Three Very Good Reads for a Wednesday

Here are three blog posts that are informative and thought provoking that would be well worth your time reading.

1. The first comes from Jon Hyman. Do You Know? ABA/DOL's Bridge to Justice (or Bridge Over Troubled Referrals) I have written about the link between the USDOL and plaintiffs attorneys, but Jon treats it in greater detail. Be afraid, be very afraid.
2. The second comes from Dan McCarthy at Great Leadership. His post, Great Employees Trump Perfect Processes , deals with the premise that you can't expect that great process are going to make great employees, regardless of what they bring to the table. They have to have the potential.
3. The third comes from Margaret O'Hanlon at Compensation Cafe. Her post,    Do You Hear What I Hear?, discusses the in-and-outs of employee surveys. They are not as easy as just asking questions. And if  you have ever screwed one up, or you ar considering doing one, you need to read her advice.

That is probably enough for a Wednesday, after all you have other things to do I am sure. But this stuff will make you better at your job, so don't skip it.

The Carnival of HR: The Jukebox Edition

I have a vague memory of an email that told me I needed to get a post in for the August 18th edition of the Carnival of HR. Well guess what, that is what it remained .... a vague memory. But that does not stop me from promoting it. The blog Welcome to the Occupation  is hosting this Carnival. You will find in it a creative assortment of blog posts described as a musical genre. Interesting and of course it includes many of my favorite bloggers. Haun, Eubanks, VanDervort, Elkinberry, McCarthy, Boese, Stelzner, McFarlane, Ruettimann, Martin and many more.

So click the link, put in a nickel (well that is what it still costs at Waffle House) and "play" some good blog posts. Enjoy!

When It Comes to Leadership Companies Are In a World of Hurt

Talent Management Magazine reported the results of a leadership survey that presented eye-popping numbers on the lack of leadership many companies are facing in their future. The article, Many Companies Do Not Have Enough Future Leaders Onboard, reported the results of a survey done by OI Partners. They survey 212 large and midsized companies and found:

• 54% of companies in the survey said they do not have enough qualified successors now working for them to succeed their executives and managers.
• Only 32% of companies report currently having enough management successors in place.
• 14% of companies are not sure whether they have enough future leaders already in their organizations.

My experience in working with small companies is that their leadership situation is even more dire.

The rest of the survey went on to describe what an opportunity this presents to employees or prospective employees. And indeed this is true. But from a company standpoint this is very worrisome or should be.

Where does your company fit into this survey? Do you have enough leadership talent? You had better look around. If it the talent is not there it will not automatically appear. Yes, some very ambitious employees may take it upon themselves to read and study and get personal experience to make themselves better leaders, but you cannot count on that.

Unfortunately many companies have the approach that once we give someone a title they are automatically imbued with all the supervisor, managerial and leadership skills we would want. "DING, you are now imbued with great leadership skill, go forth and lead." Well, it does not work that way. So how can you give people the leadership experience? Here are some of my suggestions:

1. Mentoring. But this only works if you are a good leader and teacher.
2. Structured classes and structured reading. If you do this test the knowledge and try to have it applied quickly.
3. Project work. Rotate various employees through project leading opportunities.
4. Allow mistakes. Errors produce learning, but only if the opportunity to correct is allowed. Immediate punishment leads to learning the wrong thing.
5. Get your employees involved in postions on nonprofit boards. It is amazing how much you learn, both good and bad, while serving on a board of directors.
6. Have your employees read leadership blogs, such as Great Leadership by Dan McCarthy and Three Star Leadership by Wally Bock.

What am I missing? How do you develop leaders?

Required Reading for the Week

There are several blog posts this week that are essential reading for anyone who calls themselves an HR Pro. These include:

1. Kris Dunn at the HR Capitalist writing on What's That Smell? Self Assessments & Performance Management. This is about performance management and the use of self assessment. In addition to his post you MUST READ ALL THE COMMENTS. There is true value in this feedback.
2. Margaret O'Hanlon at Compensation Cafe, writing on 10 Tools for Communicating a Teeny, Tiny Merit Increase Budget. She talks about clear communication and management training.
3. Ann Bares at Compensation Force writing on Think Twice Before Calling It a Cost of Living Increase. Read this to keep from making a major mistake.
4. Jon Hyman at the Ohio Employment Law Blog writing on Is “fat” the new protected class? Jon provides some important information to go along with my post on Fatism.
5. Dan McCarthy at Great Leadership, writing on MBA 2.0: Trading in Textbooks for Blogs? This post explains how blog posts have become a vital source for keeping yourself educated. 

So read away. Be educated. Be a pro!

Carnival of HR up at Fortify Your Oasis

Some how I missed this one, but many of the best HR bloggers did not. Catch Cathy Martin, Wally Bock, Dan McCarthy, Ann Bares, Lisa Rosendahl and 18 other great contributors over at Fortify Your Oasis for the June 10th edition of the Carnival of HR.

Leadership Carnival for June 7th

Dan McCarthy over at the blog Great Leadership has posted this month's issue of the Leadership Carnival. This is a great collection of blog posts dealing with leadership issues. They cover talent managment, defending against unions by having a happy workforce, leadership development, inspiration and more. My favorite is Wally Bock's analysis of Warren Bennis' leadership vs. management distinction. He doesn't like it and I can see why.

So trip on over to Dan's site and spend sometime learning more about leadership.

Carnival of HR April Edition and Other Stuff Too

In case you missed it the Fistful of Talent blog site posted the April version of the Carnival of HR. Great reading in human resources all in one place.

On April 5th Dan McCarthy will host the Leadership Carnival at his blog Great Leadership. I will have a post in there as well. Good reading on leadership.

On Thursday, April 9th I will have a blog post appear in the Atlanta Journal Constitution Online version in the HR Roundtable column. So check it out on Thursday by clicking here and looking for the recent post on vacations.

In the meantime I will be on vacation. Out of touch, no computer. R&R. Hiking, waterfalls, reading and coffee in the mountains of Western North Carolina. See you in a week or so.

Suggested Reading: Some Blog Referrals

As I have been brousing some blogs today and here are some posts I thought you might find interesting, I did.

1. The HR Capitalist starts a discussion on Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers in a post called How Your National Origin Can Impact Your Performance.... He discusses the concept of the Power Distance Index, a concept developed by Geert Hofstede in his Cultural Dimensions. This discussion is in terms Korean Air Lines pilots and a series of accidents. Make sure you read the comments.



2. In Dan McCarthy's Great Leadership blog he writes about The Only Reference That Really Matters . The Dilbert cartoon is worth the trip and Dan's discussion of the reference process is excellent. I agree with this assessment.



3. Ann Bares writes in Compensation Force about Bonuses and Other Profanities and the impact on current events on the proper definition and use of bonus dollars and what a commuication and PR problem HR now does have.



4. At Fistful of Talents, Kris Dunn (in his alter ego), writes about All Workplace Jerks Don't Have to Scream - The Information Hoarder... I don't know about you but I have worked with some people like that before. "I am more valuable because I know something you don't know."



5. Over at Slacker Manager, Phil Gerbyshak has a guest auther, Steve Farber writing on How Do You Get Back Up? A Counterintuitive Approach to Thriving in Challenging Times. Some good advice on what to do when things don't go your way.

So take a look at these I think you will find them interesting, insightful and useful. I did.

Stories to Scare HR: Unfortunately They Are Real

The latest greatest blogs are available for reading in this issues of the Carnival of HR: The Halloween Version hosted by Great Leadership. A complete reading is guaranteed to scare any reasonable HR manager out of her or his wits. Take a read. It does include my look at the future.

10 Things Learned in HR: Great post from Dan McCarthy

Dan McCarthy, who writes the blog Great Leadership posted 10 Things I Learned Working in HR. This is a must read for everyone in HR and especially for everyone who wants to be in HR. I particularly liked points 3, 5, 7, and 9. And students will really appreciate point 5.

I had one of my partners remark yesterday that he would wake up at night if he had to remember everything I have to remember. The remembering is not what keeps me awake it is the thought that I must know so much more than I do and there is no way I can possibly do it.

But Dan's post will make you feel more appreciated and proud, yet exhausted and depressed at the same time. Thanks Dan! (And yes, I have felt like Lucy at times. Or the hamster.)