Incivility Can Have Costs Beyond Hurt Feelings; New York Times, 11/20/10

Alina Tugend, New York Times; Incivility Can Have Costs Beyond Hurt Feelings:

"...fundamental notion of all ethical principles — actions have consequences for others. Good manners are the training wheels of altruism.”...

There are solutions, although they are not easy. “First, leaders can put something into their orientation code or credo that they expect employees to be treated with respect,” Professor Pearson said. ”It’s amazing how many expect their employees to treat customers with respect and how few worry about how their colleagues treat each other.”

Most important, she said, people at the top have to be willing to model civility, discipline those who act badly and be consistent — that is, not let someone considered a superstar get away with rudeness."

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/20/your-money/20shortcuts.html?pagewanted=2&ref=business&src=me

Corner Office [[Interview with Bob Brennan, President and C.E.O. of Iron Mountain]; New York Times, 11/28/10

Adam Bryant, Corner Office, New York Times; [Interview with Bob Brennan, President and C.E.O. of Iron Mountain] Defensive? It Leads to Destructive:

"Q. Talk more about the kind of culture you try to create.

A. We have a set of core values that are important to us, and they’re mostly around candor -- really to generate speed, action orientation and a sense of security. We’ve got 21,000 people, so we have a lot of people who are managing others. What are the traits we want in leaders? How do we help them understand in very descriptive terms what we expect on a day-to-day basis? That’s different from driving clarity around outcomes, or how they link to broader strategy.

We want managers to display confidence and optimism, and to give constructive feedback, never destructive. And managers need to seek constructive feedback themselves."

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/28/business/28corner.html

Leadership Begins at Home; Harvard Business Review, 11/23/10

Tony Schwartz, Harvard Business Review; Leadership Begins at Home:

"One of the greatest gifts you can give your kids is help in foregoing immediate gratification, by setting boundaries for them and by modeling the behavior yourself.

That's also one of the greatest gifts you can give to those you lead or manage."

http://blogs.hbr.org/schwartz/2010/11/one-of-the-greatest-gifts.html

Libraries strive to keep quality despite cuts; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 11/18/10

Candy Woodall, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Libraries strive to keep quality despite cuts:

"Their budgets may be getting smaller, but that has only inspired directors of some of the South Hills' biggest libraries to get more creative."

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10322/1104123-55.stm

[Podcast] Can Introverts Lead?; Harvard Business Review, 11/12/10

[Podcast] Francesca Gino, Harvard Business Review; Can Introverts Lead?:

"Francesca Gino, associate professor at Harvard Business School, explains how quiet bosses with proactive teams can be highly successful. She is the coauthor of the upcoming HBR article "The Hidden Advantages of Quiet Bosses."

http://blogs.hbr.org/video/2010/11/can-introverts-lead.html

[Podcast] Putting Performance Reviews On Probation; NPR's Talk of the Nation, 11/9/10

[Podcast] NPR's Talk of the Nation; Putting Performance Reviews On Probation:

"Performance reviews are a predictable part of office life. Whether the employees write their own, or sit before a panel of bosses, it can be a grueling process. Often, managers only conduct them because they're told to, and workers embellish and obscure their accomplishments and failures. Some business leaders argue the reviews are all but worthless."

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=131191535

When Are Facebook Updates a Firing Offense?; Harvard Business Review, 11/10/10

Brian Elzweig and Donna K. Peeples; Harvard Business Review; When Are Facebook Updates a Firing Offense?:

"Privacy in social media is another tricky issue in the law that has not been thoroughly addressed."

http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2010/11/when_are_facebook_updates_a_fi.html

How to Interject in a Meeting; Harvard Business Review, 11/3/10

Jodi Glickman, Harvard Business Review; How to Interject in a Meeting:

"Speaking up in meetings — to interject, correct someone else, or ask for clarification — can be extremely intimidating. Having a few useful phrases at hand can go a long way towards giving you the confidence and tools you need to be able to interject your thoughts and opinions effectively in group situations and meetings."

http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2010/11/how_to_interject_in_a_meeting.html