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Here are five choice articles from the business schools, the business press and major consulting firms to start off your work week. I'm pointing you to articles about group dynamics and innovation, business process improvement, leading change, leadership development, and the leadership thinking of the best and the brightest scholars.

From Wharton: How Group Dynamics May Be Killing Innovation
"To come up with the next iPad, Amazon or Facebook, the last thing potential innovators need is a group brainstorm session. What the pacesetters of the future really require, according to new Wharton research, is some time alone. "

Wally's Comment: This article is a good counterpoint to all the derivative "wisdom of crowds" articles. Like many though, it seems to present and either/or choice for a process that is usually best as a both/and. You need divergent thinking to get good ideas. But you also need convergent thinking to turn those ideas into innovations. You need individuals to come up with ideas. But you'll do better if you also have groups where ideas can spark off each other and where ideas can be modified and make more useful.

For additional reading, you might like my posts, "Innovation: Finding Ideas that Work" or "Three Kinds of Innovation." And here's a pointer to a short piece on "virtual brainstorming" from Ann Michael.

From WP Carey: Step-by-Step: There's a Process Behind Smart Process Improvement
"There's little margin for error when you're in the business of selling electrons. After all, if an electron traveled around the world instead of bouncing around the nucleus of an atom, it would circle the earth some 8.3 times in one second. Since there's no time to react, electricity providers must do all they can to prevent system failures."

Wally's Comment: This is a great article about process improvement at Arizona Public Service (APS). Like many process improvement efforts it came out of the IT part of the organization. That's common. In 2008, Gartner found that business process improvement was the top priority of CIOS. It's also sensible. When you are thinking about embedding good practices in software, it should inspire some work on improving the process before you automate.

From the Graziado Business Report: Strategies for Leading through Times of Change
"Leading change is difficult. Therefore, much is written on the topic. This article is based on a study that took the unique approach of listening to stories from leaders in a variety of sizes and types of organizations and documenting their recurring, successful solutions to common problems found in change initiatives. Their strategies, or "patterns," provide a resource for anyone who struggles with introducing a new idea into an organization."

Wally's Comment: This is a fairly long piece. To figure out if there's value for you, scroll down to the chart that briefly describes each of the fourteen "patterns" for change. You should also check out an excellent series on change leadership by Terrie Mui of the UCSC Extension.

From Workforce: Special Report on Training and Development: The Leadership Formula
"By surveying management at companies performing at varying levels in a number of industries and crunching the numbers, researchers have developed a data-driven model for what constitutes good leadership and how to develop it."

Wally's Comment: This is an important article on how companies who have reputations for great leadership development do what they do. Here are some other posts that offer additional perspectives on leadership development.

Leadership Development for Little Guys

Leadership Development: Just in Case or Just in Time

Why Leadership Development Training Doesn’t Work and What You Can Do About It

Leadership Development: Big Company Programs and You

From HBS Working Knowledge: What the Brightest Scholars Say about Leadership
"Works on the subject of leadership weigh down bookstore shelves the world over. Tomes tell you how to be a 30-second manager, how to inspire your employees like Churchill, and the three keys to "strength-based leadership." Everyone has been writing about leadership, in fact, except the people you would expect to be most active in the field: scholars."

Wally's Comment: Warning: Turn off your arrogance alert system before reading this article.

With some notable exceptions, such as Bob Sutton, Jeffrey Pfeffer, and Henry Mintzberg, most of the leadership writing that comes from "the brightest scholars" is seriously disconnected from the reality of leading anything.

The academics never seem to address some of the basics. Leadership in the real world is chaotic, messy, and human. It's also a complex phenomenon, not a set of individual disciplines connected only by a table of contents. It involves relationships that are horizontal as well as vertical. And, it is certainly not disconnected from managing or supervising.

There are hints in this article that some of this is changing. And there are some worthwhile ideas and thought starters, too.

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.