HR
How HR Lost Employees’ Trust — and How to Get It Back (via HBR)
“When employees view HR as more than compliance officers and instead as coaches, mentors, and mediators, they will begin to trust in a system that advocates for their needs first and foremost.” Instead, HR should advocate as coaches, mentors, and mediators.
Managing People
4 Ways to Combat Imposter Syndrome on Your Team (via HBR)
- Watch for red flags (unsustainable work habits, disengaging work habits)
- Frame performance, growth, and development in objective (not relative) terms
- Assign mentors wisely (i.e., no reporting relationship)
- Share your own professional insecurities
Meetings
Is Agenda Theater Ruining Your Meetings? (via HBR)
The term agenda theater comes from security theater — doing things that help you feel secure but don’t really do so. People put too much emphasis in the structure of the meeting. Instead, focus on what outcomes you want to achieve. Also when it comes to the agenda itself, less is usually better.
Organizational Culture
Research: The Complicated Role of Hope in the Workplace (via HBR)
Hope can be an emotional contagion when times are good, but can be deflating when the path doesn’t seem as certain as promised. There needs to be (1) a shared vision for a hopeful future, (2) a belief that people can get there with appropriate approaches, and (3) a sense that the org has what it takes to weather the storm. When things get tough, (1) discuss what’s still possible, (2) remind people of the good times, (3) embrace the highs and lows to create a more realistic narrative.
What’s Happening at Work, Part 2 of 2
“…the three big topics we cover here: (1) quiet quitting—what it is, what it isn’t, what we think about it; (2) engagement—how you define it, how you foster it; and (3) boundaries—not just setting them, but also respecting them.”
Symptoms of a broken Product Culture (via SWLW)
- Fire-fighting syndrome
- IT mindset
- Slow outcome velocity
- Chaotic planning
- Diminished trust
Performance Management
Performance Management Shouldn’t Kill Collaboration (via HBR)
This post covers a scorecard approach to address cross-silo goals, team goals, individual goals, and long-range goals. It does seem to be more appropriate for a larger company, although the end of the article provides guidance about running the program that’s useful regardless of org size.
Process
How to Intervene When Your Team Has Too Much Work (via HBR)
- Be honest about what you can get done (reality always wins)
- Prioritize consciously
- Communicate priorities upward
- Delegate externally (outside your department, contractors)
- Reset expectations with stakeholders
- Request more staff
Talent Management
Survey: What Attracts Top Tech Talent? (via HBR)
- Learning and growth opportunities
- Flexibility in how they work
- Rewards and recognition
- Company that has ambitions to improve diversity and inclusion
- Using modern tools and methodologies
Work Environments
How LinkedIn Redesigned Its HQ for Hybrid Work (via HBR)
This was an interesting post describing how LinkedIn made their campus a place that supports many use cases (focus, collaboration, learning, socialization), accommodates a more diverse workforce, and continues to iterate based on what they learn.