May 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.

Creativity/Inspiration

Art Petty submitted How Integrative Thinking Promotes Creative Problem Solving. Art summarizes, "Integrative thinking is the process of using the tension from two conflicting approaches to a problem in pursuit of a new and innovative outcome. Instead of responding to competitive or strategic situations with the same approaches, try these 5 tools to identify new and superior approaches." Follow Art on Twitter at @artpetty.

Chip R. Bell of Chip Bell submitted The Power of Embedded Revolution. Chip asks the following: "Boldness of thought generally precedes boldness of execution. Whether real or imagined, boldness signals to customers they are dealing with a winner. How can you embed boldness in the DNA of your organization?" Follow Chip on Twitter at @ChipRBell.

Culture

Marcella Bremer of Leadership and Change Magazine provided Company Culture: Everything for a smile. Marcella questions: "Culture is everywhere where people get together. You don't need to be a co-worker: you also experience culture as a client. My contractor built a people-oriented positive culture and selects clients that fit his culture. Do your clients smile looking at your organization?" Connect with Marcella on Twitter at @marcellabremer.

Paul LaRue of The UPwards Leader contributed Great Story, Horrible Business . Paul shares, "When businesses lose their way, they lose customers. Growing and success are no replacements for consistency in the customer experience." Follow Paul on Twitter at @paul_larue.

Development

Shelley Row provided Disappointed by Your Plan? Get Hooked by Questions Insightful Leaders Ask. Shelley shares that an early morning "unsuccessful" fishing trip provides good questions for leaders to ask, if they are disappointed in how plans are turning out. Find Shelley on Twitter at @shelleyrow.

David Dye and Karin Hurt of Let's Grow Leaders submitted Critical Thinking: Five Ways to Build Your Team's Capacity to Think.  Have you ever felt scared to delegate because you don't think your team has the critical thinking skills they need for success? Let's Grow Leaders provides five ways to increase your team's ability to think. Find them on Twitter at @letsgrowleaders.

Chris Edmonds of The Purposeful Culture Group provided Culture Leadership Charge: Act from Your Best Self.  You are at your best when you are calm and cool. How do you stay in your best self and not hang out in your worst self? Chris Edmonds gives us some pointers. Follow Chris on Twitter at @scedmonds.

Jon Verbeck provided Is Your Business Growing, or Dying?.  Each day, your business is either growing or dying. Jon gives us some insight on making sure that it is growing more often than not.  Find Jon on Twitter at @jonverbeck1.

Wally Bock of Three Star Leadership provided 4 Important Truths about Leadership. Wally states: "There’s an entire industry built around thinking big thoughts about leadership and it’s not doing us all that much good. " You can find Wally on Twitter at @WallyBock.

Steve DiGioia provided Everything You Need to Know About Being a Leader. Steve writes, "We’ve all worked for a boss who fancied him/herself as a leader but that’s only because of his position in the company. Use this list to determine your leadership style, identify where you’ll get your power from and why others should follow you." Follow Steve on Twitter at @SteveDigioia.

Ronni Hendel of Actionable Conversations  shared The Habit of Curiosity. Ronni recaps: "Curiosity is a continuous practice, a skill to hone and a mindset to adopt—in other words, a habit. And, in an increasingly complex world, it's one of the most important habits for leaders to cultivate." Find Ronni on Twitter at @ronnihendel.

Joel Garfinkle of the Career Advancement Blog submitted Making a Good Impression At Work. Joel asks: "Is there more you could be doing to really shine at work? How can you stand out, aside from producing good work? Many factors influence the impression people make at work. Become a superstar employee by mastering these methods." Follow Joel on Twitter at @JoelGarfinkle.

Mary Ila Ward of Horizon Point Consulting submitted How to Train Leaders to Act with Courage. Mary asks: "How do you help leaders practice the hard stuff? The stuff in which courage is made? Practice or 'preloading a response' is particularly important in situations where courage is required. Practice can lead to positive outcomes!" Discover Mary on Twitter at @MaryIlaWard.

Lisa Kohn of The Thoughtful Leaders™ Blog presents What to do when you don’t know what to do.  Lisa Kohn offers a few simple steps for having more clarity, flexibility, and confidence to make the important decisions you have to make. You can follow Lisa on Twitter at @ThoughtfulLdrs.

Engagement

Jill Malleck of Epiphany at Work submitted A Work-Anywhere Policy Needs EQ Jill states: "The trend toward working from anywhere, home or remotely, often creates a sense of disconnection that can range from isolating personal loneliness to leadership angst around managing what can’t be seen. Here are some tips for leaders and organizations to counter-balance." Find Jill on Twitter at @epiphanyatwork.

Jon Mertz of Thin Difference submitted CEOs as Activists and Five Signs You Are Leaning Toward Activism. Jon shares: "CEOs as activists are more common today, and some business leaders may begin to feel the urge to join the shift. Five signs arise that say you may be leaning toward activism." Discover Jon on Twitter at @thindifference.

Productivity

Beth Beutler of H.O.P.E. Unlimited provided Wisdom for Work: 10 Tips to Help You Excel and Exhale.  Beth provides us a list (and slideshow) of 10 random tips that can help you improve your work life and exhale while doing so! Find Beth on Twitter at @bethbeutler.

Dan McCarthy of Great Leadership provided Managing Priorities: A Key to Leadership Success. As a leader, do you scramble to get your work done at the very last minute or tend to cram the night before a big meeting? Are your team members often confused about what to do and unable to complete their assignments on time? These problems can usually be solved if you learn to improve one very important leadership skill: managing priorities. Guest author Martin Lanik explains how. Find Dan on Twitter at @greatleadership.

Team Building

Susan Mazza of Random Acts of Leadership provided Collusion vs Collaboration. Susan's post discusses the kinds of human behaviors on teams, in organizations, and in life that keep us stuck vs. moving us forward. The answer to this one question – can we count on each other when it really counts? – can reveal whether your team is colluding for mediocrity or collaborating for greatness.  Follow Susan on Twitter at @susanmazza.

Eileen McDargh of The Resiliency Group submitted The Care & Feeding of Virtual Teams.  The good news about technology is that teams can be spread throughout the world, offering a rich background for global enterprises; but virtual teams come with their own problems. Create vibrant, resilient virtual teams by following Eileen's advice. Discover Eileen on Twitter at @macdarling.

Randy Conley of Leading with Trust provided Four Pillars of High Trust Teams - How To Take Your Team to The Next Level. Randy Conley says: "Trust is the foundation of any successful team, and in this post, trust-expert Randy Conley shares the four pillars of high-trust teams and how leaders can take their team's performance to the next level."  Follow Randy on Twitter at @RandyConley.

And More...

Jim Taggart of Changing Winds provided Ten Rules for Succeeding as a Leader in an Age of Turbulent Change. In the post, Jim shares: "The key to success as a leader is change adaptability. Here are 10 rules for successful personal leadership in the age of organizational and societal turbulence." Find Jim on Twitter at @72keys.

David Grossman of The Grossman Group shared How to Create an Internal Communications Plan in 7 Steps. David writes, “Too often we find that internal communications departments don’t have a communication plan in place, and it shows in how the team works, how well employees are communicated with, and, in many cases, the kind of impact the function has on the business. Find out why a strategic internal communication plan is beneficial, what it includes, and how to create one with this step-by-step guide (featuring 4 free templates and tools).” Discover David on Twitter at @thoughtpartner.

Jane Perdue of the Jane Group provided 18 ways to be a leader who makes a positive difference.  Jane shares: "To create business practices and workplaces that are more open, more inclusive, and more caring, leaders need to be perpetual learners who are intellectually curious. Here's 18 ways to get outside ourselves and be curious about the big picture." Find Jane on Twitter at @thehrgoddess.

Mark Stelzner of IA provided How to Build a Business Case for Your HR Transformation. Mark explains, "Your HR processes are complicated and time-consuming. It’s time for a major transformation. But are your C-level leaders listening? Get our tips for building a business case for your HR transformation." Follow Mark on Twitter at @stelzner.

Michael Lee Stallard of Michael Lee Stallard submitted Protecting Your Employees (and Yourself) from the Stress-Connection Gap. Michael provides, "A wealth of recent research demonstrates that employees are experiencing rising stress levels and decreasing connection to help them effectively process that stress." In this article, Michael Stallard shares leadership advice for closing the stress-connection gap in your workplace to boost employees' health and performance. Follow Michael on Twitter at @michaelstallard.

Julie Winkle-Giulioni provided Recognizing 'Robligation'. Julie asks: "Have you ever been excited to take on a task or responsibility only to have it turn into an obligation that hangs over your head and saps your joy and life force? That's 'robligation' and you are not alone." Connect with Julie on Twitter at @julie_wg.

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.