It was in April this year when I wrote the first post on this blog. Now, 8 months and 50+ posts later I’m sitting here and thinking about what to write about as the year is coming to an end. And the answer is right here, how to celebrate better than by looking back and remembering some of the key articles that appeared on this blog. So allow me to present what I consider the best posts dealing with various aspects of leadership and life itself.

Communication

How to deal with broken promises – Always address behavioral issue as soon as you see it by providing direct feedback and explaining natural consequences

Now, how may I help you? – When giving feedback always keep the desired outcome in mind. Is it about corrective action or building self-esteem?

So you’ve got a remote boss. Tricky… – Any relationship is a two way street. Don’t just sit and wait for your boss to walk to you, but go and meet him in the middle

Recruitment

Everyone is a recruiter – It’s not a single person. It takes everyone from the team to recruit, interview and build a great team that will hold together

Getting the perfect hire – When it comes to a fight between expertise and attitude, the attitude will win with both eyes closed and one hand behind its back

Leadership

Life is not fair! So what? – Sticking with your values, being firm, transparent and consistent in your actions will make you seen as a leader who is fair

The real leadership shows when you are not the boss – The real leadership shows when you get things done utilizing a team that doesn’t report to you and has no incentive to work with you

Mentoring by telling stories – Telling stories is a powerful way to provide mentoring. Just make the story authentic, short, focused, positive and relevant

Allow your team to fail – It is fine to fail. Just make sure you fail fast. The only thing you shouldn’t tolerate is a failure to act

How can you motivate others? You can’t! – You cannot force people to be motivated, but you can create environment where they get a chance to motivate themselves

Productivity

Lack of time is just an illusion! – It is your choice to get a mindset that allows you to have all the time in the world and spend your attention on things important to you

The delusion of multitasking – The human brain is not wired for multitasking and if you believe that you are great at parallel execution you are just deluding yourself

You’ve got the right guy… in the wrong job – Going for the sweet spot is the best strategy for building a high-performing organization where people do what they are passionate about

Life

Looking at the world through the eyes of 5-years old – To form a more positive view of the world don’t over-analyze everything and try to be a bit more open, curious, trusting and naive

The never ending learning – It is a responsibility of each and every of us to take ownership of our own development and never stop learning

Human brain, the biggest liar of all times – Human brain has an incredible power of imagination. And it uses that power to feed us misinformation and faulty facts

What are your favorite thought leaders and articles of this year?