Walkin' in a winter wonderland ... It's the HR Carnival

Come near, come far, the HR Carnival has rolled back into lil ol' Dublin here in the Emerald Isle. And what a show we have for you this time around!

As ever, I am delighted by the breadth and depth of thinking that the HR Carny contributors come up with every fortnight. Pour yourself a large caffeinated beverage, indulge yourself with some good chocolate and prepare for a whirligig of the best of HR thinking from across the globe.

Susan at About.com HR on the perils of the free bar at a holiday work function. In vino veritas = career gaffe? Only if you have too much vino!

Dan's hilarious manifesto for cowardly managers when faced with underperforming employees.

We all have our thoughts, notions and pontifications on the subject of leadership. Wally Bock puts his finger on the one thing that matters in any leader.

In a similar vein, Lisa Rosendahl has a short list of uncomfortable questions for leaders.

Jon Ingham gets his Human Capital ducks in a row for 2010 with this comprehensive post.

Launching a workforce analytics programme? Are you clear about what success looks like for that programme? Mick Collins over at InfoHRm has some thoughts on tightly defining the mission.

What you think of yourself, what they think of you - the fundamentals of asking for feedback from Mary Jo Asmus.

Business is about community - because you never know the day. A working girl's perspective.

"The real world is a special case" - I remember hearing often that line in Psychology lectures in college. And boyohboy, does Naomi have some killer scenarios to stress-test HRM software. Wincingly good stuff.

We all talk about engagement a lot of the time. But what would you do if you actually ended up in a leadership role in a company where engagement was the norm? Cathy Martin with some very clear-eyed thoughts.

Margaret O'Hanlon reminds us that if you were to whisper one thing in your CEO's ear coming up to his/her year end speechifying, you could do a lot worse that remind that CEO to "Find the story of the company."  So often, arcs and threads of that story become the focus - to reignite the passion of the whole team requires a bigger picture.

Lindsay Richardson is realistic as always: "When the economy is tight, there is a temptation to recycle old training, reuse old information.  But if your training content isn't current, you could be missing important changes in labor laws, safety regs or policies - and that could cost your company money.  BIG money."

"Paul Smith, average HR guy." It doesn't quite have the ring of "Bond, James Bond" now does it? But he sure does the business ...

Should wellness programmes be voluntary? Thought-provoking stuff, with an audience participation poll, over at Precept Employee Benefits. [This reminds me of the time I asked the Principal in my school if participation in rugby was mandatory. "No," he said. "But you have to go."]

i4cp takes us from Platonic ideals to structured reality with these pragmatic thoughts on the characteristics of an ideal employee.

The Devon Group blog - "In any organisation and at every level, mentoring is an important component of personal learning and development" Amen to that.

Benjamin over at Rethink HR with his thoughts on learning styles, ably assisted by Scott Adams and Gary Larson. [It's hard to believe that it's 14 years since Larson stopped writing The Far Side. It's as useful and relevant today as it ever was.]

For some people, heaven is a holiday break, closely surrounded by loved ones. For other people that image is the perfect definition of hell. Either way, Jason Seiden has some thoughts on using cognitive dissonance to ensure that the happy memories prevail from this holiday season.

A job-seeker is worried about how his recent lay-off might look to a potential employer - The HR Store has some thoughts. What do you think?

Rich guy, poor guy. Rich country, poor country. Rich company, poor company. What are the common threads and what does Steve Boese think macroeconomics have to teach us in the corporate world?

Meg Bear does her best impersonation of Jiminy Cricket in reminding us of the power of writing down and tracking progress against our goals.

HR Truisms from the Inflexion Point. Mark is hoping he's not right with his predictions for 2010 - see what you think.

Jennifer V Miller on the Ambiguity Factor - "But I explained that really well!" "But did they hear you, understand you, or believe you?"

How to become indispensable to your organisation with the Young HR Manager.

And last, but very much not least, the lady who started it all with her thoughts on how to deal with a terrible employee.