It’s always nice to have your opinion  reinforced by experts, which is how I feel about this guest post from Sean Conrad. Follow the advice and watch your people soar.

Performance management and performance appraisals are often dreaded by managers and employees alike. They can be perceived as an administrative burden that provides little benefit, and can even be destructive to morale and productivity. But done right, performance appraisals can be a powerful management tool that drives employee performance and engagement.

To make them effective, managers and employees need to view performance management as an ongoing, collaborative process and not a once a year, top down activity where the manager rates the employee’s performance over the previous period and sets goals for the next.

Managers and employees should be encouraged to keep a “performance journal” all year long that captures details on performance highlights and challenges. This makes it easier to write the annual appraisal because it captures details as they happen, not as we recall them later. But more importantly, it helps managers and employees to flag and deal with any issues or challenges early on, before they become big.

Employees should also be invited to complete a self-appraisal to share with their manager before their formal appraisal meeting. The form they use should include all the same sections as their formal appraisal form and even allow them to suggest development activities and goals for the coming period. This helps increase employee engagement in the process and gives them a voice. But it also minimizes “surprises” at review time; it’s a great way to identify differences in perception in advance so they can be dealt with effectively.

Another way we can foster this ongoing dialogue is by scheduling regular “mini review” meetings, where managers and employees touch base, review progress and performance, and make any adjustments necessary. Some companies formalize this with quarterly reviews.

Managers and employees also need to adopt a partnership mindset when it comes to performance management that says: “This is not a test. This is how you and I (manager and employee) work together to ensure your success, and the success of the organization.” Performance, goals and development activities need to be discussed collaboratively. Both parties need to be engaged and committed to each other’s success.

If we change the way we think about and approach performance appraisals and performance management in general, we can reap the significant rewards offered by these valuable activities.

Sean Conrad works and blogs for Halogen Software. He writes about performance appraisals and other talent management topics for the Exploring talent management blog. Further resources can be found in Halogen’s Performance Management Center of Excellence.

Image credit: jurvetson on flickr

The dreaded annual review is on us once again, so I rounded up some great information to help you deal with them.

The second most important thing to know about performance reviews is that using software to write them creates a totally inauthentic experience for your people.

Number one-and-a-half is a great commentary on the stupidity of waiting to apply a retention tourniquet until an employee is frustrated, disgusted and ready to leave.

The most important thing to know about performance reviews is that they should be ongoing conversations throughout the year.

Most managers understand the need to help their people grow and do their best to give them timely feedback—although some do a better job than others. But even the managers who are good at it have trouble when it comes to providing feedback to their top performers, even though they are often the most eager for challenges and growth—neither of which can happen without candid feedback.

Image credit:  MykReeve on flickr

Most managers know that lousy customer service is one of the fastest ways to reduce the bottom line.

But what most managers forget in the daily press of doing way too much with drastically reduced resources is that their employees are also their customers.

As I’ve said in the past, one of the hats every manager wears is employee service manager (ESM) and reviews are a critical part of that.

Done right, reviews are a positive experience for both manager and employee; in some cases even a time to bond.

If the goals in January were done well, which means that they had a deliverable date and were quantified and measurable, then evaluating how someone is doing is simple.

An article in Business Week discusses the added weight being given to mid-year reviews as a result of business turmoil in the current economy.

In fact, the only goals that are fair to employees and managers alike always include those three points.

As a manager you should never forget…

As an employee you should always request…

• Due date
• Quantified action
• Measurable results

And while a good review means that you’re honest and authentic with your people, that doesn’t translate to abusive or destructive.

Offering

• recognition of what the person does well; and being
• candid about areas that need improvement

are two hallmarks of a good review.

The third is no surprises, which means that you’ve been giving candid feedback throughout the year.

Skipping any of these is setting you and your people up for review hell.

For more specific assistance, read how to give performance reviews and how to give a disciplinary review.

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Image credit: ZedBee|Zoë Power on flickr

The Carrot Principle, AKA, How the Best Managers Use Recognition to Engage The People, Retain Talent and Accelerate Performance, by Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton was first published in 2007.

A new, updated, release this month with a new chapter and the results of an extensive 10 year study of 200,000 managers and employees that confirms what most workers have always known—recognition, not just money, is what draws them in, engages them and results in high performance.

But there’s a catch. (There’s always a catch.)

You can’t just start running around throwing recognition and carrots at your people.

There are four basics of good management you need embedded in your culture—but first they need to be embedded in your MAP (mindset, attitude, philosophy™). They are

1. Goal Setting;
2. Communication;
3. Trust; and
4. Accountability.

The bad part is that if you don’t already believe in this stuff and have a culture that reflects it then the carrots of employee recognition will be tossed out by your people. Your people aren’t stupid; if you decide after reading the book that recognition is a better way than threats and screaming don’t expect to turn things round overnight. It’s going to take consistant effort over a period of time to convince your people that you’ve changed. How long depends on how bad you were and how sincere your changes are.

The good part is that you don’t have to work in a company or for a boss who thinks that way. Gostick and Elton give multiple examples of how “carrot culture” was implemented without support from either.

Carrot Principle walks you through the process and explains how recognition can be practiced in multiple moments without budget-busting amounts of money.

Recognition leads to extreme engagement and successful managers provide their people with frequent and effective recognition.

Image credit: Simon & Schuster

Another day, another leadership book. I sometimes wonder how far around the earth they would stretch if laid end to end. Most have viable lessons, useable by everyone, not just the person running the show.

Many of the attitudes, actions and lessons learned and offered are similar, but each seeks a teaching mechanism that will catch and hold your interest.

Not an easy task in a time of information abundance.

Chris Warner and Don Schmincke manage to do it in High Altitude Leadership.

It’s not that their leadership guidance is new, but the presentation is riveting.

I like it because it directly addresses MAP (mindset, attitude, philosophy™) and offers examples from a world where screwing up easily results in death—real death as in gone from the world, not the company.

Amazing how different the advice feels when viewed through the lens of the “death zone,” i.e., the top altitude of the planet’s tallest mountains where mistakes are usually fatal.

“In achieving peak performance as a high-altitude leader, you also risk death. It could be the death of a career, project, team or company, or in extreme situations, someone’s physical death. Learning the best way to succeed comes from studying the death zone.”

Chris Warner is founder of Earth Treks (indoor climbing centers) and has led more than 150 international expeditions.

Don Schmincke started as a scientist and engineer who became a management consultant after realizing that most management theories fail to work.

There are eight dangers in the death zone and, although the authors stress that it’s the high altitude leaders that face the same eight dangers, I think that everybody faces them every day and in all facets of their lives.

The dangers are

1. Fear of Death
2. Selfishness
3. Tool Seduction
4. Arrogance
5. Lone Heroism
6. Cowardice
7. Comfort
8. Gravity

Not really new information, but when seen in the light of the death zone they have a very different impact.

High Altitude Leadership is an exciting, sometimes hair-raising read (even when the transference to business doesn’t work well) that will get you thinking whether you’re heading a Fortune 50 or trying to raise your kids. It’s a book that helps you see the problems in your own MAP.

What the book doesn’t offer are easy, paste on solutions—changing how you think means changing your MAP which is doable, but not easy.

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Image credit: Jane Wesman PR

I’ve written on and off about the importance of, and how to do, performance reviews. So in yet another effort to convince you doubters out there that honesty is the best policy and that your people really don’t want to hear feel-good fudging, prevarications or outright lies.

Social psychologist William B. Swann in a new study published in the Academy of Management Journal… People don’t like to be treated positively if they know it is not heartfelt. If people are coming across as inauthentic and forcing you to come across as inauthentic in return, that can be enormously stressful.

His work has centered on an idea known as self-verification theory. All people carry around an image of themselves that tells them who they are, whether they are good-looking or average-looking, for example, or clever at math, or kind and thoughtful or largely self-centered. Inasmuch as people want to be recognized for the things they are good at, Swann’s work suggests many people also want honest acknowledgments of their flaws, and that when these flaws are minimized or wished away, people end up feeling worse rather than better.

Just remember, honest and authentic don’t mean abusive or destructive. Offering recognition of what the person does well and being candid about areas that need improvement are two hallmarks of a good review.

Finally, there are no surprises, which means that you’ve been giving candid feedback throughout the year.

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It’s amazing to me, but looking back over nearly a decade of writing I find posts that still impress, with information that is as useful now as when it was written.

Golden Oldies is a collection of what I consider some of the best posts during that time.

It’s that time of year again and and my best advice hasn’t changed since 1977 or as I wrote it in 2007. The only difference is that now it’s the same advice you can find in dozens of places. Done right (as described below) reviews are the greatest gift you can give your people. So give it to them, even if you don’t get the same from your boss. After all, it is said that it’s better to give than receive and, as I tell clients, you can control the former, not the latter.

Read other Golden Oldies here.

I’ve written on and off about the importance of, and how to do, performance reviews and it’s that time of year again.So in yet another effort to convince you doubters out there that honesty is the best policy and your people really don’t want to hear feel-good fudging, prevarications or outright lies, especially around Christmas.

Social psychologist William B. Swann in a new study published in the Academy of Management Journal… People don’t like to be treated positively if they know it is not heartfelt. If people are coming across as inauthentic and forcing you to come across as inauthentic in return, that can be enormously stressful… His work has centered on an idea known as self-verification theory. All people carry around an image of themselves that tells them who they are, whether they are good-looking or average-looking, for example, or clever at math, or kind and thoughtful or largely self-centered. Inasmuch as people want to be recognized for the things they are good at, Swann’s work suggests many people also want honest acknowledgments of their flaws, and that when these flaws are minimized or wished away, people end up feeling worse rather than better.

Just remember, honest and authentic don’t mean abusive or destructive. Offering recognition of what the person does well and being candid about areas that need improvement are two hallmarks of a good review.

The third is no surprises, which means that you’ve been giving candid feedback throughout the year.

What kind of reviews do you give? Receive?

As I’ve said many times, I really don’t like the whole “leadership thing” as taught by the leadership industry.

But I find those contributing to the March Leadership Development Carnival aren’t preaching that “you are special”/”chosen one” type of leadership.

Instead, they offer up pragmatic advice and help that fosters leadership in everyone, whether they are in a leadership role or not.

Leadership Practices and Approaches

Mary Jo Asmus of Aspire-CS makes a compelling pitch for being intentional about giving praise and recognition as a daily practice in When things go right. Mary Jo reminds us that “leaders need to look and remark on the things that go right as well as those mistakes made by those around them.”

Dan McCarthy of Great Leadership says, “A lot of leaders make the mistake of using the same conflict management strategy for all kinds of conflict. There are actually three types of conflict, each requiring a different approach.” In How to Handle 3 Kinds of Conflict, Dan shows you how to be more effective next time conflict arises.

In her post 6 Qualities in a Leadership Role Model, Sharlyn Lauby, The HR Bartender, describes six qualities associated with Servant Leadership.

According to Neal Burgis at Practical Solutions Blog, “The old model of leadership was all about having the answers. In the current model, the leader’s primary role is to initiate conversations that bring out the best thinking of the group.” Powerful Conversations that Yield Powerful Results offers tips for holding these conversations.

Gwyn Teatro of You’re Not the Boss of Me says, “A team is made up of people.  It is the leader’s job to learn as much as possible about what those people are capable of bringing to it and to encourage their willingness to do so.”  Gwyn poignantly describes the consequences of a missed opportunity in A Reflection on Teambuilding… and the Story of Edith.

Wally Bock of Three Star Leadership Blog points out “there should be no surprises at annual performance review time.” In Performance Reviews Made Effective, Wally offers sound advice that will not only make them more effective, but also helpful instead of painful.

In her excellent TEDx talk, The Woman Effect  – Video and the Research Behind It, Dana Theus of InPower Consulting Blog examines the modern state of feminine leadership and invites us to show up and participate.  She describes the “Tragic Queen” and the “Underdog Princess” and makes a compelling case that ultimately the real difference is in their belief in their own power.

According to Art Petty of Managing Excellence, we live and work in a world filled with chaos and turbulence and must plan and prepare for instability, disruption, and chaos in advance. Art describes 5 Priceless Lessons from Amundsen and Scott and points out, “we will all be better off if we incorporate this explorer’s constancy of purpose and unrelenting focus into our personal and professional endeavors.”

Anna Farmery of The Engaging Brand tells us it’s the little spontaneous gestures that mean so much in What is the Customer Experience.

Bernd Geropp at More Leadership discusses the difference between efficient and effective and your role as a leader. In Why Your Employees Are Not Working Efficiently, he points out it’s not just a simple matter of proper training.

Do KRA’s and Rewards Help in Quality? by Tanmay Vora at QAspire Blog touches upon Alfie Kohn’s work and questions if external reward systems help in tapping the intrinsic motivation of people.

Linda Fisher Thornton of Leading in Context Blog addresses the challenges of complexity. She says, “As our work becomes more complex, so do our ethical dilemmas.” in Complexity in Leadership, Linda discusses the thinking skills to needed to navigate complex situations more easily.

Nick McCormick of The Joe and Wanda on Management Blog asks Are You a Manager or a Host?

The Workplace Environment: Culture, Change, Innovation, and Empowerment

Lolly Daskal of Lead From Within explains that to successfully implement a change effort, “leaders much acknowledge and deal with the emotions of the people who are affected.” Change the Sixth Sense shows us that “change cannot be comprehended without taking into account our feelings.”

John Hunter of Curious Cat Management Improvement Blog points out that “the need in so many organizations to avoid failure means wise actions are avoided because there is a risk of failure.” On the other hand, “reducing the impact of failure is very wise and sensible.” Taking Risks is Necessary, But Costs of Failure Should Still be Managed discusses how to maximize innovation and improvement while minimizing the impact of failure.

Leadership Development – a Key Strategy in Change Management, by Jennifer V. Miller of The People Equation explores how coaching, training and 360 degree feedback is a key strategy for creating an organization that’s responsive to change. As a bonus, Jennifer includes an infographic of a 2013 survey by The Institute for Corporate Productivity that demonstrates how critical of an issue change is for today’s organizations.

In his TEDx talk, Why Great Ideas Get Rejected, David Burkus of LDRLD demonstrates that we possess an inherent bias against innovation in part because we evaluate new ideas through the lens of the status quo. He offers helpful advice on how we can get better at recognizing the value of new ideas when they are presented.

Tanveer Nasser shares Lessons on Effective Leadership From a Nobel Laureate derived from the work of James Watson. Tanveer notes “as innovation continues to evolve into a required cornerstone in today’s organizations, science will certainly play a guiding role in helping leaders to understand how to develop a experimentation mindset within their workforce,” and he stresses the importance of the role of observation.

S. Chris Edmonds of The Purposeful Culture Group asks “how well do your leaders communicate, model, and champion your organization’s desired culture?” in Enable Employees with Liberating Rules.

Chery Gegelman of  Simply Understanding  by Giana Consulting discusses the importance of organizational culture in The greatest opportunity for improvement and competitive advantage.

Joel Garfinkle of Career Advancement Blog discusses three best practices in recruiting and retaining talent in What’s It Worth to You? — Valuing Human Capital.

Mark Stelzner of Inflexion Point explains that fear is pervasive for all of us and makes the case that an important role of HR is to support employees in facing their fears: On Fear And HR.

Ray Benedetto of Guiding Star Blog describes three anchors of effective leadership systems and provides a checklist to assess your ability to survive the next leadership change in Avoiding Organizational Leadership Crises.

Chris Young at Human Capital Strategies Blog shares 7 Business Lessons from Peter Drucker Every CEO Must Follow.

In Stuck in the Middle, Mary Ila Ward of The Point offers suggestions to C Level executives for empowering middle managers.

Personal Mastery, Communication and Networking

Wendy Appel at The Enneagram Source Blog show us that better decisions will result if our head, heart and gut all have a seat at the table in Integrated Response: Head, Heart, Gut. 

Steve Roesler of All Things Workplace offers Tips To Pinpoint Real Issues At Work. If you’ve ever been frustrated by a colleague or a boss who is “talking around an issue,” here are 4 good questions you can ask to help them get focused and right to the heart of the issue.

How do you respond to feedback?  Jesse Lyn Stoner describes the peril of ignoring it and provides 4 tips for How to Answer a Wake Up Call. (Hint: Don’t hit the snooze button.)

Julie Winkle Giulioni says “networking is a core competency and requirement for business success.” In Networking Not Working? 6 Strategies for the Intrepid Schmoozer, Julie offers six practical suggestions to increasing your comfort and confidence in networking situations.

In Simple Virtual Touchpoints – A Catalyst for Global Conversations, Susan Mazza of Random Acts of Leadership says, “One of the most valuable outcomes of engaging with people via Social Media has been the opportunity to network with, learn from and build communities with thought leaders from around the world.”

Mark Bennett of TalentedApps explains that to achieve your goals you need a plan that “translates into specific behaviors for your particular situation” in Make sure you know the second shot.

In The Secret Behind the 9 Box Performance Potential Grid, Karin Hurt of Let’s Grow Leaders explains how to take charge of your career. She suggests finding out where you fit in your organization’s succession plan and offers some additional tips.

Miki Saxon of MAPping Company Success explains that stress itself might not be bad, but rather the problem is how you handle it. She says, “If you put your energy into controlling stuff to avoid stress you are bound to fail” in Cope or Control (That is the Question).

Jon Mertz of Thin Difference Blog recently attended the Wisdom 2.0 Conference and shares his learnings in Six New, New Things I Learned from Wisdom 2.0.

Jim Taggart at Changing Winds outlines 9 types of intelligence in Are You Emotionally Intelligent? EI–The Inner Side of Leadership: Part I

In Leadership that Limits Success, Guy Farmer of Self-Awareness Workshops Blog says self-awareness is important so you can choose behaviors that increase success.

Joan Kofodimos of Anyone Can Lead Blog offers some excellent advice on how to Make Sure Your Strengths Don’t Become Weaknesses.

In Saddle Up and Lead  Claudio Morelli of The Lead Change Group says,“Overcoming fear is key to a leader’s success in working through difficult situations when their leadership is challenged and sometimes threatened.”

In her post The real ways to capitalize on failure, Robyn McLeod summarizes an Inc. magazine blog post by Lewis Schiff on 5 things to do when you fail.

Randy Conley of Leading with Trust closes out the carnival by providing encouragement to us all by reminding us that we matter in You Matter – The Truth About Your Purpose and Value. A message we all need to remember.

Image credit: Great Leadership

Can you believe it? January is gone, the Super Bowl is over and the Giants won (hooray)!!!!!!!!!!!! Also, it’s the first Monday of the month, which means it’s time for the Leadership Development Carnival. Last month a reader wrote me and asked if I really thought anyone had time to read all the Carnival posts. I agreed that it was unlikely, but suggested they are the perfect length when waiting for commute transportation, a meeting to start and, of course, bathroom reading.

With that in mind, let’s get right to the main event.

Wally Bock presents Fundamental Advice for a Young Leader posted at Three Star Leadership, saying “Noah Lomax asked me for ‘fundamental advice’ for a young leader. Here’s my best shot.”

Anne Perschel presents Manager or Leader – Which One is More Important? posted at Germane Insights, providing a case study and a story of two men, one is seen as a leader, the other as a manager. Which one is more important?

Tanmay Vora presents Fostering Autonomy in a Team: 7 Lessons posted at QAspire. People do their best work when they are “intrinsically motivated” and one of the most important intrinsic motivator for people is autonomy in work. This post outlines 7 lessons learned in building a self organized team.

Jesse Lyn Stoner presents No More Boring Meetings, Please! posted at Jesse Lyn Stoner Blog. The purpose of a team meeting is to create and tap into the collective wisdom. Holding a meeting to share information is not a good reason to meet. This post lists 7 good reasons a team should meet and 3 tips to determine whether a meeting is necessary.

Mary C Schaefer presents 3 Things Great Leaders Know About Managing Change posted at Lead Change Group Blog. Mary reminds us to appreciate resistance to change and to give people adequate time, tools and resources to prepare for change in order to give our organization the best chances for success.

Sharlyn Lauby presents The Inevitable Shift from Jobs to Skills posted at HR Bartender. Superb post about what is perhaps the most important issue of our time across the globe.

David Zinger presents 8 Powerful Approaches to Create Meaningful Employee Engagement posted at David Zinger Employee Engagement, providing an outline of how to weave meaning into work.

Lynn Dessert presents Have Performance Reviews run their course? posted at Elephants at Work, asking do Performance Reviews deliver their intent or has process gobbled them up?

Miki Saxon presents Ducks in a Row: Titles—Silly or Serious? posted at MAPping Company Success. It’s the report structure that moves new CXO titles from silly to serious.

Chris Edmonds presents Plot Your Path to Ethical Behavior posted at Driving Results Through Culture. His post was prompted by the World Economic Forum session in Davos, Switzerland last week. The founder, Klaus Schwab, was quoted as saying that the global economic crisis was prompted by excesses – and that the Davos session would focus on ethics and moral behaviors by economic and political leaders to serve society more fairly. His focus in the post is that ethical behavior starts with each of us, and by following a simple ethics check we can “hold our heads high” at the end of each interaction, each day.

Robyn McLeod presents 7 questions you must answer to strengthen your great idea posted at Thoughtful Leaders Blog. A client shares a set of powerful questions from the R&D world that will resonate with anyone who wants to get their great idea the attention it deserves.

Steve Roesler presents Where You Decide To Perform Matters posted at All Things Workplace. Everyone is talented in some way. Whether or not you are a star depends on where you choose to perform.

David Burkus presents The Least Important Question in Leadership posted at The Leader Lab. Won’t spoil it here – but the post is really about the question behind that question. Curious now?

Dan McCarthy presents A Performance Management Model posted at Great Leadership. Dan has developed A Performance Management Model as a follow-up to his recent “Are You Managing or Just Nagging?” post. Check it out and see which quadrant you’re spending time in: Managing, Avoiding, Nagging, or taking a well deserved Vacation.

Jane Perdue presents 5 reasons it’s OK to say “no” posted at LeadBIG. Telling people “no” doesn’t make you unlikable. Failing to say “no” when it’s appropriate to do so makes you a doormat. And the really ugly kicker here is that saying “yes” doesn’t necessarily make you likeable.

Nick McCormick presents Hiring People that Fit Your Culture posted at Joe and Wanda on Management. The key to hiring good people is to hire those that embody the unique attitudinal characteristics of your organization.

Anna Farmery presents Why Predictions Are Not Just For Christmas! posted at The Engaging Brand. Leadership is not about predicting what will happen; it’s about being prepared for what might happen, which means being open to diverse opinions on that very topic.

Jennifer V. Miller presents 7 Questions That Help Conversations Move Forward posted at The People Equation. If you are having the same conversations over and over with your employees, you’re probably having the wrong conversation. Here are seven ways to get unstuck from the “conversational mud”.

Guy Farmer presents If You Don’t Have Something Nice to Say… posted at Unconventional Training. Many leaders miss a golden opportunity to lead more effectively when they don’t communicate in a nice way.

Chase Dumont presents What is Leadership? The Definitive Answer posted at Chase Dumont, Rainmaker. Rulers, philosophers, and corporate middle managers have been defining and redefining leadership for millennia. In this post, Chase outlines 8 keys to leadership, with concrete examples to arm you with an unbeatable – and practical – understanding of how to lead.

Mary Jo Asmus presents 20 Things To Stop Waiting For posted at Mary Jo Asmus. A checklist of actions leaders do to create positive change.

Scott Eblin presents Is Being the Go-To Person Holding You Back? posted at Next Level Blog. Being the go to person is a great thing for leaders to be until it’s not. In this post, Scott Eblin offers tips and a video coaching segment for leaders who want to shift from being the go to person to someone who build teams of go to people.

Erin Schreyer presents A Loss for the Broncos, A Win for Tebow’s Leadership posted at Leadership. Life. Legacy. Whatever your opinion on his beliefs and the way he shows them, Tebow demonstrates 4 solid characteristics of leadership that are worth reflecting on.

Image credit: Great Leadership

Ahhh, it’s that time of the month (no, not that time) again. The first Monday brings you all kinds of leadership, management and all-around useful information and advice from some of the most common-sensical people on the planet. What’s not to love?

And thanks to Jason Seiden for being such a gracious host this month.

How can I not love Laura Schroeder’s post? The 7 Habits of Highly Effective 5-Year-Olds is pitch perfect. Thanks, Working Girl, for a delightfully simply reminder of just how complicated we tend to make simple issues. (Elle would agree.)

From Amy Wilson: Why Business Leaders Should Conduct Talent Reviews. Amy has a unique ability to see around corners and figure out what’s coming in the talent development space. Here, she tackles the resource allocation that accompanies big change. At Wilson Insight.

“I hate doing these yearly performance evaluations.”
“What is it you hate so much?”
“They are nowhere near accurate and often times I feel forced to use recent information to determine employee performance.”
“What would be better?”
This: Michael “I know a thing or two about performance reviews” Cardus’s Yearly Performance Reviews SUCK! Managers Can Change That. posted at Team Building & Leadership Blog: Create-Learning.

Innovation is a challenge because it is largely a right brain activity. But once this is understood, innovation can become a personal leadership skill as well as a corporate one. Dana Theus talks playtime, the boredom that precedes the brilliance, and the risk of looking foolish in Why Is Leading Innovation So Hard?, posted at Reclaiming Leadership.

Read Wally Bock’s The 97% Solution right now. The Army says that there are “toxic leaders” in its ranks, and that’s a problem. But 97 percent of officers and sergeants have experienced an exceptional leader, and that may be part of the solution. Wally’s use of statistics demonstrates how to find the good.

Art Petty suggests Respectfully Speaking, Let’s Cure Respect Deficit Disorder at Management Excellence.

Utpal Vaishnav presents a very common corporate challenge in a clear and compelling (and non-alliterative) way. The title is a bit over the top, but the article itself is dead on. This is one to hand out to your employees. In Corporate, Non-communication Equates to Crime… posted at Utpal Writes.

Confused about which change model to pick for your organization? This post from Dan McCarthy’s Great Leadership will point you in the right direction. Dan McCarthy presents Which Change Model Should You Pick? at Great Leadership.

How do you talk to a CEO? Mark Stelzner nails it with his hard-won advice to anyone who may find him- or herself in that position. Take a moment to read How To Talk To A CEO, posted at Inflexion Point.

Sometimes, it’s good to have someone remind you that it’s not all complex conversations and deep thinking that drives success. Sometimes, it’s  the basics like getting out of bed early enough to get a jump on the day. Not a morning person? Follow Jon Milligan’s tips on how waking yourself up in his post How to Wake Yourself Up at Simple Life Habits.

The demand for innovation requires creative genius. But where and how do we find it? Genius is closer than you think. In fact, the path to your genius starts right here in this post by Anne Perschel: Knock Knock ? Who?s There? Genius posted at Germane Insights.

Jim Logan has seen his share of business plans. In this post, he lays out the questions few entrepreneurs prepare for but that every entrepreneur needs to have a good answer for. According to the case he makes in The magic sales plan that can’t be explained, “if you can’t convince me you can be successful now, your chances of being successful later are slim to none.” At Saleskick.

If I had an award for Most Profersonal™ Post, this would be it. Hats off to Michael Lee Stallard for Starbucks’ CEO’s Broken Heart, which demonstrates the power that comes from doing business with a heaping serving of humanity. Posted at Michael Lee Stallard.

Ben Brabyn offers an important lesson in how to bring a group together in How to boost team performance without increasing costs posted at Brabyn.com.

Here’s one surprising tip for leaders to help them maximize their message. Steve Roesler presents Be A Presentation Pro: Do This at All Things Workplace.

Not sure how social media can help (or hurt) your business? Click over to the Bret L. Simmons – Positive Organizational Behavior blog and read his post, The Most Important Social Business Metrics. You’ll be glad you did.

I love Joe and Wanda on Management. In this post, Nick McCormick shares Russell Bishop’s perspective on decision making (from his new book, “Work-arounds that Work”), and Joe and Wanda respond. It’s a well-framed discussion of framing: Managers and Decision-Making.

In this straightforward and compelling post, Eric Pennington explains why your life is to be managed and cared for before it’s taken away: Getting Your Life Back. Gotta love a blog called Epic Living!

Organizations should market the great things they are doing to educate the public on internal best practices. Kathy C presents 7 ways to do this in Leverage What You Do Right in Your Marketing Plan! at The Thriving Small Business.

A short post on love in organisations? Check! Jon Ingham presents Leading in the Love Shack at Management 2.0 developing social capital.

Giving feedback as a leader can be challenging, especially to the employee who is highly sensitive to criticism. Lynn Dessert tells how to do it right in Can leaders deliver feedback without someone taking it personally? at Elephants at Work.

Have a laugh and learn something about the uneasy relationship between HR and managers. Wayne Turmel presents The Cranky Middle Manager Show #290 Why Does HR Hate Us The Evil HR Lady posted at TPN :: The Cranky Middle Manager Show. It’s funny because it’s true.

Mike Haberman delivers a fastball down the middle on the Omega Solutions Blog with The Key to a Successful Team: Lessons for HR. Mike says, “I got these lessons from John Schuerholz, the former GM and now president of the Atlanta Braves.”

For all you TEDTalk geeks, Adi Gaskell presents a good one in Is your chief exec suffering from the God Complex? | Chartered Management Institute, posted at The Management Blog | Chartered Management Institute.

Guy Farmer delivers a 2×4 upside the head of the management status quo in Leaders’ Obsessive Focus on What Employees Do Wrong, at Unconventional Training.

Charles Chua C K presents 10 P’s To Be Successful posted at All About Living with Life.

Jane Perdue offers a quick mid-year checklist for leaders: The 7 C’s – A Mid-Year Leadership Checkup at Get Your Leadership BIG On!.

Any one can develop skills to become a good leader – and here Malik Mirza presents tips from Jim Rohn, one of Malik’s favorite inspirational and motivational speakers. Jim Rohn’s advice on leadership is posted at WisdomfromBooks.com.

Many leaders seem to be having difficulty finding employees who care. Miki Saxon finds a solution to the problem by flipping the issue on its head in Ducks In a Row: Who Cares? at MAPping Company Success.

Patrick Bradshaw presents The Name of the Integrated Talent Management Game posted at TrendWatchers.

S. Chris Edmonds covers The Five Disciplines of Servant Leadership at Driving Results Through Culture—a simple post that left me thinking hard about how to recalibrate my time each week.

John Chappelear wrote: When you focus on making your people great, the result is a great organization.
Jailan Marie presents There are no great companies, just great people, who happen to work there. Live at Innovative Solutions For Positive Change.

Hey, tough guy: get your a** in gear and embrace those “touchy-feely” management techniques that science keeps showing works. Robert Tanner tackles the big issue head on in Not More Of That “Touchy-Feely” Stuff! posted at Management is a Journey.

Anecdotally, we all know that micromanagers are a headache to work with. But what are the actual business problems that they can create? Here we look at two reasons why they can be so damaging to companies. From Andy Klein and the Fortune Group Blog: The perils of Management OCD – an undesirable management malady.

Ah, leadership & ethics. Linda Fisher Thornton presents Ethical Leadership Context at Leading in Context. Regardless of where you ultimately shake out on the issue, this is always a good topic to revisit.

Jim Taggart sideswipes the time-honored tradition of the strategic off-site with his suggestion that leaders “co-create” organizational vision with employees. The VISION Thing at ChangingWinds is quick, light reading that squares perfectly with the headiest research on effective leadership.

Juliet Jones presents 10 Successful CEOs Who Failed at Politics, which is a helpful ego check for those delusional to think that success in one area automatically qualifies them for success elsewhere.

Finally, there’s 4 Ways to Become a More Emotionally Mature Leader. This one’s mine. And here’s a clue: it is impossible to say the words “I’m taking the high road” from the high road.

Image credit: Great Leadership