December 2018 Leadership Development Carnival: A Year in Review

Welcome to the December Leadership Development Carnival. As a special year-end edition, we've invited our contributors to share their best post from 2018. We're excited to share 25 posts on the topics of communication, creativity/inspiration, development, engagement, productivity, and more and hope you'll find something that inspires your leadership development as you look ahead to 2019.

Communication

Randy Conley of Leading with Trust provided How to Tell Someone You Don't Trust Them Without Destroying the Relationship. "Addressing low trust in a relationship is a challenging issue. As soon as the “T” word—trust—is mentioned, people begin to feel uneasy about where the conversation is headed. The key is to not focus on trust itself, but on the behaviors causing low trust. In this post, Randy Conley shares three steps to talk about low trust without damaging the relationship." In this post, Randy Conley shares the five causes of psychological safety and why it's important for you to be a safe leader. Follow Randy on Twitter at @RandyConley.

David Grossman of The Grossman Group shared Drive Business Results with Communication Planning. David writes: "Planning communications is often the key to employees having the information and context they need to help an organization or team achieve its vision and goals. Follow these four simple steps to drive business performance through your communications with this simple communication planning model.” Discover David on Twitter at @thoughtpartner.

Robyn McLeod of Chatsworth Consulting Group submitted How to prepare for an important conversation. In the post, Robyn presents how working the 4Ps of preparation will ensure that you enter any important conversation with more clarity, understanding, and confidence." Discover Robyn on Twitter at @ThoughtfulLdrs.

Dan McCarthy of Great Leadership provided Why Managers Don’t Listen (Poor Listener Syndrome): and the Cures!. Dan shares: "Listening is one of the most consistently lowest rated behaviors in 360 degree feedback assessments for managers. It’s a management disease – Poor Listener Syndrome (PLS)! Here are the seven most frequent reasons, and a prescription for each cause." Read Dan's post for 50 development ideas. Find Dan on Twitter at @greatleadership.

Creativity/Inspiration

Bernd Geropp shared What is a vision statement and do you really need one?. Bernd asks: “What can a business vision do for you? Do you really need a vision statement? We talk about good and bad examples of vision statements.” Discover Bernd on Twitter at @moreleadership.

Art Petty of Art Petty provided Leadership Power-Up: Make Time to Think Deeply. Art recaps: "Unfortunately, most of us work in and contribute to a perpetual tornado of activities in our daily lives. It's imperative for your well-being and effectiveness to find opportunities to simply pause and think deeply. " Find Art on Twitter at @artpetty.

Laura Schroeder of Working Girl provided Design Thinking for Leaders and Innovators. Laura states: "Design thinking is a useful practice for leaders who want to deliver a more successful product or service. This post offers several techniques for unlocking creativity, focusing on what matters most to your customers, and moving forward quickly as you bring your idea to life." Connect with Laura on Twitter at @workgal.

Suman Kamath of Voice of HR shared What I Learned From My 80-Mile Hike on the Camino de Santiago in which she reveals that the journey was a powerful experience that helped her gain perspective and brought out an inner strength that she can now rely on every day. Follow Voice of HR on Twitter at @VoiceOfHR.

Development

Wally Bock of Three Star Leadership provided Why are there so many bad bosses?. Wally states: "There are lots of bad bosses out there, way too many. But it may not be their fault." You can find Wally on Twitter at @WallyBock.

Jane Perdue of The Jane Group provided 5 ways to tame bias. Jane tells: "We all occasionally go on autopilot, especially when under pressure or experiencing something new, and rely on the mental pairings we make when we fold things into our memory. Being an effective leader. though, depends on whether or not we tame our biases or let them control what we do." Follow Jane on Twitter at @thehrgoddess.

Dana Theus of InPower Coaching submitted 6 Dynamics of Transformation – for Your Business and Your Life. Dana suggests: "Good leaders need to be reasonable managers, able to make sure the important stuff gets done from day to day, but a true leader’s potential is discovered and exercised during times of business transformation. It is in those times that the leaders truly change the world." Discover Dana on Twitter at @DanaTheus.

Justin Setzer of Plan to Lead provided Accomplish More by Focusing on Less. Justin summarizes: "There can be a myriad of things trying to get our attention, and consequently pulling us away from the things we want to accomplish. Learn how to accomplish more by changing your focus." Find Justin on Twitter at @plantolead.

Shelley Row provided The Check Engine Light: Are You Looking Under Your Hood?. Shelley shares: "You have an internal check engine light. It’s the nagging feeling you get when something isn’t sitting right. Do you diagnose your nagging feeling just as you diagnose your car?" Find Shelley on Twitter at @shelleyrow.

David Dye of Let's Grow Leaders provided Three Problems with Your Open Door Policy and What to Do Instead. David summarizes: "The intent behind your open door policy is good but the reality is more complicated. In fact, your open door policy may be causing your team more harm than good and limiting your leadership." Find David on Twitter at @davidmdye.

Joel Garfinkle of the Career Advancement Blog submitted Self-Defeating Behavior. Joel shares: "Self-defeating behavior holds all of us back at some point. For some, it can sabotage promotions or careers. To overcome your self-defeating behavior, or to help your employees overcome theirs, first pinpoint what's going on." Follow Joel on Twitter at @JoelGarfinkle.

Ken Downer of Rapid Start Leadership provided The Leader Apprentice: 5 Ways to Master the Learning Mindset. Ken writes: "To improve as leaders we must always be learning; one good way to do that is to develop a Leader Apprentice mindset. These five approaches will help you become better at a craft that no one ever really masters." Follow Ken on Twitter at @RapidStartLdr.

Jon Verbeck followed up last month's submission with Focus on Profit, Part 2: Increase Revenue. Jon explains:"Part of a leader's job is to help increase the profit of the organization they are part of. Jon looks at the "increase revenue" side of profit building."  Find Jon on Twitter at @jonverbeck1.

Engagement

Jon Mertz of Thin Difference submitted “Stick It to the Man” – The Danger of Bystanders. Jon summarizes: "Stick it to the man was an expression of protest against too much power or wrongdoing. Today, it seems to have morphed into a meaningless chant for bystanders. Instead of chanting, it's time we encourage upstanders!" Discover Jon on Twitter at @thindifference.

Paul LaRue of The UPwards Leader provided How To Treat Employee Engagement Like A Balance Scale. Paul shares: "On a balance scale, if you place weights more on one end than the other the scale will tip towards the heavier side. Employee engagement is very similar." Connect with Paul on Twitter at @paul_larue.

Productivity

Chris Edmonds of The Purposeful Culture Group provided (Video) Culture Leadership Charge: Master Distractions. In this post, Chris asks: "What are the most frequent distractions that you experience daily? The reality is that workplace distractions are common. Here's help." Chris Edmonds shares some insights. Follow Chris on Twitter at @scedmonds.

Julie Winkle-Giulioni provided Persist or Pivot? 8 Questions to Determine How to Move Your Plan Forward. Julie states: "As 2018 comes to an end and we dedicate ourselves to laying a solid foundation for the new year, this article highlights the most persistent planning problems facing leaders - and how to address them and move what's most important forward." Connect with Julie on Twitter at @julie_wg.

Beth Beutler of H.O.P.E. Unlimited offers help for times when you feel overwhelmed by all the choices you have to make in How to Handle Decision Fatigue. Find Beth on Twitter at @bethbeutler.

And More...

Sean Glaze of Great Results Team Building provided Four Collaboration Catalyst Questions to send up and down and across your organization. Sean states: "At EVERY level of the organization, you should encourage people to share the following four questions with people who are above them, below them, and across from them in different areas or divisions to build a network of teammates who have a better understanding of team challenges and a better appreciation for the people they work with and beside." Find Sean on Twitter at @leadyourteam.

Mary Schaefer of The Pro-Human Workplace submitted What Your Employee Probably Isn't Telling You. In this post, Mary shares: "I want to believe in the best of each of us. I want to believe there is a core in us as human beings at work that wants to be unleashed and fully express our own unique contribution, or feel the simple satisfaction of a good day's work. That is where these thoughts that follow come from -- the essence of the best of us as humble, noble human beings at work." Discover Mary on Twitter at @MarySchaefer.

Jim Taggert of Changing Winds provided Leading for Success: How to Create a Culture of Innovation by Following 10 Leadership Behaviours. Jim shares: "The marketplace is exceedingly brutal. What was technologically exciting a few years ago is now mundane. Change is accelerating. Read about the four main ingredients that serve as the foundation for success for corporate innovation." Find Jim on Twitter at @72keys.

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