DataDome Blog

Art Schoeck recently presented to a gathering of leaders at the exclusive CEO Central 60 organized by the Georgia Center for Non-profits. The prestigious gathering included top executives from several companies including Covenant House Georgia, Southern Arts Federation, Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation, Athens Community Council on Aging Atlanta, Atlanta Youth Academies, Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Atlanta, CETPA, Inc., Must Ministries, Operation Homefront Georgia, The Salvation Army, Arthritis Foundation Georgia Chapter, Gateway Center, Project GRAD Atlanta, Inc, Butler Street YMCA, Open Hand Atlanta, and Enrichment Services Program, Inc.

CEO CENTRAL 60 is designed for an elite group of 20-30 top executives who are proven nonprofit leaders. Participants typically come from organizations with annual revenues of $5 – $100 million and have substantial work experience at the senior level.

About Georgia Center for Nonprofits
The Georgia Center for Nonprofits is Georgia’s association for nonprofit, charitable organizations. Our mission is to serve, strengthen and support Georgia’s nonprofit community. The Center advocates to improve the environment in which nonprofits work and helps nonprofits manage better by offering information, training, consulting and nonprofit jobs services.

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Later this month, Behavioral Style Strategist and President of Data Dome, Inc. Art Schoeck, will once again be bringing his expertise to the Scarlett Leadership Institute’s Signature Executive retreat. Participants will receive advanced training in leadership applications and strategies using the insights of DISC behavioral style analysis. Attendees include executives from HCA, LP Bldg Products, Tristar Energy, Brisgestone Americas, HealthSpring and Ingram Barge amongst others.

About the Signature Executive Program
The Scarlett Leadership Institute, located at Belmont University in Nashville Tennessee, hosts the Signature Executive Program, which offers a unique and engaging means of transferring leadership experience to the next generation of business leaders. Open only to high potential individuals nominated by senior leadership in their organizations, the Institute brings together world-class business minds from Fortune 500 companies and successful leading-edge organizations to interact with a selected class of participants. This “for-leaders by-leaders” executive education program was designed by leading business minds to develop the people and talent they most need to support the continued success of their organizations. It offers a unique opportunity because it asks for a unique commitment: a written pledge from both the participating individual and a senior on-the-job mentor in the sponsoring organization.

Last year’s participants were asked to complete an evaluation – many indicated that Art Schoeck’s seminar was their favorite piece in this exclusive and sought-after week-long leadership program.

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We’re very proud of our founder and CEO – Arthur Schoeck has been given one of the top honors in his industry: He has been appointed to The International Faculty.  TTI created The International Faculty in 2004 as an elite  group of professionals in the business consulting, coaching and training industry. International Faculty members are hand-selected leaders in their field and each brings a unique expertise to the Faculty. From every corner of the globe, they collaborate to provide global organizations with timely solutions that surpass the challenges of geographical boundaries.

When asked to comment Art Schoeck replied, “It is a privilege to be accepted as a peer amongst such distinguished experts.”

For more information visit Data Dome’s Awards page.

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Congratulations to our founder!

Data Dome’s own founder and CEO, Arthur Schoeck, was recently honored again for the second year consecutive year by Target Training International (TTI) as the recipient of the Chairman’s Award for Services to the Community at the TTI Winners’ Conference in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Echoing last year, TTI presented the award to Schoeck for his continued dedication to community service initiatives. Schoeck has offered his time and expertise to mentor college students, helping them identify their skills and behavioral styles and guide them toward alignment with their career goals.

For more information visit Data Dome’s Awards page.

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Do you have the habits of a leader? Let’s take a look at some of the ways leaders react and the qualities they exhibit in certain situations:

When a leader begins a project she looks first for clarity on what needs to be accomplished, not what’s in it for her.

Once the objective is understood the true leader will examine her skills, strengths and resources and compare them to the needs of the project.  That way she can assess how best to approach the project and what gaps need to be addressed to ensure success.

A leader focuses and refocuses on his organization’s mission and goals.  He keeps the bottom line in mind while communicating the performance expectations for success.

A leader understands that he can’t do it all himself, that he’s not the best at everything. He is confident in his own abilities and values those who surpass him in specific skills or strengths.

When it comes to developing a team, a great leader knows that copycats and “mini-me’s” won’t give her the balanced perspective and diversity of skills she needs to come up with winning solutions.

A leader doesn’t allow positive or negative personal biases to cloud judgement when it comes to an individual’s positive or negative performance.

“Good leaders make people feel that they’re at the very heart of things, not at the periphery.” ~ Warren G. Bennis

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Behavioral Tests

Behavioral tests describe how an individual reacts under specific circumstances. For example, DISC assessments describe how an individual might respond to problems, people, pace and procedures.

Personality Tests

Personality tests describe who a person really is and indicate his/her basic tendencies. The accepted five factors for personality tests are:

• Extraversion (outgoing and group-oriented)
• Independent (competitive and assertive)
• Conscientiousness (organized and structured)
• Stable (poised and relaxed)
• Openness (adaptability)

Prevue^TM (formerly TotalView) is one example of a personality test based on the 5-Factors of Comprehensive Personality.
Psychological Tests

Psychological tests are designed to identify causes or patterns of inappropriate clinical behaviors. They are, with few exceptions, not legal or appropriate to use for business selection.
Both behavioral and personality tests, when used for selecting and developing job-related behaviors, are legal to use.

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Are you ready for gift-giving Dominance?
Got someone on your list you want to Influence?
Do you possess the Steadiness of a seasoned holiday shopper?
Is Conscientiousness the key to picking the perfect gift?

Give the gift that can really make a difference!

We are pleased to announce the return of the Data Dome Development Bookstore – a selection of suggested readings targeted to specific development and self-improvement goals.

Got a friend with low energy? We can suggest a book for that!

Is your sibling too assertive? The right reading may be just the ticket!

Are you trying to find the perfect gift for someone low on optimism, high on the need to be liked, or maybe lacking in self-reliance? Wouldn’t you like to know the books a good coach would recommend for each of these situations?

And don’t forget about your own New Year’s resolutions… Some smart reading could put you on a productive path to reaching your goals!

We have recommendations in forty targeted categories of development: Learn the right books to help tackle the “too highs” and the “too lows”.

For books for everything from building assertiveness to learning patience, visit Recommended Reading for Coaching and Personal Development and give the gift that shows you care.

And don’t forget the sales pros on your list! Visit Reading for Sales Professionals and browse our recommendations for strategic and behavioral development made specifically with the salesperson in mind.

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Data Dome and Alignment at Work, Inc. are squeezing in one more Align to Thrive workshop before the end of the year.

This workshop, which will be held on December 17th, will show you strategies designed to strengthen businesses and increase profitability… despite the uncertainty of economic and market conditions.

Organizational Alignment is an empowering concept for realizing full business potential. An aligned organization is a fine-tuned machine driving forward with focus, discipline and responsiveness to customer values.

In this workshop, through theory and practical application, you will learn new tools to measure and achieve organizational alignment. Simple, intuitive and quantitative measurements can show you how well your organization is aligned to your customers? and employees? constantly changing needs. This is the vital data needed to make the critical decisions for success.

You can find more detailed information and request your seat by visiting http://www.datadome.com/align2thrive.php or calling 404-814-0739.

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Behavioral style, that is.

Here’s a little holiday fun – a look at Thanksgiving from each of the DISC categories.

D Style

For high D’s, Thanksgiving is a time to catch up. They never get enough done anyway, so good time to have a short dinner and go on to accomplish other things. Typically, they plan at the last minute – guests, shopping, etc. – and with goals in mind – personal and/or business. Often, when they realize there is not time enough to properly make dinner, they will go out/take everyone to a restaurant.

If they do attempt to make it themselves, better get out of the kitchen. No rules here! The high D goes with whatever looks fast and efficient. Something will probably fall through the cracks, so be prepared to scramble to compensate (run to the store). Once dinner is over, it is over. They will not want to clean up, as they already did all the work/mess. What’s next to do/conquer?

I Style

High I’s look at Thanksgiving as a great opportunity to party. Everything is exciting this time of year, from shopping, to preparing, to the party itself. And everyone must have a good time! They love to decorate for the party and to invite as many friends, family and neighbors as they can seat, especially anyone who may be alone (their worst fear)! If there are too many, they may ask to go pot-luck – everyone bring their favorite _____! And expect creative fun – putting certain people with others, icebreakers to get strangers to converse, anything and everything to keep everyone happy and talking. Often I’s realize that around the holiday is a good time to catch up on work, as all those distracting conversations that always prevent accomplishing things are now impossible, as everyone else is on vacation. Amazing how much more gets done with no one to talk to!!

S Style

High S’s like to be well prepared, with no surprises. They will start preparing well in advance, with lots of home-made items – not the quick off-the-shelf stuff! They will prepare foods they know everyone in the family will like – from family traditions to special dishes for those with special tastes/needs. Try something different? Only if somebody new is coming and they may like something else – better be prepared! The S will drive to grandma’s house using the same route every year. Like the high I, Thanksgiving Day is not a time to be alone, often friends will act as the substitute family. To the high S, making everyone feel comfortable and relaxed is a major focus. They may even have home-made treats for pets to take home, and they probably know everyone’s family members (and pets) by name.

C Style

High C’s are quite a bit different, not necessarily appreciating large gatherings. Quality is more important, both in people and food. They may eat out at a nice place with just a few close friends or family. If they do prepare dinner themselves, they will probably prepare from exact recipes. They will require exactly the right shopping ingredients. They may even send out invitations that require an RSVP. The event itself is typically more formal, from places to sit to décor (and rarely much in leftovers). Be careful if you ask a C how they prepared a particular dish. You will get not only more detail than you ever could imagine, you will also get everything else from prices to the best stores to buy from to seasonal influences, etc. Be careful if you criticize a C – you may get an explanation of why you are not exactly right. And if you offer to help clean up, you better be good at it (i.e. immaculate).

Did you recognize yourself? Or maybe a relative? Whatever your behavioral profile we here at Data Dome wish you and your family a safe and fun Thanksgiving holiday!

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In honor of Friday the 13th, here are 13 Assessment and Application Principles. This list is here to help guide you when evaluating and selecting assessment tools and procedures.  The goal is to get you the tools and processes that assist you in obtaining the right fit between jobs and employees.

1. Use assessment tools in a purposeful manner with a clear understanding of your reasons and goals, what you want to measure, and why.
2. Use the whole-person approach to assessment, using a variety of validated assessment instruments to gain the best employment-related information.
3. Use only assessment instruments that are unbiased and fair to all groups to select a qualified and diverse workforce.
4. Use only reliable (accurate, relevant and consistent) assessments and procedures.
5. Use only assessment procedures and instruments that have been demonstrated to be valid for the specific purpose for which they are being used.
6. Use assessment tools that are appropriate for the target population.
7. Use assessment instruments for which understandable and comprehensive documentation is available.
8. Ensure that administration staff are properly trained.
9. Ensure that testing conditions are suitable for all test takers.
10. Provide reasonable accommodation in the assessment process for people with disabilities.
11. Maintain security with regard to assessment instruments, forms, questionnaires, and the like.
12. Maintain confidentiality of assessment results. Results should only be shared with those who have a legitimate need to know and should not be released to other individuals or organizations without the informed consent of the participant.
13. Ensure that scores are interpreted properly.

The above is drawn from the main points of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Testing and Assessment: An Employer’s Guide to Good Practices – A guide to help managers and human resource (HR) professionals use appropriate and effective assessment practices.

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