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The Working Supervisor's Support Kit is a collection of information and tools to help working supervisors do a better job. It's based on what Wally's learned in over twenty years of supervisory skills training.

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Here's my pick of the five best posts from this week's business blogs. I'm pointing you to posts on employee rewards, discussing the traits of great leaders, acting without thinking, trust in your leader, and how to behave if you disagree with your team members.

In addition to blogging here about leadership issues, I'm now blogging at Momentor on career issues. There will be a post similar to this one but on career issues over there every week.

From Phil Gerbyshak at Slacker Manager: Employee Awards That Don’t Cost a Lot of Money
"It shouldn’t cost you a bunch of money to thank your team for a job well done. Some of the best awards I’ve received have cost the person giving it to me absolutely nothing, and I love those awards far more than any of the costly rewards I’ve gotten. As I’ve examined the rewards that have meant the most to me, I’ve come up with 4 things that all of the most meaningful awards had in common."

Wally's Comment: We know that positive consequences help you encourage people to try something or to continue effective behavior. Awards are a form of positive consequence that don't have to be part of a "program" or cost a bunch of money or even get executive approval. Phil Gerbyshak gives us a succinct, helpful post on effective ways to say "thank you for a good job."

From Jim Stroup at Managing Leadership: Big shoes to fill
"The extraordinary characteristics attributed to putatively great leaders continue to attract supporters and vast amounts of commentary. Since this happens in an evidential vacuum, however, they inevitably tend to take on increasingly distorted features. They seem to begin reasonably enough, describing personality traits we might be expected to associate with leaders – intelligence, technical competence, and focus. Then they expand into martial virtues such as courage and willpower. Soon enough we find ourselves in spiritual territory, talking about moral compasses and the like. At this point, discipline – such as it ever was – breaks down completely. In short order we are talking about essentially mystical, characteristics that real leaders in our impenetrably confusing modern times must have.

Wally's Comment: Jim Stoup points out that that many of our discussions of great leadership are filled with hot air and not much insight.

From Carmine Coyote at Slow Leadership: "Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!"
"In the American Civil War, Admiral Farragut achieved immortality with an order usually simplified as, 'Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!' During the Battle of Mobile Bay in August 1864, Farragut ordered his ships to charge into the bay, despite a minefield (mines were called ‘torpedoes’ then), to attack and defeat the Confederate force waiting there. His action pretty much sums up the attitude to management in recent years. Over more than a decade of short-term thinking, leaders have rushed, full-tilt, into action, ignoring the risks in a headlong charge for glory — and the huge personal rewards it could bring."

Wally's Comment: Carmine Coyote does a fine job of connecting the emphasis on short term results and a propensity to act without thinking.

From Martha Rice at Leadership in Action: Courage: Dousing the Fire with Trust and Respect
"Would you do it? You are in high stress. Your body is telling you to fight or flee. You don’t want to hurt anyone; your purpose is to give aid. But you don’t want to be hurt or killed either. So, it takes a great deal of courage for you to follow this type of leadership. The deciding factor is your trust in this person, gained over time and with personal interaction. Trust is not developed in a moment."

Wally's Comment: Martha Rice's fine post looks at courage and trust through the lens of whether or not you trust your leader.

From Marshall Goldsmith: The Right Way to Disagree with Direct Reports
"You often write about the importance of encouraging ideas from co-workers. What if you are a manager and your direct reports have strong opinions on a topic – and you believe their suggestions just won’t work?"

Wally's Comment: Marshall Goldsmith's post is a treasury of great advice, but you may find the comments from his readers every bit as helpful.

Wally's Working Supervisor's Support Kit is a collection of information and tools to help working supervisors do a better job. It's based on what Wally's learned in over twenty years of supervisory skills training. Click here to check it out.

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Wally Bock has helped people learn to be great bosses for more than a quarter century. His latest book, Performance Talk: The One-on-One Part of Leadership, makes learning key leadership principles almost effortless by teaching through a story and providing lists of resources for further growth.

Click here to find out more about Wally's coaching services.

For weekly tips and resources pointers, check our Wally Bock's Three Star Leadership Letter.

Click here to find out more about having Wally speak to your company or convention.