Have you ever been in a group situation where someone has taken control of the group by describing their clear vision for the group’s goals, a real passion for the work to be done and an ability to make the rest of the group feel energized?

With the globalisation of the economy and the diversification of the labour market, more and more organisations are relying on multi-cultural teams (MCT). Although MCTs often produce more creative solutions and better quality decisions, they can also bring with them complex group dynamics, unique communication issues and a greater potential for interpersonal conflict.

Great businesses are headed by great leaders. There are a handful of charismatic figures who lead high-profile organisations and names such as Jack Welch of GE and Steve Jobs of Apple come easily to mind. There are, however, many, many more very successful businesses where the catalyst for that success is as effective but less visible to the outside world.

Times are tough. Economies are faltering. Businesses are under increasing pressure. Now is the time for organisations to capitalize on their strengths, particularly their human capital, and one way of doing this is through employee empowerment. Empowerment is a buzz word that has been bandied about for many years – overused and misused in many contexts – but what exactly is it and how can it be best achieved in order to make sure that your business makes the most of its human capital?

This year, are you wrestling with delivering the same results on a reduced budget in your role? Are you trying to pick up the pieces in an organisation where your colleagues have been made redundant? Are the demands of your work role affecting your enjoyment of the other roles you have in your personal life?

Using the services of a business coach can be instrumental in professional development and identifying the right career direction. Carmel Doyle reports.

If redundancy and workforce transitioning is managed properly, businesses can ensure that valued employees make the transitions into new roles and organisations, while remaining staff are kept motivated and engaged, according to DavittCorporatePartners, Ireland's leading organisational psychology consultancy, which provides client's with proven psychological solutions to enhance their business performance.

It seems that stress has become an unavoidable side effect in today’s workplace. Rapidly changing market demands have added an extra layer of unpredictability and stress to the already stressful day to day experiences of many businesses in Ireland. Increasingly the causes of increased stress are outside our control, when this is the case the best way to tackle rising stress levels is to prepare yourself and begin to learn how to modify your response to these unexpected and increasingly difficultstressors. This article will offer some tips on how you can begin to actively manage your own stress levels.

Most readers of this article may own a car and many will drive a car on a daily basis. We get in, start the car, drive off and arrive at our destination. Very few of us are aware or conscious of the complex mesh of knowledge, experience, judgement and co-ordination that are involved in what, for many of us, is a basic, routine daily task. There is a name for this – it is called “unconscious competence”. This term describes behaviour that is so deeply embedded in our routine that we do not know that we know how to do it!

Although coaching and counselling represent relatively recent additions to the range of human service professions, both have undergone significant growth and development over the last few decades. In fact it has been reported that coaching is now the second-fastest growing profession in the world, rivaled only by information technology

The difference is stark – Brian works almost 100 hours a week and feels that he has no time to relax. Alan averages 50 hours a week and has a good work/life balance. How can we understand this difference? Essentially both Brian and Alan want the same things, to deliver growth and shareholder value. The difference is the way that they approach this.

Trust in an organisation will be based on trust in the people who make up that organisation. Trust is necessary for effective communication and cooperation without which an organisation could not function.

The body of literature relating to human resource management is replete with reports on the use of competency frameworks which are weighted heavily towards blue-collar, administrative and management roles within organisations. In the 1990s a body of work has emerged to establish director competencies. This article will report experiences drawn from the use of director level competencies in three different organisations.

While it is generally acknowledged that stress profoundly influences the way in which we think and behave, few people fully understand why this is so. Recent research shows that the reason for our changed thinking and behaviour under stress is that stress causes parts of the brain to "switch off".

Teams are the crux of business life. Working in teams not only gives people a sense of belonging but it allows complex issues "that require a wide range of skills" to be addressed, thereby improving businesses' technical and organisational quality.

According to eminent psychologist Carl Jung, people are innately different in the way they prefer to do things and one key dichotomy on which people’s preferences tend to vary is Extraversion versus Introversion. Jung’s typology theory purports that an individual’s natural preference for one of these functions over the other leads them to direct energy towards it and to develop behaviours and personality patterns characteristic of that function. In the context of organisational effectiveness, Jung’s theory, and more specifically his research around extraversion/introversion preferences, has significant implications and indeed applications in terms of executive behaviour.

The study of personality represents one of the largest areas of research within the entire discipline of psychology and one that has great significance in terms of its applications in a variety of organisational domains. Personality can be broadly defined as an enduring style of thinking, feeling and behaving that reflects how each person adjusts to their environment.

In a word, Yes. An investment in a first-class Outplacement Programme can yield substantial returns – something that is all too rare in the current climate.

DavittCorporatePartners is pleased to announce that world-renowned expert on Leadership and Emotional Intelligence, Dr. Martyn Newman is returning to Ireland for a series of events in late October / early November 2009.

The one certain feature of current business life is constant change. In this climate, the ability to deal effectively and productively with uncertainty is one of the key differentiating characteristics of the successful business leader.