FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE WEST DES MOINES, IA, June 2020 Carlson Group, a leading executive search and leadership consulting firm that has been serving clients across the Midwest for almost 30 years, has announced two new additions to the firm: Erin Barfels, Principal / Executive Search Consultant With over 20 years of Human Resources experience, Erin Barfels has served as the Chief HR Officer for two insurance organizations, most recently at GuideOne Mutual Insurance. She has...

The first in a series of articles on the topic of reflective leadership. If you ever wondered, there are 10,080 minutes in a week. And if you wonder why this matters, let me share the Reader’s Digest version of what prompted me to do the math … Throughout my career, I’ve been blessed to be in roles through which I advised all types and levels of organizational leaders. This has involved assessing, training and developing...

The ability to think and act innovatively while ensuring the right decisions are made has never been more important. It differentiates those who will succeed and those who will not. Phil McKinney, author of Beyond the Obvious, states, "All ideas, concepts, products and services have a natural progression." Appropriately followed, this natural progression allows new developments to become “tomorrow’s answers” instead of “yesterday’s news.” Many organizations recognize that "being innovative" or "creating a culture of innovation"...

If the agenda for your next meeting included "Building Your Leadership Presence," would you understand what it meant? Would you be able to contribute to the conversation? While leadership presence has long been considered vital to effective leadership, it remains challenging for organizations today. As you think about your leadership presence and that of others in your organization, consider these five questions:  1. What is leadership presence?  In their book, Leadership Presence, Belle Linda Halpern...

Carlson Group is now providing executive onboarding services at the conclusion of each search completed. Companies make a significant investment in each leader they bring on board, and most employers expect an experienced senior executive to hit the ground running and make their presence felt in the first months on the job. An executive in a new role, however, is vulnerable, often lacking established relationships in the company or insights on how things really get...

Companies Pursue Closer Partnerships, Broader Resources, from Search Consultants As we head into second quarter, what does the forecast look like for the executive search profession? In a special edition report by the Association of Executive Search and Leadership Consultants (AESC), President and CEO Karen Greenbaum offers the following key highlights: Member executive search firms reported positive outlooks and their intent to expand their trusted executive search relationships to include leadership consulting services. The market...