Alder Growth Partners
  • Home
  • About
    • Founder
    • Network
  • Services
  • Clients
  • Blog
  • Contact

Our Blog:
​Discovering Growth.

Joining Testlio

11/19/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
Testlio team in Tallinn, Estonia Fall 2018 
Today, we announced that I've joined Testing-as-a-Service leader Testlio. I've known and worked with the Testlio team for more than 5 years—as both an investor and an advisor. I love the people, product, and market.

​While I'll continue to coach, advise, and invest through Alder Growth Partners, the vast majority of my time will be spent with Testlio. For more information, please see my blog post on Testlio's website.
0 Comments

5 Qualities of the Future of Work

10/18/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
I've published a thought piece on the future of work for Conscious Company Magazine. In it, I analyze five qualities and what they mean to the world of work. Fundamentally, I hold that work is becoming more distributed, open, human, neighborly, and caring. You can read the full article here.
​
Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash
0 Comments

Hiring for Excellence

9/4/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture


Photo by Faye Cornish on Unsplash

One of my favorite all-time sales hires was Chris. When I first met Chris, he didn't have much experience. He didn't know our industry. He didn't understand our product. There were many reasons not to hire Chris.

But I hired him anyway. Why? Chris had performed at a very high level. In his case, he was an All-American college athlete. And Chris knocked it out of the park for our company, quickly becoming one of our top performing reps.

I've written before on factors to consider when hiring for sales positions. One of those factors is what I think of as "excellence:" a demonstrated ability to be very successful in some area of life.

A lot has been stated about why athletes make great sales people (try a quick Google search). The playing field is one area where success is measurable. But it's not the only one. 

I've hired musicians. Academics. Hobbyists. Artists. Writers. Programmers. Gamers. All have done well. In sales roles and other positions (customer success, marketing, technology, services, etc.).

What I've found is a pattern of aspiration, drive, discipline, and confidence. Of course, there are other factors to consider when hiring. But these traits of excellence have been meaningful in my experience. Specifically:

* Aspiration: in order to flourish, you need to have a vision for something big. You see success. And want it. 

* Drive: your vision needs to be coupled with the energy and grit to pursue it. You generally have the intrinsic passion to go for it.

* Discipline: high-level success comes from commitment. The day-to-day discipline to stay with something, see it through, and overcome obstacles along the way.

* Confidence: whether an enabler or an outcome, confidence is important to fuel ongoing success. True confidence (which feels different from arrogance) can be inspiring and cascading, making others around you better.

So, as you're looking to make your next hire, consider asking yourself: has this person been great at something? Why were they great? How much did it matter to them? Do they want to be great at this job too?

If you can find someone who has been excellent before, and who fits other criteria for your company and role, there's a good chance that they'll be excellent again—for you.



0 Comments

Strong Humility and Leadership

8/14/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
Photo by Matthew Kosloski on Unsplash

I've been curious for awhile about the correlation between humility and leadership. Do successful leaders tend to be more humble? Do they value humility? What conditions and environments tend to reward humble leaders? 

Pelin Kesebir, an Assistant Scientist at UW's Center for Healthy Minds, has been exploring humility and how it connects to well-being. Kesebir "likens humility to a fertile soil in which happiness grows." And she defines humility as "the ability to see oneself in true perspective and be at peace with it."

I like this definition. Often, we see humility as a weakness. But like vulnerability, as unpacked in Brene Brown's work, humility can be a strength. 

Research shows that humility correlates positively with social relationships. Interestingly, both self-reported and peer acknowledged humility help foster quality relationships.

And humility seems to translate to business relationships, and to the effectiveness of leaders. According to a 2014 Catalyst study, "humility is one of four critical leadership factors for creating an environment where employees from different demographic backgrounds feel included."

There's actually quite a bit of research and field work on humility and leadership. This Washington Post piece does a nice job summarizing it. 

My takeaways:
1) true humility is strong rather than meek; 
2) intellectually humble people often perform better on novelty and academic tasks;
3) humble people are often more fair and generous;
4) leaders who display high humility frequently put an organization's needs ahead of their own;
5) humble leaders can have less employee turnover and higher employee satisfaction.

​In 2015, researchers Owens and Hekman offered in the Academy of Management Journal, “Our findings suggest that humility appears to embolden individuals to aspire to their highest potential and enables them to make the incremental improvements necessary to progress toward that potential.”

I love this. Humility can free us to pursue our greatest potential—and highest impact. 

How does this resonate? Do you tend to lead with strong humility? Does your organization reward humble leadership? Do you feel equipped to see yourself in "true perspective" while also pursuing growth? And might you take further steps to nurture a humble, curious, others-oriented mindset as you foster your leadership journey?


0 Comments

Barriers to Digital Transformation

6/11/2018

0 Comments

 
In a piece for TechTarget, I offer perspectives on the importance of narrative, relationships, and alignment with business goals as large company CIOs pursue major digital transformation initiatives. These comments are based on my recent work for a global, 100+ year old company that is in the midst of a compelling, multi-year transformation. You can read more here.
0 Comments

Pathways to Individual Transformation

6/4/2018

0 Comments

 
The journey of personal evolution, discovery, change, and growth has been a personal one. As I've been a student and practitioner, I've also gathered and developed perspectives that I offer to others. This Medium post unpacks three pathways to individual transformation. It also offers a framework for transformative product development, along with a gentle rally for the reader. 
0 Comments

Exploring Workplace Well-Being

10/30/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
 On October 17, 2017 I gave a short talk at the Life@Work conference run by my friends at Live Grey. My goal was to highlight a selection of scientists who are helping us better understand how we can develop well-being skills—both for ourselves and for the organizations we serve.

​More information on the presentation, including a free download of perspectives on the science and practice of well-being in the workplace, and is available on Medium.

Image above courtesy of Live Grey.

0 Comments

Better Approaches to Employee Reviews

10/12/2017

0 Comments

 
 The annual employee review process can often be stressful, and when done poorly, detrimental. On Entrepreneur.com, I offer a few tips on approaches that I've seen work well, including a "leading and learning" framework that I learned from the amazing Jessica Orkin.
0 Comments

Leading with Hope and Optimism

9/6/2017

0 Comments

 
Skillfully optimistic leaders can fuel significant change, especially in our era of heightened uncertainty. These leaders envision a potential future. They see and describe possibilities, enlisting people’s faith and enthusiasm. They reframe the current state, identifying a more vibrant future.

But optimism can go awry.

Read the full post on Leadfully.

0 Comments

Relections on Tuned Leadership

8/17/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
I’ve begun to experiment with the concept of tuned leadership, which I define as fully serving others from a place of focused presence. And I've found that three things, operating together, are helpful in my tuned leadership work: purpose, body, and practices.

My short reflection on tuned leadership is available on the SYPartners channel on Medium.

​ 
Photo by Vanessa Ochotorena on Unsplash

0 Comments
<<Previous
    Our blog covers topics that impact personal evolution, leadership development, well-being, and company growth. 

    Author

    Steve Semelsberger is the Founder of Alder Growth Partners.

    Categories

    All
    AGP News
    Client Profiles
    Employee Engagement
    Future Of Work
    Inorganic Growth
    Organic Growth

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    June 2018
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    November 2016
    July 2016
    October 2015
    September 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    April 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014

Copyright StrongLight Productions, LLC
All rights reserved.
Proudly built in Austin, TX. 
  • Home
  • About
    • Founder
    • Network
  • Services
  • Clients
  • Blog
  • Contact