August Management Journey Carnival

Originally published August 2012.

The Management Journey Carnival consists of multiple insightful articles from the web that contributors submit or that I select for inclusion. Welcome to the August edition of the Management Journey Carnival.

Although August is usually a month when work slacks off some, thought leaders continue to share their management insights in articles around the web. This month’s Carnival provides insights on behavioral styles, innovation, communication, performance measurement, business strategy, human resources, marketing and other topics.


 

Featured Podcast

It is obvious that we live in volatile times. Change is now a constant.  What does it take to be resilient (the ability to maintain or restore core purpose in the face of disruption) in these times? This is the topic of discussion in this month’s featured podcast interview with Andrew Zolli, Resilience Strategies for a Volatile World from Harvard Business Review.


 

man typing on a laptop

Articles

Featured Articles

Leadership lessons are everywhere, providing we look for them! The Olympics, where the best at what they do dominate their sport, are a rich learning source. In his article, Marcus Buckingham of Bloomberg Businessweek provides Olympic Lessons for Corporate Managers.

It takes an effective leader/coach to bring together the top talent in an industry and forge them into a high performing team. Having a shared vision with the team members is critical and so too is having the sense to get out of their way and let these talented team members do their job! In his article, Picking the Man Who’d Lead Basketball’s Dream Team to GoldJeffrey Cohn of Harvard Business Review explains why Olympic basketball coach Jerry Colangelo is such a leader.

Any strength that is overdone becomes a weakness! (Alright, if you’re a reader of Management is a Journey you know this is a pet peeve of mine!) Positive thinking and an upbeat management style have their limitations as well.  Too much of these attributes is bad for business as David Collinson of Strategy+Business explains in his article, The Weakness of Positive Thinking.

Introverts (those people who get energy from being alone ) sometimes clash with extroverts (those people who get energy from being with people). It makes sense.  They are wired differently!  Sophia Dembling of Psychology Today helps to bridge this gap in her article, Seven Things Extroverts Should Know About Introverts (and Vice Versa).

Innovation and organizational learning occur when businesses see mistakes and failure as opportunities.  The flip side of this truth however is that certain mistakes and failures can put a company out of business as well. How can companies find the right balance between these opposing truths?  Tim Kastelle of the Innovation Leadership Network provides some help in his article, Mistakes versus Experiments.

Not all organizational problems can be solved with accepted management practices! This is true for business strategy as well. Sometimes you just have to shake things up and challenge the status quo! In their article,  Blank Checks: Unleashing the Potential of People and BusinessesSanjay Khosla and Mohanbir Sawhney of Strategy+Business show the power of thinking differently.

It’s no doubt that social media with its emphasis on peer influence is drastically changing how businesses operate.  Whether it is the customer relations or human resources, social media is definitely having a significant impact. Marketing is not exempt either as Bill Lee of Harvard Business Review explains in his article, Marketing is Dead.

What’s fair depends on who you are asking?  This is something we learn early in life. Does this mean that managers should just operate ethically and ignore how others feel about their actions? As I explain in my Management is a Journey article, Equity Theory – Why Employee Perceptions About Fairness Do Matter, it is bad for business when managers ignore their employees’ feelings about fairness.

Work teams whether they are effective or ineffective do not become what they are on their own.  Leaders create them. Do you have what it takes to manage a small team of employees? This is the question raised and answered by Jonathan Milligan of CPA Career Coach in his article, How to Manage a Team Effectively – 3 Simple Ideas.

Managers must address performance issues with employees. In his post, Open the Front Door, Craig Schwarze of the Art of Managing Software Developers provides a mnemonic performance feedback tool to help get the message across. Combining this tool with other two way communication techniques like active listening and questioning  makes opening the front door even more effective.

This concludes the August 2012 edition of the Management Journey Carnival.

Robert

Written by Robert Tanner | Copyrighted Material | All Rights Reserved Worldwide

This article is accurate to the best of the author’s knowledge.
Content is for informational or educational purposes only and does not substitute for professional advice in business, management, legal, or human resource matters.

Robert Tanner, MBA

Welcome to my leadership blog. I'm the Founder & Principal Consultant of Business Consulting Solutions LLC, a certified practitioner of psychometric assessments, and a former Adjunct Professor of Management. As a leadership professional, I bring 20+ years of real world experience at all levels of management.

Expert Interview

Wall Street Journal

Expert Presenter

Association of Talent Development

Expert Interview

Society for Human Resource Management

Expert Author

Digital Analytics Association