Some favorite Harvard Business Podcasts

Every few months I go through a spurt of listening to a backlog of podcasts from the Harvard Business Review Ideacast. For every one that is not really of interest to me, there's one that sparks many ideas in my brain, gets me going on a topic, or makes me think about something that happened at work in a different way (I LOVE when that happens!). These podcasts typically come in around 15 minutes and are great to listen to while doing household chores. At least that's when I get to them!

Here's a few of the ones that struck me today:

• Women are over-mentored (but under-sponsored). This one I actually found interesting less because of the woman angle (though that's certainly something to think about), and more because of the distinction the interviewed author makes about mentoring versus sponsoring. Mentoring, in this view, is supporting somebody to get acclimated to a new position or organization. Sponsoring is fighting for somebody and helping give them opportunities and get their name out there. Interesting.
• The new era of empowered employees. In the era where everybody is online and into social media, it's wise to build on the initiative employees already have to use those avenues to connect to customers.
• Leading through a major crisis with Admiral Thad Allen. You don't need a crisis to admire the leadership lessons this admiral talks about. Some brilliant insights and admirable qualities on display here.
• Why a happy brain performs better. This author (and one of the folks who ran the Happiness class at Harvard) speaks about studies done on how improving one's happiness has a significant impact on the ability to perform tasks and be successful. Plus it has some good ideas for sharing happiness, which is something I love to do. If I notice something somebody does, says, is wearing.... whatever... and I like it, I always give the compliment. It's fun! And it makes somebody smile. Especially counter workers in chain stores.

I always end up jotting down some notes when I listen to these (which usually means putting down cooking utensils or the laundry I'm folding). The next step is to take those notes and turn them into actions!