Top 10 Posts From The League of Extraordinary Thinkers of 2014

Our Leaguers, our term of endearment for the League of Extraordinary Thinkers, make us proud. Each of them is doing great work to make businesses more human-centered. They not only write about key topics pertinent to the human-side of business conversation, but they live it, too.

The mixture of their experience, research and writing caught your attention. This list of the 10 best posts of 2014 is as diverse as are our Leaguers.

So, as the clock inches closer to the dawn of a new year, read, reflect and learn from the 10 posts that dominated 2014.

10 Ways to Build Happiness

by Irene Becker

The greatest experiment is one that speaks to each man and woman who seeks to realize their potential. It is an experiment that starts with a simple question…Are you happy?

You may be keeping strong and carrying on, but are you also finding ways to extract a sense of fulfillment, happiness and purpose when the going gets tough? The imperative to focus on true happiness, on what truly gives one fulfillment (as opposed to a cursory rush of adrenaline or a momentary ego boost) is the stuff that great lives, great careers and great accomplishments are made of.

9. Why Feedback Is a Business Imperative

by Matthew T. Fritz

The importance of measuring the climate you create cannot be understated. I submit that you, as the leader, have the responsibility to take your organization’s temperature on a regular basis so that you can validate whether or not it meets with your intentional objectives, or if a course correction is required. Without regular and consistent updates, you may never truly understand the environment you are creating for your team…

8. 10 Trends Change Leaders Can’t Ignore in 2014

by Patti Johnson

Leading or participating in a change is likely one of your biggest challenges in 2014. I have summarized ten trends I expect to cause waves this year. Ask yourself: 1) What can I learn about this trend? 2) What opportunities does it present in my organization?, and 3) How can I incorporate this trend in our change today?

7. How to Be Fascinating in 5 Easy Steps

by Ted Coiné

If you watch Switch and Shift TV, you already know my favorite hobby: I collect fascinating people! I’ve been doing it my whole life, though since my first tweet in 2009… let’s just say, social has been like kerosene poured on the flame of this great hobby of mine.

6. The Must-Have Habitudes of Effective 21st Century Leaders

by John E. Michel & Angela Maiers

The conversation around must-have, 21st century leadership skills has been in full swing for years. From business to education; classroom to community, the debate on what is a “new skill” or an “always skill” can be both controversial and confusing. Although it’s almost certain we will never all agree to a singular list of skills, strategies, and competencies leaders must embody for success now and in the future, we do know what effectively operating and leading in a fluid, dynamic and every changing 21st Century world requires…

5. Eff. Leadership: What is your predisposition?

by Chris Stricklin

As self-proclaimed innovators, we must delve into our inner propensities for efficiency and effectiveness which ultimately reveals our proclivity for innovation…

4. Are You Just a Leader or a Just Leader?

by Deborah Mills-Scofield

Being a leader requires taking the right road, not the easy road. Treating our people fairly requires judgment, subjectivity, and clear communication of expectations and goals on an ongoing basis since the world around us changes all the time. When we treat our people equally but not fairly, we tell people it’s ok to underperform and under contribute undermining the morale of our dedicated and passionate people and are then surprised when we get mediocre output and outcomes…

3. GM’s Mary Barra Will Lead the Greatest Culture Transformation of All Time

by Tim Kuppler

The subject of workplace culture was once again in the limelight with the media and political circus surrounding the massive General Motors ignition switch recall crisis that led to at least 13 deaths. I started the research for this post thinking I would share some fundamentals about true culture change and connect them to GM’s management of this safety crisis. I now believe Mary Barra, the new GM CEO, will successfully lead one of the most significant culture transformations in history. We should all watch as this live case study unfolds because the insights will be meaningful for any organization…

2. Screw Trust and You Skewer Your Future

by Eileen McDargh

The Veterans Administration and General Motors currently sit center-stage for behavior that has ruptured the trust of customers and employees. But trust breaking goes on all the time—and not just with large hide-bound bureaucracies…

1. The Nobility of Fighting for Freedom

by John E. Michel

It has been called the greatest photograph of all time. It may well be the most widely reproduced, even winning the Pulitzer Prize for photography. Snapped on February 23, 1945 as our nation was fighting its way across the Pacific as part of the World War II island hopping campaign , it served as the symbol for the Seventh War Loan Drive, adorned a postage stamp, and appeared on the cover of countless magazines and newspapers across the globe. The photo even served as the model for the Marine Corps War Memorial that today stands in Arlington, Virginia–a timeless symbol of the cost our military members are willing to bear in defending the values, ideas, and principles this great nation was originally founded upon…