Author Archives: dfbarker0809

Potential employers and recruiters must consider long-term market impact. The goal of each recruiter is to develop a healthy pipeline to produce the talent needed to support long-term sustainability. Each contact becomes a brand impression regardless of whether hired or not. Each of these impressions could easily be a customer or attached to someone whoContinue reading “Responsible talent acquisition”

I was a member of the last generation of true paper carriers. Watching them in my early childhood, I saw it as a right of passage. Maybe it was that my dad worked for a newspaper, and as a young man, it seemed like a way to do what dad does. As a fourth grader,Continue reading “Reliability is the first lesson in building a professional brand”

The intention grew from the bad seeds sowed by poor leadership. A slow burn in my career came from being forced to own the impression and perceptions that made up my skills and image within the company. Some days, it seemed like I was in a tug of a war of contrasting feedback from multipleContinue reading “Intention is about breaking your own path”

The idea of a development plan using emotional intelligence can seem obscure. Most professionals are conditioned to determine growth based on scorecard or quantitative factors, making self-development challenging. Learning to develop EQ strategies improves well-being, goal creation, and achievement. Organizations must learn to coach and develop all KSAs. The effort towards being intentional and achievingContinue reading “Problem Solving and Stress Management grow through EQ”

Emotional intelligence is about decision-making. Each person’s IQ is not an indicator of success. However, developing awareness and EQ will help build more prosperous relationships and robust goal execution. The first level of emotional intelligence is overcoming our initial reactions and shifting them into intentional responses.  What it can look like The significance of emotionalContinue reading “Take steps in developing your awareness skills”

Dan Barker 09/13/2023 So often, when I approach a company representative and share that my experience was less than par, that protection and defense are always the first response. The service and the response often do not meet the values or commitment the company has placed on the wall. The opportunity stems from not teachingContinue reading “The expectations and standards are missing in experience, and it is impacting success”

There is a misunderstanding that focus is a versatile tool. The word itself implies that there is a risk of blind spots. Many of the other principles of performance are reliant on intention. The competency of being intentional is easy to understand but challenging to achieve. Understanding intention and when to use focus can supportContinue reading “Performance Practitioner | Focus is for goals not strategy”

Creating performance is a skill. It needs to be done with intention. Leaders need to understand the process used to deliver on performance. Performance Practitioner is a level above acumen. A new leader may understand the driving performance concept but often need help to dissect it well. (They struggle to identify all the critical pieces/tacticsContinue reading “Performance Practitioner | Always be on the lookout for consistency”

All new leaders will go through a proving ground of credibility. Credibility will produce the flash to ignite momentum but lacks the stamina to convert into fire. Validity is a different skill than credibility; great leaders effectively use validity to perform consistently. Without it, nothing seems to get done.  New leaders do not often thinkContinue reading “Do not skip over validity”