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In a crisis, leaders want to call the shots and make key plays themselves. But that’s the wrong instinct.
Significant research has shown that groups make better decisions than individuals, that there is wisdom in crowds. Rather than personally grabbing the ball during a downturn, leaders need to tap into the wisdom and, perhaps even more importantly, the energy of the entire organization.

During a downturn, a leader's role is to do three things - find out what they are at:

http://tinyurl.com/sphinxx14

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There are solid business reasons for taking happiness at work seriously. Here are 9 ways to make it happen, from one of the hottest businesses in Britain.
Access the Harvard Business Publishing article at:

http://tinyurl.com/sphinxx9

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In this video interview, Dan Goleman explains how you can use emotional intelligence to improve your own and your organization's performance.

http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/flatmm/hbrextras/200809/goleman/ind
ex.html?cm_mmc=npv-_-listserv-_-September_2008-_-HBRSA

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In 2007 chief executive officers earned on average 180 times more than their subordinates. This is more than double the multiple of fifteen years ago. To be clear, total direct compensation – salary, bonuses, restricted shares, stock options and other annual and long-term incentives – rose only a relatively modest 3.5 % from a year earlier. But the extreme pay gains for CEOs in the last couple of decades, and the now deep economic divide between them and others in their organization is in violation of everything we know, or think we know, about good leadership.

http://discussionleader.hbsp.com/kellerman/2008/05/the_income_g
ap_between_leaders.html?cm_mmc=npv-_-listserv-_-MAY_2008-_-Fina
cctg

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How to Make Good People Great Leaders… and Reap the Rewards” is a most accessible guide that goes straight to the heart of many of the challenges facing individuals and organisations who strive to make a difference to their people and to the bottom line. If this is what is important to you, reward yourself and your staff by reading a copy of “How to Make Good People Great Leaders… and reap the rewards”.


This book is filled with practical ground rules and simple strategies so readers can ensure they get both the people and the business side of their business right So if building retaining and sustaining staff this is important to you, or learning how to network so you can convert contracts into contacts would help the bottom line, or if you would like to present like a professional speaker and keep your staff motivated, reward yourself and your staff by picking up a copy of “How to Make Good People Great Leaders… and reap the rewards” from our website www.rickynowak.com or all Borders or good book stores. Rrp $26.95 plus p&h, Special price for Conference or Corporate orders phone 03 9500 9886.

http://www.rickynowak.com

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"The Director's Dilemma" is a monthly newsletter issued by Julie Garland McLellan, an expert governance adviser to boards and directors on the complex and challenging issues they face.

Each month Julie's newsletters include a mini case study and the pros and cons of various alternate approaches for the individuals and companies concerned, as provided by Julie and other governance experts.

Find out more and sign up for the newsletter at

http://www.mclellan.com.au/

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No one makes it to the top ranks of corporate management without a healthy amount of self-assurance. Confidence underlies decisive, strong leadership, but does overconfidence lead managers to cross the line and commit fraud? New research by Wharton accounting professor Catherine M. Schrand and doctoral student Sarah L. C. Zechman examines patterns in frauds to determine if some frauds evolve, not out of pure self-interest, but because executives are overly optimistic that they can turn their firms around before fraudulent behavior catches up with them. Their paper is titled, "Executive Overconfidence and the Slippery Slope to Fraud."

http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/1907.cfm

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While changing jobs and shifting careers is hardly unusual in today's business world, Russ Palmer is somewhat unique in that he has been the leader of three very different organizations over the past several decades. He was CEO of Touche Ross (now Deloitte & Touche) for 10 years, dean of Wharton for seven years, and now owner, chairman and CEO of The Palmer Group, a corporate investment firm. Each of these positions required very different skills and the ability to adapt to a unique set of challenges -- what Palmer calls "a context-driven approach to leadership." In his new book, Ultimate Leadership: Winning Execution Strategies for Your Situation, Palmer describes how today's leaders can adapt to, and succeed in, any business environment.


http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=1894

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Talent Management is a top leadership concern and will remain so over the next five years as baby-boomers retire, the talent market becomes more globalized and there is increased need for new, more complex sets of capabilities. How you can develop a sustainable supply of leaders ready to execute your strategy?

http://image.keymail-email.com/members/34769/BuildLeadPipeA4.pd
f

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It’s a bigger problem than you might think—jerks and bullies in the workplace. Research shows that they not only hinder recruiting and retention but also raise levels of client churn, damage reputations, and diminish the confidence of investors.
The author of this article, a Stanford University professor, argues that companies can take specific and interrelated steps to root out jerks and bullies and build a more civilized workplace.

http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/article_abstract.aspx?ar=1963&
amp;l2=18&l3=31&srid=27

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Restoring the fortunes of a company that has fallen on hard times often calls for bold moves, says Rosabeth Moss Kanter, the Ernest L. Arbuckle Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. But brilliant strategies will have little effect if you don't first rebuild employees' confidence by giving them concrete reasons to believe in a brighter day. Here, Kanter describes the psychological dynamics of underperformance and offers suggestions on how to overcome them.

http://harvardbusinessonline.hbsp.harvard.edu/b01/en/common/ite
m_detail.jhtml;jsessionid=WDU21PISLMVBAAKRGWDR5VQBKE0YIISW?id=U
0710B&cm_mmc=npv-_-listserv-_-OCT_2007-_-HMU&_requestid
=49531

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The secret to long-term CEO success, according to David Nadler, is conceiving of a CEO's tenure as a performance with a series of distinct acts. "Each act requires the CEO to lead, think and behave in fundamentally different ways. The successful ones are those who are able to make the transitions," says Nadler, a consultant to boards and senior executives, who spoke during the recent 11th annual Wharton Leadership Conference. The theme of the conference, sponsored by the Center for Leadership and Change Management, the Center for Human Resources and Wharton Executive Education, was "Developing Leadership Talent."

http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/1784.cfm

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Authors: Carolyn B. Aiken and Scott P. Keller

This is a first class article with some good practical tips you can follow.

In today's business environment, companies cannot settle for incremental improvement; they must periodically undergo performance transformations to get, and stay, on top. But in the volumes of pages on how to go about implementing a transformation, surprisingly little addresses the role of one important person. What exactly should the CEO be doing, and how different is this role from that of the executive team or the initiative's sponsors?

Based on a series of interviews we have conducted with nearly a dozen executives over the last couple of years - as well as our own experience working with companies - we believe there is no single model for success. Moreover, the exact nature of the CEO's role will be influenced by the magnitude, urgency, and nature of the transformation; the capabilities and failings of the organization; and the personal style of the leader.

Everyone has a role to play in a performance transformation. The role of CEOs is unique in that they stand at the top of the pyramid and all the other members of the organization take cues from them. CEOs who give only lip service to a transformation will find everyone else doing the same. Those who fail to model the desired mind-sets and behavior or who opt out of vital initiatives risk seeing the transformation lose focus. Only the boss of all bosses can ensure that the right people spend the right amount of time driving the necessary changes.

http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/article_page.aspx?ar=1912

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Why do top executives have difficulty receiving and responding to constructive criticism? Because so many highfliers have received little criticism in their careers. The result is that when receiving criticism, the highest-performing employees in an organization are the ones most likely to become defensive to screen out criticism and place the blame on anyone and everyone but themselves. Although getting highfliers to take in and respond to honest feedback can be tough, it's not impossible. Learn how to get through your best managers' defenses and have your feedback heard.

http://harvardbusinessonline.hbsp.harvard.edu/b01/en/common/ite
m_detail.jhtml;

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Just published in July 2007, this book pulls from the best HBR articles to help leaders rise to the tests they face on a daily basis. If you want to navigate through muddy business waters, overcome difficult hurdles, and thrive in this modern world of business, read "Harvard Business Review on the Tests of a Leader."

Subjects covered include: CEO, Decision making, Effectiveness, Executive selection, Executives, Leadership, Management development.

For more details or to order online visit Harvard Business School press

http://harvardbusinessonline.hbsp.harvard.edu/b01/en/common/ite
m_detail.jhtml?
id=1494&referral=2612&cm_mmc=npv-_-listserv-_-June_2007
-_-BusBook& _requestid=17771

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