Ask a Manager

I’m excited to be hosting the Carnival of HR. Despite my best efforts to find a unifying theme for the posts like everyone before me has done, I am chagrined to confess that my best efforts got me nowhere. But that won’t distract from the fabulousness of the posts themselves, which I hereby present to you:

“You Are Where You Sit at the Table”
It hadn’t occurred to me to actively encourage more junior staff to take more prominent seats at meeting tables, but I’m going to be doing it now that I’ve read the HR Capitalist’s post on the topic.

“Baby, It’s Cold Outside”
Were you ever excluded from an inner social circle as a kid? Lisa at HR Thoughts writes about how this behavior can show up at work too.

“How the Great Supervisors Do It”
Invoking Tolstoy, Wally Bock at Three Star Leadership notes, “There are thousands of ways to do a bad job as a supervisor. But great supervisors do the same things in pretty much the same way.” Here’s how.

“Making Your Career ‘Layoff-Proof'”
Fortifying yourself against a layoff “doesn’t mean that you hunker down and cling tenaciously to the job you have,” says the Career Encouragement Blog.

“Punished by (Poorly Conceived) Rewards”
Ann Barnes at Compensation Force takes on Alfie Kohn’s Punished By Rewards and argues against painting all reward efforts with a broad brush of condemnation.

“Rewards Systems”
The Evil HR Lady tackles a different aspect of rewards systems, asking what happens when they inadvertently punish the wrong employees. “As a result of this, people with good potential, great ideas and technical know-how steer clear of (high-risk) projects. Why take something on that could ultimately end up with being shown the door? The people willing to take it on are those who have nothing to lose. As a result, we end up with failures where we could have had success.”

“Do you have a WIG … or a PIG?”
Over at 8 Hours & a Lunch, Deb Owen’s guest host tackles WIGs — wildly important goals — and PIGS — pretty important goals — and makes all the acronyms make sense.

“Does Everybody Hate HR?”
Susan Heathfield at about.com explores whether and why they do. She recalls: “Driving to lunch with a manager, I supported the employee view about the need for HR support. The response was interesting: ‘Do they ‘really’ want an HR Director? They should be careful what they wish for. After all, everybody hates HR.'”

“Be a Leadership Tiger”
Anna at the Engaging Brand explores leadership skills through the lens of Tiger Woods.

“How Will the Future of Work Look?”
“Forget face-to-face communication with your colleagues,” says the Work Clinic, taking a look at new uses of technology in the workplace.

“A Second Career — Is Now the Time?”
And if all this is too much for you, Michael Wolfe at the Career Revolution gives three great questions to ask if you’re thinking of switching careers (and then check out his follow-up).

The next HR Carnival will be hosted by Ann Bares at Compensation Force on August 8.