Leadership Development, Culture, Change Carnival

Welcome back to work, study, goals and plans! Welcome to September. Let’s start with a treasure chest of insights and inspiration from bloggers around the world. I’m happy to host the Leadership Development Carnival this month.

As some of you know, I emphasize application. Reading and learning is great – yet nothing improves when you don’t apply and experiment with insights and tips. I hope you read the posts that speak to you most and apply some of their tips. Nothing improves if we don’t take action.

What are you missing when you think you’re right?

Robyn McLeod of Thoughtful Leaders Blog shares that when we remember that our certainty is probably very uncertain, and that we may not be right (or even close), we can be more open to other possibilities…and other people. We can be more Thoughtful.

Negotiation Styles and Why They Matter

What’s important to understand about negotiation styles is that while we may have a dominant style, for example my dominant style is compromising, we use all five styles depending on the situation that we’re negotiating. It’s important to understand that the style you use in a negotiation can have a huge impact on the outcome of that negotiation, says Lorrie Coffey

Drive Business Results with Communication Planning

David Grossman shares: By planning your intended communications, you can build stronger relationships with employees, help them see their role in the journey, and motivate them to contribute to your organization’s success. Follow these 4 steps to drive the right behaviors and enhance business performance with this simple communication planning model.

Can you get to the top without playing office politics?

Office politics is as much a part of work as drawing a salary. And yet, I don’t know anyone who wants more of it, writes Dana Theus on office politics. I originally thought of office politics as simply a derogatory word to describe human and group dynamics among people forced to spend too much time together. But with observation I now think of these group dynamics, including the political elements, as a unique environment offering each of us the challenge to rise to our better natures.

Stay in the “Sweet Spot” When Faced with Emotionally Charged Conversations

Our ability to have productive conversations at work is threatened when the stakes are high and emotions are running hot. That’s why it’s important to learn how to balance candor and curiosity to keep our conversations in the “sweet spot”, says Randy Conley.

Word Choice: The Use of Superlatives and Absolutes in Everyday Communication

Careful word choice is a must for leaders, writes Diana Peterson-More. Using superlatives, can be a leader’s enemy. The phrase “a perfect example, ” frequently results in the listener – in this case the leader’s team members – to conclude that any other example falls short. Given the leader just said, “a perfect example is,” it then serves to shut down a collaborative dialogue. This post highlights how its author learned the painful lesson of using superlatives and offers ways to rephrase them to invite dialogue and new ideas.

Solving Impossible Problems That are Possible

Your problem is not as “impossible” as you think, says Neal Burgis. What you see is typically different from the way other people see the same problem. Some people create more of a complex situation than it actually might be. A lot of the problem is your thoughts of it and how you see your skills being able to work to complete the task.

Disposition or Position

As a leader does it matter the disposition or the position you have? Leaders are the conductors of a grand orchestra playing the most refined music tuned to the perfect pitch when all is aligned. Tune in to hear the rhythm and check out Brenda Yoho’s post.

Follow what science?

Wally Bock writes: Science is a process, not an answer machine. It’s about experiments and verifying results. And it’s not magic. Here’s how to make sense of science.

How Do I Ensure My Leadership Development Program is Successful

Thinking of launching a new leadership development program? Ask yourself these ten questions first, to ensure your investment leads to sustained culture change. Check out this post by Karin Hurt.

The Top Reason People Fall Short of Their Goals

There are many reasons why people fall short of their goals. Here are 16 causes worthy of your consideration, according to Frank Sonnenberg.

From Panic Hiring to Pink Slips: 4 Ways Leaders Can Navigate Workplace Whiplash

It’s shaping up to be another wild year, says Julie Winkle Giulioni. Rebounding from a global pandemic. Supply chain breakdowns. Navigating remote and hybrid working configurations. A mass workforce exodus followed by rescinded job offers in some sectors. And the threat of recession. Is it any wonder that we’re experiencing unprecedented levels of employee stress, burnout, and mental health challenges?

Why Leadership Training Done To You No longer Works

This shift from Leadership Training into Leadership Coaching for our future talent is transforming organizations because great leadership requires a range of styles practiced and perfected over time. Simon Teague: This only happens with regular, concentrated feedback from both internal peers and managers and working WITH external, independent, professional coaches where there are no barriers to any political agenda, confidentiality, and raw honesty.

Job Enrichment: A Forgotten Mobility Option

We live in a world where standing still means falling behind, states Beverly Kaye. This applies to your work-life as much as it does to your personal life. The more that people fall in love with what they do, the higher they can set the bar in their fields. We must look at current jobs as the fertile soil from which a career can grow. Job enrichment can rekindle passion and excitement that may have disappeared beneath daily tasks and deadlines.

You Only Lose Your Integrity Once

Organizational integrity has not gotten better in the last few decades. It’s gotten worse. There are dozens of high-profile examples of companies — and leaders — who have gone all in with lying, cheating and stealing in recent years. Learn from S. Chris Edmonds

How to Increase Your Cash Flow

Business owners face many challenges today – cash flow being one of the most challenging, says Jon Verbeck. Attracting and retaining top talent, marketing strategy and establishing a strong brand, business growth, time management and delegation, and communication are also on owners’ minds. But from a financial perspective, cash flow is often the biggest problem owners face today.

Campbell’s Turnaround Recipe: Measure Work Culture and Hold Leaders Accountable

Doug Conant’s approach to leading a turnaround at Campbell’s illustrates the value of using surveys to measure engagement and hold leaders accountable. Here’s what leaders can learn from Conant’s success, according to Michael Lee Stallard

Are You a Manager or a Leader? Making Sense of It with Henry Mintzberg’s Help

“Managers who don’t lead are quite discouraging, but leaders who don’t manage don’t know what’s going on. It’s a phony separation that people are making between the two.” — Henry Mintzberg. Jim Taggart reflects on Mintzberg’s advice.

Mental Health – It Matters

Jennifer Nash writes: It seems like everywhere I turn, I’m hearing that so many people — school children, health care workers, and yes — even executive leaders — are experiencing social isolation, anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues. And it’s no surprise, since people are working longer hours, are burned out, and have experienced shared trauma due to the pandemic. Yet, there still seems to be a stigma, or at least a fear to discuss mental health issues professionally — and there really shouldn’t be.

Seven Critical Needs for Sustained and Successful Organizational Change

Successful organizational change can be a challenge for leaders. Even when leaders see the need and benefits of changing a process or a platform, the entire team must ultimately buy-in and make a commitment to adapt if the changes are to have a lasting and positive impact on productivity and results. Check out this post by Sean Glaze

Six Tips for Taming Information Overload

Technology is a wonderful and terrible thing, says Eileen McDargh.  We have an app for everything, and people can reach us with the press of a button.  Eileen shares six tips for increasing productivity by taming technology.

Why You Should Maintain a Professional Journal—Twenty Prompts to Help You Get Started

Art Petty writes: Participants in my workshops and webinars regularly hear encouragement and reminders from me to use a professional journal. I’ve long believed journaling is one of the most powerful continuous improvement tools we can use in our working lives. Yet only a small number of individuals I encounter employ this great self-development tool. My goal is to increase that number.

Why Did the Management System Allow the Failure?

When there is a failure, the most common reaction is to look for someone to blame, writes John Hunter. That isn’t an effective strategy for managing an organization. Figuring out what weakness in the management system allowed the failure so that the management system can be improved to make that failure less likely in the future is an effective strategy.

Making Time: There’s Never Enough; Can We Make More?

Ken Downer: It seems that there’s never enough time to get it all done, but a few moments in a vineyard taught me that if we want more of it, it can help to focus on the thing we are doing, and not on all the things that we aren’t.

Awesome You’re Not. You’re a Gigantic Failure as a Manager

Everything that goes wrong in a company or department is because of management. It’s their fault when employees come in late. It’s their fault when coworkers can’t get along or bicker with each other. It’s their fault when performance is poor. And it’s the manager’s fault if they’ve allowed a divisive culture to form where some believe race, or favoritism, is permitted, according to Steve DiGioia

The Power of Influence

In this excerpt from his upcoming book, Leadership Two Words at a Time: Simple Truths for Leading Complicated People, Bill Treasurer explores the power of influence that leaders hold. As a leader, you must be conscious of, and intentional with, the power of your role modeling to influence the behavior of others.

Compiled by Marcella Bremer, with help from Kelly at WeavingInfluence.com, 2022

Check out the next online Culture Change Leadership workshop in 2022! Registration is open – places are limited to guarantee interaction and quality.