• Toby’s Support Group – Head on over to The Office and share some of your HR nightmares with Toby.  If they’re good, he may break confidentiality and post them on the NBC website.
• Out of Office Advice – Resident punk Laurie Ruettimann tells her readers that out of office messages are for one thing only (namely to convey who can help in your absence).  Enjoy the rebel yell.
• “Regulators!” – Research warns that many “highly regulated industries report no code of conduct”.  I can think of one governor and one former Nasdaq chairman that might agree.
• Blue Blood, Red Face – The venerable Harvard allows the “Top 10 Ways Obama Can Change American Culture” to get online. The most offensive?  It’s difficult to choose, but maybe, “#8, Kansas will go cosmopolitan and develop children like Obama’s mother, with curiosity about other countries.”
• Sick of Sick Time – HR Wench takes the temperature on PTO in her post “Thank you for not being sick.”  Jenn responds to a reader’s email with her typical no-BS style.
• Still Can’t Get No Respect – With apologies to Rodney Dangerfield, a recent study shows that HR executives still don’t get C-suite respect.  What?  You’re shocked?  C’mon. Really?

Revel in these goodies while I continue to fight the head cold from hell.  Be sure to post your own stocking stuffers for others to enjoy and let’s keep the (congested) conversation going.

So as leaders, what lessons can we take away from the election?  Here are five to consider:

1. Your People Are Your Most Important Asset: I know, not original, but we need to translate these pedantic words into action.  The largest grass-roots effort in history has just occurred, so start to embrace social media, localized empowerment, personalized brand extension, and other means of making your employees truly believe they are not only part of, but truly are your future success.
2. Authenticity Matters: Be who you truly are and not what you think people want you to be.  I heard a lot of talk after McCain’s concession speech regarding “the real John McCain”.  Whether you agree or not, your employees have a keen instinct for authenticity and will disregard leaders who pretend to be something they are not.
3. Break Through Conventional Wisdom: Stop falling back on the crutches of those formulas which have worked in the past by embracing innovation and rewarding thoughtful risk.  ”That won’t work here” is a simple barrier that must be broken, but your employees must feel that they are in a safe environment in order to unleash their inner-creativity and begin to instantiate change.
4. Smile and Have a Sense of Humor: In general, businesses are waaaaay too stuffy and need to lighten up a bit.  And if you’re afraid of offending employees and thereby causing yourself irreparable legal damage, you’re being short sighted.  The safest person to make fun of is yourself and the best situations to laugh at are your own (see my post on that here).  SNL’s unbelievable ratings showed that people respond to laughter over fear, so give it a chance.
5. Inspire Hope: For most of us, this is likely the most difficult attribute to replicate.  But remember that hope is more than a charismatic personality and a stirring speech.  Hope is the belief that something better is over the horizon and that attaining your goals is well within your grasp.  When was the last time that you turned to your employees and inspired them?  I’m certain it’s been a long time coming.

Have a wonderful day everyone, get some rest, and let’s keep the conversation going.