PRADCO's Blog

Tell me a little about yourself and your role at PRADCO.

It is hard to believe that 23+ years have passed since I first set foot in PRADCO.  I responded to an enticing advertisement in a professional publication.  I was at a point in my professional life where I was ready for a change, and I also wanted to return to my home area or thereabouts.  I had worked my way through the promotional ranks of assistant, associate and professor of psychology at Bluffton College (now University) and was chairman of the department including sociology and social work for a number of years—all while in my 30s.  I could have spent the rest of my tenured days teaching but decided a change would be good.  Our family was growing and I had the desire to better provide for us. 

The work at PRADCO has been an ongoing challenge from day one.  My background is in experimental/developmental psychology (Ph.D. University of Akron) and I initially had to learn the ways of industrial/organizational psychology, especially the art of evaluating people from my mentors, Drs. Terry Owen and Stanley Rubin.  To this day I am indebted to them and intrigued by the processes we use to assess candidates for hire, promotion, or leadership development.  Yes, it is trite to say that everyone is different.  But to understand those differences and how they will play out in a particular position, in a specific company culture employing other unique people, is indeed a challenge to this day.  As Director of Evaluations, this is what I spend the majority of my days doing, and it still gives me great pleasure.

What do you like best about your job?

Every evaluation is a new experience. I need to understand the person but also the position and the nature of the organization, including the person to whom they will report. I may encounter a college director for a large educational organization, a pharmaceutical scientist, a production supervisor for a small manufacturing facility, a CFO, or an entry-level accountant.  Without question the people are the most interesting aspect of my work.

Tell us something about yourself that even your coworkers don’t know.

I am a hack trumpet player.  I have played off and on for years.  Most of this is centered around church activities at Christmas and Easter, but I have played in brass quintets for student recitals, college concert and pep bands, and in more formal orchestral settings.  I have conducted some of these groups with chorus and orchestra, too.  There is nothing like the full-tilt feeling of directing, playing or singing selections from Handel’s Messiah with experienced musicians and choruses. I also enjoy jazz.  Years ago I had the privilege of meeting Wynton Marsalis at Preservation Hall in New Orleans.  The old run-down place on St. Peter Street in the French Quarter was small, hot, and you had to ladle your own lemonade from a stockpot between sets.  Mr. Marsalis just happened to be in town, dropped in unannounced, and made delightful music with the band!  What a treat!

What is your favorite travel destination?

I have enjoyed many places over the years.  I have great memories of spending a few summers in Phoenix with aunts, and taking the mule trip down the Grand Canyon.  Memories from college days take me back to a summer in Europe, Switzerland in particular, sailing Lake Zurich, hiking Jungfrau and I could go on.  More recent vacations have been family outings to the Outer Banks.  Colorado is wonderful, especially skiing Snowmass.  But a favorite?  Each was a favorite in its  time.

 What are you currently working on?

Business is more demanding than ever these days—at least from my experience—and the challenge is to handle almost everything in “real time.”  No matter how much I have learned from the past, it will never tell me all I need to know for the present (to quote John Maxwell). 

I will continue to better my technical skills, identify and serve client needs, profit the company and stretch myself to risk becoming when inclined to being.

On a personal level, I serve on the board of a national church foundation, primarily raising funds for its many missions.  I also continue to hone photography skills, log miles on the bicycle, and invest as much time as I can with my grandchildren.

Thanks for this opportunity to introduce myself.  Drop me a line if you are so inclined.

 –David

This is the last of my blog posts focusing on the services we provide to schools and other educational organizations. I’ve covered selection and training, and now I’ll turn to leadership coaching.

Over the past few years, school districts and universities have asked their staff to think of their institutions in a more business-like manner. Faced with severe budget cuts and increasingly frustrated taxpayers, administrators are forced to do more with less. This is one reason why it is critical that educational leaders demand more accountability and push to drive results.  In some cases, managers may be eager to do their best, but they just don’t know how to accomplish a certain assignment or other key part of their job. That’s where coaching can make a big difference in a person’s ability to meet the unique challenges of their role.

As the insightful author, Blaine Lee said: We are all capable of change and growth; we just need to know where to begin.

A case in point: A superintendent from a rural school district contacted us to conduct a 360° on one of his principals. The person in question was relatively new in his role and was failing. He had no idea how to take command of his school. His staff was not performing and they were not meeting their objectives.

A Leadership 360° pointed to several areas of weakness in the principal’s leadership approach.   He was not decisive enough, allowing his staff to control most decisions. He had low structure and poor follow-up, which made it easy for his staff to ignore his directives. Finally, he had a hard time influencing others or persuading them to take action. He had little control of the building.

This information was shared with the principal in a feedback session. What followed was several action planning meetings over a period of several weeks. The goal was to help him better understand his developmental areas and coach him to improve his performance.

We focused our efforts on helping him to make better decisions more quickly, and to work on establishing a structured  environment where expectations were clear and the staff  knew he would follow up to be sure they were hitting assigned targets and deadlines. He worked hard to have an impact on others and become more influential.

 Some of the coaching we provided him included:

• Setting specific goals and timelines for his staff
• Building a structure for them to work within
• Regularly monitoring their progress
• Becoming more demanding and refusing to accept excuses for non-performance

By the end of the school year, he was in control of his staff and they were accomplishing their goals. He set the direction for his team, held them accountable and emerged as a leader with a bright future. 

A lesson to be learned: Administrators want to do a good job, but many lack leadership skills. PRADCO has developed tools designed to help uncover areas for improvement and PRADCO’s professional coaching staff helps struggling managers change their behaviors and improve their performance.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to read my blog posts. I am passing the “pen” to one of my colleagues Steve Hrop from our greater New York City office. I’m sure Steve will have many insightful thoughts to share.

Welcome to PRADCO’s first blog post! In the coming months, our professional staff members will be taking turns posting information relevant to our clients and those in the hiring and/or coaching sectors. We hope that this provides a forum to not only share ideas but also to encourage dialogue among readers.

For the month of February, Kate Kennedy, Director of Projects at PRADCO will be posting some great information that we hope you find beneficial. We look forward to the dialogue.