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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 servant leadership gone bad, why leaders and businesses succeed and fail, loving your mistakes, and saying "Thank-you."

From Mary Jo Asmus: When Servant Leadership Goes Awry
"The concept of servant leadership can often seem the antithesis to many organizational cultures, where top-down, command and control are the norm. Even in organizations that are supportive of the concept, it can be a challenge. Especially now."

Wally's Comment: "Servant leadership" may sound like a religious concept, but the term was coined by Robert K. Greenleaf. The Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership is named for him. For me, the concept has always been embodied in the Marine practice that "officers eat last." Mary Jo Asmus notes that some leaders may be taking the idea of servant leadership too far. If you're working harder than ever, you should read this post.

From Great Leadership: Why Do Businesses and Leaders Fail?
"The Center for Creative Leadership and Lominger has identified the following (through extensive research) as being executive “derailers” (I’ve combined elements of their research)."

Wally's Comment: Dan McCarthy looks at Jim Collins' work on failed companies and research on why executives fail to derive some guidelines that will help you as you think about your own performance and development.

From Winning Workplaces: University of Iowa Prof: Don't Underestimate Leadership's Role in Business Success or Failure
"Given this blog's focus on how employee retention tips and other people practices lead to a more productive workplace culture – and how leadership strategies such as succession planning reduce dependency of the business on key people if they leave or are otherwise taken out of the equation – a reader might conclude that decisions made in the C-suite matter less now than they once did."

Wally's Comment: There's some research which concludes that leaders do not really have much impact on their organizations. Maybe. But my experience cries out otherwise. The person at the top of the chart or who leads the team has impact in at least two ways. First, followers look to him or her for ideas about what's important. And, consciously or not, followers take cues for their behavior from the style of the leader.

From Terry Starbucker: How To Love Your Mistakes (In 4 Easy Steps)
"As someone who is always trying to "deal with the literal world in a positive way," I have come to really appreciate the mistakes I’ve made (and there have been plenty). Now I’m sure your reaction to that is – "appreciate mistakes??" Sounds like an oxymoron, doesn’t it?"

Wally's Comment: My dad used to say that life was the art of new and better mistakes. Well, guess what, you can't achieve that unless you figure out what went wrong with the old mistakes. Terry Starbucker is here to help.

From Bob Sutton: It Isn't Just a Myth: A Little Thanks Goes a Long Way
"The approach that I take to giving advice in Good Boss, Bad Boss and in everything else I write is to try to be as evidence-based as possible.  But I also realize that the academic literature does not always map neatly onto the demands and needs of bosses and others in organizations.  So I also offer logical or theory-based advice that seems like it is likely to be supported by research -- even if that research has not yet been done or I don't know about it.  Although most assertions in Good Boss, Bad Boss are grounded directly in evidence from peer reviewed studies, my arguments about the value of saying "thanks" were only indirectly grounded in research on influence, especially on the norm of reciprocity.  At least they were it wasn't until I learned of this study in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology from co-author Adam Grant."

Wally's Comment: Bob Sutton's Work Matters blog should be on your regular reading list. There's simply no better source for evidence-based advice on management and leadership. Bob's latest book, Good Boss, Bad Boss is out, but he's not resting on his laurels. This post updates and adds to material in the book. It's about the power of thank-you.

That's it for this week's selections from independent business blogs. If you liked this piece you may enjoy my regular post on "Leadership Reading to Start Your Week" which features five choice articles from the business schools, the business press and major consulting firms. The last issue had pointers to articles about C.K. Prahalad, stopping the "most talented" brain drain, managing managers, the complicated lives of today's leaders, and Volkswagen's acquisition of Porsche.

My latest book, Ruthless Focus: How to use key core strategies to grow your business is out and available at Amazon.

And be sure to check out Weekly Leader where I'll try to get you thinking about The Question of the Week.
 

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.