David Letterman has come under fire recently for having sex with employees of his late-night CBS talk show. But while Letterman may be guilty of bad judgment (he’s unlikely to make any Top 10 Lists of good bosses), does his misbehavior rise to the level of sexual harassment?

Two of our employees—a married couple—for years have requested extra unpaid time off for vacations. The husband works for me, the wife works for the company owner. We recently notified all employees that we would no longer grant any additional time off. I’ve made it clear to the husband that he won’t get any additional time off. The owner, on the other hand, sees no problem with giving both of them unpaid leave this year, even while other employees have to live with the new rule. How should I handle this?—J.L., Wisc.

Talk about timing. Ellen Kullman, long on the short list of possible chiefs at DuPont, became president on Oct. 1, 2008, and CEO on Jan. 1. As the economy tanked and the chemical company’s sales fell, Kullman almost immediately had to decide what should and shouldn’t change. Organizing the company to respond to these trends, Kullman decided on four principles:

For the past several months, The New York Times has been running interviews on leadership with the CEOs of well-known organizations. The best one in the series so far is the interview with Dave Novak, CEO of Yum Brands. I’d like to share six thoughts from him on how to be a great leader, along with my take on how to follow through on those thoughts.

Managers and supervisors are at the front lines of making decisions that often trigger lawsuits—promotions, pay raises, terminations and job assignments. But the most legally dangerous of all those situations is interviewing job candidates. Here are five questions that can reveal more about job interviewees, without risking a hiring discrimination charge.

A Rhode Island software company has created a system for new ideas that’s as transparent as they could make it. They call it an idea market. CEO Jim Lavoie and President Joe Marino of Rite-Solutions have leveled the playing field so all employees have a shot at putting their ideas on the table.

More than 33 million Americans now work remotely at least one day per month, according to the “Telework Trendlines 2009” survey report. Still, most managers have been trained to work with employees who are only physically present to them. How can you manage what you can’t see? Here are some tips for bosses who manage teleworkers:

You wouldn’t think good ideas could be bad, but letting too many at once into the pipeline can slow it all down. Most organizations try to run more than two projects at a time. Turn five projects into one and you’re looking at about a 50% reduction in time to market (18 months versus 30 months) and earlier cash flow. Bottom line: Tackle one thing at a time.

Human resources professionals know the importance of evenhanded discipline. But other managers may not be so careful, often preferring to issue casual and informal warnings that aren’t recorded anywhere, only to insist on more severe sanctions when they perceive employees crossing some indefinite line. When that happens, you run a real risk of facing a disparate treatment lawsuit.

 

Late-night talk show host David Letterman came under fire earlier this month after admitting—to ward off a blackmail plot—that he’d had sexual relationships with several female staff members. While Letterman is unlikely to make any Top 10 Lists of good bosses, does his misbehavior rise to the level of sexual harassment? And what’s the lesson from all of this?

What would be the nicest and easiest way of telling an employee that we do not want to hire her daughter. We have used her daughter for several temp jobs in the past. She was OK, but we never would have hired her for a full-time job. This employee acts like it's our responsibility to keep her daughter employed every time a position becomes available in our admin department.—Tina, Tennessee

This month's collection of real-world quick tips from American business leaders, brought to you by members of The Alternative Board.

During a time of layoffs and budget cuts, you might not think a lot of organizations would be encouraging their employees to take lengthy sabbaticals—or that employees would feel secure enough to accept the offer. Yet six-week to six-month job pauses remain as common as ever. There are good reasons why the sabbatical is enduring even as other benefits become expendable.

You need to show Tom how you pull together monthly data, and one of the newly hired assistants needs coaching on some online tools. Here’s an easy way to accomplish both: Screencast-o-Matic lets you create a video from your screen (your “screencast”) and upload it to share.

You and the supervisors at your organization have read horror stories of negative performance reviews spawning lawsuits from disgruntled employees. As a result, some supervisors may shy away from rating someone lower than his or her colleagues. That fear is one main reason too many reviews are positive even if performance is average or poor. The better thing to do is to urge your supervisors to “get real” with reviews.

Years ago, a landmark study at General Electric found its performance appraisal counterproductive and ineffective. Praise had no effect on performance, and criticism led to backsliding. What was going on?

We have to lay off several employees. Some have only been with us a couple of years, but one has worked here for 13 years. We want to treat them right by providing severance pay, but I don't know how much is appropriate. Those of you who have been in this situation, how much severance did you offer?—Jason, Ga.

Layoffs, pay cuts and an uncertain economy have left many organizations with fewer employees to do the work—often for the same or less money. Not all of those employees are handling it well. Here are a dozen ways you can deal with economy-induced employee stress and help your employees focus on their work:

When you manage a staff, it’s only natural to want them to like you. But at the same time, it’s a mistake to get so chummy with employees that you lose your ability to lead them effectively. The best managers walk a fine line by earning the respect of their team without going overboard and befriending everyone. Here’s how you can strike the proper balance:

Lead your team using Google’s “wisdom of crowds” model ... Lay the foundation for tomorrow’s workforce by developing virtual teams ... Close the gap between leader and followers by demonstrating visibly that you value employees.

Here are four ways managers can make sure they really hear what their employees are saying. The payoff: fewer costly mistakes, less wasted time and better quality and service. Feel free to pass this article along to your supervisors.

Your 26-year-old co-worker doesn’t want to wait until her annual review to find out how she’s doing at work. She wants to know now. Gen Y employees want more feedback, more often, than previous generations. They’ll seek it from their immediate boss, as well as others. If you’re not comfortable with or accustomed to offering feedback, heed these tips:

The practice of sending job-offer letters to successful applicants is well established and well intentioned. But is it wise? Learn what to consider before you dash off an offer letter—plus six more tips on making legally smart job offers.

The worst part of going on vacation is all the work that happens before and after. Here’s good advice to pass on to your organization’s employees—simple tips to make sure the crush of work doesn’t snuff out the post-vacation glow.