Category: General

Horizon Point writes about dozens of leadership, career, workplace, and workforce topics. Sometimes we write whatever we want. Read this category for general blogs from the HPC team.

  • July Leadership Carnival

    July Leadership Carnival

    Welcome to the July 1st, 2013 edition of the Leadership Development Carnival!

    We hope you enjoy these great posts from 32 of the best leadership bloggers from around the globe.

    Dan McCarthy from Great Leadership presents How to Overcome the 3 Organizational Barriers to Leadership Development.  “Why is it that more organizations and executives don’t fully embrace the effective development of their leaders? It all comes down to 3 barriers: They either don’t understand why it’s important, how to do it, or they just won’t. This post reviews each barrier and provides tips for overcoming them.”

    Dana Theus from InPower Women presents Activating the Hidden Face of Workforce Diversity. “Building a diverse workforce isn’t so hard given the growing numbers of minorities in the U.S. population, but grooming them into leadership is another matter entirely.”

    Julie Winkle Giulioni from juliewinklegiulioni.com presents Team, Group or Train Wreck? “Despite the ubiquitous use of the term, not all groups are teams. Teams share some essential qualities that distinguish them from other collections of individuals…. and that are explored in this article.”

    Jim Taggart from Changing Winds presents Creating Your Leadership Footprint through the Practice of LESS is MORE.

    S. Chris Edmonds from Driving Results Through Culture presents The Leader’s Primary Job: Engaged Employees“The benefits of engaged employees are impressive and undeniable. This post looks at Gallup’s 2013 ‘State of the American Workplace’ data as well as global data on employee engagement. Edmonds places responsibility for boosting employee engagement squarely on the shoulders or organizational leaders.”

    Lolly Daskal from lollydaskal.com presents Failure: The Competitive Advantage“Some of us may look at failure as us not being successful, life has taught us that Struggle, failure, pain, adversity—they are all our teachersFailure gives us the competitive advantage, it opens the door unto everything we need to know.

    Randy Conley from Leading With Trust presents Are You a Thermometer or Thermostat Leader? “Randy Conley uses the metaphor of comparing thermometers and thermostats to examine how leaders can either be reactive to the dynamics occurring in their teams or proactively create the right environment for their teams to succeed.”

    John Hunter from Curious Cat Management Improvement Blog presents Experience Teaches Nothing Without Theory. “Too often leaders are applying behaviors without understanding the theory (or without evidence showing that the practice based on the theory is effective – failing to practice evidence based management).”

    Jesse Lyn Stoner from Jesse Lyn Stoner presents Focusing on the Future Sets Leaders Apart. “Jesse Lyn Stoner is hosting ‘The Value of Vision’ series for the next month. She has invited several leadership experts and thought-leaders to join her in exploring the role of vision in today’s complex, fast-paced world. Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner, authors of the groundbreaking bestseller ‘The Leadership Challenge’ kick off the series using their most recent research. The series will run for a month and will include 10 industry experts and thought-leaders such as Ken Blanchard, Whitney Johnson, and Doug Conant.”

    Michael Folkmanfrom Four Groups’ Blog presents Rethinking the War for Talent.  “Despite advances in technology, selection methods and years of cumulative experience; organisations continue to struggle squaring the recruitment and talent puzzle. Arguably, with all the tools currently available to them, businesses are no better at recruiting than they were 20 years ago. Whilst new technologies and social media have widened the net, there is little evidence to suggest that decision making is improving or that organisations are better at understanding what makes a successful hire. Maybe it is time that we re-frame the talent question and look at recruitment decisions through a different set of filters?”

    Chery Gegelman from Simply Understanding presents When you don’t know, what you don’t know. “What do you do when you don’t know something?  Or worse…   What if you are in the midst of change and don’t know what you don’t know?”

    Frank Sonnenbergfrom Frank Sonnenberg Online presents Winging It Through Life.  “Winging it is a form of shooting craps. You gamble that, prepared or not, you’ll be able to handle whatever comes up in life –– seven or snake eyes.”

    Bernd Geropp from More Leadership presents 3 Ways how employee motivation gets destroyed! “Lots of managers want to motivate their employees. I believe that is the wrong approach. You don’t need to motivate but you have to take care that you don’t de-motivate. I share 3 ways how employee’s motivation can be easily destroyed and how it can be avoided.”

    Karin Hurt from letsgrowleaders.com presents Stupid Idea or Seeds of Brilliance?

    Jennifer V. Miller of The People Equation encourages leaders to be cultivators of talent, not hoarders, in: 7 Signs You’re Hoarding Your Team’s Talent.

    Mark Miller from Great Leaders Serve presents Today’s Challenge: Delegation Without Guilt.

    Jon Mertz from Thin Difference presents Interview with Megan Emme, Social Leader“Many exciting Millennial leaders are rising up. Megan Emme is a great example of a social leader, emanating the characteristics of Gen Y in an engaging way.”

    Mark Behl from Leadership for Today’s Executive presents Manage Expectations or Manage Emotions. “As a leader, you must learn to manage expectations or be really good at managing emotions.  When we fail to manage people’s expectations, whether it is project timelines, budgets, or strategic initiatives, we are left managing their emotions.  Senior leaders that are upset, customers that are frustrated and angry, or key stakeholders that thought more progress was being made.  I have learned over the years that managing expectations will get you much further and help you build credibility as someone who is able to deliver on what they promised.”

    Mary Faulkner from Surviving Leadership presents Everything Rustles (how fear drives your people). “Wonder why people are acting the fool in your organization?  It’s probably fear.  Learn how David Rock’s SCARF model can give you the framework to address the impact of fear in your organization.”

    Lisa Kohnfrom The Thoughtful LeadersÔ Blog presents Soft skills have hard-core results“In today’s fast-paced work environment, soft skills are anything but.  They are the keys to effective leadership and they aren’t easy.  Follow these simple steps to enhance your ‘soft skills’ and get the results you desire.  Take the time to focus on your behaviors and interactions with others – and reap the benefits.”

    Miki Saxon from MAPping Company Success presents Management is Like Coffee. “Just as there is an optimum amount of coffee that provides positive benefits there is an optimum amount of management that yields the best results; this is true no matter how high the quality of the coffee or excellent the management/coaching.”

    Chris Young from Human Capital Strategy Blog presents 7 Things I Wish I Had Known When I Founded This Company.

    Mike Henry Sr.from Lead Change Group presents 6 Forces Resisting Change “Have you considered what situations or temptations you face when you consider a better future? What forces work against change and for the Status Quo?  What causes you to be tempted to choose something less than the best for you or your organization? Identify and face those challenges and push through to make a positive difference.”

    Neal Burgis, Ph.D. from Practical Solutions presents Leaders Bouncing Back from a Fall “How leaders bounce back after a fall from grace? We are all immune to setbacks and falls. It is how well you manage your reputation and responding well to it that makes a big difference.”

    Wally Bock from Three Star Leadership presents Ideas that will not die. “Just like those creatures in horror movies, there are ideas that just will not die and keep on wreaking havoc.”

    Susan Mazzafrom Random Acts of Leadership presents 3 Ways Anyone Can Boost Team Performance. “You may think company culture can only really be affected (for better or for worse) by the CEO of an organization. But regardless of your level in an organization you have the power to impact the culture for the better.”

    Joel Garfinkle from Career Advancement Blog presents 5 Tips for Promoting From Within. “When you realize what it’s costing the company not to promote from within, you’ll want to implement the five action steps for creating a new promotion policy.”

    Bill Matthies from Business Wisdom presents Knowing when not to change to “normal”! “Change is inevitable, constant, but not everything needs to change all the time. Great leaders manage change, both that they wish to happen as well as that they don’t, and knowing the difference is what makes them great. Watch and listen to what Faith Jegede learned about that from her Autistic brothers. Great leadership is everywhere.”

    David Burkus from LDRLB presents How to Select a CEO for the Collaboration Economy (Written by Eric Lowitt).

    Steve Roesler from All Things Workplace presents Who Are Your Conversation Catalysts?What do you do when you need to get a message out to your organization or your customers, and want to do it as quickly and effectively as possible? Here is a quick read with action tips you can use today.”

    Anne Perschel from Germane Insights presents Molding Culture Change: Get Their Fingerprints on it which provides “Four tips for getting employees onboard and implementing culture change.”

    Dianne Stetzer with Talent Management Intelligence presents The Innovation Paradox by Ellie Hall.  “Want to drive a culture of innovation in your organization? That strategy starts at the top of your organization. Learn more about the conflicts that your CEO and senior team will face in implementing your innovation imperative.”

  • I was about to go on a rant… but then there was one…

    Over the last few weeks, I’ve been talking about what employers want in employees. (The 4 Cs of conscientiousnesscreativitycommunicationcollaboration).

    After today, I feel like the things I talked about led me to jump to point C when I should have started at point A.   Why should I be talking about these 4 Cs when most people don’t even do the basics like showing up?

    You see, I teach a Work Skills class at the local community college.  It’s a 1 hour credit course designed to help students with resume writing, interviewing, workplace topics, etc.  Basically, it’s the tactical stuff of getting a job.

    Although it is not a required component of the course, students are allowed the opportunity to sign up for a mock interview to practice.  They come to my office outside of class time, and it gives them the opportunity to actually apply what we discuss in class about interviewing.

    6 signed up for a mock interview today.

    2 called and canceled.  (And I will give them credit, at least they called and one had a legitimate reason or not being able to be there.)

    3 didn’t show.

    1 showed.

    Yep, that’s 1 for 6 or about 17%.

    At 2:30 when the first 3 had either not shown or canceled, I was about to go on a rant, but then there was one….

    The one student that showed up

    -Arrived 15 minutes early

    -Was dressed appropriately

    -Had a good handshake

    -Answered my mock questions by providing specific examples

    -Was humble in his approach

    -Thanked me for my time

    I told him he was the only one that had shown up so far, and I told him how much I appreciated his effort.  He in turn, said that he just really appreciated the opportunity.

    He will get a job, and I will be doing everything I can to help him get one. There are good people out there.   Thank you, for being the one that does restore my hope in this next generation and in humanity.  This may seem a little dramatic of me to say, but as I have constantly gone to bat in defending my generation against all those people who say we are no good, I was about to agree.  1 out of 6 showed?

    What do employers want?  People that see an opportunity, are thankful for it, and take advantage of it.  Just show up, regardless of whether or not you’ve cultivated the Cs, you’ll be better than 83% of the population I dealt with today, which should lead to good job prospects.

    Want more on the game of just showing up? You may like these other posts:

    Usefuleness

    Planned Happenstance

  • Leadership Lessons from Moses

    Our church is doing 90 days with the Bible challenge.  This is where the congregation is engaged in reading the entire Bible over the summer.   I’ve struggled my way through Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy but found that reading the entire account of Moses through in a few days has revealed several leadership lessons from his life that I never noticed.

    Lesson 1:  Get a wingman.    Aaron was Moses’.  A wingman is someone who complements you so that two end up being better than one.  Moses had a stuttering problem and Aaron was a good speaker. They worked together to accomplish many things. (Exodus 1-15)

    Lesson 2: Delegate; don’t go it alone. Moses found himself overwhelmed.   He gave leadership responsibility to others to deal with the day-to-day people issues Numbers 11) used people to scout out Canaan (Numbers 13), and gave people meaningful work to do (Numbers 3).

    Lesson 3: Leadership isn’t easy.  People are prone to complain and forget how they have been blessed (Numbers 11, 20), but having someone to vent to can help with this.   God was this for Moses and should be for us all.

    Lesson 4: Humility makes leaders more effective.  Moses was a “quietly humble man, more so than anyone living on earth.” (Numbers 12)

    Lesson 5:  Advocate for your people.  Even though the Israelites were grumbling about not having any meat, Moses advocated for his people by asking God to provide meat for them, and He did (Numbers 11).  He also asked God to forgive them (Numbers 14).

    Lesson 6:  Even leaders make mistakes and are human.  Moses’ temper was “white hot” (Numbers 16) and he lost his trust in God (Numbers 20, Deuteronomy 32), which cost him the opportunity to lead his people into the Promised Land.  It is how we handle these flaws and their consequences that matter.  Its never stated that Moses complained about the consequence of his lack of trust, and he controlled his temper.

    Lesson 7:  Have a protégé. Leaders make more leaders.Moses’ was Joshua (Deuteronomy 31, 34).  Leaders should always be training and teaching others and should entrust others with important tasks.  Joshua was entrusted with leading the Israelites into the Promised Land,

    Moses sought God’s guidance in all that he did, which led to many of the lessons learned through him.

    What Biblical or historical characters have you gleaned leadership insight from?

  • Want to get job? Foster Collaboration

    The First 2 Cs that all employers want-conscientiousness and creativity are about individual contributions.  However, the second two, one which we have already discussed, communication and our final C, collaboration focus on how we interact with other people.   I would argue the final two are more important. They, also, help people be more successful at the first two, creating even greater gains in your marketability as an employee.

    Consider a recent article, by George Anders that stated that empathy would be the number one sought after skill in the workplace is 2020.    Empathy, or the ability to put oneself in someone else’s shoes, is the foundation of working with others collaboratively.

     

    An Example

    Where I worked as a recruiter at one time, computer programmers acted as a service department so to speak to other departments in the company that needed their help.   So, their primary job, beyond programming was interacting with people in various departments to determine their need, find a solution and produce that solution.   Communication was key and their ability to collaborate by being empathic to the other person’s needs and who often did not speak their (computer) “language” was critical to their success on the job.  And it was hard to find.   The collaborative mindset was harder to find that the programming skills.   We could replace someone who could program, it was much harder to replace someone who could work well with others.

     

    How to Foster Collaboration

    Dale Carnegie offers much better advice to foster positive interactions with other than I could every come up with.   His book,How to Win Friends and Influence People lists several ways to improve our ability to work with others.  These are my favorites:

    •  “Don’t criticize, condemn or complain.”
    •   “Give honest and sincere appreciation.”
    •  “Become genuinely interested in others.”
    •   “Smile”
    •   Learn and use people’s names.  To that person their name is “the sweetest and most important sound in any language.”
    •   Listen
    •   Make people feel important
    •  Avoid arguing
    • Admit when you are wrong and apologize

    What have you done to foster or practice collaboration in your home, your school or your workplace?

     

    Want more?  This post on Working Girl gives a good example of what collaboration looks like.

  • Why I Hate Employee Handbooks

    Why I Hate Employee Handbooks

    I don’t do employee handbooks.  Wait, I made an exception for a wonderful client and just finished up an employee handbook a few weeks ago.   But I don’t do employee handbooks, or maybe the better thing to say is, I don’t like them.  Here’s why:

    • Most of the content in them these days implies that you can’t trust your employees.
    • Most of the content in them these days implies that you think your employees don’t remember the lessons they learned in kindergarten.
    • Most of the content in them these days is written for the exception rather than the rule.  In other words, a policy is written for the one bad performer instead of the 10 good ones.
    • Most of the content in them these days tells employees nothing about how to be star in the workplace.
    • Handbooks or policies imply that you can make a rule to regulate every bad behavior.   News flash: this is not possible.

     

    Better idea?  Make an “Orientation to Succeeding at our Company” manual.

    Want to help people be successful at your company? Make the “manual” and introduction to the company with how to succeed.

    A lot of the content in the handbook I just completed was this.  Such as, answering questions like, what benefits are offered to me as an employee?, what are the designated holidays?, etc.   It’s pretty dry, but I would take it a step further and encourage employers to make employee handbooks that look more like this one:

    Valve Employee Handbook  Don’t you just love the graphics in it?

     

    What is the value of a handbook like this? 

    You get the information out to your new employees that needs to be shared, but without all the overbearing rules.  You also, right of the bat, establish the feel of the company culture by giving someone a document like this, instead of something that looks like the book of Leviticus in the Old Testament.

    Want to read more on getting away from policies and handbooks?

    From Fistful of Talent: Minimalist HR

    From upstartHR: An open letter to HR on policies, regulating and training

     

    image source: http://blog.equinix.com/2012/02/rewriting-the-rules-for-financial-trading-infrastructure-learning-a-new-rule-book/