-
Empathy, logic, authenticity. How to build and maintain trust.
Trust is the foundation for everything we do. But what do we do when it’s broken? In an eye-opening TED talk, Harvard Business School Professor Frances Frei gives a crash course in trust: how to build it, maintain it and rebuild it — something she worked on during a stint at Uber. “If we can learn to…
-
How to change someone’s mind in 10 steps
David McRaney’s book, ‘How Minds Change’ is an insightful read. When I pre-ordered it, I was sent a PDF which had some interesting stories and a ‘Persuasion Quick Sheet’ outlining how to change someone’s mind in 10 steps. Whether you manage it or not using this process is – in my mind – irrelevant. Rather…
-
Great Employees Don’t Complain – They Walk Away
A short but very important article from Ian Daley with three simple, actionable ways to keep your star employees from walking away. — As a new manager, who comes to mind when you think of a great employee? In most cases it only takes a second or two to answer that question – you know your star…
-
I want a pay rise. How would you react if a team member asked for more money?
There’s not a single one of us who isn’t feeling the pinch to some extent at the moment. Cost of living is at an all time high, fuel price hikes and the price cap looming on October 1st all point towards the likelihood that there’s number of your team who are worries about balancing their…
-
Write less, say more – top tips on communicating effectively
Data shows that the majority of us who share an article on social media have not actually read the article. Who’s guilty? As the saying goes, less is more. The same goes for words. Listen as Politico and Axios co-founder Jim VandeHei shares what he’s learned leading two media companies — and how to radically…
-
The 3 best ways to build a skilful team who can deliver exceptional work
Learning and development. If there was ever a name for something that is earmarked as ‘important, not urgent’, then this surely must be it? L&D is always something the leaders I speak to are constantly aware of, but at the moment it seems to be coming up even more frequently in discussions. It feels like…
-
Infographic: creating an agile culture
“It’s often said that culture is invisible precisely because it is ubiquitous. In a world where success demands agility, there’s little doubt that culture matters. The challenge for leaders comes down to the pressing need to unleash the inventive and adaptive force of collective and collaborative human creativity, to ensure their organisations thrive in this…
-
Kill Your Meetings.
The summer holidays are in full swing, and week-to-week many teams are running on limited resource. Less capacity means your team’s ‘doing’ or ‘maker’ time is even more precious. So take note and ensure that you’re only scheduling meetings that have a purpose, agenda and outcome. Be aware if you’re a leader that your schedule…
-
Stop Recommending Books
I love books. I read them; I listen to them and, currently, I’m even trying to write one. A great many of my books – which many you will have seen if you’ve ever been on a Zoom call with me – have been recommended to me by friends, family, and colleagues. There is so much good…
-
Assertiveness versus aggression (with a dose of empathy thrown in for good measure)
I posted a little while back about an image and quote on LinkedIn that had riled me up. You can see it below, but in short, it frustrated me that I think I’m seeing something different in this comment to many others. The quote implies that aggressive and assertive are synonyms. They really aren’t. I believe…
-
The Podcast Report – trends and information
Podcasts have changed the way we consume information in a mind-boggling way. There has been a 110% increase in podcast shows YoY (The Podcast Index, 2022 vs April 2021) and we’re set for 300,000 years-worth of listening in 2022 (Simplecast Internal Analytics 2021, based on 3.5M downloads). In terms of spend, according to AdsWizz Platform, Ad Spend…
-
Why good employees leave and what you can do to keep them
I’ve had an impossibly large number of conversations over the years with leaders in people-based businesses who are shocked when a resignation from a member of their team is dropped on their desk. This useful article over on OfficeVibe is a worthwhile read. It covers: Signs and symptoms: How to spot employees on the run…
-
Non-Billable Client Work (and a secret bonus)
I came to write this article after discussing billable hours and utilisation with a client. Key to profitability is to reduce non-billable time spent on a client – over-servicing, over-delivering, poor scoping etc. My client got on board and started scrutinising the reasons for non-billable time – and he discovered an unexpected bonus. — So,…
-
The Impossibilities of the Circular Economy
Separating Aspirations from Reality. We don’t need a circular economy, we need to reduce resource requirements through efficiency. A stimulating cartoon and worth the time to read. You can see the full cartoon, here.
-
Don’t Just Tell Employees Changes Are Coming — Explain Why
I really wanted to share the below article from Harvard Business Review as a follow up form the ‘horizon’ piece I wrote a short time ago. The entire premise was to underline the importance of communicating the horizon to your teams – ensuring that you bring them along for the ride. Well worth a read,…
