"Welcome to this month’s Link Letter.
 
In the leadership section this month, there is a great suite of articles which, between them cover almost the whole range of leadership challenges in modern organisations. The HBR piece on CEO turnover and company performance suggests that, in reality, even the greatest leadership cannot be the panacea for a business with no underlying competitive advantages – a stark reminder. However, it also suggests that, in such a tightly competitive environment nowadays, even marginal improvements in leadership effectiveness can be effective in firms who do have those competitive advantages. Three of our other articles can help leaders prepare for, build credibility in and succeed in the complex business environments of today.
 
The Fast Company article on the six habits of aspiring leaders focuses on planning ahead and developing skills for the next role (not just for your current one). The piece on building credibility looks at how leaders need to work on real basics such as integrity and sound judgement to build trust once in leadership positions. And, finally, the HBR infographic suggests a number of areas where leaders need to excel in order to leverage the opportunities in our current, complex business landscapes.
 
We hope you enjoy this month’s reads."

Dr Andy Brown, CEO, ENGAGE

Leadership engagement

Nice piece from Fast Company on the six habits of aspiring leaders:

• 6 Habits of aspiring leaders - Fast Company

Interesting piece on CEO turnover and company performance:

• Profit is less about good management than you think - Harvard Business Review

Good piece on how leaders can build credibility:

• A question of credibility - coachingconrucopia

Employee engagement

Nice short piece from Head of HR at Google on two things to do to keep your best people:

• Google HR boss explains the only 2 ways to keep your best people from quitting - Business Insider UK

Good summary piece on the current debate around making changes to performance management systems:

• Performance management: The hype and the facts - Changing Employee Behaviour

Good review of firms with engaging company cultures:

• 10 Examples of companies with fantastic cultures - Entrepreneur

Communications engagement

Great case study on TD Bank's use of internal social media:

• Social media from the inside out - Banking Exchange

Nice piece on sharing employee experiences and top storytelling tips:

• The power of authentic employee stories - Melcrum

Interesting short piece on ways to optimise employee advocacy programs using social media tools:

• 4 Fatal mistakes when launching an employee advocacy program - Oracle Social Spotlight

And one infographic...

• 8 Critical capabilities for a complex world - Harvard Business Review

To learn more about the above areas or book an exploratory conversation with one of our experts, call us on +44 207 947 4471 or email info@engagegroup.co.uk.