As we raise our son, we strive to develop his critical thinking and leadership skills.  As I relaxed with him this week, I considered what is helping him mature the most.  I believe it is constantly giving him the authority and responsibility to make the choices he is capable of making.  Sometimes, he doesn’t make the right choice, but he learns from those choices.  Because we control the environment of his choices, he still has a safety net of not failing too big.

Do we do this enough with our employees that we are developing?  Do we give them the chance to make choices in just enough of a controlled environment that they can miss the mark by a small enough margin that it doesn’t damage their reputation too badly, or damage the department’s ability to execute?  Do we give them the chance to wind up with a gross mixture of ice cream and toppings, which will help them stop and think about their choices a bit more the next time? Or will they consult more expert ice cream eaters to increase their chance for success the next time? read more »

There are so many traits that make up a good leader. One area that often is overlooked when you talk about good leadership, but seems to almost always be present when you discuss poor leadership is Accountability.  A good leader welcomes accountability and takes responsibility for their own actions and their followers actions, when the followers are acting on behalf of the leader or under her instructions. read more »

When we were together at #HREvolution in Chicago this Spring, Paul Hebert, @incentintel, led a session with Jason Seiden with the objective of discussing how to influence people.  I found an interesting twist to the conversation that I have not been able to get out of my head for the last couple of months.  So, I have been reading and thinking and watching with this topic in mind.  I feel that my thoughts might be helpful for some.

The topic about influencing continually moved to compensation and incentives.  I believe some in the group had a very different perspective of these terms then I did. And, if I am going to develop myself and my managers as good leaders at Aquire, I need to figure out why!   read more »

How a company adapts during a crisis or problem can give you a true sense of their leadership. Policies are important to be created and followed as a framework when issues pop up. But when an unprecedented crisis occurs, leadership is tested. I have to say I’ve been disgusted by many employers’ choices during the European travel crises due to the Icelandic volcano. Because so many of the stories I’m referencing are sourced from blogs and cnn.com ireports, I’m not going to reference them with links, as I cannot verify the criticisms of specific companies. But the lessons are still real. read more »

It started as an #HR_Tech chat on Twitter. A group of us were discussing the metrics and analytics in HR. There was some smack talk about the lack of value of turnover data being a lagging indicator of talent. read more »