This time last year, I published a post called 25 Free Leadership Development Resources, which turned out to be The People Equation's most-read post of 2010. Clearly, there's an interest in free stuff to help develop one's leadership skills. With that in mind, I went searching again for "free" resources. I'm delighted to present you with 25 more free leadership development resources, this time, even more "free" than the last— you won't even need to register your email address to get the freebies. (With the exception of the final freebie—that requires an email address.)
Please enjoy this list and pass it along to those who would benefit.
Free Downloadable Research, White Papers, Podcasts
1. 3 + 1 Feedback Planning Form via Sonia Di Maulo at Ready to Feedback Need a tool to plan your feedback conversations? Download and try the 3+1 Feedback Form.
Bonus PDFs:
- Are you on Fire to Inspire? Start the Self-Assessment Program today!
- Analyze and keep track of the feedback you receive with the Ready to Feedback Diary!
These three easy-to-use leadership tools are instrumental in helping new leaders and managers lead from within, get to know themselves, respect the people around them, and cultivate trust and collaboration.
2. Hay Group podcasts and vodcasts – Hay Group is a global management consulting firm that's well-known for its research on human resources and talent management issues. Check out the searchable section in the left-hand column for "Leadership Transformation".
3. Hogan Assessments – A consulting firm that specializes in high-end leadership development and assessment has a nice collection of white papers. The company comes highly recommended from Great Leadership blogger Dan McCarthy spoke, so I know it's good stuff.
4. HR Marketer White Papers – Extensive aggregate of white papers from many of the most well-known talent management firms out there.
5. Influence At Work podcasts: -Featuring Dr. Robert Cialdini, author of the highly-acclaimed book Influence.
6. Leader Nation – Best Practices for Conducting a Feedback Meeting – This PDF gives the 10 best practices for conducting a feedback meeting following a 360 feedback survey.
- Bonus: find four more PDFs on 360 leadership assessment at http://LeaderNation.com/Faq
7. Leadership and the Project Manager – offered by Art Petty at the blog Management Excellence. This excellent PDF offers 33 pages of tips for project managers who want to lead their project teams to high performance.
8. Leadership Development Resource Center – this is an online library of leadership research and articles.
9. Managing People Better Assessment – I was directed to this site by Leigh Steere, fellow Lead Change contributor, who says of this site: "If you manage people, this free tool equips you to look at the strengths and limitations of your current management approach. Each participant receives a personal report with specific guidance on how to manage more effectively."
10. Mark Sanborn White Papers – more like "information nuggets", but they are a very quick read and may spark something for you.
11. The Leader Lab's Portable Guide to Leadership. Written by David Burkus, this is an e-book (PDF) that outlines the history of research on leadership as well as all relevant theories to studying leadership. It makes a great top-line resource for those looking to study leadership at a deeper level.
12. What We Teach | What We Learn e-book – edited by Benjamin McCall , a Leadership Performance Consultant for a major company in the printing industry and blogger at ReThinkHR. This book's focus is on developing "people" skills, which of course, is at the heart of leadership. It features essays by ten learning and development professionals on how to foster learning—a great read for aspiring or current leaders.
Leadership Blogs
13. Bob Sutton's Blog – Author of the bluntly titled No A—hole Rule, and a Professor of Management Science and Engineering at Stanford University, his blog is a stimulating read. I love his "17 Things I Believe" on the left side bar.
14. Leadership Freak by Dan Rockwell – Dan bills his blog as "helping leaders reach higher in 300 words or less". He makes good on that promise, creating thoughtful, concise posts that generate robust discussions amongst his readership.
15. Leadership Now – A collection of leadership essays, book lists, multimedia and other resources designed to elevate your leadership ability. Visit their Connections page for even more links to leadership sites—an excellent list!
16. Linked 2 Leadership – This is a multi-contributor site whose mission is to provide a discussion place for those interested in Leadership Development, Organizational Health, and Personal & Professional Growth.
17. Maximizing Possibility blog – Chris Young, Founder of The Rain Maker Group, features a weekly "Fab Five Pick of the Week" that highlights hand-selected posts about leadership, talent management and employee engagement.
18. Next Level Blog – Scott Eblin is the author of The Next Level: What Insiders Know About Executive Success. Even though Scott's consulting focuses on executive development, you don't have to be an executive to glean useful information from this blog. I enjoy reading his blog and always take away tidbits that are helpful.
19. One FTE – OK, this one makes me laugh so I'm including it, even if not specifically always about leadership. Written by "Stuart" (a nom de plume, perhaps?), who serves up wry, cartoon-based observations on organizational life. Think "Dilbert", only in sparse black-and-white icons. It's a daily dose of humor, a must-have attribute for leaders.
20. Positive Sharing blog – Written by Alexander Kjerulf (aka The Chief Happiness Officer), this isn't the fluffy Positive Mental Attitude site you might think. He offers science-based observations on the power of positive emotions—something all leaders must leverage to get them through tough times.
21. SmartBrief on Leadership – a news media company that aggregates news from 25 key industries into eight categories, including "leadership". They also have a great Workforce site. You can also register to receive a daily newsletter on the topic(s) of your choice.
22. Tanveer Naseer – Tanveer, whose blog recently won an award in the category of Top Leadership and Influence Blogs, writes about many human relations subjects, including leadership. His posts are contemplative and always worth the read. Tanveer is a business coach who works with small businesses and entrepreneurs to develop new strategies for growth and development.
23. Your Voice of Encouragement – Written by Meredith Bell, president of Performance Support Systems, a software company that provides professional development tools such as online-coaching support and 360 degree feedback tool.
One-Stop Leadership Shopping
24. Lead Change Group – This is a site that devotes itself to creating community around character-based leadership. You can register for free to join the community. There's a blog, a section for chatting, and many free resources: links to other leadership sites, free webinars and links to leadership resources. If you visit The People Equation with any frequency, no doubt you've heard me speak of this group, or the group's founder Mike Henry. I have tremendous respect for the people who are engaged in this community.
The Final Freebie—This One's On Me
25. If you've read this far and are still with me—thanks! I applaud your curiosity about leadership development. The final freebie is one that comes from my consulting company, SkillSource. If you are a leader (or aspire to be one), I offer you the opportunity to learn about a critical leadership skill: listening. You can receive a personalized sixteen-page of evaluation your listening style via Inscape Publishing's Personal Listening Profile®. It's a $65.00 (USD) value. All you need to do is send me an email with your first and last name and the subject line "Free Listening Profile". Then, I'll provide you with an access code for completing an online listening assessment. You can download your results immediately after completing the response form. It's that easy!
[Note: With the exception of #25, which references my own consulting firm, I don't receive any sort of compensation for the parties mentioned in this list. I also don't specifically endorse any of the services, products or opinions contained within the respective websites, other than to say, "hey, here's an interesting site, go check it out."]
Thanks to / People-Equation
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