Leadership development may be the most important thing any company does. That’s why, every week, I review blogs and other publications that cover leadership development to find the very best leadership development posts. This week, you’ll find pointers to posts about Google’s onboarding, strategic supervisor training, ditching performance reviews, and the foundations of a succession plan.
From Dr. John Sullivan: WOW, Google’s Simple Just-in-time Checklist Improves Onboarding Results By 25%
“Although the initial part of this article is about how Google improved its onboarding results by 25 percent, the unique approach that it used reveals many other valuable lessons that HR executives should note. Those lessons include the importance of experimenting with different HR solutions, the need to use data to identify what works, and the value of working through managers using simple just-in-time checklist alerts.”
From Dan Campbell: Strategic Supervisor Training: Boost Recruiting and Retention
“There are few factors more influential on the retention of employees than their relationship with a supervisor. These leaders are the first line of defense — and offense — when it comes to the day-to-day productivity and satisfaction of a work environment. With that understanding, training these managers to actually manage people becomes critically important, but it’s often not given the attention or priority that is needed to set supervisors and their teams up for long-term success.”
Thanks to Smartbrief on Workforce for pointing me to the two stories above.
From Goeff Colvin: Microsoft and Dell are ditching employee performance reviews
“The media have begun to notice that several big, famous companies—Microsoft, Dell, Accenture, New York Life, and many more—are abandoning one of the most loathed traditions in management: the performance review. The Wall Street Journal noted the trend a few days ago, and last month the Harvard Business Review and CNNMoney documented it. The theme is consistent: Hallelujah, performance ratings are dead. And I’d be cheering too, except for one problem. Performance ratings in their multiple forms are tools, and at many companies they’re despised not because the tools are bad, but because the users of the tools are inept.”
From Joe Abusamra: The Foundations of a Leadership Succession Plan
“Eventually, your managers, directors and even senior executives will have to hand the reigns over to the next wave of leaders. It’s inevitable, much like death and taxes. However, the question is whether you should start recruiting externally or look in-house for talent that could step up to the plate. Although it’s not the answer in every situation, promoting internally has several advantages:”
