April 2018 Leadership Development Carnival

Welcome to the Leadership Development Carnival. We’re excited to share posts from leadership experts from around the globe on the topics of communication, employee performance and engagement, personal and professional development, productivity, team building, and more.

Communication

David Grossman of The Grossman Group shared Leadership: 6 Clues It’s Time to Adopt a Strategic Messaging Platform. David provides six clues for leaders that they might be ready to establish a messaging methodology for their team and organization, and explains the benefits leaders get with a strategic messaging platform in place. Discover David on Twitter at @thoughtpartner.

Beth Beutler of H.O.P.E. Unlimited provided Thanks for Asking, But That Won't Work for Me. Beth asks: "Do you find yourself compelled to give more information than you need to when you say no? Here's help." Find Beth on Twitter at @bethbeutler.

Ken Downer of Rapid Start Leadership provided The Ransberger Pivot: How to Win an Argument by Not Arguing. Ken writes: "When two sides debate an issue, conversation can quickly escalate to confrontation. But you can use something called the Ransberger pivot to reframe the discussion so that you are both focused on developing solutions instead of defending positions." Follow Ken on Twitter at @RapidStartLdr.

Development

Wally Bock of Three Star Leadership provided Personal Development: Secrets of Getting Better at Almost Anything. Wally states: "You can probably get better at almost anything you choose. Then you can reap the benefits." You can find Wally on Twitter at @WallyBock.

John Stoker of Dialogue Works contributed How to Achieve Recognition Through Results. John asks: "How do you increase your credibility in your organization? Here are 10 tips for building your credibility through the achievement of results." Find John on Twitter at @JohnRStoker.

Dan McCarthy of Great Leadership provided 3 Reasons Why Your Company’s “Superhero” Leadership Strategy Isn’t Working . Would you describe your company’s CEO as Wonder Woman, or your executive vice president as Batman? Do the regional managers remind you of the Fantastic Four? It’s unlikely that you think of your leadership team in this way. So you might be surprised to hear that many companies, including yours, are following a Superhero leadership strategy. And the research suggests it’s probably not working. In this guest post, DDI’s Mark Busine explains why. Find Dan on Twitter at @greatleadership.

Jon Mertz of Thin Difference submitted Great to Good Leadership: Good Activates Better Leadership. Jon shares: "Are we concentrating on the power of greatness over the empowering nature of goodness? Perhaps it's time to shift our leadership focus from great to good." Discover Jon on Twitter at @thindifference.

Shelley Row provided A Tale of Two Clam Chowders, and Two Ways to See Beyond the Ordinary. Shelley shares that, while we like the tried and true, sometimes we would benefit from something new. Find Shelley on Twitter at @shelleyrow.

David Dye and Karin Hurt of Let's Grow Leaders submitted Imposter Syndrome: 4 Ways to Defeat Self-Doubt. Do you ever feel like you’re just a bit under-qualified for your current role? Do you lie awake at night, thinking of ways to cover up your weaknesses so no one will notice? If so, you’re not alone. Let's Grow Leaders shares a post about how to defeat this self-doubt. Find them on Twitter at @letsgrowleaders.

S. Chris Edmonds of The Purposeful Culture Group provided Culture Leadership Charge: Expand Your Worldview. Chris Edmonds describes how to surround yourself with people of different ethnicities, communities, religions, family dynamics, and more; and listen to, learn from, and incorporate their perspectives. Follow Chris on Twitter at @scedmonds.

Julie Winkle-Giulioni provided Diagnosis: Career Path(ology). Julie states: "Organizations and leaders need to come to terms with the fact that the availability of career paths is not the same as nor a replacement for career development." Connect with Julie on Twitter at @julie_wg.

Engagement

Jim Taggart of Changing Winds provided Shared Vision: Do Others See What You See? In the post, Jim explains: "Building shared vision requires daily effort by managers. It must be a central part of their work. And they need to remember that the visions they develop are still their personal visions." Find Jim on Twitter at @72keys.

Eileen McDargh of The Resiliency Group submitted Resilient Workers are Engaged Workers. Eileen shares: "When a job is patterned, the same-old-same-old stuff, and a traditional career ladder is offered, great talent will not accept nor will they stay. Learn why." Discover Eileen on Twitter at @macdarling.

Joel Garfinkle of the Career Advancement Blog submitted How To Increase Employee Engagement. Joel summarizes: "Success alone may not be enough to motivate your team. Increasing employee engagement is vital to retaining your people and succeeding as a company. Higher pay and benefits don’t drive engagement—relationships and communication do." Follow Joel on Twitter at @JoelGarfinkle.

Marcella Bremer of Leadership and Change Magazine provided Involving and Empowering Others. Marcella questions: "How could you involve and empower others? Research shows people need 5 elements to feel empowered. They also like to be invited and not forced. How could you do that?" Connect with Marcella on Twitter at @marcellabremer.

Robyn McLeod of Chatsworth Consulting Group provided Three Ways to Hear What Your Team Thinks About You. In the post from The Thoughtful Leaders™ Blog share, Robyn shares three surefire ways to hear what your team thinks, by giving them opportunities and channels for sharing their points of view. Find Robyn on Twitter at @ThoughtfulLdrs.

Productivity

Jesse Lyn Stoner of Seapoint Center provided Manage Polarities . . . or Step Off the Seesaw. Jesse summarizes: "When you get out of balance, the natural response is to try to rebalance. But sometimes, the best solution is to get off the seesaw entirely. Here's what that looks like and some tips that show you how." Find Jesse on Twitter at @jesselynstoner.

Randy Conley of Leading with Trust provided 3 Steps to Opt-Out of The Rat Race and Achieve Lasting Fulfillment. Randy Conley says: "We wear our busyness like a badge of honor, when in reality it’s a scarlet letter that shows our priorities are all jacked up." In this post he offers 3 steps to opt out of the rat race and achieve lasting fulfillment. Follow Randy on Twitter at @RandyConley.

Simon Teague of New Level Results contributed Success is Habit Forming. Simon asks: "Are your habits good or bad? Are they working for you or against you? What habits do successful people have and how can you become a master at creating successful habits? Find Simon on Twitter at @SimonTeague.

Neal Burgis of Burgis Successful Solutions submitted Leaders Avoiding Disaster with Your Company’s Complexity. Neal says: "Elevating the performance of your company, leaders know that employees are creative and innovative with the thinking skills they already have. Leaders need to let employees simplify the things they work with in order to be productive and work on the things that matter." Discover Neal on Twitter at @exec_solutions.

Team Building

Dana Theus of InPower Coaching submitted Managers: Are You Ready to Hire Bots onto Your Teams? Dana recaps: "Yes, the Robots are coming, and they’re (probably) going to change how you manage people. To stay ahead of the curve on these kinds of market shifts, you need to start thinking about how you produce results using both human and automated team members." Find Dana on Twitter at @DanaTheus.

Jill Malleck of Epiphany at Work submitted Are you Unrealiable or Adaptable? Jill shares: "When a leader thinks they are showing innovation and flexibility, their team may be feeling unsure of them because of the rate of change." Find Jill on Twitter at @epiphanyatwork.

And More...

Anne Perschel of Germane Coaching and Consulting provided How to be a Full Monty Leader for Those Who Care Enough To Dare. Anne writes: "What will you do with this one amazing opportunity you have to change people's lives? And how will you do it? Full Monty Leadership shows you the way." Find Anne on Twitter at @bizshrink.

Mary Ila Ward of Horizon Point Consulting submitted How to know when you have a Prima Donna that needs to be fired. Mary shares: "You know one when you see one. Before you can define exactly what a prima donna is, you can name one. In the flesh. And they have most likely made your work life hell at some point or another. What do you do when faced with one?" Discover Mary on Twitter at @MaryIlaWard.

Rebecca Elvy provided Leadership Presence: It’s Harder Than It Looks Rebecca writes: "Great leaders – effective leaders – make it look effortless. Like the proverbial swan gliding across the lake, but paddling furiously underneath. They understand that everything about them is a leadership tool at their disposal: their voice, their stance, their mood, the speed of their walk, how they show up in the world. What they say and what they don’t say. What they do and what they don’t do." Find Rebecca on Twitter at @rebecca_elvy.

Thank you to everyone who submitted articles for this month's carnival! If you would like to be on the distribution list for submission calls, please fill out this form and we'll be happy to add you to the list.