Weekend Leadership Reading: 7/6/18

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Weekends are time when things slow down a little. Your weekend shouldn’t be two more regular work days. That’s a sure road to burnout. Take time to refresh yourself. Take time for something different. Take time for some of that reading you can’t find time for during the week.

Here are choice articles on hot leadership topics culled from the business schools, the business press and major consulting firms. This week there are articles about business culture.

From Lior Arussy: Employee-Led Cultures—Let the People Go Culture!

“A recent Harvard Business Review article, ‘The Leader’s Guide to Corporate Culture,’ January 2018, outlines a framework to assess corporate culture themes and types. The authors did a wonderful job in isolating distinct possible cultures such as ‘Results-oriented’ and ‘Caring-focused.’”

From Art Petty: Building a Culture of Managers Who Lead—4 Key Ingredients

“Look below the surface at any successful business, and you’ll find a collection of capable and even extraordinary managers. While top leaders often gain the spotlight, every senior leader knows good managers make organizations go and grow. Why then does the focus on leader and leadership development regularly trump the attention and investment we make in supporting the growth and skills development of our managers? In part, I perceive the answer to this question is because we’ve glorified one set of behaviors (leadership) and reduced another set (managerial) to second class. It’s visible in the books we publish, blog posts and articles we write and the programs we attend.”

From Express Pros: Unwritten Rules Determine Teamwork Success

“It’s an interesting case study that highlights an important trend in organizational development that focuses on group dynamics and building stronger, more productive teams. In fact, in Deloitte’s 2017 Human Capital Trends Study, 32% of respondents said they are redesigning their organizations to be more team-centric, which is also driving trends in performance management to ‘shift from focusing just on an employee’s individual achievements to evaluating their contribution to a team and the team’s impact on driving overall business goals.’”

From Google: Creating A High-Trust, High-Performance Culture

“I spent eight years measuring brain activity while people worked in order to uncover the aspects of culture that have the biggest impact on performance. My research revealed organizational trust as a key part of culture that directly influences how willing your employees are to go above and beyond in their roles. Frictions naturally occur when humans congregate, but at the same time, our brains are built to work in teams so there is a tension between wanting to be a team member and seeking to avoid conflicts with others by avoiding other humans. My research on the neuroscience of trust has shown that trust acts as a social lubricant, reducing social frictions so working with others is easier, more efficient, and more enjoyable. And when people work more effectively together, productivity and innovation levels rise.”

From Dr. John Sullivan: What’s Wrong With Corporate Culture As A Management Tool? Almost Everything!

“It is my contention that in a fast-changing world, your firm may be damaging its business results when it relies on your well-established corporate culture as a management tool. The damage occurs for two primary reasons:”

Books to Check Out

The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups by Daniel Coyle

The Culture Engine: A Framework for Driving Results, Inspiring Your Employees, and Transforming Your Workplace by S. Chris Edmonds

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