Dates covered: August 12-18, 2019 (week 33 of 52)
Business
The One Thing You Need to Know About Managing Functions (via Harvard Business Review)
Business units are often at odds with managing function (e.g., IT, HR, R&D, finance) and you’ll find people in multiple camps claiming which one is more important. They need to be aligned and have a stated strategy or else you get chaos or deadlock.
The Elusive Green Consumer (via Harvard Business Review)
This article discusses behavioral science of making eco-friendly decisions. Five specific approaches are 1) using social influence, 2) shaping good habits, 3) leveraging the domino effect, 4) deciding whether to talk to the heart or brain, and 5) favoring experiences over ownership. Nothing is ironclad, and the author lays out several counterexamples to each approach.
Career
How to Respond to “So, Tell Me About Yourself” in a Job Interview (via Harvard Business Review)
Match who you are and your personal story with the company’s brand and primary need, all while answering the question directly. Don’t just tell them about you; point out why you matter to them. Another version of this question I like is to answer with what it’s like to work with you, which is something hiring managers want to know.
There are no Stupid Questions, Just Insecure Developers (via The Software Mentor)
Imposter syndrome is real. Realizing that no one knows everything is freeing. Get in there and ask questions; it shows you can learn and identify gaps.
The 10x Engineer (via Software Lead Weekly)
The most common traits of 10x engineers are…
- Independence — unblocking yourself, being able to work on your own
- Planning — work breakdown, sequencing
- Humility — your solutions aren’t always the best
- Reuse
- Infrastructure mindset — this goes toward creating reusable things
- Master your domain — thoroughly understand the product you’re working on
- Curiosity
- No boundaries — works with other teams
- Responsibility / ownership
- Communication
- Teamwork
- Keep it simple
- Prioritizing
- Time management
Culture
Better Work-Life Balance Starts with Managers (via Harvard Business Review)
In companies with more progressive policies on work, time off, etc. there are downsides: 1) remote workers with constant connectivity have blurred boundaries between work and non-work, 2) not every individual needs childcare leave, 3) people are reluctant to use gracious PTO policies for fear of looking uncommitted or lazy. To address some of these issues…
- Train supervisors to be supportive
- Seek to have a more supportive company culture; what is your “ideal worker”?
- Take a first step at the individual level to build trust
Is It Time to Let Employees Work from Anywhere? (via Harvard Business Review)
WFH (work from home) is different than WFA (work from anywhere), that is, anywhere in the world with a reliable Internet connection.
- Employers should grant autonomy and flexibility for WFH and WFA
- Use a common set of tools (e.g., VPN, messaging)
- Leverage clusters of WFA employees doing similar work (e.g., meetups)
- Bring new hires onsite initially
- If the work requires little or no coordination with others, transitioning to WFA will have the most benefit
Are You Pursuing Your Vision of Career Success — or Someone Else’s? (via Harvard Business Review)
Perks can attract people to jobs, but consonance retains them:
- Calling — a pull towards a goal larger than yourself
- Connection — how your everyday work serves the calling
- Contribution — how this job contributes to the community and your lifestyle
- Control — how you’re able to influence your connection to the calling (e.g., picking projects, clients)
What Wellness Programs Don’t Do for Workers (via Harvard Business Review)
The wellness industry is trying to cash in on meditation classes, access to fitness programs, etc. Employers are sending a mixed message: Your job is stressful, so you’ll need these things to cope. These don’t seem to have measurable impact. Things organizations can do…
- Invest in mental health education
- Develop flexible workplace policies
- Have leaders demonstrate compassion
- Encourage employees to be emotionally available
If You Want Engaged Employees, Offer Them Stability (via Harvard Business Review)
“If you want to develop an environment where contributors thrive, your workforce must be able to count on some basic things — such as role clarity, timely feedback, adequate resource allocation, and attention to how our work is structured.”
Lessons from Leading a Remote Engineering Team (via Software Lead Weekly)
Written from the perspective of a leader in the office who has a remote team, there are some tips and tricks to focus on good communication and build trust.
Leadership
Great Mentors Focus on the Whole Person, Not Just Their Career (via Harvard Business Review)
“Aspiring leaders need more and better mentoring than they’re getting today.” Agreed; I’m in this camp. If life coaching wasn’t such a joke/scam job, that’s what this should be.
- Share your stories
- Ask great questions
- Start with the end in mind
- Teach them how to fish
- Unpack your mentee’s toolkit (their strengths, etc.)
- Remember that most of mentoring is “caught not taught”
How to Avoid Groupthink When Hiring (via Harvard Business Review)
Before convening as a group, as each interviewer to 1) distill their rating to a numerical score, 2) write down main arguments for/against, 3) email those items to a single person (not the group).
8 Ways Leaders Delegate Successfully (via Harvard Business Review)
Delegation ranks high on things leaders should (and know they should) do more of, but don’t for a variety of reasons. One that stood out to me was that they may not have had good role models of leaders that delegated.
- Pick the right person
- Clarify what the person is responsible for and how much autonomy they have
- Describe the what/why/success pictures
- Give them the resources to do the job
- Establish checkpoints for feedback
- Encourage creative ways to meet the objectives
- Create a motivating environment
- Tolerate risks and mistakes
Developers mentoring other developers: practices I’ve seen work well (via Software Lead Weekly)
Whether your mentoring or being mentored, this post lays out some guidelines of what effective mentorship looks like.
Process
The Only Five Email Folders Your Inbox Will Ever Need (via The Software Mentor)
- Inbox — holding area
- Today — requires response today
- This week — requires response by the end of the week
- This month/quarter
- FYI — informational, may need to reference again
Our book club covered chapter 26-30 of The Phoenix Project. Bill’s team is starting to learn more about how IT impacts other areas of the business.