I love the construct Locus of Control. Firstly, because it has that cool Latin launching pad that makes it sound so much more important, and secondly because it is so fundamental to human behaviour yet we are hardly aware that it exists. Just think about it for a second, what is my Locus of control? That I even have a Locus of control is a surprising idea. My control is located differently to someone else’s. Not physically located, but psychologically. Let me try that again slowly. The psychological control, that I believe I have over my life, is different to the people around me. In more bald terms, for some people the control that they believe they have over their life is located Externally. Outside of themselves. In other words, they believe that their control is limited, the world happens to them. Instead of being the architects of their lives, they are relentlessly pushed around by forces outside of their control. The opposite is where the locus is located Internally. Here I have power. I make things happen. If I do badly, I messed up, if I do well, it’s because of me. My prospects in the world and the decisions I make emerge from one place only. Me.

Omnicor’s coaching approach is a well-established and proven aspect of what we do to help individuals and groups develop a wide variety of personal competencies. Our values and passion for coaching drive the coaching team here at Omnicor. We are client focused and practice heroic customer service with a solution-focused and success-oriented approach. We provide ongoing support and feedback with the goal to build lasting relationships.

TALENTED RECRUITS SOMETIMES ARE NOT TALENTED INTERVIEWEES

As I journey daily, from organisation to organisation I am privy to HR and Management practices that leave me cold. I would like to share some of these moments with you, which will hopefully offer you a different perspective and raise your own personal awareness to the pitfalls of an unprofessional selection process. One would assume that within our unique South African context, together with strict Labour Laws, interviewing 101 mistakes would not still be happening in 2018, but this is simply not the case. A legal loophole exists for employers, which is that most South African jobseekers cannot prove they have been discriminated against during the interview process and perhaps more to the point, is why many organisations are able to get away with unfair recruitment practices.

The world has come a long way since the middle ages, where tyrannical kings were placed in charge of people, and ruled through fear, cruelty, war, oppression and almost limitless power. The Enlightenment and other forces in world history brought about a move towards Democracy. This was meant to save us from all the issues of birth-right leadership, Feudalism and a host of incorrigible systems. But did it? The idea that if most of the people in some place vote a person into government, that must be for the greater good and that the leader will do what is best for everyone. If only! How rarely it seems to work like that. Of course, democracy is complicated and there are countless dynamics, logistics and political realities that throw curve balls into the equation. One way or another, nations great and small appear to land up with leaders who seem like the worst people for the job rather than the best. Surely, we can come up with something better?  Well the corporate world has dealt with this in a well-researched manner that uses good science to predict job performance. If we are able to predict if some junior manager is going to perform well in a role, shouldn’t we be applying that science in the political arena as well? If we are concerned enough to avoid a bad hire in an office park, wouldn’t we want to assess the president of the country, where the stakes are so much higher?

Good Executive Coaching is about changing and enhancing behaviour. There are many reasons why coaching could be a good solution: perhaps you’re looking for that next boost that will take your career to the next level, or perhaps you need to brush up on your leadership skills.