Being a creative leader, office politics and thinking about how one defines success were topics resonating with the BIG team this past week and show up in our curation of our weekly favorite posts…enjoy!

Recognizing Creative Leadership (Cornell University Research Paper)

Heads up that you’ll find some academic-speak here. However, the findings are fascinating in exploring the complex relationship between creativity and leadership. A not-so-surprising finding: that negative connotations and concerns result in organizations bypassing creative types for leaders who demonstrate a proclivity to maintain the status quo.

How to Win at Office Politics (Beth Weissenberger, Bloomberg Businessweek)

Office politics gets its bad name from the bad operators who manipulate, fib (OK, lie) and back stab - all in the name of their own success. At its core, office politics is about influence, networking and authenticity. This piece serves up practical tips for doing office politics the nice way.

Trust in Business: The Core Concepts(Charles H. Green, Trusted Advisor Associates)

Trust and credibility go hand-in-hand; lose one, lose the other. “The level of trust in business relationships—whether external, e.g. in sales or advisory roles, or internal, e.g. in a services function—is a greater determinant of success than anything else, including content excellence.” This instructive article defines several conceptual frameworks for trust within relationships as well as our own level of trustworthiness. I like the “trust quotient” equation.

Next Generation Leaders (Daniel Tobin, Talent Management)

This well-researched piece explains how and why every company, regardless of their size, can/should/must invest in leadership development. There’s a fascinating list of 10 expectations for evaluating whether or not a leadership development program is successful. (Be patient as this article takes several seconds to load!).

Redefining What It Means to Win (Dr. Judith Rich)

Powerful stuff: “…because winning so often trumps integrity and ethics in the world today, the game of life is increasingly played with little or no regard for the impact on the greater good. If winning requires that you sell your soul, compromise your values or do harm to others, this can hardly qualify as a win. Something much more important has been lost in the process, and everybody ends up losing.”

When you find yourself chasing perfection and missing out on exploring, ponder this. I know I missed the boat called perfection but my errors are portals of discovery and there are times when a little madness sets me free. ~Gael Bage

Image credit: Think Jar Collective