Business blogger Steven Berglas has been pondering whether self-starters can be made, or whether they’re born that way. At a minimum, he’s identified a few questions you can ask to ferret out true enterprising natures. Don’t take their answers literally—any version of self-starting behavior will do.

It’s easy for employees to fall into the trap of going through the motions. Fortunately, there’s a way that employers can break the routine without breaking the bank. Strategy: Establish a program of achievement awards. If you handle things right, the awards are tax-free to employees and fully deductible by your company. What’s more, the program can increase productivity and boost morale.

A progressive discipline system is the best way to correct employee performance problems. It’s also the best way to protect against wrongful termination lawsuits. It allows you to ensure that any employee fired because of inferior performance was treated fairly and in accordance with your company’s policies. Here’s a five-step model for progressive discipline:

We're considering starting a "leave donation" program in which employees could contribute accrued sick, vacation and personal leave to co-workers whose ongoing health problems drain their own leave banks. It sounds like a great idea, but I want to make sure we do it right. For those of you who have such programs, what issues should I consider as I draft the policy? Have you experienced any unintended consequences?—Bill, Colorado

When Fiona MacLeod was tapped to become president of BP Convenience Retail U.S. & Latin America, she rolled out a bold plan that eliminated 9,500 jobs. But she needed those employees—whose jobs were being phased out—to stay motivated over the next 18 months. How did she keep them performing at their peak?

Set aside any notions you might have that the federal bureaucracy is inherently dysfunctional. In fact, Uncle Sam’s best agencies have a thing or two to teach private-sector employers. Here are eight lessons employers can learn from the biennial agency-by-agency ranking of federal employers by the Partnership for Public Service and American University’s Institute for the Study of Public Policy Implementation.

When you're not on top of your e-mail, you feel out of control. It can also torpedo your career, since people associate responsiveness with competence. It is possible to clear out your e-mail inbox—and keep it clear—daily. But you must be willing to change your behavior. Here are four steps ...

We're looking to create an incentive plan for all rank-and-file employees who bring in leads that help us land new business. (That's already part of our sales force's job, so they would be excluded.) What kind of incentives work best? I'm assuming cash is popular—so how much? How should we track our incentive program?—Bill M., Las Vegas

It’s no picnic when you have to fire people for poor performance. Wayne Downing, a retired four-star general who ran the U.S. Army Special Forces, says you’ve got to do it. His advice:

You have to handle plenty of serious employee gripes about benefits and harassment. But as shown by a new CareerBuilder survey of 2,600 HR pros and hiring managers, you also have had to deal with some truly offbeat complaints. For example:

You need to show supervisors how your new online time sheet system works, but you're having a hard time getting everyone together for face-to-face training. Ditch the calendar tag routine (and the conference room) and make your own training video. Here's a free, easy way to do it.

Benefits consultant Ken Stahlmann spells out three keys to creating crowd-pleasing employee-recognition awards:

As our company’s only HR staff person, I’m in an awkward situation. My immediate supervisor reprimanded me for the way I handled a recent change in our working hours. Employees were confused, so I sent e-mails to various managers seeking the correct information. That exposed some serious disagreements between the managers and executives about the new hours. My boss said I should not have been so public about it, and then wrote me up for this alleged “infraction.” I think I handled it correctly and want the reprimand removed from my file. What should I do? I’m afraid the company president will take my supervisor’s side.—No name, no location (because I need this job)

A manager who asks only closed questions—those requiring specific answers—isn’t going to receive the most creative, resourceful answers. He might even stifle creativity and honest discussion. Generally, open questions that begin with a “why” or a “how” will bring more value to your work relationships.

A brutal economy … layoffs … pay cuts. These are trying times to be a U.S. worker, and not all are handling it well. Nearly half of U.S. workers say they feel stressed out, compared with 39% in other countries, according to a Robert Half International survey. Here are 10 ways to deal with your employees' recession-induced stress:

I have two part-time security guards working at the same location. One of them works four nights a week; the other works three nights a week. We need security coverage at this site seven nights a week, 365 nights a year. How do I handle giving them the "holiday" time off they're entitled to if someone has to be there all the time?—Lisa D.

As hard as this recession has been on everyone, it has forced organizations to look at how to spend compensation budgets more efficiently and more effectively. What has shaken out is a new system of pay raises and bonuses that rewards employees for doing top-notch work rather than for simply showing up for work. Here are five lessons compensation pros have learned during these hard times:

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.