June 2021 Leadership Development Carnival

Welcome to the June 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

Jennifer V. Miller writes 7 Things Employees Want to Know In a Department Reshuffle. Jennifer summarizes: “Are you planning a department reorganization or a big change? Here are seven questions your team wants answers before they can get on board.” Find Jennifer on Twitter at @JenniferVMiller.

Randy Conley of Leading with Trust shared Build Trust by Sitting on The Same Side of The Table. Randy shares: "Relationships between management and labor often have an inherent level of distrust. It doesn't have to be that way, writes Randy Conley, in Build Trust by Sitting on The Same Side of The Table." Connect with Randy on Twitter at @RandyConley.

John Stoker of DialogueWORKS contributed What Are the Rules of Conversational Engagement? John writes: "People will mirror what they are experiencing, so if you are becoming irritated, loud or forceful, then the person to whom you are speaking will usually reflect that back to you." Connect with John on Twitter at @JohnRStoker.

Diana Peterson-More shared Back to Work: Communication Tips for a Smooth Return. Diana explains: "Key to our success in this transition will be communication: how we communicate with others, how others communicate with us, and communication ground rules our teams establish." Find Diana on Twitter at @DianaPMAuthor.

David Grossman of The Grossman Group provided Communicating Your Strategic Plan to Employees. David shares: "For leaders looking to stay grounded in business strategy and help their teams understand change, it means creating excitement about the future to drive employee engagement. Here’s how communication plays a critical role and some tools to help." Follow David on Twitter at @ThoughtPartner.

Team Building

Ken Downer of Rapid Start Leadership provided Courage to Lead: Re-looking the Role of Courage in Leadership. Ken shares: “It takes courage to lead, but not in the way many people seem to think. Certainly we need courage to step forward and show the way, but if we want our teammates to be motivated, engaged, and productive as they follow, there are ten other things we should do with that courage; here's what they are.” Follow Ken on Twitter @RapidStartLdr.

Sean Glaze of Great Results Team Building shared An Unexpectedly Fun Effective Way to Check-In and Stay Connected With Your Remote Team. Sean writes: “As a leader, trying to stay connected to your people can be difficult even when you work in the same office. But with virtual or blended teams, communication and connection are even more of a challenge – and you need to have an effective way to check in with the people on your remote team to know what is going on in their life.” Find Sean on Twitter at @leadyourteam.

Robyn McLeod provided The Do's and Dont's of Inclusive Leadership. Robyn summarizes: “While training and policies are important, in the end, it comes down to individual leaders modeling the right behavior and holding other leaders and managers accountable for doing the same.” Find Robyn on Twitter at @ThoughtfulLdrs.

Development

Jon Mertz of Thin Difference shared Losing the soul of leadership and followership. Jon considers: "Losing the soul of leadership and followership happens when dishonesty prevails. Integrity disappears, and destructive behaviors accelerate. Leaders and followers have a responsibility to each other. Honesty and integrity are the soul of good leadership." Connect with Jon on Twitter at @thindifference.

Dan Oestreich provided The Mutiny Against Our Conditioning. Dan summarizes: “Taking on personal development challenges sounds good and may promise a desirable transformation but in reality also portends the difficult work of addressing our conditioned inner worlds. Unfortunately, too often the nature of leadership development these days ignores this conditioning and suggests personal change is simply a matter of following a few easily designed steps, when in fact it is most often very much harder.” Find Dan on Twitter at @DanOestreich.

Marcella Bremer of Positive Culture contributed Culture: how do you handle paradox? Marcella considers: "Let’s create organizations as inspired as the human beings inside them. Hamel and Zanini’s book Humanocracy shows the power of paradox as part of organization culture. How can you have both freedom and control?" Follow Marcella on Twitter at @MarcellaBremer.

Joel Garfinkle of the Career Advancement Blog shared How to Become Your Boss's Favorite Employee. Joel summarizes: "Although you may be a star employee, completing projects correctly and meeting deadlines, you may be missing out on getting noticed. By becoming your boss's favorite you can get noticed by other important company leaders. Learn the 7 steps to becoming your boss's favorite employee." Find Joel on Twitter at @JoelGarfinkle.

Mark Stelzner of IA—HR contributed Growing Pains. Mark summarizes: “Sometimes it's difficult to recognize when growth is happening. In this post, Mark Stelzner reminds us to always look for the opportunity.” Find Mark on Twitter @stelzner.

Priscilla Archangel of Archangel & Associates provided The Future Is Now: Embrace It. Priscilla writes: "As leaders this is an opportunity to review our organization’s vision and strategies to ensure they are comprehensive for the world we now live in." Follow Priscilla on Twitter at @PrisArchangel.

Bernd Geropp provided Why I Quit My Job As a Highly Paid Manager. Bernd shares: "Working with this business coach helped me to better understand my role as a manager. He made it clear that decisions taken by top management weren't my responsibility." Find Bernd on Twitter at @moreleadership.

Chris Edmonds of The Purposeful Culture Group provided Culture Leadership Charge - The One Lever Great Leaders Rely Upon. In this video post, Chris shares: "Aligning and refining demands that leaders lean on the accountability lever, holding leaders and team members throughout their organization accountable for both respect and results, every day." Follow Chris on Twitter at @scedmonds.

Karin Hurt and David Dye of Let's Grow Leaders provided Psychological Safety in the Workplace. Karin and David share: "You may ask for ideas and even do something with them, but if there’s no feedback loop, employees will assume nothing is happening." Follow them on Twitter at @letsgrowleaders.

Henry Mukuti of Insakanet contributed You Are Responsible for Your Life. Henry writes: “Being accountable to someone makes you grow as an individual. It also helps you measure the level of your growth.” Connect with Henry on Twitter at @HenryMukuti.

Bill Treasurer of Giant Leap Consulting contributed Put Yourself on the Line: Learning to Take Risks. Bill explains: "Let’s face it, sometimes the only reason that you put yourself on the line is because someone shoved you over the line." Follow Bill on Twitter at @btreasurer.

Ken Byler of Higher Ground Consulting Group contributed Breaking Our Addiction. Ken writes: "When a leader willingly acknowledges the attachments preventing him or her from making changes, they can experience transformation."

Creativity/Inspiration

Art Petty provided Leadership Caffeine—Harnessing the Power of Purpose in Your Work. Art shares: “If we're not involved in moon-shots or mars-shots but rather working for seemingly pedestrian causes or offerings, how do we manufacture that sense of purpose? It's easy, fall in deep love with the people we're ultimately helping with our work.” Follow Art on Twitter at @artpetty.

Eileen McDargh contributed Sustainability Serves a Student. Eileen explains: "Stuff surrounds me. Lots of stuff. Too many sets of dishes. Too many clothes. Too many purses. Heck- jeans, bunny slippers and a decent shirt work just fine in this virtual world." Connect with Eileen on Twitter at @macdarling.

Neal Burgis of Successful Solutions contributed Era of Innovation Acceleration. Neal explains: "Every crisis is an opportunity leading to a new point of innovation. This is the time when your employees can generate, create, and produce ideas that come from the difficulties the world has experienced." Follow Neal on Twitter at @exec_solutions.

Engagement

Julie Winkle Giulioni shared Work from Where? 3 Leadership Practices that Support Employees Working From Home, Work, or Somewhere in Between. Julie explains: "As organizations and employees prepare for a return to the next normal, there's a lot for leaders to consider. How can you deal with employees - some of whom work at work, others from home, and still others within new hybrid models? Gratefully, there are plenty of leadership practices that flex and can span the range of working configurations. So, no matter where your employees toil, this article offers three high-impact practices to support employee wellbeing, engagement and results." Follow Julie on Twitter at @julie_wg.

Dr. Bill Donahue writes 4 Leadership Challenges You Must Face. Bill shares: “Leaders rarely function in an either-or world. Every major challenge we face creates a tension to be navigated, not a problem to be solved. These 4 common challenges can be successfully navigated, with some focus and grit.” Find Bill on Twitter @drbilldonahue.

Becca Harrison explains Workplace Culture Shock. Becca summarizes: “Onboarding is more than just getting log-in credentials. Leaders need to be intentional in helping new employees adjust to a new workplace.” Follow Becca on Twitter @bullcitybecca.

Erik Samdahl of i4cp shared Five Ways Leaders Can Supercharge Performance and Drive Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Erik writes: "A study of how nearly 70 different leadership behaviors changed (or haven’t) as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic found that a single one clearly stood out as a next practice." Find Erik on Twitter at @i4cp.

Steve DiGioia contributed Top 10 Customer Service Acronyms to Use Every Day. Steve writes: "Great customer service. That’s what our customers want and that’s what we wish to provide. But it’s difficult remembering all the different steps to take to provide it." Find Steve on Twitter at @stevedigioia.

And More...

Wally Bock of Three Star Leadership provided 4 Things to Do Every Day. Wally explains: "The workplace is changing, but some things still work." Connect with Wally on Twitter at @WallyBock.

Jim Taggart of Changing Winds shared Real Leaders Shun Intolerance. Jim considers: "Real leaders shun intolerance. Whether the context is the public service, a corporation, or at the community level, when intolerance raises its ugly head, leaders shut it down immediately." Follow Jim on Twitter at @JlcTaggart.

Jennifer Nash writes Seven Steps to Improve Your Professional Judgment. Jennifer explains: “Developing and improving professional judgment can be simple and straightforward, but not easy. It takes awareness, practice, and courage to build your professional judgment muscle. Use these seven steps to improve your professional judgment competency.” Follow Jennifer on Twitter at @NashCoaching.

Laura Schroeder of Working Girl provided Resilience Starts with Operational Excellence. Laura shares: "Resilience is a quality that enables an individual or an organization to recover from setbacks, adapt to change, and keep going in the face of adversity. As companies start to get back into growth mode we’re starting to see some interesting trends and opportunities for HR to drive higher levels of engagement and resilience." Connect with Laura on Twitter at @workgal.

Marina Jankovic explains The Best Career Change Approach. Marina shares: “Only through interaction and active engagement in the real world, you discover your true self. Seize unforeseen opportunities.” Connect with Marina on LinkedIn.

Brenda Yoho writes Inner Questions for Outer Actions. Brenda explains: “We can choose to be part of the problem or the solution; the choice is always ours to make.” Find Brenda on Twitter at @BrendaYoho.

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.