What is it that leaders need to do right now? Tough times demand leaders who can see the big picture and not shy away from the tough decisions that must be made. Leaders also must remain upbeat and positive, but still demonstrate true compassion for their employees' heightened stress levels and concerns about job security. Most importantly, leaders must continue to maintain and work toward the vision of what their organizations will look like—and what sort of opportunities will be waiting—when better days inevitably arrive. (For example, taking a close look at your hiring system now—while things are slow—so that you can hit the ground running when things pick up.)

Attached is a link to a recent article published in BusinessWeek on managing talent during tough times. In a time when there are tons of articles out on what we need to do differently around managing talent, as a leader, this one hit home to me. One thing is certain: How we handle our talent now will be essential to how we weather times of growth or times of downturn.

I hope you find this article as helpful and inspirational as I did. Read the article.

In our last issue of ddidirections, we looked at the interviewing process from the interviewer’s point of view: How can you be sure you’re identifying and hiring the best candidate? But we know that’s only part of the interview story.

In this issue, we’ll look at interviewing from the other side of the conference room table: What happens during an interview that can make a candidate accept or decline an offer? Quite a bit, as it turns out.

From rude behavior to outrageous (and in some cases illegal) questions, this article will explore what interviewees want from the interviewing process, and how you can get the right candidate to say "yes" to your job offer. Read the article.