Agile
Can a Team Vote Someone Off the Team? (via Mountain Goat Software)
There are four types of team authority: manager-led, self-managing, self-designing, self-governing. You also need some kind of management for alignment and standards. The author gave an example of self-designing, where teams were allows to vote someone off the team. The vote had to be unanimous, and the exiled person had four weeks to find another team. If that person can’t find a home in four weeks, that’s telling.
Business
Will the Pandemic Push Knowledge Work into the Gig Economy? (via Harvard Business Review)
“The gig economy for knowledge workers never really took off outside of software, largely because organizational and cultural norms got in the way. But the pandemic has forced companies from all sectors to get used to remote working – and remote working is not very different from working a gig. The authors discuss how to approach gigification, offering a task-based framework based on answering three questions: Is the work codifiable? Is there a gap between the creation and consumption of value? Can the work be carried out at home?”
The New-Market Conundrum (via Harvard Business Review)
When you’re a new player in an existing market, you’ll most likely consider existing rivals, bargaining power of suppliers and of customers, alternative offerings, and new entrants. What if you have a new service or product? The authors contend that behaving like preschoolers learning new skills can help: borrow what works from others, test ideas, then watch to see what happens.
Career
How to Convince Your Boss You Need Time Off (via Harvard Business Review)
I place myself solidly in the “work martyr” camp, especially having moved into a new role/career path.
- Identify and challenge your assumptions about what it means to be away from work.
- Write down the implications of not taking time off, including risks to yourself, your work, and your team.
- Draft a clear and realistic plan.
- When communicating with your manager, lead with positive intent and an invitation to collaborate.
5 Ways to Demonstrate Your Value — Remotely (via Harvard Business Review)
- Get your work done; we’ve been remote long enough that we should have figured out what an achievable amount of productivity looks like
- Share with others what you’ve accomplished
- Help your boss by finding ways to make their lives easier
- Work out differences with colleagues on your own
- Spread positivity; there’s enough negativity going around
What to Do When Work Feels Meaningless (via Harvard Business Review)
- Empower yourself with small actions
- Consider how your unique skills can address crisis-related challenges
- Use the crisis as an opportunity to connect with a more purposeful future
Stay Motivated When Feedback Is Scarce (via Harvard Business Review)
In order to make progress, we need feedback. Also, our sense of self is largely based on how other people perceive us.
- Challenge your catastrophic thinking; name it, remind yourself that you can deal with it, get to the core of what’s driving that fear, make a plan about what to do about it
- Draw from your portfolio of selves; remind yourself how others have perceived you in the past
- Leverage reciprocity bias; sometimes you need to give to get
Don’t Let Your Partner’s Work Stress Become Your Own (via Harvard Business Review)
- Give the gift of regular undivided attention
- Check how to best support your partner
- Create boundaries between “work” and “home”
- Find time apart
- Activate virtual support networks
Leadership
Good Feedback Is a Two-Way Conversation (via Harvard Business Review)
Most managers rely on “window gazing,” where the employee and manager look out the same window and get two equally valid perspectives on an issue. “Mirror holding” shifts the tone of feedback; instead of telling employees what to see, managers guide them on where to look. This post has several questions managers can ask about current strengths and future goals.
Our book club discussed cold-sourcing and the hiring funnel.
What Your Youngest Employees Need Most Right Now (via Harvard Business Review)
“Collectively, this group is experiencing the greatest national trauma since the Great Depression and World War II just as they’re starting out in the world. For the workforce to be equipped to move forward and thrive, employers will need to address the fallout resulting from Covid-19 on their youngest — and future — employees. There are three main areas companies should focus on to support this generation: skill development, which was interrupted as colleges and universities shifted to online learning; stress management, something this generation was already struggling with before the pandemic; and emotional intelligence, a skill that Gen Z may not have fully developed due to a massive interruption in their ability to discover what motivates and fulfills them.”