Corporate Culture

May Leadership Development Carnival by Dan McCarthy

May 7, 2012

Dan McCarthy, founder of the blog Great Leadership and host of the monthly Leadership Development Carnival keeps it simple this month and offers us a straight-forward carnival. No theme– just 27 excellent essays on leadership. Speaking of keeping it simple, you can see my carnival entry titled The KISS Model of Leadership Development. Other interesting [...]

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How To Gain Buy-In From Your Team

March 28, 2012

Last fall, I chaperoned a group of second-graders on a field trip to the ArtPrize exhibition in downtown Grand Rapids. Picture this: ten 8-year-olds, excitedly dashing around parks and gardens, in and out of exhibition buildings. They were so excited to experience the art displayed throughout our city. Naturally, their first impulse was to run. And [...]

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7 Things Employees Want to Know In a Department Reshuffle

February 28, 2012

Overheard at a lunchtime conversation in the company cafeteria: Employee: “That sure was a big announcement by the CEO this morning. They’re really moving the boxes on the org chart this time. What’s your reaction? Mid-level manager: (shrugging shoulders, sounding nonchalant) “Meh. I’ve been around this place for a long time. It’s just same monkeys, [...]

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Command and Control Just Won’t Die

January 25, 2012

For nearly two decades, management gurus have been heralding the death of the “command and control” mentality in Corporate America. Personally, I think it’s very much alive. Over a year ago, I wrote that the so-called “death” of command and control management is nothing but an urban legend. Now, a recent article on the Forbes.com [...]

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What Do Office Doorways Say About Leadership?

December 1, 2011

What do your organization’s workplace doorways signal to employees? Whether it’s the front door, the employee entrance, or the boss’s cubicle doorway, have you ever considered what happens in employees’ minds when they pass over their work threshold? As a leader, you probably haven’t given it much thought, but consider this recently reported brain research* [...]

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Tag Teaming Recognition

September 28, 2011

Peer-to-Peer Recognition Spreads Responsibility across the Organization This is the final installment in a three-part series on employee recognition. I want to thank guest columnist Cori Curtis of Baudville for sharing great these insights with the readers of The People Equation.     Guest Post by Cori Curtis, Certified Recognition Professional One of the most [...]

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The Seven Moods of Employee Engagement

September 12, 2011

On this morning’s walk I saw a typical sight: kids waiting at a school bus stop. There were six elementary-aged kids, all lined up, hoods drawn up around their heads to ward off the chill in the Michigan air. Their body language telegraphed various attitudes: duty, sleepiness, and watchfulness. Six kids waiting for their day [...]

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Work Team Leaders- A Key Ingredient for Successful Employee-Friendly Practices

August 30, 2011

Part Two of a Three-Part Series In this second installment of a discussion with Tracy Brower, Director of Performance Environments for Herman Miller, we explore a key factor that determines the probability of success for a company’s work/life integration policies. The first article in this series was in What is Work/Life Integration?.      JM: [...]

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The Golden Rule of Listening: How to Speak Loud and Clear without Opening Your Mouth

June 24, 2011

  About a month ago, I read an excellent guest post on Great Leadership by Tim Eyre. I liked his writing style so much that I asked if he’d be willing to share some thoughts on The People Equation. He said “yes” and what follows is an insightful observation about the power of listening. Guest [...]

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June 2011 Leadership Development Carnival– Commencement Edition

June 5, 2011

 In early June, a ritual occurs at many high schools across our country— graduation ceremonies, aka the commencement exercise. Commencement means “the act of starting something” and I can think of no better metaphor for leadership development than that of getting something started.  This carnival is dedicated to the Class of 2011—they are the future [...]

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