I don’t understand the current obsession with other people’s lives, in fact, I find it very weird.
Whether it is a public figure or not, the desire (need?) to know every little detail, what they are doing every minute of their lives, the products they use, their ups and downs to be almost obsessional.
This kind of interest used to be reserved for the intimacy of real friendship or close family relations—and even then there were boundaries—but now anyone is fair game.
Apparently I’m not as out of it as I thought; many people are shutting down their Facebook pages for a variety …read more

Few companies would consider doing a major project using individual contributors instead of teams.
Hiring is a major project, one that has substantial long-term impact on the group, department, and company.
So, why are teams used in every part of business today—except staffing? Why is it assumed that the various parts of staffing are a function only of managers and HR?
Sadly, some managers are not comfortable involving their people. The reasons range from control issues (involvement in staffing is very empowering) to fear (the manager feels insecure) to disinterest (staffing has a low priority).
But in today’s fast-paced work environment, it’s hard for …read more

A few days ago an executive I’ll call Dan called me to bemoan the lack of creativity in his organization and I told him to stop hiring dogs. He informed me that he had great people and when I agreed he demanded to know why I called them dogs.
The problem is that Dan hires people he likes who fall inside his comfort zone, so his organization gets along well. And while it’s well diversified from an HR point of view it has little mental diversity.
It’s a happy place, kind of like a dog park with a large variety of breeds …read more

Why Can’t We Figure Out How to Select Leaders? was the question asked by Harvard’s Jim Heskett at the beginning of February.
It’s a pertinent question right now, since for more than a decade many of the people held up as examples of great leadership have fallen on their faces and even ended up in jail. Worse still, the companies they ran were destroyed or badly damaged—short term Wall Street numbers were met at the cost of long-term innovation and sustainability.
The Forum drew 88 comments that Heskett says fall in three categories,

enumerating the qualities that we should look for in a …read more

Post from Leadership Turn
When a bit of serendipity, no matter how small, drops into your life it’s a wise move to notice and appreciate it.
Last week our channel editor sent a reminder that today was theme day (when participating Biz Channel bloggers all write on the same subject) and the subject was “Does Experience Matter?”
A day later I read a fascinating article based on Wharton management professor Nancy Rothbard’s co-authored paper titled Unpacking Prior Experience: How Career History Affects Job Performance about the dangers in hiring dominantly based on experience.
Obviously a post match made in heaven.
Experience is good, right? Not …read more

Post from Leadership Turn
Today is theme day around the channel, all about graduating and new beginnings in a downturn. For a full list of participants check with Darlene over at Interview Chatter.
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Their reputation precedes them.
Hiring Millennials is an iffy business when your focus is a desire for long term employees.
On top of their sense of entitlement, many have no idea how to be led.
As CandidProf says, “Teaching is also an exercise in leadership, particularly in college. You do not simply download knowledge into student brains… Students need to be properly prepared in order to be led to learning.”
That goes …read more

Post from Leadership Turn Image credit: danaloganphotography
Cynic that I am, I never really bought into the idea of “sisterhood” and that women supported each other because they were all in the same boat. Nice idea, but I just couldn’t swallow it, partly based on my own experience and partly on what I saw happen around me.
For all you doubters I offer more proof from a brief item in Business Week synopsizing a study in the Journal of Applied Psychology.

 
Researchers at George Mason and Rice universities had 105 people (56 men, 49 women) play the role of interviewer as nonpregnant …read more