Always flocking to the same network?

Have you noticed that when people attend meetings, go to networking events or participate in training classes that they tend to sit with people they already know?  In academic circles this is known as homophily - the tendency to associate with people of “similarity” or familiarity. This is sometimes called the “birds of a feather” phenomenon.

When it comes to social media use, I will occasionally fall into this trap as well, tending to read the same authors and bloggers that I know well and whose work I’ve enjoyed in the past. Today, with the publishing of Dan McCarthy’s July Leadership Carnival at the Great Leadership blog, I decided to break out of that mold and seek out authors with whom I’m unfamiliar.  Happily, my foraging uncovered some excellent reading.

Meg Bear (@megbear) blogs for Talented Apps (@talentedapps). She’s a self-described Talent Management aficionado and has recently written a couple of great posts that explore gender in the workplace.  Check out When Understated Becomes a Liability and Are Your Leadership Competencies Biased?

Alice Snell (@Taleo_Corp) blogs for Taleo, a Talent Management solutions provider. As Taleo’s VP for Research, Alice is at the forefront of all things Talent Management.  I’m definitely going pay attention to her professional expertise and opinions.

Bob Lieberman (@bob_lieberman) who blogs at Cultivating Creativity, specializes in helping companies be more creative. (And what company couldn’t use a little more of that?!)

So, do yourself a favor and check out a different flock this week. There are 36 featured authors in Dan’s Leadership Carnival round up.  There will be plenty of great reading—both from familiar favorites and some new voices as well.

Photo credit istockphoto.com © Greg Nicholas

One of the greatest things about playing in the social media arena is the wonderful serendipity that unfolds.  For example, a few months back, I was comparing resources with fellow leadership development colleagues Dave Brand, Dan McCarthy and Susan Zelinski . At that time, they recommended the site Institute for Corporate Productivity as having great free resources. (This conversation turned into the blog post 25 Free Leadership Development Resources).

Then, a few weeks ago, I received notification that the HR Carnival would be hosted by Erik Samdahl of (wait for it) the Institute for Corporate Productivity.  See what I mean? Ah, serendipity.

So, how could I not offer up a post?  I’m pleased to be affiliated with the great bloggers that contribute to the bi-weekly HR Carnival posts.  Take a look at Erik’s compendium for this week’s Carnival:  HR Carnival: HR Freaks.

Also, a well-deserved shout-out goes to Shauna Moerke , who, as the Carnival’s Ring Mistress, has to step in from time-to-time and get us back in line. Thanks, Shauna.  We couldn’t do it without you!

One of the best things about the blog carnival format is seeing how bloggers employ creativity when summarizing the blog posts.  Each month, I delight in seeing the host’s unique angle. One blogger who always has a unique take is Sharlyn Lauby at The HR Bartender. Sharlyn’s observations about HR, Training and Leadership are always offered up with a little “something extra” that makes a stop at her blog a must. For this month’s Leadership Carnival, Sharlyn offers up a clever “anniversary” theme. It’s a great round-up of leadership posts, so be sure to stop by and see the full list here.

Have you ever received a nomination for an award that was totally unexpected?  You know, you’re just sitting in some meeting and all of a sudden, they’re announcing your name and you’re thinking “did they just say my name?” I had that experience this morning when reading Dan McCarthy’s blog Great Leadership .  This month, Dan uses an awards ceremony theme.  I’m  honored to be one of the nominees for “Best Actress”, along with Mary Jo Asmus, Sharlyn Lauby, Alice Snell and Lisa Rosendahl.

Given that these ladies are HR and Leadership heavy-hitters in the blogging world, I felt a bit like the Marisa Tomei of the crowd. But it is an honor to be nominated and I appreciate that Dan selected my blog post as one of the nominees in this fun tribute to the Academy Awards.

 Want to know who won?  Check it out here. Dan hands out 6 awards and showcases a dancing Art Petty.  Now, tuning in to see that would be worth it, right?

People Equation Updates

Activity on The People Equation has been light recently due to my many offline projects. Here’s a quick run-down on what’s been happening and how you might benefit from knowing about them:

The HR Happy Hour Tackles Leadership

Earlier this week I was a guest on the The HR Happy Hour radio show (Episode 35: The Leadership Show).  Talk about a lively discussion!  Well-known digital HR influencers like Jason Seiden and Lance Haun dialed in to give their take on today’s leadership issues. Adding insights to the conversation were callers Deb Exo, veteran Talent Management pro (and a former colleague from my Herman Miller days) and  Steve Browne.

Fellow guest Amanda W. and first-time HR Happy Hour participant held her own with the fast pace and fluid topics.  I’m not giving her credentials online because she was “undercover”—she works as a training manager for a multinational financial services firm and her employer frowns on public displays of . . . um, I’m not exactly sure. But I don’t want to blow her cover.

As is typical with the HR Happy Hour, there was an active backchannel going on Twitter.  One of the strongest tweet threads was “are leaders born or made?” Personally, I’m bored with that discussion, but Ben McCall took the idea and ran with it in Leadership: One Size Does Not Fit All. My thanks to Ben for featuring my post 25 Free Leadership Resources within his article. (Check out the comments section on Ben’s post to see why I’ve grown weary of the debate.)

After the show, I received several Direct Messages and emails from friends who were listening, including one of my former direct reports from 17 years ago! (Thanks for the kind words, Katie.) My thanks to Dan McCarthy, Jessica Miller-Merrell , Stephanie Kempa, Victorio Milian and  Joan Ginsberg for listening in, talking about leadership and most of all, your words of support!

Writing, Research and Interviews

Recently the Managing Editor of Executive Travel magazine contacted me to pen an article for their “Winning Strategies” column in the July/August edition of the magazine’s print version. It’s an article on how leaders can create a customer service culture. So I spent much of my week conducting research and interviewing company owners to uncover their strategies for creating a customer-centric culture. Stay tuned—I’ll let you know when the article is published.

This week, I was also an interviewee when a colleague interviewed me for a book she’s writing.  It’s super-secret— still in the planning phases. But I can tell you this: she’s on to something with an idea that will help those of us who are self-employed.  

Next week, I’ll be interviewed by Barb Giamanco for a presentation she’s doing on social media. Barb and I are both authorized Independent Distributors for Inscape Publishing and she’s been asked to make a presentation at their annual conference.  This has tremendous meaning for me; I credit Barb with being my social media mentor and for helping me get started with Twitter and blogging. So, for her to now be featuring me in her social media presentation is an honor.

Positive Office Politics Takes Flight

It all started with a DM from Jane Perdue asking “want to write an article on office politics?” From there, it turned into the Positive Office Politics Series, which gained the attention of Franke James, Editor and Founder of Office Politics.com. which is the #1 site for this topic.  Both Jane and I have been featured as Guest Advisors on the site.

Now, Franke and I are taking it a step further and collaborating to bring The Office Politics Game to life here in Michigan.  On March 24, I’ll be facilitating an Office Ethics session using Franke’s book Dear Office Politics: the game everyone plays as the basis for workshop. Franke has worked with big names like Tom Peters and Edward DeBono , so it’s a thrill to have her expertise guiding me.

 So that’s what’s happening for us here at the People Equation.

 See anything that’s of interest to you? Want to know more? Email me at jmiller@people-equation.com and we’ll chat.  Hope you have a great week!

If your job didn’t require it, would you want to write a blog with your co-workers? Fortunately, the team at Talented Apps answer is “yes!”

This month’s Leadership Carnival is hosted by a “face” that’s new to me . . .or make that several faces: the folks at the Talented Apps blog. The Talented Apps blog is written by a group of Development and Strategy individuals within the Oracle Fusion HCM team.  The blog focuses on various Talent Management issues. It’s a fine example of a work team collaborating to make an impact beyond their day-to-day job duties. Please stop by this month’s Leadership Carnival, which takes a very unique look at leadership “masks” using the Venetian Carnevale as its backdrop.  I’m pleased to have a post featured along with over 25 bloggers thinking about leadership in varied ways.

One of the many gifts I received in 2009 was my association with Lisa Rosendahl.  We met on Twitter, talked on the phone, and collaborated on a blog post about mentoring. Our connection has blossomed to the point where we now share information about our kids’ lives, DMing each other about birthday parties, big “firsts” and illnesses.  Lisa blogs professional HR content at Simply Lisa and has a personal blog called Raising Tarah. She’s a dynamic HR professional who loves her adopted state of Minnesota—and this comes out in spades in her recent blog post for the HR Carnival.  As the carnival host, she’s adopted a “Winter in Minnesota” theme.  I’m pleased to have my blog featured in the Leadership Luge category.  Oh, did I mention that Lisa’s clever too?

Thanks, Lisa, for all of your encouragement and for featuring over 30 excellent blog posts from the HR world.

Many blog experts counsel to “keep your main thing your main thing” meaning: if I say I’m blogging about workplace dynamics, then stay true to that theme.  And for the most part I do.  Once in awhile, though, I get inspired by someone looking to use their blogs for the greater good.  Today that someone is Mike VanDervort.  He’s asking HR professionals to use their research skills to highlight an aid group that can help with disaster relief in Haiti.  His specific request is here. Mike’s no stranger to reaching out to help others.  He did so in November with his HR Carnival of Giving.

In the Grand Rapids Press the other day, there was a feature story on International Aid.  According to the organization’s website, International Aid “is on a mission to transform lives by offering practical solutions to critical health care needs in the world.”  The non-profit nearly went under this summer, but has managed to survive and is ramping up to help the earthquake victims in Haiti.

To learn  more about International Aids’ story and to find out if their mission suits you, please go to their website. http://www.internationalaid.org/

The end a decade provides a great opportunity for reflection and that’s just what Dan McCarthy’s Great Leadership blog offers this month.  The January Leadership Carnival showcases fifty top leadership bloggers in a “Best of 2009” round up. This post includes access to incredibly diverse leadership thinking.  Topics include great coaching questions, building employee engagement, revitalizing your leadership, trust-building and using influence, to name a few.

So start your year out right— fill your mind with inspiring thoughts and resolve to make it a great year!

For those of us who live in the Snowbelt, this time of year brings mixed feelings.  Yes, it was fun for the kids to have a snow day last Friday. Yes, it was truly beautiful to decorate the Christmas tree whilst fluffy snowflakes drifted all around outside our cozy warm home on Saturday.  No, it is NOT nice that my daily walks are now limited due to ice on the sidewalks.  Sigh.

The act of leadership is kind of like that—there are times of true beauty when we help others achieve something they thought impossible.  And then there are those stark, bleak moments when we wonder: what the heck did I get myself into? Leadership Carnival guest-host Mark Stelzner from Inflexion Advisors has captured this leadership dichotomy perfectly with a clever winter theme. This month he’s hosting the ever-popular carnival that’s typically housed by Dan McCarthy. From Leadership Whiteouts, to Brain Freeze and more, you’re sure to find something to stoke the leadership fires. So grab a cup of hot cocoa and settle in . . .