February 2021 Leadership Development Carnival

Welcome to the February 2021 Leadership Development Carnival! We’re excited to share posts from leadership experts from around the globe on the topics of communication, development, engagement, motivation, productivity, team building, and more.

Communication

Marina Jankovic explains The role of coaching in building a culture of trust. Marina shares: “While trust is the foundation for productive relationships and high-performing teams, it’s not something that can be achieved overnight. Every leader can become motivated to model positive behaviors that enhance the culture of integrity by practicing coaching skills that support diverse stakeholders and promote shared goals and values. ” Connect with Marina on LinkedIn.

Erik Samdahl of i4cp shared Getting Personal About the COVID-19 Vaccination: How Leaders Make a Difference. Erik writes: "Among the strategies already in place or currently under consideration to help encourage vaccination of employees is the essential role of leadership in pro-vaccine messaging. New research from i4cp provides some insight on how best to do this." Find Erik on Twitter at @i4cp.

Marcia Reynolds of Covisioning Transformational Leadership provided Do You Have Conversations or Inspired Experiences? Marcia shares: "A conversation doesn’t guarantee a meaningful experience. This post gives you three steps for creating connections when you interact with others that could change their lives. " Connect with Marcia on Twitter at @marciareynolds.

Anne Perschel of Germane Coaching & Consulting shared Five Lessons from Arnold Schwarzenneger's Great Leadership Speech. Annie writes: "Great leadership speeches don't come along often. This one, from Arnold Schwarzenneger, is worth studying, especially if you're trying to get disparate groups to take common actions. " Find Anne on Twitter at @bizshrink.

David Moser of Decisive Blog writes 1 Simple Step to Subtly Lead Your Team (Even When You Aren’t In Charge). David shares: “Volunteering for a simple task like writing a meeting agenda can exert an outsized influence and lead the course of the discussion. Serve your team by getting your voice heard and shape the conversation before it begins.” Find David on Twitter at @Decisive_Blog.

Diana Peterson-More shared Communication 2021: A Return To Civility. Diana explains: "The communication dark side of 2020: relationships frayed, often displayed through language that was “unbecoming” to put it mildly. Fighting words were as pervasive as the fear of infection, exacerbated by a lively and contentious political season, with accusations flying, and name-calling, bullying, and an inability to listen and understand, sadly, the rule of the day. Let's agree that 2021 is a return to civility, commencing with communication. It may be a long road; however, we need to start somewhere. This blog offers three key communication tips to start that journey." Find Diana on Twitter at @DianaPMAuthor.

Team Building

Priscilla Archangel of Archangel & Associates provided Clarity in the Midst of an Uncertain Future. Priscilla writes: "Learn how to leverage four steps in charting a CERTAIN future for your team: Sharing vision and values, Inspiring innovation, Communicating with clarity, and Engaging and enabling." Follow Priscilla on Twitter at @PrisArchangel.

Liz Weber of Weber Business Services provided What Leaders Need to Do Now. Liz writes: "Leaders, it's time to focus and be intentional. Read this month's article to learn what three things you need to do NOW to realize success in 2021." Connect with Liz on Twitter at @lizwebercmc.

Development

Joel Garfinkle of the Career Advancement Blog shared The Top 5 Qualities of a Great Leader. Joel summarizes: "The ability to be a great coach to others is the number one skill every leader needs to have, but what qualities will take you, as a leader to greater heights? Here, we will delve into what makes a great leader." Find Joel on Twitter at @JoelGarfinkle.

Henry Mukuti of Insakanet contributed The 4 Keys to Success. Henry writes: “There are many theories and many books written on the subject of success. I have summarised what I think are the 4 keys to success.” Connect with Henry on Twitter at @HenryMukuti.

S. Chris Edmonds of The Purposeful Culture Group provided Culture Leadership Charge Video: Measure Respect. In this video post, Chris shares: "Just as you measure progress towards desired results regularly, you must measure progress towards desired respect regularly. Just as you measure progress towards desired results regularly, you must measure progress towards desired respect regularly. " Follow Chris on Twitter at @scedmonds.

Jon Lokhorst of Lokhorst Consulting shared Take your leadership to the next level: Lead well in all directions. Jon explains: “While being a good boss is important, that alone is an incomplete view of leadership. If you want to be successful as a leader, you must lead well in all directions. That includes leading up to your superiors and across among your peers.” Find Jon on Twitter at @jonlokhorst.

Linda Fisher Thornton of LeadinginContext contributed Unethical Leadership: Beliefs of Convenience. Linda shares: “Sometimes leaders believe things that aren’t true because they haven’t taken time to investigate the truth. In other cases, they may have trusted someone who has misled them. But there’s an even more problematic reason some leaders may ignore the truth – claiming to believe the falsehood may benefit them in a tangible way.” Find Linda on Twitter at @leadingincontxt.

Wally Bock of Three Star Leadership provided Taking Stock. Wally explains: "New Year's is the perfect time to take stock and evaluate how you're doing. Then you can decide how to do better." Connect with Wally on Twitter at @WallyBock.

Lisa Kohn of Chatsworth Consulting Group shared The incredible strength of asking for help and being vulnerable. Lisa shares: "Being vulnerable and needing comfort or help from others – and admitting it – are signs of strength. True Thoughtful Leadership strength." Connect with Lisa on Twitter at @ThoughtfulLdrs.

Ken Byler of Higher Ground Consulting Group contributed Leadership and Change. Ken writes: "Change and its imagery are popular mantras for many of today’s leaders. In politics, change is packaged as a clever, memorable slogan. Business leaders tout change as necessary to compete in today’s volatile, competitive markets. If change is so critical, why do many of those same leaders struggle to execute the very transformations they promised?" 

Karin Hurt and David Dye of Let's Grow Leaders provided Your Talent Strategy: How to Avoid this Huge Mistake. Karin and David share: "If a solid performer can’t be promoted, and can’t move laterally, are we really going to just let them stagnate in the same job?" Follow them on Twitter at @letsgrowleaders.

Productivity

Marcella Bremer of Positive Culture contributed Are you an Inclusive Leader? Marcella considers: "Inclusive workplaces have higher engagement, performance, and results as you cannot be your best when you hold back. Inclusion is a priority for leaders, but we are all responsible for an inclusive culture. There are 4 phases. Where are you?" Follow Marcella on Twitter at @MarcellaBremer.

Neal Burgis of Successful Solutions contributed Finish the Tasks You Start. Neal explains: "You may start something, and then hit a roadblock and not know what to do next, so you stop. Get out of your comfort zone and do things that excite you. Don’t regret what you could have done. Starting is equally as important as finishing." Follow Neal on Twitter at @exec_solutions.

And More...

Eileen McDargh contributed The Grace of New Beginnings: Your Resilience Mindset for 2021. Eileen explains: "What gives me hope and optimism for tomorrow is recalling the kindness of strangers, the re-connection with long-ago friends, and the reward of smiles and waves. Nicole Carroll, Editor-in-Chief for USA TODAY, closed her year with a series of uplifting stories captured by reporters covering everything from Sports to the Supreme Court, from Life to Science. " Connect with Eileen on Twitter at @macdarling.

Jesse Stoner of Seapoint Center shared How to Resolve the Roots of Disagreement. Jesse writes: "When a number of people believe the same false information, a group identity forms within an echo chamber that magnifies the information they get and further reinforces their beliefs. Given the amount of polarization today, it's likely most of us have accepted at least some false information as fact. The only way out is to take personal responsibility to do your own thinking." Follow Jesse on Twitter at @JesseLynStoner.

Julie Winkle Giulioni shared How to help your team all year, not just in January. Julie explains: "The new year doesn't wipe away ongoing challenges. So leaders must continue to be resilient, compassionate, consistent and encouraging to help employees remain inspired and motivated." Follow Julie on Twitter at @julie_wg.

Jennifer Nash writes WORK 3.0 - the Vision for Post-Pandemic Work. Part 2: Leadership 3.0. Jennifer explains: “Command and control leadership approaches sufficed in the 20th century for mechanistic tasks, but they aren't as effective in the 21st century for ambiguous and complex environments where human connection, communication, and empathy are paramount to effective outcomes. Going forward, the most successful leaders will be those who are Human Leaders: they are vulnerable and courageous human beings, they lead other humans with compassion, kindness, and empathy and they lead humanely by facilitating, showing love and coaching.” Follow Jennifer on Twitter at @NashCoaching.

Jim Taggart of Changing Winds shared Three Notable Global Thought Leaders–And Why They Matter. Jim considers: "What better way to start 2021 than with a look at three incredible leaders, two American and one Canadian. I’ll share my encounters with them, and talk about the indelible marks they’ve made on making our world a better place." Follow Jim on Twitter at @JlcTaggart.

Steve DiGioia contributed McDonald’s Hot Coffee Case and the Customer Experience. Steve writes: "Leadership takes many forms. But leadership without a moral compass or care for their customers is NOT leadership. The McDonald's Hot Coffee Case proves how little they care. Read all about it here." Find Steve on Twitter at @stevedigioia.

Bill Treasurer of Giant Leap Consulting contributed We Should All Be Like Woody. Bill explains: "It’s not often that I’ll be bought to tears while working. Yesterday morning, while pulling together material for an upcoming workshop on motivation, I was reminded of a getaway my wife Shannon and I had taken and an extraordinary person we met during the trip." Follow Bill on Twitter at @btreasurer.

David Grossman of The Grossman Group provided 5 Must-Do Steps to Share Expectations With Your Team. David shares: "My Mom used to say to me, “I’m not a mind reader. You need to communicate with me. You might think I know what you’re thinking, but I don’t.” Many leaders often think they’ve shared their expectations with employees, but unless you share your list of expectations in a formal way, you’re reducing your employees’ chances of success. Use these 5 steps to help you." Follow David on Twitter at @ThoughtPartner.

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.