Leading Through the Tough Times

Did you know that a recession is defined by two quarters of GDP decline? Well, ladies and gentleman we are looking at two quarters of GDP growth. Does that mean all is rosy? Nope. But, if you take a look at magazine headlines and articles from the 70's, if you take out the price of oil, the price of gas and the military portion, the information is the same. It is just like reading a Newsweek of today. These are cycles and they happen and they are TEMPORARY. The doom and gloom of the news, the media and the uneducated, may not be helping you lead anyone through the tough times, least of all, you!

When leading through the tough times, try:
1. Being positive but not polly anna.
2. Being clear on direction and compassionate on people issues
3. Being open to more emotional discussion than usual.

Until we have the honor of meeting in person...

Human Capital in the Headlines

This is an article blurb that I ran across in the ASTD bulletin. Perhaps if the leaders of these organizations realized that the employees on their "To -do" list were actual people instead of human capital on a budget line, they would be well on their way to resolving the challenges faster. Your thoughts?


Boards Increase Oversight of Human Capital Issues Human Resource Executive (12/07) Vol. 21, P. 20; Behan, Beverly
A new study by the Hay Group reveals that more boards, especially those of the top companies, are paying attention to human capital issues. The Hay Group conducted a study of 150 top executives for Fortune magazine as part of their report on the World's Most Admired Companies. The survey found over 75 percent of boards added management of human capital to their to-do list in the past several years. Over 66 percent said CEOs and management often consult board members on human capital issues, like employee-turnover rates, job-acceptance rates, diversity statistics, and employee-satisfaction. Attention to these issues was even more prevalent in the most admired companies than average. For example, over 80 percent of the most admired companies developed human capital strategies as part of their overall corporate strategy, compared to 70 percent of most other boards. More than 80 percent of the most admired companies also included human capital measures as part of their CEO performance evaluation, and over 90 percent had emergency succession plans in place. This study demonstrates how attention to human resources is an important factor in helping a company get an edge on its competition.

Frequent Question...

Someone asked me again today what the whole contagious thing is about and how it correlates to leadership. In short, I shared that contagious is what we all are because everything we do rubs off on other people. And then I said, leadership for me begins wtih leading yourself and what I often share with managers is that if you cannot lead your own self out of a low self-esteem or other personal issues, then you have no business leading others who bring that and more to work with them. He asked for my card so I think he liked the answer.