Like the Peanuts cartoon depicts, organizations often have someone operating a complaint department. Most visitors are well-intentioned in their session with the company “therapist.” They’re seeking coaching or advice on a challenging issue and plan to act upon it. Unfortunately, what they often get back is the equivalent of Lucy’s “Eat a jelly-bread sandwich” guidance to Charlie Brown.

Alternatively, they may just be looking to release some pent-up frustration. They’re looking for “a sympathetic ear, and the promise of keeping things ‘between us.’ In many organizations, these therapists seem to serve a valuable purpose – or at least do no real harm,” writes author, speaker, and business leader Mike Paton.

But is that really the case? Does this habit of “complaint departments” really cause no harm?

Today we’re sharing insight from guest blogger Mike Cahill, President & CEO of Physicians Health Plan of Northern Indiana. We hope you enjoy Mike’s wisdom and perspective.

One of my favorite quotes is as follows: Do you light up the room when you walk in or when you walk out?

A short story to set the stage. An extremely successful local businessman shared the so-called secret to his success. He talked about the positivity, support, belief, and 'can do' attitude his wife always brought to the table as he pushed forward building his business. Especially, when things were not going the right direction or big mistakes were made. I loved how he put it: "She does not have many cloudy days."

Today we’re sharing insight from guest blogger Tara Nisenson, leadership coach and HR consultant. We hope you enjoy Tara’s wisdom and perspective.

Many organizations are recognizing the power of involving much larger and diverse groups in generating innovative solutions to corporate dilemmas. Some company cultures react well to the initiative, others are much more cautious. Building a sustainable culture where everyone is happy to share ideas and contribute to company challenges can be difficult.

Today we’re sharing insight from guest blogger Charles Rogel, Senior Consultant & VP of Product Development at DecisionWise. We hope you enjoy Charles’ wisdom and perspective.

I work with many organizations to measure and improve employee engagement. The process typically begins with the collection of employee feedback through an engagement survey. The survey includes about 50 items measuring perceptions of the job, team, supervisor, and organization overall.

Most organizations score low on top-down communication, cross-department communication, and responding to employee ideas. Questions about teams or supervisors generally score high with some pockets of under-performing groups. While action planning, executive teams usually become pre-occupied with poor organization scores and begin brainstorming ways to improve the employee newsletter, conduct town halls, or plan the summer party.

But when we look at the drivers of employee engagement, a different story appears.

Today we’re sharing insight from guest blogger, Craig Sroda, author of YOU in the SWEET SPOT and Intentional Living. We hope you enjoy Craig’s wisdom and perspective.

Earlier this year I taught a class for a group of executives based on the book Triggers by Marshall Goldsmith. Marshall is one of the leading executive coaches in the world and he has a few books out that are great if you want to improve yourself.

We started class with this quote:

“Fate is the hand of cards we’ve been dealt. Choice is how we play the hand.”

I know a few people dealing with the “cards” they were dealt not allowing them to move forward. Perfection often comes into play, because they weren’t trained effectively on how to deal with adversity. Depending on your personality type, striving for perfection can cripple you from making any progress because perfection is unrealistic.

Today we’re sharing insight from guest blogger Mark Lunardi, Department of the Air Force Civilian. We hope you enjoy Mark’s wisdom and perspective.

“No one is perfect.” “You’re only human.” “To err is human…” It’s hard to argue the wisdom of such time-honored sayings given that the human condition is rife with imperfection. Mistakes are inescapable, though blessedly most are relatively minor and of limited consequence. But what about the big ones, mistakes…either by intent or negligence…which have significant and lasting impact? Though human nature is no less to blame in these instances, their costs are often too great for rationalizations of our imperfections. I therefore offer the following quotes, courtesy of Hollywood, to assist in addressing, and avoiding, the most grievous of errors.

It was from Jim Collins’ masterpiece Good To Great that I learned Admiral James Stockdale was something other than Ross Perot’s running mate in the 1992 presidential election. Long before he was a target of Saturday Night Live’s irreverent humor, Stockdale was the highest ranking naval officer to be held as a POW in Vietnam.

After Stockdale's A-4 Skyhawk was shot down over North Vietnam in 1965, he shared space at the “Hanoi Hilton” with, among others, John McCain. He was brutally beaten, starved, and denied medical care, never knowing if he would survive or see his family again, until his release in 1973.

Stockdale and his wife Sybil shared their story by writing alternating chapters in the book In Love and War. Collins, in preparing to meet Admiral Stockdale, read his book, describing it as bleak and depressing, even though he knew that Stockdale got out and reunited with his family. When Collins asked Stockdale what it felt like living the story and not knowing how it ended, he replied:

Today we’re sharing insight from guest blogger, Jim Canfield, Managing Director at CEO Tools. We hope you enjoy Jim’s wisdom and perspective.

As the company grows, it requires a different approach for the leader.

When it comes to business leadership styles, there’s an obvious sentiment that bears repeating: How you manage is as important as who you manage, if not more so. To ensure your business weathers any storm, your leadership style should incorporate various management methods to use in different situations. But for even the most experienced business leader, that can be easier said than done.

Today we’re sharing insight from guest blogger, Rick Nichols, Managing Partner of TechCXO's Sales & Marketing Practice. We hope you enjoy Rick’s wisdom and perspective.

We define corporate culture as a shared pattern of values, beliefs, and expectations. These values produce rules for behavior and pressure to conform on the job. Tom Peters’ timeless book In Search of Excellence tells us that “excellent companies are marked by very strong cultures, so strong that you either buy into their norms or get out. There’s no halfway house for most people in excellent companies.”

Fortune magazine pointed out in an article several years ago that it may be easier to change a company’s people than to change its culture. In the long term, the key to culture is whom you hire and promote. People often get jobs and move up more based on the degree to which they fit prevailing cultural norms than for any objective reason. For hiring leaders who must interview and hire candidates from outside the company or industry, this carries very important implications. We need to know if candidates will fit into our culture.

Today we’re sharing insight from guest blogger, Jill Young, Certified EOS Implementer and Author of “Earn It!” We hope you enjoy Jill’s wisdom and perspective.

It could be that one of the main reasons you are a successful business leader is that you really know how to talk. You’ve been rewarded in your career for being able to talk your way into (or out of) anything. You’ve been successful in convincing people, inspiring people, and getting your way because of your ability to talk. But, like most things in life, too much of a good thing can turn a strength into a weakness.

Because I’m in the business of guiding companies from GOOD to GREAT, I get to work with lots of leaders like you who have mastered the art of talking. And for many of you, the next step in becoming your best as a leader is learning when to be silent.