Jim believes his 39 years of experience--particularly his more than 26 years in healthcare--has prepared him well for what he does. His wealth of experience spans key areas, including finance, operations, management, leadership, sales and sales management, corporate, contingency, contractual and retained recruiting, outplacement and transition work and executive coaching.
To read more about Jim and his team click here.
Wiederhold & Associates has a long history with the Houston and Corpus Christi areas and its people. In fact, Mitali Paul, our Vice President of Business Development and Career Transition Specialist lives in Pearland.
All of us in the Wiederhold family hope and pray for the safety and well-being of past and present clients and members of our network and their families who may be affected in the wake of Hurricane Harvey.
We are facing a critical era of transformation in healthcare. As organizations strategize to find stability through turbulent times, managers, directors, and executives will feel added pressure to achieve continuous, dynamic results.
The success of each department will depend on a single crucial factor: Is there a "boss" or a "leader" in place?
A "boss" refers to an individual who is in charge of the employee or an organization. He exercises control over employees, orders, assigns tasks and duties to them and is entitled to take decisions on some matters. Bad bosses will motivate through fear tactics, defer blame to others, take credit for other's successes and bully members into producing results.
The term "leader" is defined as an individual who possesses the ability to influence and inspire others towards the accomplishment of goals. Communication coupled with integrity compel people to follow. Great leaders think about what their body language, facial expressions, and tone of voice communicate to their staff. They often take the time to say things face-to-face rather than through email in order to build trust, develop relationships, manage conflict, and encourage employees. Leaders pull the best out of each member and inspire group success.
It is important to note that the teams which produce the most effective and long-lasting results are the ones that are directed by leaders, not bosses.
"If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader." - John Quincy Adams
Where bosses fail, leaders prevail. If you've noticed that you have more bosses than leaders in your organization- all is not lost. Aspiring and current managers, directors or executives can begin improving their ability to lead. Wiederhold and associates offer specialized assessments as well as a number of training programs designed to develop quality leaders that are custom fit to your organization. If you are interested in learning more, just let me know.
Here's to your success,
Jim
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Because you've been a part of the Wiederhold & Associates Network, we wanted to share some exciting news with you first.
As you know, networking/connecting is essential to your success both while in transition and gainfully employed. Networking with a purpose is a vital component of anybody's career success but is often terribly neglected. Being intentional is necessary.
Therefore, we have formalized a streamlined process to make it easier for you to expand your network through Wiederhold Intentional Networking (WIN) program. Becoming an active WIN participant will enable you to:
The WIN strategy gathers key information from each premium active network member and targets meaningful matches within our client list. As an active member in our program, W&A will introduce you to key members of our current network, helping you gain significant connections that you would not otherwise have access to. Remember, most of our clients are Vice President through C-level executives.
Once you have made the connection, we will send you a short anonymous evaluation form. Each member's feedback will bring value to helping our clients grow their skills in effective networking/connecting as well as passing along current industry trends.
If you want to know more about expanding your network with little effort while affecting others in a positive way, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and she will let me know of your interest and follow up.
Here's to your success!
Jim
Connect with us on LinkedIn and join our Active Network Program.
The Internet has changed the game for job seekers. The paper resume has been swapped out for a LinkedIn profile. Face-to-face meetings have been replaced with Facetime. Your local word-of-mouth reputation is small potatoes next to someone with a well-developed online presence. When it comes to the Internet, you are who Google says you are.
Fact: 92 percent of recruiters “Google” potential candidates according to a social recruiting survey. LinkedIn is the clear favorite, with 94 percent of recruiters searching it to find top talent. Potential employers also look at Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and really anything that search engines render when your name is entered.
Be Informed. Monitor your personal brand. The first step in protecting and building your online brand is by knowing what is being said or has already been said. It’s impossible to control everything that is written about you, but even though you can’t always control what is published, you can at least know and respond to it.
Monitoring your personal brand is a two-step process. First, you figure out what is being communicated around your personal brand currently. Second, create a positive plan to improve it, build upon it.
Easy ways to monitor your reputation online:
You’ve Googled yourself and found that there is at least one article that really gets in your craw. Perhaps it’s misleading, a lie, or just not flattering, and it is published on a website you have absolutely no control over. You want to wave your magic wand and just make it disappear. What can be done?
1) Get legal involved. You may have a case if:
2) Create and publish online through news publications and social media platforms such as LinkedIn. This is the most effective way to rid yourself of unwanted search results over time. How it works: Say you have a negative news article you want to push off the front page of the Google search results. The more content you publish with your name mentioned the more likely positive search results will be rendered when your name is searched. It should be noted that it takes time to push negative articles down the list and off the first page of results. This is due to a number of complicated algorithm factors, all dependent on Google’s rules surrounding credible content. For example, it will be much easier to bury an article posted by a local or regional paper than it would an article or video posted on CNN. Reason being is that the more credible or popular the site is, the more weight Google gives it. So your goal should be to match or overtake the negative article with your original content published on equally credible sites.
Nursing Leaders think strategically about the work they do, often considering the needs of their organizations, their staffs, and the patients they care for as their primary focus of their careers. Rarely, however, do they spend much time thinking about a personal strategy for their own careers.
If you are in the middle of your leadership career or heading to the end of traditional employment, making the next phase of your career the most intentional and thoughtful of your life is within your reach. At Wiederhold and Associates, we have witnessed the tremendous outreach nursing leaders can have when they take their careers to the next level. Be it within the same position, or a new direction, the strategic career does not wait for opportunities to come along.
Strategic careers are often designed and created by individuals who have developed shifts in thinking that utilize an increased awareness of themselves to confidently self-determine their offerings and value. Learning to communicate that value to others is a key part of the strategy.
A personal career strategy is not a selfish endeavor. When a nursing leader combines passions, talents (or potential talents) with intention, many lives and careers can be changed for the better. It could be the most important work of your life.
Taking stock of new or unrealized potential is the work of our organization as we expertly coach leaders to understand their career trajectory and make self-determination strategic goals for the most optimal work experiences. We have been honored to work with great leaders and assisting them to achieve their potential is some of the most important work we do.
As an experienced consultant in strategic and transformational change, Diane has an extensive background in helping leaders develop and succeed. Her healthcare experience spans three decades as a healthcare administrator, clinician, and graduate school educator. To learn more, click here.Connect with us on LinkedIn and join our Active Network Program.
Wiederhold and Associates is partnering with Yaffe & Company to host a series of discussions with select healthcare leaders across the country to examine the issue of executive recruitment, retention and leadership development. The gatherings will take place in cities such as Dallas and Houston, Denver, Chicago, San Francisco, Philadelphia, and New York, offering an opportunity for top-level executives and state hospital associations to network and share their opinions.
The CEOs and other high-level executives who run our nation’s healthcare institutions form an important framework of our entire system. In recent years, a maze of migration has formed: in major urban markets, as well as outlying areas, these executives are coming and going from one position to the other, more often than ever. Sometimes, this happens for legitimate reasons. But all too often, it occurs because of a hiring mismatch, or misunderstandings between the board and the executive team, or some other reason that may have been avoided. The effect on our nation’s healthcare organizations, combined with the lack of viable succession plans in many institutions, is costly.
How much better off would we be if we could strengthen our country’s healthcare leadership overall? Imagine a system where many more of our healthcare executives are finding their best personal fit, and functioning in the places and positions where they are most likely to be successful. This series addresses these issues and opens the floor for candid discussion among our nation's top executives in the healthcare industry.
While we are only able to invite a select group of individuals as space is limited, we do want to hear your thoughts on the above issues. Please complete this survey or contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Jim
In prior articles, we have touched on many aspects of effective networking, whether in transition or not. Building a broad and deep network is so essential to one's success that it cannot be ignored.
What I have personally observed over a 28 year period and confirmed through colleagues is clear: We can't make it without solid key relationships. Many people will find expanding their network to be challenging, but with practice and effort, you can begin to make meaningful and fruitful connections.
Connecting Point: If you're going to get somebody to take interest in your phone call, you must differentiate yourself so they choose to respond to you. The connecting point is finding something that you share in common. This can be any person, place or thing. It requires homework but it also ensures greater success as you expand your network. Whether you connect on the first attempt, leave a message, text, or send an email. The connection point is the most powerful tool in developing a memorable network relationship.
Seeking Information: Obviously, expanding your network means making initial calls to people you've never connected with before. For those in transition, resist the temptation to focus on jobs until you have created a solid connection. Seeking information makes it easier for the other person to open the door to friendly conversation. That information could be around what this individual has done, an organization that you're exploring, or a location that you have an interest in. There are a lot of options here.
Value Statement: It is important that you understand and can articulate your value. When this connection is concluded, that individual should know that you and your team are good at what they do. Your network will not refer you to others unless they understand what you do and are confident that you do it well.
If you are looking for career advancement, you must become the most effective networker you can be. Include these three components when you're expanding your network and I promise you will find success.
Here's to your success,
Jim
Connect with us on LinkedIn and join our Active Network Program.
If getting a promotion is important to you, then it is time to sit down and look at the external and internal factors that will influence your strategy of advancement.
The very first and most important step in your career advancement strategy is to define what success is to you. From my observations, too many individuals choose a path that is somebody else's dream rather than their own. It's how you define moving up that really counts. It's also hard to be passionate about a direction that isn't your dream.
The internal factors are all about you. This is where you exert the highest level of control. Are you being intentional about putting yourself in a position to be promoted? [Click to read more]
If you are seeking to move to the next level within your organization, there are a few items that need to be explored:
I call these external factors because you can only influence them not control them. Your answers to these questions may suggest that the only way you're going to move up is to move out. If these external factors align with an internal promotion, then you have additional steps.
By defining your goals, developing a strategy, and become intentional about executing your plan, you can increase your chances of advancement immeasurably.
Here’s to Your Success-
Jim
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According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1.2 million vacancies will emerge for registered nurses between 2014 and 2022. In fact, the shortage is anticipated to be twice as big as when Medicare and Medicaid were introduced in 1965.
Nursing plays a huge role in the success of our hospitals and healthcare systems today. Developing and retaining great nurses has never been more important.
Many organizations have "diamonds in the rough" just waiting to be discovered. The very skills that make effective nurses such as creative problem-solving skills, exceptional communication skills, and emotional intelligence are the foundational building blocks required to make exceptional leaders.
However, being a good nurse doesn't always naturally translate into becoming good a nurse manager. Like many others who are promoted into management roles, nurses are generally not offered a great deal of assistance as they move into these new and challenging positions. Their raw talent must be inspired and carefully cultivated to become a thriving leader. With proper guidance, the transition into a senior leadership role can be very successful.
To maximize the success of our nursing clients, we have partnered with Nursing Leadership Coach Diane Scott, RN, MSN, ACC. With her strong clinical background, Diane has a deep understanding of the nurse executive role. Coaching is customized to every situation and organization, with outcomes driven models implemented to ensure success.
Diane explains, "Senior nursing leaders usually are in charge of the majority of the workforce of any healthcare organization. They are often promoted through the ranks and experience challenges with increasing their ability to critically think at their new leadership level. However, once they reach that level, the new challenge is the overwhelming desire to meet the mission of patient care and balance a seemingly polar opposite of managing the numbers, especially financials. They also struggle with developing a self-strategy for their career, finding it too self-serving and not patient driven.
The most successful senior nursing leaders learn that by increasing their own abilities, they can achieve their own potential, develop their managers as well as provide excellent patient care. In this way, everyone benefits under leadership that understands needs from the ground up."
At Wiederhold & Associates, we know an organization can optimally increase a nursing leaders’ capacity for successful outcomes through professional Nursing Leadership Coaching. It is the single most powerful way for a leader to achieve their potential for superior leadership, strategic thinking, and measurable results.
If you would like to learn more about our Nursing Leadership Program, download a tri-fold brochure here
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Career transitions can be difficult. The more desirable your next position is, the more competition you will face to secure it.
The top priority of an applicant is to stand out from the crowd. Having a great resume and a strong interview is a great place to start. However, most overlook this simple practice that will cause you to stand out from all other applicants: Follow-Up.
First, you must understand how important follow-up is. A good interview followed by poor follow up will not serve you well. An average interview can be positively impacted by excellent follow-up.
The positive outcomes of post-interview follow-up:
During your interview process, connect with as many people as possible as it relates to a specific opening. When more people remember you, your chances of securing the position naturally increases. After the interview, it is your responsibility to keep each of those individuals updated throughout the process.
Get Creative
With an active search, the time frame for touch points/follow up should be a minimum of seven calendar days and a maximum of ten calendar days. Use a combination of the four levels of communication: face-to-face, telephone, text/email and regular mail. Everybody has their favorite on the receiving end, so try to mix it up a bit. Whatever combination of communication you choose, don't be afraid to let your personality show.
One of the biggest concerns for individuals in follow-ups beyond neglect is, "Will I be seen as a pest?" Remember, you only become a pest when your intervals of follow-up are too short and you're always requesting response. If you follow-up without forcing an agenda, they will be received very well.
Of course, I have only scratched the surface of effective active search follow-up. If you would like to learn more in-depth tips in finding success through active transition, please connect with me.
Here's to your success!
Jim
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Wiederhold & Associates currently partners with healthcare systems to support their succession planning process. One organization we are working with is unique in their foresight in planning for critical impending retirements. They recognize the need to invest on a longer-term basis to prepare their leaders for future success. Joy W. Goldman RN, MS, PCC, PDC, Executive Director of Leadership Coaching is leading the charge.
"We not only want our clients to achieve their next career goals; we want them to excel and grow into the best leaders they can be. Now, more than ever, our world needs effective and values-driven leaders." - Joy W. Goldman
As we work with our client systems, we know that we need to leverage confidence AND humility; individual interests AND team interests; a centralized AND decentralized focus; safety AND risk. We challenge ourselves with these polarities as we challenge our clients and client systems.
"In working with one client, I took the risk of saying, 'It seems that you’ve been waiting for permission and approval to make a move. When are you going to take matters into your own hands and just act?' While difficult to hear, this challenge caused an empowering shift in the client. His words, after having time to process this, were: “I feel like a phoenix rising!” -Joy W. Goldman
Our mission is to groom and develop agile leadership that is able to intelligently navigate the challenges and changes that our industry is facing. We look forward to partnering with you as you strategize your succession strategy for long-term success.
Jim
Connect with us on LinkedIn and join our Active Network Program.
These are extremely challenging times in healthcare.
We know changes are coming, but no one has a clear understanding of what those changes will be. When change happens, people look to their leaders to navigate them through. Are you prepared to be a successful leader in a time of such uncertainty?
Keep Consistent
Organizations should develop five key objectives and stick with them. Resist following the latest fads and avoid adding multiple new objectives. Overwhelming your people with too many objectives creates the “deer in the lights syndrome” and can hinder forward progress. Giving consistency will give your employees a feeling of security and will build both confidence and trust.
Solidify Trusted Relationships
Everything you read about America today suggests that the trust level of employees for their leaders and organizations are at an all-time low. It is imperative that you solidify relationships within all your key groups: Superiors, peers, and direct reports.
While you work to solidify interior relationships, also work to build relationships with experts outside your organization and possibly outside your industry. Connect with others who faced similar uncertainties and learn how they maneuvered through challenging situations
Be Agile and Adaptable
Remember, doing the same old things will get the same old results. Changes are coming quickly, and leaders must actively prepare. Some may consider hiring an executive coach to equip them with better leadership tools and enable them to produce better results.
Supersize the Soft Skills
According to the Carnegie Institute of Technology, 85% of your financial success is due to your personality and ability to communicate, negotiate and lead. Shockingly only 15% is due to technical knowledge. Communication, integrity, and empathy will pay dividends in the form of loyalty and engagement of your team. Encourage diversity of thought and embrace collaboration. Balance confidence and humility. By utilizing your soft skills, you will create an environment that each member can invest their best into and will cause the whole organization to succeed.
Change brings opportunity so don’t be afraid to take some risks. Great leaders became great because they could successfully navigate through the challenge of change. Utilizing these keys will allow companies not only to survive but also to seize the extraordinary opportunities that arise during periods of immense uncertainty.
Jim
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After six years of partnering with Jim Wiederhold in growing Executive and Physician Leadership Coaching within Wiederhold & Associates, Joy W. Goldman RN, MS, PCC, PDC, has been named as Executive Director of Leadership Coaching.
"We not only want our clients to find their next job; we want them to excel and grow into the best leaders they can be," states Jim Wiederhold, Founder of Wiederhold and Associates.
"Now, more than ever, our world needs effective and values-driven leaders. Joy is a person that naturally embodies those characteristics and is passionate about passing on quality leadership characteristics to others."
Coaching is a natural complement to Wiederhold & Associate’s strong reputation for providing transition services to Healthcare Executives across the nation.
"As I’ve come to know Jim and his organization, I respect not only what they do, but how they do it," states Goldman. "In relationships, we used to hear about the 'six degrees of separation.' With Jim, that is often cut down to three degrees of separation, and that’s because he’s built his business around value and trust. People trust Wiederhold & Associates to deliver excellence in what they do and put their customers’ success first with a spirit that demonstrates integrity in all that they do."
In 2017, Joy has the privilege of serving as the President of the International Coach Federation (ICF)-Maryland Chapter. She will be leading ICF MD’s board in connecting coaches throughout Maryland; supporting their professional development, and promoting the coaching profession to those who can most benefit. She will be working with regional and global coaches to support ICF’s mission of leading the global advancement of the coaching profession. As part of this effort, she will be partnering with over 200 coaches throughout the globe when she attends the ICF Global Leaders’ Forum next year in Warsaw, Poland.
In the future, we look forward to sharing success as told in stories that are co-created with you, our clients. Nothing makes us happier than to celebrate YOUR victories.
Here's to your success,
Jim
One of the most important housekeeping tasks that executives have a tendency to ignore is creating a personal backup of professional achievements. By this I mean the Tier 1 and Tier 2 achievements that show how you have made the organization better.
Many times our clients struggle to come up with hard data for their resume because they neglected their personal information file cabinet. Very often separation is sudden and there is NO chance to look at past strategic plans, or board reports for the numbers or percentages.
Even if a report is confidential to the system you should be writing down your accomplishments somewhere to make sure you have access to your information in the future.
Create and keep an updated list of contact information for superiors, peers and subordinates for every job in the last ten years.
Don’t let another year go by without making sure you have access to your ever increasing list of accomplishments.
In lieu of mailing holiday cards, and in keeping with the spirit of giving during this time of year, Wiederhold & Associates has made a donation to a charity in honor of our clients, network members and friends for being a part of our lives this year. For 2016, we have selected the CURE Childhood Cancer charity as the recipient of our donation.
CURE focuses entirely on children's cancer efforts and funds the work of some of the best and brightest scientists in the field of pediatric cancer, as well as address the critical and urgent needs of patients and families. If you would like to learn more about Cure Childhood Cancer, visit their site at curechildhoodcancer.org.
We at Wiederhold & Associates hope and pray that you enjoy a happy and safe holiday season. As you enter the New Year, never forget what is most important: your faith, your family, and your friends.
Jim Wiederhold and
the Wiederhold and Associates Team
The time to kick your transition work into high gear is right now, while everyone is celebrating. The minute you finish reading this get out your list of healthcare executives you know.
Why? December is the very best time to raise your visibility and re-establish connections, personal AND professional. Don’t bring an agenda, apart from extending cheer and good will. Hand write a short note in a holiday card, even if it is just to say you hope they have a prosperous new year. And don't forget to hand address the envelope too. Don’t ask about job opportunities, instead sincerely ask about them. If you only know their email address send them a personalize note that way. But send something so they know you are thinking of them.
If you are asked about your work or your search, be ready with a short, honest and upbeat answer. Of course, follow the conversation if your colleague wants to talk about work, but don’t press it. This is networking of the joyful kind – strengthening bonds to your family, friends and community that will nourish you the rest of the year.
I suggested this a few years ago and here is what one of my clients experienced.
Try it and see what kind of response you get!
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Whether it’s personal goals or career goals, we’ve all been there – setting aggressive and ambitious resolutions, chasing after it, hitting setbacks, and eventually become unmotivated to continue.
It is important to set goals, but if you measure success only by achieving your next goal, you probably have not accomplished as much as you would like. Willpower alone is usually not strong enough to overcome setbacks which ultimately result in failure.
Change of Focus, Change of Heart
Scott Adams, the creator of the immensely successful Dilbert Cartoons, reiterates a Wiederhold & Associates approach to finding success. He states, “When you approach life as a sequence of milestones to be achieved, you exist in a state of near-continuous failure. A system, by contrast, is something you do on a regular basis that increases your odds of success in the long run, regardless of the immediate outcome. People succeed every time they apply their systems, in the sense that they did what they intended to do.”
A simple shift in focus from goals to systems will ultimately help you find the success you have been longing to realize. The sense of accomplishment that comes from working the system each day creates a momentum that will carry you to the next goal. You may find yourself achieving goals faster than ever before with a new found personal invigoration.
As you plan your New Year’s Resolution, set your sights on implementing new systems for success instead of a milestone to be achieved. If you would like to discuss what systems could propel you the furthest fastest, give me a call. Together, we can map out a plan to that will put you in prime position to achieve your 2017 personal and career goals.
Here's to your success,
Jim
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I've done a lot of interview coaching over the last 22 years. If I were to grade my clients' beginning interview skills, most people would have a starting grade somewhere below average. This is by no fault of their own. It is common to not do well on things that are not practiced.
Working with my clients, I can raise the interview grade from a 'C' to an 'A' by practicing these basic principals before, during and after the interview.
Pre-interview, you must focus on tactics that will brand you in the most positive way. The goal is to have those who interviewed you to say these three things about you:
Creating this perception starts with preparation. Begin by understanding the five top critical elements of the opportunity so that you are able to address them with current experience and success. Also, develop an effective two-minute presentation which includes humanization, elevator, and your differentiation/value statement.
[ Click here to learn how to develop your 2-minute presentation.]
As you enter the interview, introduce yourself with confidence. Confidence, not arrogance, can set a positive perception from the beginning. As you engage in the interview, pay close attention to the person speaking and begin to mirror to match tempo, breathing, rate-of-speech, directness, etc. This makes each one comfortable with each other and sets the correct filter. Also, know exactly the statement you will make or the open-ended question you'll ask. By demonstrating your interpersonal skills, you give yourself the greatest opportunity to connect with and engage your audience.
When the interviewer engages with you, take your time to understand what is being said before you respond. Generally, people are so caught up in the world of listening to respond that we miss a vital part of the question. Answer questions concisely, close information gaps and enhance the answer when it adds value to the original thought. Always tell the truth but word it in a win-win presentation. This will provide consistency throughout the interview and keep you in a positive position.
Post interview, review how you did with the goal of improving for the next one. In order to lock in your follow up you need to ask yourself these following questions.
Imagine what would happen if you took the time to practice and prepare a well-executed interview. It could be a significant way to separate yourself from the crowd in a very competitive market!
If you would like more in-depth coaching to help you make the most out of your next interview, do not hesitate to reach out to me directly.
Here's to your success!
Jim
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