Years ago I knew a manager who believed that high stress yielded the best productivity, he generated that environment by setting unrealistic deadlines and generating plenty of consequence-fear (I, and my fellow recruiters, considered his organization our happy hunting ground). The year his department’s turnover hit 99%, which was everyone except him, he was finally terminated.

There are still too many managers who run stress-filled organizations and too many companies that ignore, allow, and even support them—it’s called performance culture—but, as they say, these times they are a’changin’—even if it takes suicide as the wake-up call for some.

“Earlier this year, the French automaker, Renault, found itself doing some soul-searching following a rash of suicides at a design complex outside Paris. In the course of about five months, three engineers killed themselves. In suicide notes and conversations with their families before taking their lives, the three men voiced anxiety about unreasonable workloads, high-pressure management tactics, exhaustion, and humiliating criticism in front of colleagues during performance reviews.”

And companies are starting to get it, “Draper Laboratory, an R&D shop based in Cambridge, Mass., refuses to buy BlackBerrys for its engineers.”How can anyone be creative if they are on’ 24 hours a day?” asks HR Director Jeanne Benoit. “We want to keep them fresh and robust.””

Another recent finding adds another significant reason to reduce worker stress, touching on businesses’ greatest bogyman—obesity and its effect on worker health.

“Scientists reported yesterday that they have uncovered a biological switch by which stress can promote obesity, a discovery that could help explain the world’s growing weight problem…”

Now you have two negatives—death and obesity—and two positives—creativity and retention; separately or together they have an enormous impact on the bottom line.

Here are six things you can do to reduce stress in our organization. No, they won’t get it done in a day, but there aren’t any silver bullets for organizational changes (or anything else, for that matter)—especially those involving individual MAP—all you can do is start and then keep going.

Finally, if you run a company, or any organization, and you don’t heed this wake-up call to start reducing negative stress then, as a manager, you are heading for the same fate as the dodo bird.

I had an early call this morning from a troubled executive I’ll call Ron. He recently learned that one of his senior-level managers, “Terry” relieves his frustrations, both physically and verbally, on his family. He only learned about it because Terry’s wife filed for divorce citing ongoing abuse. Terry has no idea that anyone, let alone Ron, knows.

Ron’s horrified, but there’s no valid work-related reason to terminate the guy. He’s not contesting the divorce and no criminal charges are being filed. As a manager, Terry does a great job, treats his people well, is a good motivator, and always has excellent performance reviews.

Ron’s in a major quandary; knowing this colors all his interactions with Terry and it’s almost certain that the information will become common knowledge among their 200 employees over time.

At that point, he feels that people will wonder why Terry is still there, since his personal actions violate both acceptable social behavior and everything in the company’s culture. As they lose respect for him, his ability to motivate will plummet as will productivity.

When his performance deteriorates there’ll be valid reasons to terminate him, but by then the tremendous damage done to employee trust and morale will need to be repaired at considerable cost in both time and money.

Ron’s spoken to several HR people and employment lawyers looking for a way to finesse the situation with no results.

In all honesty, I wasn’t much help, either, but Ron did give me permission to post this in the hope that it will generate constructive suggestions.

On April 17, I commented on the ongoing feedback/review responsibility managers had if they were going to avoid the scenarios described in a BW cover story.

In the follow-up, (see all the comments) some comments cited the need for employee access to the courts, which I don’t dispute; but many of the comments them were from the colleagues of non/underperformers.

These are the people who really bear the brunt of the difficulties and extra work created when poorly performing employees are retained out of fear [of the legal repercussions of firing them]—a problem fostered by lazy, incompetent, ignorant, insecure, or confrontation-phobic managers, in not providing frequent, honest, accurate feedback and the regularly scheduled, written performance reviews needed for professional growth and, incidentally, that create an accurate work history.

The key word is accurate, since any review, or no review, but continued employment, creates a work history. The difference is whether it supports

• the company’s contention that the person’s performance is unacceptable; or
• the employee’s contention of wrongful termination.

Two other comments that caught my eye keyed on the differences between workers and execs.

“Twenty years ago, an underperformer could be fired—end of story. Today that same underperformer has reason to believe that he, too, is entitled to be rewarded on the way out, just as the worst CEOs are rewarded on their way out.
There is no difference between the underperforming slob at the bottom [and] the underperforming slob at the top except that the guy at the top doesn’t need the legal system. He has already been rewarded handsomely for his shortcomings”.
G. Placencia
Chino Hills, Calif.

“You mention briefly that laws are in place to protect workers from illegal firings. I compare this to our justice system. It’s not perfect, [but] it’s the best we have. For all the underperformers who file frivolous lawsuits, there are those with legitimate grievances and valid lawsuits. I also wonder why I’ve never heard of a CEO filing such lawsuits. Oh, yes—probably because they have protections that pay them tens of millions whether they perform or not”.
James Eustis
Panama City, Fla

How true. Check out the links in How to succeed in business without really performing if you have any doubts.

Yesterday I commented that no matter how stellar someone’s past performance it wasn’t a guarantee of future performance.

There are very few guarantees in life, but I do know of one thing you can count on.

And that is that the bosses of big tech lie.

They do it with flair, sincerity, a straight face and in writing.

Their devices listen to and share your words with outsiders — outside the company and the country.

Although no immediate action was taken against Apple or Amazon— which both have been found to also listen in on their users — the commissioner’s report “invited” the companies “swiftly review” their policies and procedures.

Apple says, “all reviewers are under the obligation to adhere to Apple’s strict confidentiality requirements,” but we all know that people blab.

The Terms of Service (TOS) go beyond straight lies by being opaque and obfuscated. Their rules and meaning are a constantly moving target that even the NYT can’t figure out

The Times reported 46 of the accounts to Instagram, the site responded within 24 hours that none violated its rules, without explaining why.

The accounts were scams using scraped images of innocent US military personnel to get money from innocent US citizens.

While fraud has proliferated on Facebook for years, those running the military romance scams are taking on not only one of the world’s most influential companies, but also the most powerful military — and succeeding.

Apparently fraud doesn’t violate the TOS.

But why should it, since violence, hate speech and bullying don’t.

It’s not as if your data is unidentifiable (there’s no such thing as “anonymized data”).

And “we care about your privacy” is the biggest lie of all.

Image credit: Mike Mozart

Poking through 11+ years of posts I find information that’s as useful now as when it was written.

Golden Oldies is a collection of the most relevant and timeless posts during that time.

Engagement is way down, jobs are plentiful, turnover is way up, and managers aren’t just searching for solutions.

No, what they really want to find is a silver bullet; a Harry Potter magic wand they can wave to promote engagement, hike productivity, juice creativity and sustain the whole thing.

But as we all know, silver bullets and magic wands are in extremely short supply.

That said, VSI, as explained below, comes pretty close.

Read other Golden Oldies here.

How do you lead/influence/motivate/get/force others to move in the direction you choose or achieve a goal, large or small, that you set? That question is the basis for yards of books and megabytes of content, but in spite of all that’s already been written I thought I’d add my bit to the total.

After all, responding to this question is almost a right of passage in the land of leadership and motivation.

So here’s my two-word answer: vested self-interest (VSI).

Over the years, I’ve found vested self-interest to be not only the most powerful people motivator around, but also one of the least expensive, since the cost is mainly from the effort to learn what it is for each person.

And the idea must have merit when you consider that a Sudanese cell phone billionaire is using it to incentivize African heads of state to act responsibly.

In that case, the incentive was money, but that’s not always the case. If it were, then companies wouldn’t lose talent to other companies offering the same or even lower pay.

It’s an error to always assume that dollars will do it, or that what turns on one, turns on all. Hot buttons are as individual as your people are and don’t always involve tangibles.

As a manager, it’s up to you to discover each of your people’s hot buttons, i.e., what really turns them on, and then find a way to satisfy it in return for what you want in performance, innovation, etc.

Taking the time to learn what the buttons are allows you to power your team as never before, which, in turn, should give you the ability to satisfy your own VSI.

Remembering that generalities are always dangerous, here are some of the most common hot buttons

• • public recognition – not just for big things, but for the small, everyday wins that fill most people’s working lives;
  • strokes – a few words here, a compliment there, doesn’t take much time, but be warned, people aren’t stupid, if your comments are lip-service only they will know and respond accordingly;
  • giving back – supported or encouraged volunteer programs, leave day banks, etc.;
  • making a difference – internally and/or externally; and
  • growing/stretching – the opportunity to do something new, learn new skills, etc.

Obviously, money is still a motivator, but it’s not always big bucks, it’s more that the amount is relevant to the accomplishment and logical relative to the company’s circumstances.

And it doesn’t need to be “new” money, it can be a different way to cut a current pie. For example, I get many queries from senior execs asking for exotic approaches and detailed how-to’s for implementing cultural and other intangible changes that often require encouraging (and at times, coercing) their managerial staff into actually doing them.

The most successful method I’ve found is as simple as one, two, three.

1. 1. Carefully define, in a quantifiable manner, what you want done (not “increase retention,” but “reduce turnover X% by [date]”).
   2. Include these well-quantified goals in the managers’ annual objectives. (This is not a variation of MBO.)
   3. Make it clear to your managers that they will be evaluated on these goals and that the evaluation will impact their annual reviews and compensation.

Vested self-interest should do the rest

And as any parent can tell you, VSI works great on kids, too — or anyone, for that matter.

Image credit: Quotes Everlasting

Poking through 11+ years of posts I find information that’s as useful now as when it was written.

Golden Oldies is a collection of the most relevant and timeless posts during that time.

This story about Slack is from 2015.

Any company that follows in Slack’s shoes still warrants major media coverage.

Sad, isn’t it.

Read other Golden Oldies here.

A Friday series exploring Startups and the people who make them go. Read all If the Shoe Fits posts here

Being a woman in tech can be a serious drawback in 2015; far more so than in the 1980s and 90s — Tinder even dumped a woman founder on the basis that the company wouldn’t be taken seriously by investors. Sadly, they may have been right.

Leave it to Slack, valued at $2.8 billion, to do things differently.

According to its diversity report released on Wednesday, 45% of all Slack managers are female, with 41% of the entire workforce having a woman as their manager. “This means that 41% of our people report to a woman who helps set their priorities, measure their performance, mentor them in their work, and who make recommendations that will impact their compensation and career growth.”  In non-engineering positions, 51% of the workforce turned out to be female. Out of the roughly 250 employees worldwide, 39% are reported to be female.

Slack is considered the fastest growing software company in history and they certainly lead  the tech pack In gender diversity.

And while their racial diversity stats are as dismal as the rest of tech they are far more actively working on changing that, too.

Here are the company’s four hiring guidelines,

1. Examining all decisions regarding hiring/recruiting, promotion, compensation, employee recognition and management structure to ensure that we are not inadvertently advantaging one group over another.
2. Working with expert advisors and employees to build fair and inclusive processes for employee retention, such as effective management education, company-wide unconscious bias training, ally skills coaching, and compensation review.
3. Helping to address the pipeline issue with financial contributions to organizations whose mission is to educate and equip underrepresented groups with relevant technical skills (like Hack the Hood and Grace Hopper), as well as supporting a variety of internship programs to broaden access to opportunity (like CODE2040).
4. Attempting to be conscious and deliberate in our decision-making and the principles and values by which we operate. Changing our industry starts by building a workplace that is welcoming to all so that a generation of role models, examples and mentors is created.

Slack is practicing what recent studies have proven; hiring women pays.

Give that some thought the next time your unconscious bias kicks in leading you to reject a candidate because she is a she.

Image credit: HikingArtist

A Friday series exploring Startups and the people who make them go. Read all If the Shoe Fits posts here.

Most people don’t think of founders as being bosses, including themselves, but, of course, they are.

And as bosses they are responsible for the success of their team, as well as the company.

As well as being a boss, the vision that is the basis of the company originated with them, which frequently leads them to one or more of the behaviors that make them what Wally calls a “bossy boss.”

“Boss” has gotten a bad rap. Many people associate that term with a domineering, order-giving jerk. I think they’re confusing the term “boss” (a person responsible for the performance of a group) with “bossy.”

The Cambridge Dictionary says that: “A bossy person is always telling people what to do.” Great bosses lead productive teams with great morale. Great bosses aren’t bossy at all. They know three important things.

Being Bossy Is Crazy-Making

If you tell everybody what to do, all the time and everywhere, you’re going to wear yourself out. Great bosses know that caring for their people includes helping them develop their skills, abilities, and decision-making. They can’t do that if you’re always telling them what to do. But, if you can stand back and absorb the mistakes that go with learning, people on your team will take a lot of work right off your shoulders.

What’s the alternative? You make yourself crazy trying to do everything and know everything. Morale plummets, and so does productivity.

You Don’t Have Control Anyway

Nobody tells new managers this important truth. When you become responsible for the performance of a group, your power goes down, not up. Oh, sure, you can punish people who don’t do what you want with whatever means your organization will allow.

That’s more like revenge than like power. And, if a team member is willing to absorb the punishment, their behavior simply won’t change. Productivity and morale will plummet.

The only thing you can control is your behavior: what you say and what you do. That doesn’t seem like much, but it’s enough. Use what you say to set clear expectations and to coach, counsel, and encourage. Use what you do to reinforce what you say and set the example.

Edward Deci and Richard Ryan defined “autonomy” as one of the three key drivers of intrinsic motivation. David Burkus reviewed studies of how people respond to increased or decreased control of their life in his great book, Under New Management. He summarized them this way:

“The researchers found a significant correlation between employees’ perceptions of autonomy and their overall performance. In short, the more managers cede control over what to do and how to do it, the more employees do it well.”

People Work Better When They Have Control

Edward Deci and Richard Ryan defined “autonomy” as one of the three key drivers of intrinsic motivation. David Burkus reviewed studies of how people respond to increased or decreased control of their life in his great book, Under New Management. He summarized them this way:

“The researchers found a significant correlation between employees’ perceptions of autonomy and their overall performance. In short, the more managers cede control over what to do and how to do it, the more employees do it well.”

Bottom Line

The best bosses aren’t bossy. They know that being bossy makes them crazy, that they don’t really have control anyway, and that most people work better when they control their work.

Copyright © 2018 Wally Bock, All rights reserved.

Image credit: HikingArtist

Yesterday I mentioned the Peter Principle, by Laurence J. Peter, a prominent Canadian education scholar. It prompted a call from a young (23) friend asking how accurate it is now, considering it was written nearly 50 years ago .

It wasn’t that “Ben” disagreed with the premise, especially considering his boss, he just thought that there should be more current information.

And there is. So for Ben and others who wonder, here are links to more current information and research in chronological order.

First is Bob Sutton’s marvelous foreword written for the Principle’s 40^th anniversary edition in 2009.

My father loved The Peter Principle because it explained why life could be so maddening—and why everyone around you seems, or is doomed to become, incompetent.

Second, in August, 2014, from Rob Asghar, a good, somewhat depressing, overview of the book, along with a few words of hope.

We’re human, in the end. The Tony Robbins types try to sell us the life-hacks, the superfood diets, the meditation techniques and the mantras to transfigure us from mortal to immortal. That only sets us up to fail in a different and delusional way.

Next, in December, an article in HBR looked at the Principle from the other side — and it only took ten years to happen.

This seems surprising since of course every manager is a subordinate as well. And indeed in The Subordinate’s Predicaments, Case Western Reserve management professor Eric Neilsen and then-doctoral candidate Jan Gypen make that point explicitly.

In April this year, Rodd Wagner described research that proved the Principal was indeed real and ways to circumvent it. Although the research focuses on sales, it is applicable to any career field.

Three professors – Alan Benson of the University of Minnesota, Danielle Li of MIT and Kelly Shue of Yale – analyzed the performance of 53,035 sales employees at 214 American companies from 2005 to 2011. During that time, 1,531 of those sales reps were promoted to become sales managers.

I hope this info (and I’m sure there is plenty more for the searching) is useful to Ben and all those like him, who are either struggling with a very real Peter Principle boss or working hard to avoid becoming one.

Image credit: Barnes and Noble

I’ve written a lot on the both the why and how of face-to-face communications, so today will be a short post, with links to previous content.

Do you wonder why 69% of managers aren’t comfortable talking with their team?

Perhaps it’s because they aren’t comfortable talking period.

What’s going on? What happened to verbal communications a la conversation?

It’s not just tech, although tech has made it much worse.

Modern managers have avoided discussions with employees, especially about performance issues.

Before computers they tried to manage by memo; post computer by email and most recently by texting. None of them work.

Problem 1: screens kill empathy and empathy underlies all positive human interactions.

Solution: Turn off your screens. And if you believe everything will fall apart if you are unavailable for 20 minutes here and 40 minutes there each day then your organization is in far worse shape than you realize.

Problem 2: AMS; it stands for assumption, manipulation, self-fulfilling prophesy.

Solution: Build internal awareness of your AMS (we all do it), then work to control it. Don’t try to completely eradicate it; it’s a waste of effort.

Problem 3: Two-way street.

Solution: Learn to listen, not just hear. Active listening is at least 50%, often more; if you talk, but don’t listen it isn’t a conversation.

Good communicating is like writing good code.

You can study it forever, but eventually you need to get out there and just do it.

And the more proficient you become the more you will enjoy it.

Scary? Sure.

But not nearly as scary as stunting your future, both at work and in your wider world.

Image credit: Flickinpicks

New month, new Leadership Development Carnival.

Reproduced here for your edification and enjoyment. It’s good weekend reading.

Enjoy!

Anne Perschel of Germane Coaching and Consulting provided Create New Organization Hero Stories to Lead Change. Anne writes, “The organization hero stories you tell as you launch your change initiative will get people on your change bus. How you tell the story is as important as the story you create.” Find Anne on Twitter at @bizshrink.

Beth Beutler of H.O.P.E. Unlimited provided 5 Ways (Some) Multitasking Can be Good for You. Beth summarizes, “Multitasking is often frowned upon, but this post helps us sort out when it might be a good approach.” Find Beth on Twitter at @bethbeutler.

Bill Treasurer of Giant Leap Consulting provided How to Manage Your Boss. Bill recaps, “Leadership isn’t always about managing your direct reports. Sometimes you have to know how to ‘manage up.’ Managing your boss is an essential part of leadership.” Find Bill on Twitter at @btreasurer.

Chris Edmonds of the Purposeful Culture Group contributed Culture Leadership Charge: Validate Effort and Results. In this post, Chris reminds us to validate the efforts of others, not just the results they get. Follow Chris on Twitter at @scedmonds.

Dan McCarthy of Great Leadership provided How to Prevent Redundant Performance Improvement Conversations. Dan recaps, “In this guest post, Karin Hurt explores the fact that performance improvement conversations aren’t enjoyable — for you or for them. ‘To make sure you don’t have to have the same uncomfortable conversation twice, take a hard look at this approach.’” Find Dan on Twitter at @greatleadership and Karin at @letsgrowleaders.

Dana Theus of InPower Coaching contributed How to Run a Meeting When You’re Not in Charge. Dana writes, “Running a meeting with your boss and her peers puts you in a tough spot. You’re being expected to ‘manage’ people superior to you. You can’t rely on your technical expertise because you’re expected to manage the interpersonal dynamics of the meeting as well, which is hard even when dealing with peers and subordinates.” Find Dana on Twitter at @DanaTheus.

David Grossman of The Grossman Group shared Leadership Communication Principles That Work. David writes, “I’m continually asked for the most important leadership communication principles. While what’s effective will vary based on the person or situation, these six tried-and-true fundamentals will make the difference between simply sharing information and communication that moves people to action (and that they feel great about).” Discover David on Twitter at @thoughtpartner

Diane Bock of Development Dimensions International (DDI) shared How to Work with People Who Aren’t You. Diane writes, “Diversity is good for business. But it doesn’t mean you will automatically have positive relationships with colleagues who are different.” Discover Diane on Twitter at @DDIWorld

Eileen McDargh of The Resiliency Group provided Five Secrets to Creative Adaptability. Eileen recaps, “In the face of continuing economic challenges, a roller coaster marketplace, Congressional stalemates, and unrelenting change, leaders in every part of an organization must develop a capacity for resiliency. A cornerstone of resiliency is adaptability. Mind you, this is not the ordinary find-another-answer but rather find MANY answers.” Find Eileen on Twitter at @macdarling.

Jesse Lyn Stoner of Seapoint Center provided How the Benefits of Team Vision Can Revitalize Your Team. Jesse summarizes, “Has your team gotten caught in ‘team drift’? Here are eight benefits of team vision and how it helps revitalize your team.” Find Jesse on Twitter at @jesselynstoner.

Jill Malleck of Epiphany at Work submitted Use Memory to Boost Self-Confidence. Jill recaps: “Confidence is different than a ‘know-it-all’ attitude: It’s more about feeling strong in your abilities. In every workplace, it’s not just about what you know that demonstrates leadership –  it’s how confidently you lead when you don’t know.” Discover Jill on Twitter at @EpiphanyAtWork.

Jim Taggart of Changing Winds provided Why Integrity Matters to Leadership. In the post, Jim explains, “New leadership approaches are needed in a globalized world. It’s about collaboration through worker self-empowerment, where calculated risk-taking is a daily endeavour and individual and collective learning is nurtured and valued.” Find Jim on Twitter at @72keys.

Joel Garfinkle of the Career Advancement Blog submitted The 4 Most Powerful Leadership Words You Can Use. Joel shares: “It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it. Being selective in how you speak to others often determines your level of leadership. Here are four of the most powerful leadership words you can use.” Discover Joel on Twitter at @JoelGarfinkle.

John Hunter of Curious Cat submitted Improving Management with Tools and Knowledge. John recaps: “The effective integration of the principles and the tools is what separates the remarkable companies we respect (and maybe envy) from all the others that are having some success but that are also struggling in many ways.” Discover John on Twitter at @CuriousCat_Com.

Jon Mertz of Thin Difference submitted Jeff Bezos: How to Avoid Day 2. Jon shares, “This post is addresses how a leader’s approach to decision making can determine an organization’s success or failure. Too many of us get stuck in what Jeff Bezos calls a ‘Day 2 mindset.’ Here’s how to avoid that trap and make all of our decisions like it’s day 1.” Discover Jon on Twitter at @thindifference.

Jon Verbeck of  Jon Verbeck contributed Business Owner Mistakes: No Timely Review of the Numbers. In this post, Jon reminds us that no matter the size of our business, we need to look at our numbers regularly. Follow Jon on Twitter at @jonverbeck1.

Julie Winkle-Giulioni of Julie Winkle-Giulioni provided Career Development Begins with CARE. Julie recaps, “In this short animated video, Julie explores the fundamental building blocks of career development and offers a framework for leaders committed to engaging in authentic sustainable development with others.” Find Julie on Twitter at @julie_wg.

Linda Fisher Thornton of Leading in Context  shared 9 Ethical Roles: Is Your leadership Team “All In?”. Linda recaps: “Ethical roles apply not just to CEOs, but also to all senior leaders in an organization. And if front line leaders don’t carry these roles throughout the organization, there will be gaps in the culture. We should prepare leaders to take on these 9 important roles, to help them be ‘All In’ in the quest for ethical culture building.” Find Linda on Twitter at @leadingincontxt.

Lisa Kohn of Chatsworth Consulting submitted How Have You Moved Past Fear With Understanding?. In this post, Lisa shares how moving past your fears into more understanding can help you be the best leader you can be. Discover Lisa on Twitter at @thoughtfulldrs.

Marcella Bremer of Leadership and Change Magazine provided What Do You Love to Do?. Marcella recaps, “What you love to do contains your gift to the world regardless of your role. Many were taught that it’s selfish to pursue what we love. Thus, we set aside what makes us unique. While when we love what we do, we are at our best and make a difference. Withholding who we are becomes the selfish act. What do you think?” Find Marcella on Twitter at @marcellabremer.

Mary Ila Ward of Horizon Point Consulting provided A Culture Where Nothing Is Ever Good Enough and How to Fix It: An Interview with Rajeev Behera CEO of Reflektive. Mary Ila recaps, “One in four people say their jobs are the most stressful part of their lives. What is creating stress in the workplace and how can it be resolved? In this post Mary Ila interviews Rajeev Behera, CEO of Reflektive, to determine the key factors that create a fear-based work culture and how it can be changed.” Find Mary on Twitter at @maryilaward.

Mary Jo Asmus of Aspire Collaborative Services, LLC provided Reconnecting With Happiness. Mary Jo recaps, “Happy leaders make a difference! Don’t let your happiness slip away; examine your life and make decisions about what will help you get back to what matters.” Find Mary Jo on Twitter at @mjasmus.

Miki Saxon of MAPping Company Success contributed If The Shoe Fits: No Such Thing As “Self-Made”. Miki writes, “Everybody loves stories about self-made people; the ones who have climbed from nothing to the top. The stories may be fun to read, but in reality there is no such thing as ‘self-made’. Just ask Arnold Schwarzenegger.” Discover Miki on Twitter at @optionsanity.

Neal Burgis of Burgis Successful Solutions submitted It’s All About Finding People Smarter than You. Neal recaps, “Leaders know that hiring people smarter than themselves makes good leadership sense when you have great ideas and need others to create and produce breakthrough results. You shouldn’t be the smartest person in the room – yet you should hire the smartest people in the room.” Find Neal on Twitter at @exec_solutions.

Paula Kiger of Big Green Pen provided Gambling on Leadership. Paula recaps, “Is it true that people behave in leadership simulations the way they will in reality? Lessons from a ‘reality’ show.” Find Paula on Twitter at @biggreenpen.

Randy Conley of Leading With Trust shared 10 Ways to Tell If Your Boss is Trustworthy. Randy writes, “Everyone deserves to work for a trustworthy boss. Unfortunately, that seems to be the exception rather than the norm in today’s business world. This post shares ten ways you can tell if your boss is trustworthy. Be sure to take the poll to see how your boss compares with others.” Find Randy on Twitter at @randyconley.

Shelley Row of Shelley Row provided Three Steps to Resource Yourself to be Calm Instead of Testy. In the post, Shelley asks, “Do you ever feel irritated when you know you will be meeting with that person who rubs you the wrong way?” and gives us tips for being prepared to stay calm. Find Shelley on Twitter at @shelleyrow.

Susan Mazza of Random Acts of Leadership provided A Simple Way to Rise to Your Next Level of Leadership. Susan explains, “You cannot grow to the next level of leadership by reading books, taking a class, or simply thinking about getting there. You must actually take action in real life — and your everyday experiences offer clues that show you how to reach for it.” Follow Susan on Twitter at @susanmazza.

Tanveer Naseer of Tanveer Naseer provided What Happened To Trust And Integrity In Today’s Organizations?. Tanveer explains, “Trust and integrity seem to be in decline in many organizations today. Here’s a revealing look at why they remain critical to organizational success.” Follow Tanveer on Twitter at @tanveernaseer.

Wally Bock of Three Star Leadership provided Leadership Balance. Wally recaps, “Dynamic balance, the balance of the athlete or the dancer, lets you engage in purposeful motion and change direction quickly.” Find Wally on Twitter at @wallybock.