5 Top Leadership Articles for the Week of October 17, 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.

How to Deal with Psychopaths and Toxic People: 5 Proven Secrets by Eric Barker

I know what some people are thinking: I’m never going to deal with psychopaths. This is just more sensational clickbait junk.

Wrong. The experts are betting you probably encounter a psychopath every day. In fact, a lot of what you think you know about psychopaths is very wrong.

Yes, psychopaths are more likely to be in jail than most people — but the majority of them aren’t. There’s a whole class of people who don’t have a conscience or feel empathy, and in all likelihood you deal with at least one all the time.

And they probably make your life miserable. They’re “subclinical psychopaths.”

My Comment: The ranks of our business leaders include quite a few people who fit this description. Part of your success and well-being includes knowing how to navigate these toxic personalities. If you haven’t encountered one yet, you probably just didn’t know it. In addition to navigating around them, I invite you to think about these characteristics when you promote people: pay attention to both what they do and how they do it. Don’t give responsibility to people who work hard at gaming the score, not playing the game.

Tips On How to Reduce Stress and Boost Workplace Wellbeing by Andrea Beattie

With more than 80 percent of workers assessing their workplace as high stress, employee wellbeing programs are on the rise — but a resilience expert has warned that some do more harm than good.

CEO of The Resilience Institute (Australia) Stuart Taylor said the Institute’s study of 16,261 workers across 250 organisations showed more than 12,500 regarded their working environment as one of high stress, which contributed to absenteeism and reduced productivity.

The Building Resilience white paper also showed employees surveyed also suffered from worry (31 percent), chronic stress symptoms (23 percent) and distress (36 percent).

My Comment: There is certainly a theme in this week’s top articles. This is a time of year when the initial enthusiasm of the work year gives way to the stress of unforeseen complications, irritating co-workers, and competing priorities. However, many sources of job stress are avoidable and you can improve conditions for your team by paying attention to the factors Beattie addresses.

Genuine Concern for Staff Well-Being is the Most Powerful Motivator by Samantha Jones

Ask ‘what’s the most important asset in your business? and the answer is invariably a pretty trite ‘our people’. A more revealing question is ‘as a business, do you behave every day as though your people are your most important asset?’ – it’s this that will prompt a bit of soul searching.

My Comment: The suggestions in this article go far beyond simplistic concern for staff well-being. They include a range of Winning Well leadership behaviors that ensure your people are set up to be successful and increase the likelihood that they become brand ambassadors who are more energized and productive.

Why Expressing Gratitude Through Our Leadership Matters by Tanveer Naseer

more than simply being a nice thing to do, expressing gratitude through our leadership has been shown to have a tangible impact on the overall productivity of our employees, if not also on the level of commitment they bring to the work they do.

For the past several years, Dr. Adam Grant and Dr. Francesca Gino have been studying how expressions of gratitude impact prosocial behaviour and fuel motivational drive, and one study in particular provides some interesting insights for leaders on the benefits of expressing gratitude to those under our care.

My Comment: While gratitude is a fundamental relationship practice, Naseer’s reflection during the Canadian celebration of Thanksgiving reminds leaders about the productivity power of saying thank you. Particularly important is his reminder that none of us succeeds or thrives in isolation. We need each other in order to succeed.

I remind leaders that everyone is a volunteer – they choose the energy, creativity, and commitment level to every task. When remember that they’re choosing, every bit of work becomes a gift. There is so much to be grateful for!

7 Do’s and Don’ts for Getting the Most from the Smartest People in the Building by Dan Rockwell

Isolated leaders are the dumbest people in the building.

A nameplate on the door and a title after your name doesn’t make you smarter than people with dirt under their fingernails.

Disconnected leaders – seduced by position and perks – don’t get it.

My Comment: If you’re wondering who Rockwell thinks are the smartest people in the building – it’s frontline leaders. If you’re an executive or middle manager, use his tips to get the information you need to make the best decisions and, consequently, you’ll encourage and energize your frontline leaders. If you are a frontline leader, look at Rockwell’s article as a primer in how to be most effective influencing decisions made at other levels.

David works with leaders to get results without losing their soul (or mind) in the process. Have David keynote your next event or deliver corporate training: Email today or call 303.898.7018!

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