5 Top Leadership Articles for the Week of December 12, 2016
It’s been another week of hearing from readers how they are sharing Winning Well: A Manager’s Guide to Getting Results Without Losing Your Soul with the leaders, managers, and people in their life who want to be rockstars at work and blend the bottom line with the human spirit. If you need an autographed copy for a gift, please let me know!
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.
Don’t Let Your Filters Become Blinders by Steve McKee
Years ago, my company ran into some rough waters, which turned into a near-death experience for us. Over that several-month period, I remember becoming sensitive to what I believed were slights from people on staff who had begun doubting me. That wasn’t healthy for me or the firm.
We somehow managed to survive, and in retrospect I came to see that the perceived slights were unintended and that the real problem was that I had begun doubting myself. I had created a filter through which I processed everything I saw and heard.
My Comment: I believe one of the most vital characteristics you can cultivate is a healthy sense of perspective. Confirmation bias – that all-too-human inclination to find what we’re already looking for – can easily blind you to opportunities as well as problems. Confirmation bias can make you can miss out on a great employee or pay the price for a poor one. McKee calls you to be aware of your built-in filters and the healthy role they can play, as well as when they become problematic. As a leader, I encourage you to work hard to find, maintain, and reclaim perspective. Connect with other leaders outside your business, hire a coach, and spend time with people who matter to you. Do everything you can to maintain a healthy, objective perspective and you’ll make better decisions.
Honestly, It’s Fine! (Is being passive-aggressive bad?) by Rebecca Roache
We don’t like confrontation. We prefer to keep hold of our resentment until we have to get it out somehow, and then we quietly do things like drop people from birthday party lists and vote to withdraw our country from beneficial political organisations.
This sort of behaviour has a name: passive aggression. It’s not just the British who are passive aggressive; to varying degrees, everyone is, sometimes. Scott Wetzler, a New York psychiatrist whose research focuses on passive aggression, calls it ‘sugar-coated hostility’.
My Comment: When I conduct workshops with leaders to help them practice drama-free accountability, the question of passive aggressive employees inevitably comes up. This article is an in-depth, fun, and thought-provoking look at that passive aggressive behavior. It’s also a good reminder that while passive aggressive reactions might seem better than outright hostility, neither of them is a healthy response to frustration or disappointment. Far better to master the art of owning your emotions and having the necessary discussions held from a place of confident humility – particularly if you want to win well.
How to Include Remote Employees in Your Company Culture by Dr. Rick Goodman
It used to be that people who worked together were more or less always under the same roof, sharing office space for a good chunk of their days. Today, that’s less true. Thanks to advances in online communication and collaboration, it’s easier than ever for employers to hire remote workers, allowing them to get their tasks done from the comfort of their own home or apartment.
This can be mutually beneficial. Not only is working from home a great perk, and an effective way to attract top talents, but the right kind of employee can be far more productive and focused when working from home. Meanwhile, having a remote team can reduce overhead expenses. There is one downside, though, and it’s simply this: Having remote employees makes it much more difficult to build a coherent company culture.
My Comment: In many ways, creating a meaningful organizational culture and sense of team with people who don’t work in the same space is one of the fundamental workplace challenges. I do it myself (Karin and I wrote all of Winning Well living 1700 miles apart). Creating team, connection, and a healthy culture is possible, but it takes intentional effort. Dr. Goodman shares a few critical suggestions to get you started.
Does Your Leadership Bring Out the Best In Those You Lead? By Tanveer Naseer
Over the past few weeks, there’s been a noticeable uptick in leadership and management articles focusing on the topic of how leaders can ensure that they are providing a ‘safe’ environment for all of their employees. There’s little doubt that the rising interest in this topic is in response to the outcome of the recent presidential election in the United States.
While it’s unfortunate that we even have to consider or discuss such issues in today’s organizations, it does serve as a potent reminder of an even larger issue that affects all employees, and not just those who belong to a particular minority group. And that is, what kind of organizational climate are you helping or enabling to take root within your organization?
My Comment: This is an insightful article by Naseer. He highlights a trap I’ve observed many leaders step into: they ask whether or not they’re doing something bad eg: “Am I creating a toxic workplace?” When they answer ‘no’, they are satisfied. The problem is that avoiding toxicity doesn’t mean your building a healthy, productive, engaged team. Similarly, if you were to say “I’m not stifling creativity” that is a far cry from promoting a culture where new ideas flourish and improve everyone’s productivity and service. Providing a safe, hostility-free workplace isn’t enough – that alone won’t create success. Winning well requires you to focus on simultaneously achieving results and building relationships in all you do.
5 Ways to Tame a Bad Boss by Karin Hurt
“Greg” called to share his news, “You know that situation with my boss is going a lot better! I decided to go on the offense and just keep him over-informed. He loves it. Now he stays off my back and I can do my work.”
Bingo. Another “bad boss” tamed.
My Comment: This was the most popular post this week. (And small wonder…we’re all imperfect people so anyone with a human for a boss probably has a ‘bad boss’ at some point.) My co-author shares five ways you can improve the situation with all but the most horrible supervisors. There’s a tip here for everyone!
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!
The post 5 Top Leadership Articles for the Week of December 12, 2016 appeared first on Leadership Speaker David Dye.
Book David today for your event, workshop, or training: david@trailblazeinc.com or 1.800.972.582
