Rodger Harding recently received special recognition for his:

 "Exceptional commitment and contributionsto numerous students in the Learning Disabilities Progam and for Outstanding Involvement in York University's Career Mentorship Program"  

“... I can see them no more as they are, but as they were meant to be, as they would have liked to be if they had a chance…”- Axel Munthe 

 It seems as if mentorship is the business buzzword of the moment. Against the backdrop of a decade long commitment to the York University Learning Disability Mentorship Program (LDP) and a six year involvement with the Canadian Women in Communications (CWC-AFC) Mentorship Program, I am alarmed at the increasingly transactional slant that appears to regard mentorship as a fast-track networking vehicle or an opportunity to rapidly download the hard-earned knowledge of others.  My own interaction with a succession of people with vastly differing professional and personal mentorship requirements has been intensely rewarding and has resulted in strong opinions on the subject:   

What is Mentorship?    

A Mentor will essentially identifiy, understand, validate and enable full Mentee potential. Perhaps the essence of an evolving mentor/mentee relationship it is to provide a stepping stone or sounding-board that will assist mentees realize the importance of becoming who they are and what they want to be, rather than who they are supposed to be. To this end, establishing a good fit and mutual availability is critical if the relationship is going to work. Consider the following criteria as a potential check list:    

 Underpinning my work with individual or corporate clients is the immense respect, if not awe, that I have for the individual being in all its perfection & imperfection.  In our society though, it seems that we have a difficult time being who we are or who we want to be. How often are our objectives shifted, adjusted or deleted to fit in with what others want us to be? 

Some 30 years ago a friend introduced me to the thought provoking music/lyrics of Dory Previn - Her apparent victory over an intense struggle to make sense of her life, resonates in the words below. In our own lives, personal and professional, we often complicate the same quest .... Turning to quick-fixes promised by the banal messages of money makers rather than our inner voice/instinct. 

I love the simplicity of Dory Previn's message that makes claim to neither doctrine nor label:  More...

On Thursday, March 26, 2009 Rodger Harding delivered a keynote to sold-out attendance of the Project Management Institute (PMI-SOC)

The Project Management Team: 
The Importance of Good Intelligence in Tough Times 

The presentation explored the role of the project manager/team in reading/interpreting & analyzing random clues relating to service, product, supplier & client that would potentially fuel a relevant theory that, if applied, would affect bottom line business as well as industry objectives. The critical link between intelligence, strategy & planning was also discussed. 

In an interactive environment, the more than 200 delegates appeared to enthusiastically embrace ideas as to how to read people and situations with a view to predicting outcomes.  It would appear that investigating unknown paths really is more appealing when the tried and tested has been seen to fail.     

http://www.soc.pmi.on.ca/cde.cfm?event=239061

I was delighted to be interviewed recently by Avil Beckford as part of her Invisible Mentor Series.

To read the full text of the interview visit:

http://www.ambeck.com/RodgerHardingInterview.pdf

Dear Clients & Friends, 

As 2008 draws to a close, I again reflect my good fortune in being able to follow a career path that enjoyably accommodates and utilizes not only who I am, but also what experience continues to teach me. The intensely diverse group of people that make up the mosaic of the professional and personal relationships built over the years, without doubt, give purpose to my work and meaning to my life. As an entrepreneur, these relationships provide me with a distinct sense of community.

At present the world is consciously faced with the prospect of the unknown in the immediate future. I thought it perhaps useful to share some of my thoughts, drawn from my own experience, on the incredible value of community & relationships in the navigation of difficult times:

 ·    The vibrant exchange of random ideas oftentimes provides surprising clues to workable innovation, profitable new business and problem-solving

·     Enormous pleasure may be derived from disinterested contact with people that share common ground and past experience – Sustainable business relationships are not solely transactional, but rather founded on mutual interest, trust and flexibility

·   A good relationship understands and gives context to imperfection as a human phenomenon – There is nothing better than being able to honestly express fear, uncertainty and anxiety in a safe environment  - Being oneself at all times is key to initiating and nurturing a healthy relationship 

·    The ability to at times anticipate the needs of others, rather than a self-interested focus, even in times of difficulty brings great fulfillment

·   Asking for and receiving help/assistance with good grace is perhaps the ultimate test of a good relationship

·   Investment in like-minded contact will nearly always allow for easy access ....Paradoxically the more immersed we are in work and daily life the less time we have to spend with people we find enjoyable. That said ... I remain in awe of how pleasurable relationships may be renewed despite lack of recent contact!             

I take this opportunity to thank you for your ongoing support, inspiration and friendship. Despite the vicissitudes of business and life in general I have never felt alone in my endeavours. For this a huge Thank You! My very best wishes for the Holidays and a happy, safe & prosperous 2009!

I look forward to renewed contact in the New Year. 

Warmest regards, 

Rodger

 “... As a clinical psychologist I have often come across this type of narrow, one-sided non reflexive way of thinking. It is most often associated with pathology. It is often very difficult to make a change because of the resistance or (most often) inability to shift perspective. Most often these people are unable to feel uncertain, the major incentive to investigate a matter further. Once I took a course in "argumentation". The rules are to take a topic, make two teams, flip a coin which side to argue and then go for "winning". Try it at home or with friends and you get the firsthand experience of being an extremist…”  - Mikael Scharin, Gothenburg, Sweden 

I submit that if this technique is mastered, the ability to empathize will have been attained!

 In business circles, as well as in our private lives, we talk a lot about achieving balance. This is a difficult goal, especially as we live in a world that is becoming more and more polarized on political and socio-economic levels. In our fear, do we not find ourselves expressing hatred, self-righteousness and irrational notions of revenge and justice that completely overshadow the beauty and the miracle that is the individual human mind?

Oftentimes I wonder if we have evolved at all as a species - We seem destined to relive the same cycle of growth and destruction, so much so that I often feel the urge to “shrink from the duty of opposition”… I fear “I will be reduced to a chattering enraged monkey, screaming back hate at their hate” (apologies to Christopher Isherwood) At such times, the simple yet powerful words of Mike Pinder’s The Balance (Moody Blues) inspire me to surrender to the sheer wonder of just being alive. I can then measure my impact, good and evil, and so too the good and evil of others.  

The Balance   

After he had journeyed,
And his feet were sore,
And he was tired,
He came upon an orange grove
And he rested
And he lay in the cool,
And while he rested, he took to himself an orange and tasted it,
And it was good.
And he felt the earth to his spine,
And he asked, and he saw the tree above him, and the stars,
And the veins in the leaf,
And the light, and the balance.
And he saw magnificent perfection,
Whereon he thought of himself in balance,
And he knew he was.

Just open your eyes,
And realize, the way it's always been.
Just open your mind
And you will find
The way it's always been.
Just open your heart
And that's a start.

And he thought of those he angered,
For he was not a violent man,
And he thought of those he hurt
For he was not a cruel man
And he thought of those he frightened
For he was not an evil man,
And he understood.
He understood himself.

Upon this he saw that when he was of anger or knew hurt or felt fear,
It was because he was not understanding,
And he learned, compassion.

And with his eye of compassion.
He saw his enemies like unto himself,
And he learned love.
Then, he was answered.

A National Leadership Initiative in collaboration with Canadian Women in Communications

Rodger Harding has been invited to present the CWC (Canadian Women in Communications) National Women Negotiating for Success Workshop Series to nine chapters across Canada.

This initiative is designed to enhance the ability of women in managing the key elements of negotiation to better achieve their personal and business goals. Participants will be encouraged to to create an individual negotiation style that will pave the way to the best possible career outcomes in years to come.

In particular, the workshop will focus on the circumstances facing women in the fast-paced and constantly changing environment in which we all work today. Negotiation strategies will be identified to assist with the effective identification, analysis and management of situations where an accurate and ongoing interpretation of people and events are required.

Rodger will share negotiation expertise that reflects his extensive management consulting, diplomatic and legal experience. His interactive approach will provide a sound foundation of key negotiation principles as well as the enhancement of any theories, methods and expertise already known. Rodger believes that the outcome of any negotiation will dictate a course of action based on actual, not perceived realities. It is in this spirit that the workshop is designed to: 

• Link Negotiation to Leadership
• Illustrate the difference between negotiation and confrontation
• Provide techniques that enhance rapport and good ongoing relationships between parties to any negotiation

All participants will receive a comprehensive handout/summary that will serve as an ongoing resource 

 Please follow link for an article written about the New Brunswick event by Rachel Bloomer for the Telgraph Journal:

 http://telegraphjournal.canadaeast.com/search/article/251993

Chapter Negotiation Workshop dates:

For more information visit Canadian Women In Coomunications 

“In business, you don't get what you deserve, you get what you negotiate.”  - Chester L. Karrass

The negative inference of the word judgemental seems to have widened in our corporate culture. If judgemental means unwarranted condemnation of others I have no problem.  Because I consider myself quite a tolerant guy, I am surprised when some of my decisions are considered judgemental. As a believer in fairness, balance and not wanting to be someone who looks down on others, I have given the matter considerable thought.  

Try as I may, I cannot avoid the basic presumption that making a judgement call is a very natural and necessary human function. People make choices all the time. They either like something or they don’t! I always look to nature for answers when I am perplexed: A dog or other animal almost always avoids what it believes to be tainted food. This is good judgment – I will reject this food as bad for me. Surely this is what people do? Yet in the corporate world, it seems we are not allowed to reject, at least openly, what we do not like. In the so-called spirit of collaboration, much appears to be accepted just because it would not be good to be seen to reject someone, an idea or the choices made by others.   No-one has a problem when positive judgements are made, yet when fault is openly found with people, service, choices etc. this is perceived as negative. This seems a touch hypocritical – Surely we are obliged to assess people and situations in the context of our own requirement? Our search for the right fit with others in business automatically dictates a positive or negative judgement? Are we supposed to keep all negative judgements to ourselves? The concealment of how we really feel has become a sought after skill. Think of the countless euphemisms we hear and use everyday. “I’ll take a rain check” means “get lost…you are not my kind of person” while “you are over qualified” means I’d rather jump over the moon than hire you”. More...