Leadership Coaching at GettysburgWritten by CMOE Development Team
The battle at Gettysburg is one of most notable events in U.S. History. It is a battle where more lives were taken than in any other battle in North America. In this small farming community in 1863, George Meade’s Union Army comprising of 90,000 troops met Robert Lee’s Confederate Army of 75,000. We can read volumes of literature and accounts of heroes, leaders, front-line soldiers and others directly and indirectly impacted by event. Certainly there are incredible leadership coaching and other lessons from lives of these men and women and strategic events which became critical turning point in Civil War. On morning of first day of three day battle, Colonel Joshua L. Chamberlain was faced with a coaching and influence opportunity. As sun was coming over horizon, Joshua L. Chamberlain stood before a group of tired soldiers from Second Maine Brigade. At that point, these men had been participating in heavy battle for weeks and were seeking mutiny. However, due to number of casualties prior to Gettysburg, their service at this time was desperately needed. Chamberlain explained that he had been instructed to “order” these men to join brigade or they would be shot. Yet, he calmly informed troops that he did not plan to follow this instruction. He recognized their suffering, and then explained necessity of their military service and role they could play. Chamberlain eloquently proceeded to instill a renewed purpose in these men, helping them to remember why they were involved and had originally enlisted. He referred to their fellow soldiers who made ultimate sacrifice. He sought their commitment to move forward with conviction. “If we lose you, we lose war, if you join us, I will be grateful.” To conclude, he proposed a powerful idea: “Join us,” and if so, situation (the mutiny) would not be revisited. If they chose not to join, he would seek fair treatment in their behalf. “We are moving out” he concluded, and gave them an opportunity to ponder and determine where their commitment would lie.
| | Parents returning to work: how to balance work and family lifeWritten by Scott Brown
While we usually focus on actual act of job searching and career advancement in these articles, there are some other issues that can have a big impact on your career and are worth investigating. One such issue is balancing family obligations with those of your career. Raising children is a big job- a full time job in itself. If you have children or are about to, read on for some helpful tips. If your family is taken care of, you’ll be able to focus on your career without worrying about what’s going at home. Where to leave your children after school During day, you know your kids are taken care of at least until 3:00 PM. But after school ends, you’re going to need some kind of daycare that will keep your little ones busy until you get off of work. Here are some ideas to help you jumpstart your back to work plan: *There are people who can help. If you’re new to a town or community or just don’t know where to go, start with your child’s school. Many public schools offer after school programs for students that will not only keep them busy, but help them with their homework and enrich their overall social and academic skills. *Network with other parents. Chances are, a lot of your child’s friends and classmates have parents in same boat as you. Contact them for ideas or try and set up an exchange where two of you take turns with children when your schedule allows. Don’t just network with working parents, network with stay-at-home parents as well. Try to work something out with them too because they have even more time than your colleagues who work a 9-5.
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