5 Top Leadership Articles for the Week of February 22, 2016
Each week I read a number of leadership articles from various online resources and share them across social media. Here are the five articles readers found most valuable last week. I have added my comment about each article and would like to hear what you think, too.
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The Relationship Between Corporate Culture and Performance by Alina Dizik in the Wall Street Journal
Corporate culture has long been linked to company performance, but how exactly are the two related? A recent study suggests the relationship is strong, but nuanced. For instance, a positive corporate culture—one that engages and motivates employees—helps a company’s bottom line, according to the study of car dealerships by a group of university and corporate researchers. But the reverse apparently isn’t true.
My Comment: Alina addresses some of the important finer points of studies like this one. For instance, the impact of a positive company culture on performance is real, but it takes time to see it. Additionally, a positive company culture is an advantage your competitors can’t copy.
This Is Why All Your Great Employees Leave by Aaron Michel
A 2015 LinkedIn survey revealed that the No. 1 reason employees leave their company is because of a lack of career advancement opportunities. Fifty-nine percent of job-switchers did so because the new workplace had a stronger career path. Continuing to ignore employees’ aspirations affects recruitment, retention, engagement and the overall success of the organization. And unless employers find ways to help their workforce visualize a clear path within the company, great talent will keep leaving.
My Comment: Aaron provides four ways you might be holding back your employees and who to improve so your top performers don’t jump ship. Career advancement is one way people experience a sense of growth – a vital component of an energized team. Even if you don’t have promotion opportunities, how can you help them build on strengths? Create more value with their work? Receive more value for their work?
The Price of Poor Listening by Dan Bobinski in Management.Issues
Millions of dollars are lost every day in organizations simply because of poor listening. In your company it may be only thousands, or hundreds, or maybe just twenty or fifty here and there. Whatever the amount, I’m guessing you would be amazed at how much money is lost due to poor listening skills.
My Comment: Dan calls out a fundamental problems that prevent us from listening well and provides an excellent guide in how to do it well. A notable portion of this article is the section “Getting Past the Obstacles” where he discusses the internal concerns that might keep you from listening.
Study Says It Takes Only One Mean Employee to Drag Down the Entire Workplace by Amy Morin in Forbes
There’s a lot to be said for the old saying, “One bad apple can spoil the whole barrel.” Not only is that true for fruit, but it holds a lot of merit in the workplace. Just one malicious employee among the ranks can wreak havoc on your company culture. Toxic employees have an unhealthy ripple effect that harms co-workers, managers and subordinates alike.
My Comment: When I shared this one, many people responded with their own examples. Remember, when you hold everyone accountable for their behavior and performance, you communicate how much you value your people and you cultivate an environment where everyone can perform. Fail to do this and you’ll lose performance and your people.
What Attracts the Best Employees to a Company? By Brandon Rigoni and Bailey Nelson on Gallup.com
When leaders see their best performers achieve business outcomes, they no doubt wish they could get more similarly talented people to apply to and join their company. Fortunately, any business can attract applicants who are more likely to be top performers and a good cultural fit by using some simple strategies for developing a focused employee value proposition (EVP).
My Comment: Talented workers who have values and dispositions consistent with your culture are invaluable – they are the engines that drive everything you do. Rigoni and Nelson give you the best practices of companies with strong employee value propositions.
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