In addition to retention and engagement, if I were a trainer or HR manager, I would be paying attention to the number of open positions annually that are filled by in-house candidates.

I would argue that they are not. Their only responsibility is to provide a fair and efficient workplace in which employees are given manageable workloads and deadlines, and fair compensation with rewards for successes.

Training employees on how to fake self-confidence, including honing improvisational, off-the-cuff speaking skills, can create a path for success.

I suspect that greater employee buy-in would be possible if more change management was led by managers who ask for changes that they, personally, also will have a responsibility to pitch in and make a reality.

Rather than think of the job interview as a game of "gotcha," it would benefit companies to train managers to put applicants at ease with meaningful questions.

Stress management is a key to successful management of employees, so it seems only natural that companies would have stress management programming or discussion as part of leadership development and new manager training. But that doesn’t seem to be the case.

What if a meeting to generate new ideas began two to three weeks in advance with an e-mail to participants asking that they submit their top three ideas a few days before the meeting?

I came across an article last week that got me thinking. The piece, "When Does Workplace Wellness Become Coercive?" resonates with me because I think I have the potential to, myself, become a coercer—and that may not be a bad thing. I have a great idea that will make our population much healthier, but many will be angry with me when I share it: I want companies to receive monetary incentives from the federal government to hire and retain only non-smoking employees.

In addition to the pragmatism of putting the most competent person for any given project in the lead, rotating leadership means all employees eventually are given a chance to prove themselves as candidates for promotion and greater long-term responsibility.