Links of the Week is a collection of links that were most liked or retweeted by my Twitter followers or ones that I thought were interesting. If you only have time to read through one of the links, I highly recommend the Teaching Millennials to Be Leaders article. It’s a great piece for both millennials and those that manage millennials to read through. Enjoy!

 

Teaching Millennials How To Be Leaders (Business 2 Community)

Millennials can learn to be great leaders if their education starts early.
Early, active education will give more Millennials the knowledge, tools, and experience to become the next generation of great leaders.

Good piece on how millennials see themselves and how we can prepare to train millennial leaders – in the 21st-century way.

 

 

10 New Studies On The Benefits Of Gratitude (globoforce)

A 2015 study published in the International Business Research journal showed that collective gratitude is important for organizations. Among other things, said researchers, gratitude can reduce turnover intention, foster employees’ organizational commitment, lead to positive organizational outcomes, and help in “eliminating the toxic workplace emotions, attitudes and negative emotions such as envy, anger and greed in today’s highly competitive work environment.”

I definitely need help in this area. So often I focus on “what’s next” that a forget about the “what’s here”. In part reflection and in part self awareness, gratitude is a key habit to be practicing every day. How do you go about practicing gratitude?

 

 

Mark Zuckerberg Plans to Take 2 Months of Paternity Leave (Inc.)

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg says he’s planning on taking two months of paternity leave when his daughter is born…He said in a Facebook post that “outcomes are better for children and families” when working parents take time off to be with their newborns. He called the decision “very personal.”

As a preeminent millennial today, it’s great to see Zuckerberg lead the way and prioritize family over work. Facebook is also leading the way in parental leave with up to four months of paid leave.

 

 

Why Companies Should Think A Hundred Years Ahead (Inc.)

According to [Marc] Mertens [CEO of A Hundred Years], “A long-term focus allows for new inventions and radical innovations instead of incremental improvement of the status quo. Sometimes that innovation can unlock new markets and significant new business opportunities. A long-term focus constantly clarifies what an organization is uniquely positioned to do, while bringing a deeper sense of purpose and meaning into the core activities of the organization.”

I love this idea of having a 100 year business plan. Think of organizations like Nasa, Tesla, Evernote, or Virgin. They’re all thinking not about the next 5 years but about the next 100 – I’m guessing they’ll more likely to be in business by 2100 compared to companies focused on maximizing short-term returns.

 

 

Employee engagement: are your happy workers disengaged? (Personnel Today)

Engagement is an active state, whereas happiness is not. When employees are happy but not engaged, they often unconsciously resist change as they don’t want to upset the status quo or change the conditions that are making them happy.

But when they’re engaged, they recognise where change is needed and have the appetite, ambition and determination to push through barriers that those less engaged believe to be insurmountable.

There is a difference between happiness and engagement. Engaged workers are definitely happy workers but they’re more willing to challenge the status quo and be more creative. In the end, they care about driving the business forward (even if it comes with risk) rather than maintaining their happiness.

 

As always, thank you to everyone on Twitter that liked, re-tweeted, or commented on the posts. Have a great week!