seamless synchronization of video, HTML-formatted content, and animated graphics using Flash technology, knowledge “chapters” accessible via a jump-to menu, and assessments of knowledge acquisition upon program completion. Interactive Knowledge Development
|
She has worked with a broad spectrum of businesses in engagements ranging from executive coaching, large-scale change efforts, culture integration, and high-potential development. She also has extensive experience in helping organizations through mergers and acquisitions to bring the best of both worlds together. Colleen frequently consults and speaks on leading strategic coaching practices within organizations. 
executive and internal coaching practices, targeted coaching initiatives, and accelerated development programs for high potentials. Derek also manages the operation and growth of Cambria’s Coaching practice, where he oversees our global network of independent coaches and leads the development of Coaching Director™, Cambria’s online coaching management system. In addition to his work in the Coaching field, Derek has consulted to clients on competency-based role and career profiles, performance and talent review processes, training and development programs, organizational surveys, and a range of web-based human resources solutions.
employee and leadership development, and succession planning projects. Although her work spans all of Cambria’s practice areas, she has focused on developing interactive web-based systems that facilitate recruiting, talent development, succession planning and the onboarding of new leaders. Her client engagements include work in the financial services, management consulting, aerospace and defense, insurance and technology industries.
human resource management and talent development applications and tools to our clients as well as the computing infrastructure for Cambria’s internal systems. Scott has been instrumental in setting up our current web application platform and developing our survey, development planning, coaching management and assessment center applications. He manages our fault-tolerant computing platform to ensure reliable and scalable delivery of hosted systems to our clients. Scott also oversees our multi-lingual online survey capabilities and the ongoing management of the “Best B-Schools” and Executive Education surveys for BusinessWeek.
In addition, she is expert in developing and implementing change management and communication programs to support and reinforce strategic human resource initiatives. She is one of the architects of Cambria‘s online integrated talent development system, including the firm’s web-enabled, competency-based development resource guide. As a coach, she has worked one-on-one with executives and senior managers to help them enhance their business and leadership impact.
Jeff focuses on leveraging best practice human resource management expertise to create intuitive online applications. His work has included complex online management simulations, automated interview selection guides, online development planning systems and resource guides, web publishing, and new employee orientation programs. Much of his work also includes integration of video, desktop tools, instructional content and realistic “day in the life” simulations of work experiences that bring learning to the desktop in just-in-time fashion. Jeff’s client engagements include work in investment banking, professional services, technology, software, aerospace and defense, medical research, pharmaceuticals, and insurance.
She specifically focuses on Cambria’s Survey and Assessment practice, where she designs new assessment and survey methodologies and instruments for Cambria’s clients.