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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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Independent business blogs are blogs that aren't supported by an organization like a magazine, newspaper, company, or business school. Those people provide lots of great content, but they don't need any additional exposure. In this post, every week, I bring you posts of quality from excellent bloggers that don't get as much publicity.

This week, I'm pointing you to posts on what makes a great leadership development workshop, coaching, confronting bad performance, ethics, and a secret of leadership.

From Great Leadership: 7 Elements of a Great Leadership Development Workshop
"Whenever I’m designing a leadership development workshop, I’m always aware of the cost of pulling 20 or so supervisors, managers, or executives away from their work for anywheres from 4 hours to 4 weeks. The biggest cost of any training program isn’t the instructors, travel, facilities, and food. It’s not even the salaries of the participants. The most significant cost, and often overlooked, is the lost opportunity cost. For every hour a manager, or salesperson, or programmer, spends in a classroom, that’s one hour of lost productivity. For executives, the opportunity cost is even greater. That could mean one less deal being made, one less critical decision being made, one less meeting with an investor or customer, etc. Being aware of these total costs gives me additional motivation to make sure every minute is well spent and the benefits far outweigh the costs. Here are some things I’ve learned over time that will lead to a great leadership development experience."

Wally's Comment: Here's some good, practical advice that you can use as a checklist the next time you plan a leadership development workshop. I've been a frequent presenter at leadership development workshops and I share Dan's aversion to open workshops. I find that they often include people seeking what I call "recreational development" and miss people who either really need the subject matter or can make a big difference to the success of the workshop and the programs it supports.

From You're Not the Boss of Me: Good Coaching…Not For Sissies
"There is no magic formula for becoming a good coach.  Like most things worthwhile, it takes work. Period. But, in the interests of starting somewhere, here’s what a good coach looks like to me.

Wally's Comment: There is craft to coaching. It's a good idea to learn it. Gwyn's post is a great place to start.

From the Human Workplace: Good Supervisor, Good Person – Employee Problem
"Begin with a situation that happens all the time: for whatever reason, an employee has trouble managing his or her feelings, it spills out, and begins affecting customer service. You’re the supervisor. Like any supervisor, you were looking forward to teamwork, cooperation, creativity, mutual support, and you were hoping you’d never have an unpleasant conversation with an employee, let alone have to fire anyone."

Wally's Comment: Shaun Kieran lays out what happens when a supervisor confronts the fact the he or she has to confront a team member about performance.

From HR Bartender: Workplace Ethics and the Three Monkeys
"It won’t come as any surprise to you that, for all of these people being accused of wrong-doing, there are an equal number of associated people saying, “I had no clue this was going on.”  For which my reply is – get real. "

Wally's Comment: A good, and tough, post about what it means to look the other way when you know you shouldn't.

From Leadership Solutions: The Secret of Leadership: Do Nothing
"Orville was a generous, engaging man, quick with a smile, a firm handshake and a boisterous greeting. I rarely saw him in casual attire and never in a foul mood. Knowing all this made it much tougher to see him on his deathbed. On one of my last visits with Orville, I took my teenage son along. As you might imagine, forcing him to give up an hour of video games for an hour with a dying old man did not earn me “Dad of the Year” honors. But along he went, surly attitude and all."

Wally's Comment: This guest post by Rick Chambers, a director of Worldwide Communications for Pfizer, nails an important truth.

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.