May 2019 Leadership Development Carnival

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

Communication

Lisa Kohn of Thoughtful Leaders Blog contributed Silent and listen have a lot in common besides six letters.  Lisa Kohn from The Thoughtful Leaders™ Blog shares how practicing silence can invite others to step into the conversation more, build a stronger connection - and often, a shared understanding – with the people around you. Connect with Lisa on Twitter at @ThoughtfulLdrs.

David Grossman of The Grossman Group provided Face-To-Face Communication: 6 Reasons to Lead in Person. David writes: "There are more than enough ways to communicate, and too often they add up to message overload for employees. When something is important, nothing compares to face-to-face communication. Here are 6 good reasons for leading and communicating in person." Find David on Twitter at @ThoughtPartner.

Development

John Spence contributed What Is Your Definition Of Leadership?. John challenges readers to consider the characteristics of an "Ideal Leader" and how to use that to improve their leadership effectiveness. Connect with John on Twitter at @awesomelysimple.

Erik Samdahl of i4cp provided Tapping the Power of ERGs to Develop Leaders. Erik summarizes: "Research shows that high-performance organizations view ERG participation to be more effective than formal development programs in terms of developing a variety of leadership skills." Find Erik on Twitter at @i4cp.

Jim Taggert of Changing Winds shared The Humble Leader: Giving Without Strings Attached. Jim writes: "We shouldn’t be making coaching or mentoring a complicated rocket science process, feeding what is now a self-serving industry that 'certifies' people to become coaches. " Find Jim on Twitter at @72keys.

Marcella Bremer of Positive Culture provided Culture Matters: Service versus Technical Companies. Marcella asks: "Is culture less important in a tech company but crucial when you provide services? The answer is no. Culture matters everywhere. Your metrics will show. What do you need to improve?" Follow Marcella on Twitter at @MarcellaBremer.

Mary Jo Asmus of Aspire Collaborative Services, LLC, submitted Choosing kindness. In this post, Mary Jo shares: "Leaders don't have to give up being direct or firm to also be kind. They can choose their response. Here's how to manage yourself to choose kindness over the alternatives." Discover Mary Jo on Twitter at @mjasmus.

Karin Hurt of Let's Grow Leaders contributed How to Know What Scares Your Team Right Now . Karin shares: "Your job is to reduce ambiguity and build courage and hope. So you’re doing the best you can to ensure everyone feels safe. But it’s not easy. Because if you’re like most leaders, you’re at least a little bit scared too. But who likes to talk about that?" Find Karin on Twitter at @letsgrowleaders.

Chris Edmonds of The Purposeful Culture Group provided Culture Leadership Charge: Insights into a Healthy Work Culture. In this video post, Chris reviews a Trader Joe’s employee's discussion on Reddit, about the unique work culture there, why employees are so happy, and more. Follow Chris on Twitter at @scedmonds.

Shelley Row of Insightful Leadership shared Three Reasons Your Employee Development Program Doesn't Work. Shelley writes: "You realize there are performance, communication, and/or management issues. You bring in a trainer or a consultant to address the problem, and for a short time, the situation is better. Soon, however, everyone slips back into the same old patterns. Why?" Connect with Shelley on Twitter at @shelleyrow.

Stephanie Skryzowski of 100 Degrees Consulting shared Twenty minutes a day to better leadership. Stephanie shares: "Leadership self-care includes practical actions you can achieve to take care of yourself as a leader and ensure you’re operating at the highest level. Because, let’s face it, no one can look out for us as well as we can." Find Stephanie on Twitter at @Steph100Degrees.

Engagement

Art Petty provided Great Managers Make a Hard Job Look Easy—Here's How. Art recaps, "My favorite part of working with good managers is their seeming superpower to make their difficult jobs guiding and engaging with team members and stakeholders look easy. Here are 8 key behaviors I've observed in these managers." Find Art on Twitter at @artpetty.

Eileen McDargh contributed Five Secrets to Creative Adaptability. Eileen writes: "The organizations with the greatest number of responses to any given situation is the one that survives. The good news: a leader does not and cannot have all the answers. Engaging every part of the organization breathes unknown potential into life." Connect with Eileen on Twitter at @macdarling.

Neal Burgis, Ph. D. of Burgis Successful Solutions provided Einstein’s Window of Opportunity. Neal states: "Taking advantage of opportunities needs you to look at what you need and what can help you grow and thrive beyond where you are right now. Here are some tips to help you with opportunities for your business." You can find Neal on Twitter at @exec_solutions.

Team Building

Sean Glaze of Great Results Team Building provided If an Onboarding Plan is NOT Your Greatest Challenge with New Teammates, What Is?. Sean states: "As a team leader or member, one of the greatest challenges you have is welcoming a new teammate and 'showing them the ropes.' But onboarding is NOT the most important part of bringing in someone new." Find Sean on Twitter at @leadyourteam.

Jon Mertz of Thin Difference submitted Unfreeze Congruence for Better Team Performance. Jon summarizes: "It seems odd, but congruence can erode team performance over time. It's time we celebrate incongruence and see how dissimilarity and difference can create stronger teams. " Discover Jon on Twitter at @thindifference.

Janine Comito of ia HR provided How to Lose an Employee in 10 Days. Janine writes: "In the spirit of the 2003 classic rom-com, “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days,” let’s think through common ways you could be losing your employees — and how to get back on the right track." Discover Janine on Twitter at @voiceofhr.

Dan McCarthy of Great Leadership contributed A Leader’s Guide to Preventing and Dealing with Workplace Conflict. It’s a leader’s job to deal with workplace conflict head-on. Ignoring it will only make matters worse, and will eventually impact team productivity, results, employee satisfaction, and the leader’s reputation. Dan McCarthy presents some ways to manage workplace conflict, so that little problems don’t fester into BIG problems.
Connect with Dan on Twitter at @greatleadership.

Paul LaRue of Upwards Leader provided 14 Ways To Get And Keep Good Employees. Paul shares: "Staffing and retention is the most critical thing for any successful organization. Here are ways you can ensure your company can get and keep good employees to meet your short and long-term goals." Connect with Paul on Twitter at @paul_larue.

Ken Downer of Rapid Start Leadership provided Leading Your Army: Is This Really the One You Wanted?. Ken writes: "Appearances are important, but too often we can find ourselves overly focused on how things look at the expense of how well they function. When it comes to leading your army, it's all about what your teams can do. Here are six ways to build teams that win." Follow Ken on Twitter at @RapidStartLdr.

And More...

Beth Beutler of H.O.P.E. Unlimited shared Five Finger Reminders for a Healthy Day (Even at Work). In this succinct list, Beth gives us reminders about how to have a healthy day even at work, which will help our attitude and productivity! Find Beth on Twitter at @bethbeutler.

Wally Bock of Three Star Leadership shared Decompression: don’t take your bad days out on people you love. Wally states: "Bad days and stress are going to happen to you. Don’t share them." Find Wally on Twitter at @WallyBock.

Randy Conley of Leading with Trust contributed 7 Ways to Tell if You're a Boss or a Leader. Randy suggests: "Are you a 'boss' who lords power and control over others, or a 'leader' who brings out the best in people? In this post, Randy Conley shares seven ways you can tell if you're a 'boss' or 'leader'." Follow Randy on Twitter at @RandyConley.

Steve DiGioia provided 3 Ways to Serve a Customer Even When We’re Not at Our Best. Steve shares: "Leadership comes in many forms. True leaders can serve the customer well even through the worst of times. Service doesn’t end when we’re sick or tired. It continues through snowstorms and divorces. It is shared by all who expect to be valued, not for our money but for our humanity." Connect with Steve on Twitter at @stevedigioia.

Susan Fowler contributed Do You Have a Credo?. Susan shares: "A personal credo is a statement of your core beliefs, or guiding principles, and your intentions for integrating them into your everyday life. To create an optimally motivating credo to guide your everyday life or help you shift when you feel overwhelmed by a situation, external distractions or pressure, include actions that create choice, connection and competence." Connect with Susan on Twitter at @fowlersusann.

Joel Garfinkle of the Career Advancement Blog shared Is your Employer Checking your Social Media Use?. Joel asks: "I’ve heard that employers are checking social media more and more, to find out how professional their people really are. Should I just get rid of my Facebook profile so I don’t have to worry about my boss snooping on me?" Follow Joel on Twitter at @JoelGarfinkle.

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.