October 2015 Leadership Development Carnival

Welcome to the October 2015 edition of the Leadership Development Carnival.

With football season well underway as well as the upcoming World Series (along with many other sports), it's a great month for sports analogies!

Read over these outstanding leadership posts this month and I think you'll agree each one is a home run!

Let's Get Started

Anne Perschel of Germane Consulting submitted Lead with a Smile and Discover What Happens. Anne shares, "Ed, an Engineering Director, has a habit of mind that immediately sees what could go wrong in any given situation. There’s always something, and often lots of somethings, that could go wrong. But one day, Ed saw the lighter side of a situation, and...read what happened." Locate Anne on Twitter at @bizshrink.

Bill Treasurer of Giant Leap Consulting contributed Opening the Thought-Shifting Door. Bill writes, " Leaders need to know how to shift people’s thinking. Real opportunities can be found in convincing people to become imaginative by freeing them from narrow, negative, or habitual thinking. You may be surprised to hear that encouraging thought-shifting is not as difficult or complicated as it may seem." Follow Bill on Twitter at @btreasurer.

Bruce Harpham of Project Management Hacks submitted How To Lead Virtual Teams. Bruce summarizes, "How do you lead a team that is distributed across the country or across the world? In this article, I share best practices for leaders leading a virtual team including recommended tools." Discover Bruce on Twitter at @PMPhacks.

Chris Edmonds of the Purposeful Culture Group contributed Where the Human Spirit Goes to Die. Chris describes the post: "Our workplaces - around the globe - are not inspiring, engaging, productive environments for us to work in. Chris sheds light on a study that shows what people need - and how to create it." Follow Chris on Twitter at @scedmonds.

Dan McCarthy of Great Leadership submitted 10 Ways to Keep  Cool and Composed. Dan writes, "When a leader lets their emotions get the better of them they can quickly develop a reputation as volatile, moody, defensive, or having a lack of leadership presence. Unfortunately, all it takes is one public outburst. What can a leader do to keep cool under pressure?" Find Dan on Twitter at @GreatLeadership.

David Dye of Trailblaze, Inc., shared A Secret of Success at Leadership and Life. In this article, David shares a powerful metaphor for leadership which contrasts confusion and clarity. Discover David on Twitter at @davidmdye.

Jesse Lyn Stoner of the Seapoint Center provided Are Your Employees Turning You Into a Helicopter Manager?. Jesse summarized: "What happens when Millennials who are used to 'helicopter parents' enter the workforce? You may be turning into a helicopter boss without realizing it. Here’s why, what they really need, and what you can do as a manager." Follow Jesse on Twitter at @JesseLynStoner.

Jill Malleck of Epiphany at Work contributed Four Ways to Be an Active Leader. Jill shares, "busy leaders can find themselves only responding to this and that. True leadership means shaking it up and making new moves. Here’s 4 easy ways to do that." Find Jill on Twitter at @epiphanyatwork.

Jim Taggart of Changing Winds submitted Black Swans: The Achilles Heel of Leadership. Jim says, "Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the world were predictable–or at least somewhat predictable? It would certainly make the job of top organizational leaders and politicians in power that much easier. But that’s not how it is; it never has been in fact." Find Jim on Twitter at @72keys.

Joel Garfinkle of the Career Advancement Blog submitted Is it a Myth? Can you Actually Achieve Work-Life Balance? Joel recaps: "Balancing work and a personal life is becoming an increasingly common problem in today’s hyper-competitive world. Here are ten strategies for creating and maintaining work-life balance." Discover Joel on Twitter at @JoelGarfinkle.

John Hunter of the Curious Cat Management Improvement Blog provided What to Do To Create a Continual Improvement Culture. John explains, "Leaders must create systems that encourage others to succeed and make the organization more effective. When leaders allow themselves to be removed from what is really going on in the organization they damage the organization. In order to build an organization that inspires people to be creative and engaged a leader needs to build a management system that makes that a reality." Follow John on Twitter at @curiouscat_com.

Jon Mertz of Thin Difference sent The Diverse Tales of Kickstarter and Volkswagen. Jon sumarizes: "Trust is not an intangible. ​It'​s concrete in what it can do and what it can destroy when misused.​ What leadership lessons can we learn from these two tales of trust playing out in mainstream media?​" Discover Jon on Twitter @ThinDifference.

Karin Hurt of Let's Grow Leaders shared What Happens When We Really Listen. She summarizes "Real listening transforms us. I was blessed by someone “really listening” to me recently." Locate Karin on Twitter at @LetsGrowLeaders.

Lexie Martin of Leadership Directions sent Seven Leadership Superpowers Managers Can Use to Inspire, Engage and Retain their Gen Y Employees. In this in-depth guide, Lexie shares how and when managers of all ages can use support, vision, progress, balance, coaching, humility, and make real connections to reduce turnover and improve performance.

Lisa Kohn of The Thoughtful Leaders^TM Blog provided For Greater Leadership, Lose These Two Words. In this piece, Lisa shares shares a common two-word phrase that many of us overuse and that we need to stop saying. It lessens our credibility and hurts us. Follow Lisa on Twitter at @ThoughtfulLdrs.

Mary Jo Asmus of Aspire Collaborative Services, LLC, contributed Meeting them where they are. This post explains: Whatever someone has done that annoys you isn’t relevant in the present moment, and it doesn’t help to judge others by their past behaviors. The secret to better work relationships is to meet others where they are. Find Mary Jo on Twitter at @mjasmus.

Miki Saxon of RampUp Solutions, Inc, contributed Ducks in a Row: The What and How of Culture. Miki continues, "Everybody recognizes that changing culture in a large enterprise is difficult.But why is it that the most critical action required in changing culture is rarely, if ever, mentioned?" Discover Miki on Twitter at @OptionSanity.

Neal Burgis, Ph.D. of Burgis Successful Solutions submitted Believe You are Creative? Neal summarizes: "To be a leader in a creative and innovative organization, you must learn to be creative. Here are some basics to help get you started." Find Neal on Twitter at @exec_solutions.

Paul LaRue of  The UPWards Leader contributed 7 Encouraging Signs That You're On Target. Paul believes, "If you doubt that you're progressing towards your goals, a look at these markers will show you that you're on track." Learn more about Paul on Twitter at @paul_larue.

Randy Conley of Leading With Trust submitted Your First Five Steps When Leading a New Team. Randy shares: "You only get one chance to make a first impression when taking on a new leadership role, so it’s critically important you start on the right foot. This post provides helpful advice that will get you started on the path to success." Follow Randy on Twitter at @RandyConley.

Susan Mazza of Random Acts Of Leadership submitted The Alternative to Fixing Poor Performance. Susan explains: "Fixing people is exhausting, because you never will be done. But there's an alternative: leading people to own their results and holding them accountable for being their best." Find Susan on Twitter at @susanmazza.

Tanveer Naseer of Tanveer Naseer shared Learning To Focus On What Matters Most. He says this post is, "a look at what leaders need to focus on in order to succeed at motivating their employees in bringing their very best to the work they do." Follow Tanveer on Twitter at @tanveernaseer.

Wally Bock of Three Star Leadership contributed When a Team Member Brings You an Idea. Wally writes, "People have ideas all the time, even at work. So why don't they share them? How can you change that situation? " Find Wally on Twitter at @wallybock.

Until Next Time

Thank you to everyone who submitted articles for this month's carnival. We are pleased to announce that Beth Miller of Executive Velocity will be hosting the November Leadership Development Carnival. We will send submission details later this month.