Agile
Stand-up Meetings Inhibit Innovation (via Harvard Business Review)
Synchronizing and realigning on goals can make you efficient, but that may be at the expense of novelty. Being agile doesn’t inherently make you more innovative.
Business
9 Trends That Will Shape Work in 2021 and Beyond (via Harvard Business Review)
- Employers will shift from managing the employee experience to managing the life experience of their employees.
- More companies will adopt stances on current societal and political debates.
- The gender-wage gap will continue to increase as employees return to the office.
- New regulations will limit employee monitoring.
- Flexibility will shift from location to time.
- Leading companies will make bulk purchases of the Covid vaccine for employees — and will be sued over Covid vaccine requirements.
- Mental health support is the new normal.
- Employers will look to “rent” talent to fill the skills gap.
- States will compete to attract individual talent rather than trying to get companies to relocate.
It’s Time to Replace the Public Corporation (via Harvard Business Review)
Too much focus is placed on short-term gains for the company and for executives that have compensations tied to stock price. The author posits that having something more like ESOPs (employee stock ownership plan) creates a long-term focus, while simultaneously having more returns go to the knowledge worker employees.
Communication
Set Better Boundaries (via Harvard Business Review)
This article has many concrete examples of how to be firm, manage expectations, and use yes-and to set better boundaries.
4 Tips to Kickstart Honest Conversations at Work (via TED)
- Confidence — speak up about what you think is obvious to you
- Intent — speak up because you want to work through a problem or address a situation
- Delivery — be factual, don’t sugar-coat, and take the receiver’s feelings into account (i.e., blame the system, not the individual)
- Solution — don’t just complain and leave; work through possible solutions
How Your Brain Responds to Stories — And Why They’re Crucial for Leaders (via TED)
- Data doesn’t change behavior, emotions do.
- A great story builds tension and makes you wonder.
- A great story builds an idea, seeing something you can’t unsee.
- A great story describes what you value and what you don’t value.
- What problem are you trying to solve? What do you want people to think and feel? What do you want people to do differently?
Culture
Are Peer Reviews the Future of Performance Evaluations? (via Harvard Business Review)
Much ink has been used on how annual performance feedback from your boss isn’t particularly effective. This article shares how some companies are using other approaches with more frequent feedback from peers.
Managing Yourself
Be Kinder to Yourself (via Harvard Business Review)
I recognize myself in several of the vignettes here: ruminating, getting frustrated and doubling down on perfectionism, “perfectionists are less likely to be self-compassionate.” Some tips to counteract such feelings: understand sabotaging patterns, pay attention to what others say that sooth you, plan ahead, and ask for help.
Process
An Agile Approach to Change Management (via Harvard Business Review)
- Declare your change vision (compelling statement of future state)
- Empower people who are best positioned to drive change from the beginning
- Encourage self-organizing teams to supplement your efforts
- Use internal social channels and influencers to drive employee awareness and engagement
- Embrace a test-and-learn approach
- Shift from long-term to short-term accountability
Software
A Common-Sense Guide to Data Structures and Algorithms – Part 7
This week we discussed Quicksort and linked lists.