March 2017 Leadership Development Carnival

Welcome to the March 2017 edition of the Leadership Development Carnival!

Do you as a leader find it difficult at times to be bold or to awaken boldness in others? I was noticing the theme for this year's International Women's Day (March 8), #BeBoldForChange, and it occurred to me that boldness is often in short supply. From another angle, sometimes we have the responsibility of helping someone shape their boldness into realistic action. In this carnival, bold ideas from the finest leaders. We thank everyone for their contributions.

The Lead Change Group would also like to thank Awakening Compassion at Work: The Quiet Power that Elevates People and Organizations for sponsoring the Lead Change Group (including this carnival) for March 2017.

Let's Get Started

Anne Perschel of Germane Coaching and Consulting provided Wise CEOs in New Roles Follow Two Important Rules. Anne asks, "What two rules do wise CEOS follow when they’re in new roles, and what are the benefits?" Find Anne on Twitter at @bizshrink.

Beth Beutler of H.O.P.E. Unlimited provided Three Ways to Have a Less Stressful Day. Beth recaps, "Beth Beutler gives us three practical tools for reducing stress in our days." Find Beth on Twitter at @bethbeutler.

Bill Treasurer of Giant Leap Consulting provided Reality Bites for New Leaders. Bill recaps, "Your influence can help make a positive and lasting impact on people’s careers and lives. All it takes is making the most out of your leadership kick in the ass!" Find Bill on Twitter at @btreasurer.

Chris Edmonds of the Purposeful Culture Group contributed Culture Leadership Charge: Why Leaders Do What They Do. In this post, Chris explains three powerful influences over a leader’s behavior. Follow Chris on Twitter at @scedmonds.

Chery Gegelman of Giana Consulting contributed The Inspiring STANDS of a REAL Leader. In this post, Chery asks, "As a titled leader do have the courage to take stands for the business?  …Your people?  …Your family?  What would you give to work with someone that takes stands like these?" Follow Chery on Twitter at @gianaconsulting.

Christopher Avery of Christopher Avery and the Leadership Gift contributed How I Practice Responsibility. Christopher shares, "The Responsibility Process works only when self-applied. (If you have heard this before, and I hope you have, it is always worth revisiting.) What this means is that knowledge about The Responsibility Process doesn’t change me. Only applying The Responsibility Process to my life will produce results that matter." Follow Chris on Twitter at @christopheraver.

Cory Rieken of the Development Dimensions International (DDI) contributed What Happens When Leaders Fail to Use Key Principles?. Cory shares, "A leader's lack of empathy and ongoing performance conversations can lead to confusion and uncertainty among employees about where they stand. Learn about the key principles leaders can use to meet others’ personal needs to be respected and involved." Follow Cory on Twitter at @ddiworld.

Dan McCarthy of Great Leadership provided Six Ways to Make Your Presentation a Hit. Dan recaps, "Scientists say our attention spans are now shorter than a goldfish, so it’s more important than ever for leaders to make our presentations as engaging and compelling as possible. How can we do that?  One way is by taking cues from the place that can still captivate us for hours at a time: the movies. See Ted Frank's guest post to find out how." Find Dan on Twitter at @greatleadership.

Dan Oestreich of Oestreich Associates provided On Not Waiting for Superman. Dan recaps, "Mythologist Michael Meade’s three layer model of human interaction provides a way to think about and act on our leadership in a time of change, conflict and controversy.  I use Meade’s model in my leadership consulting work because it ably defines the quest, common to human communities, to reach a shared sense of humanity and shared values such as love, justice and peaceful co-existence." Find Dan on Twitter at @DanOestreich.

Dana Theus of InPower Coaching contributed The Upside of Office Politics. Dana writes, "Unpleasant as it is, office politics gives us a special gift, which is to learn to stand up for our values and grapple with forces out of our control." Find Dana on Twitter at @DanaTheus.

David Dye of Trailblaze submitted 4 Questions to Ask Yourself and Your Team to Stay Focused on the Most Important Thing. David summarizes, "I’ve never met a manager who has enough time to do everything they want to do. The stress that comes with being ‘too busy’ is inescapable – or is it? David shares a mindset shift and questions you can use to keep your team focused, and busy-stress at bay." Follow David on Twitter at @davidmdye.

David Grossman of The Grossman Group shared How To Create Line of Sight For Your Employees. David writes, "Statistics and sources show that employees overall don’t understand company strategy. Said another way, they don’t get how they fit in. And that’s a missed opportunity." Discover David on Twitter at @thoughtpartner

Jesse Lyn Stoner of the Seapoint Center for Collaborative Leadership submitted Dialogue Bridges the Divide. Jesse recaps, "Since the US election, many people have experienced tension with a close friend or family member whose views are different than theirs. My own family is no exception, and I was having particular difficulty with a close family member.  My post explains why and how I reached across the divide and provides 4 guidelines that helped make it successful. Bottomline: It’s important and possible to begin reaching across the divide." Follow Jesse on Twitter at @jesselynstoner.

Jill Malleck of Epiphany at Work contributed Widen Your Perspective-Take Puppy Breaks. Jill shares, "Taking a short break away from work every hour or so will increase your mood and your productivity." Find Jill on Twitter at @epiphanyatwork.

Jim Taggart of Changing Winds provided Gandhi and Mandela Would be Proud: What’s Next after the Women’s March?. Jim shares, "In this post, I use Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi as prime examples of how to motivate and focus people towards a common vision using peaceful means. The context is the January 21st Women’s March which spanned some 500 U.S. cities and dozens of countries. The participation wasn’t just the amazing thing but that the marches were done peacefully. Vision and how people collectively contribute to it is critical to this movement’s future." Find Jim on Twitter at @72keys.

Joel Garfinkle of the Career Advancement Blog submitted Strategies to Increase Your Influence at Work. Joel recaps: "Increasing others' perception of you and your visibility at work are vital to your career success. The next step is to increase your influence at work. Follow these 3 strategies and watch your influence increase." Discover Joel on Twitter at @JoelGarfinkle.

John Hunter of the Curious Cat Management Improvement Blog shared Why Do People Fail to Adopt Better Methods?. John summarizes, "Sometimes better methods will be adopted but often they won’t. People can be very attached to the way things have always been done. Or they can just be uncomfortable with the prospect of trying something new." Find John on Twitter at @curiouscat_com.

Jon Mertz of Thin Difference contributed 7 Essential Guiding Principles. Jon asks, "Who is an Upstander? A person who chooses to take positive action in the face of injustice in society or in situations where individuals need assistance. Being an Upstander is a leadership model we must embrace and these 7 principles can help." Follow Jon on Twitter at @thindifference.

Jon VerBeck of JonVerbeck.com submitted Business Owner Mistakes: Not Understanding Their Revenue Model and Current Sales Plan. As part of his series on mistakes business owners make, Jon shares about the importance of understanding your revenue model and sales plan. Discover Jon on Twitter at @jonverbeck1.

Julie Winkle-Giulioni of Julie Winkle-Giulioni provided Lessons in Stumbling and Set-Backs… from the Big Top. Julie recaps, "Since work frequently feels like a three-ring circus anyway, there are lessons to be learned from acrobats who know how to stumble and yet resiliently go on with the show." Find Julie on Twitter at @julie_wg.

Karin Hurt of Let's Grow Leaders contributed How Do I Get My Team to Trust Me?. In the post, Karin shares a personal story of trust with her team, and how it wasn’t so good at first. Follow Karin on Twitter at @letsgrowleaders.

Linda Fisher Thornton of Leading in Context  shared Leader Competence: Will it Be a Multiplier or a Divider? Linda recaps: "Leader competence is either going to be a multiplier or a divider. When you have it, you multiply performance and trust, with exponential results." Find Linda on Twitter at @leadingincontxt.

Lisa Kohn of Chatsworth Consulting submitted Why Self-respect is a Key Leadership Skill. Lisa summarizes, "While we need to be open to feedback, we also need a confident foundation in our strengths and contributions so that we can learn from the feedback, rather than be pierced by it." Discover Lisa on Twitter at @thoughtfulldrs.

Marcella Bremer of Leadership and Change Magazine provided What If We Embodied Positive Change?. Marcella recaps, "What did you do today that's worth repeating? We must first change ourselves to create positive change in a situation. We tend to copy what we have seen, and that’s why cultures stay the same. Every act of positive leadership and kindness counts... What have you done today that you'd like others to do, too?" Find Marcella on Twitter at @marcellabremer.

Mary Ila Ward of Horizon Point Consulting contributed The Conundrum of Incentive Pay. She recaps, "Incentive compensation is tough.  It’s why many companies avoid it all together. Leaders often find themselves coming up with incentive plans they hope will work, only to come out with frustrating results and the intent didn't drive the desired outcome. In this post, Mary Ila shares some things that stand in order to do incentive pay well." Discover Mary Ila on Twitter at @maryilaward.

Mary Jo Asmus of Aspire Collaborative Services shared The Benefits of Having a Team of Equals. Mary Jo summarizes, "When you treat the members of your team as equally smart and capable as you are, you’ll realize what it’s like to make better decisions, have great trusting relationships and some bottom line results." Follow Mary Jo on Twitter at @mjasmus.

Michael Lee Stallard of Connection Culture provided A Surprising Way to Reduce Mistakes and Accidents. Michael recaps, "In industries like healthcare where the cost of mistakes and accidents is high, it's important to provide the support employees need to do their best work. Michael Lee Stallard explains how the "connection culture" elements of value and voice play an important role in improving performance." Find Michael on Twitter at @michaelstallard.

Miki Saxon of MAPping Company Success contributed The Necessity of Fools. Miki writes, "There are many kinds of fools and while being a fool is something people work hard to avoid there is one kind of fool that should be your greatest aspiration." Discover Miki on Twitter at @optionsanity.

Neal Burgis of Burgis Successful Solutions submitted Leading an Empowered Creative Organization. Neal recaps, "Leaders who empower employees to use their own creative thinking skills and talent help move the organization forward. In doing so, leaders trust employees to make decisions in solving problems, challenges and difficulties regarding the work they do. Working collaboratively yields greater results." Find Neal on Twitter at @exec_solutions.

Randy Conley of Leading With Trust shared 3 Truths About Trust. Randy writes, "Virtually everyone agrees that trust is a vital ingredient for healthy and successful relationships and organizations, yet many don’t think about trust until the worse time – when it’s been broken. In this post, three fundamental truths about trust that every leader should consider." Find Randy on Twitter at @randyconley.

Shelley Row of Shelley Row submitted Reap the Rewards of a Checklist: Two Easy Steps. Discussing the value of a checklist, Shelley writes, " If doctors and pilots use them regularly, it may be a good idea for other business leaders too." Discover Shelley on Twitter at @shelleyrow.

Simon Teague of New Level Results contributed A Business is a Reflection Of .... Simon recaps, "This post discusses productivity, combined with empowerment and engagement being at an all-time high in those organisations that are using more modern and innovative methods to recognise, reward and develop their people AND build their culture at all levels." Find Simon on Twitter at @simonteague.

Susan Mazza of Random Acts of Leadership provided Why You Should Speak Less and Listen More. Susan explains, "When it comes to leadership, there are times when it is more effective to choose silence over speaking up with your words. Only when you are able to listen well enough and long enough for people to feel heard will underlying tension will be released, and a conversation about what's wrong turn into a conversation about how to make things better." Follow Susan on Twitter at @susanmazza.

Thank you to everyone who submitted articles for this month's carnival! If you would like to be on the distribution list for submission calls, please contact Paula Kiger (paula @ weavinginfluence (dot) com)!

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