Professional Development – 2023 – Week 19

Image Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/54585499@N04/

.NET

The Biggest Lie about the .NET Logger (via Nick Chapsas)

The message argument isn’t the message, but a message template. Instead of making new strings (which need to be garbage-collected) use a formatted string then pass the arguments in next.

AI

The urgent risks of runaway AI — and what to do about them (via TED)

  • Misinformation from bad actors. It creates statistically probable information but doesn’t understand the factual relationships.
  • Bias. For example, one person was given different career options based on her gender.
  • It has access to subjects such as chemistry and could be used to create weapons.
  • It can trick human beings into performing behaviors. AutoGPT has one AI system controlling another.
  • We need a new technical approach and a system of governance.
  • For the technical piece, we need to combine symbolic systems (good at reasoning, not good at scaling) and neural networks (good at learning, not good at facts).
  • The incentives that drive society and human beings are not the ones that drive corporations.
  • We need a global, non-profit, and neutral agency for AI. This should include governance and research. 91% of people want this.

AI Can Be Both Accurate and Transparent (via HBR)

  • Default to white box (vs black box).
  • Know your data.
  • Know your users.
  • Know your organiation.
  • Know your regulations.
  • Explain the unexplainable.

Burnout

When Your Employee Tells You They’re Burned Out (via HBR)

  • Treat your employee’s burnout concerns seriously
  • Understand their experience of burnout
    • Do you feel competent and effective in your job?
    • Do you feel emotionally exhausted in your job and/or do you experience physical symptoms?
    • Do you find yourself feeling cynical or caring less than you used to about your colleagues or clients?
  • Identify the root causes of their burnout.
  • Consider short- and long-term solutions.
  • Create a monitoring plan.

Change management

Employees Are Losing Patience with Change Initiatives (via HBR)

  • One major culprit is moving too fast.
  • Build in periods of proactive rest to sustain change energy.
  • Open-source your change plans vs a top-down approach.
  • Have people other than mangers lead the change.

To Implement Change, You Don’t Need to Convince Everyone at Once (via HBR)

  • Instead of trying to win over skeptics, focus on the people already enthusiastic about the idea.
  • “Majorities don’t just rule, they also influence. We can always expand a majority out, but once we’re in the minority, we’re likely to get immediate pushback.”
  • “The truth is that feeling the urge to persuade is a warning sign. It means you’re either starting with the wrong people or you have the wrong idea. A much more effective approach is to leverage early enthusiasts to focus on a keystone change which has a tangible goal, involves multiple stakeholders, and paves the way to greater change.”

Managing

Face-to-Face Time with Your Employees Still Matters (via HBR)

  • These kinds of meetings communicate mannerisms, tone of voice, and energy — things that get lost in digital formats.
  • Make in-office days (hub days) about communicating key messages in person. Avoid having people come in just to come in.
  • Embrace video as your backup; leaders should keep the camera on.
  • Manage your body language.
  • Use your energy strategically to calm or excite.

Evaluating Managers: 5 heuristics to measure managerial impact (via SWLW)

  • Execution — is your team delivering on promises
  • People management — are you helping build careers
  • Team development — is your team improving year to year
  • Strategic vision — where is your team going
  • Organizational influence — is your team contributing to the larger org

Morality

Does working hard really make you a good person? (via TED)

  • People attach their worth to effort (harder work).
  • The less efficient worker is viewed as less competent, but more moral and a better partner (“effort moralization”).
  • We try to show others we are good collaborators (“partner choice”); these are people that are more likely to help others out in a pinch.
  • At the societal level, it creates a work environment with perverse incentives — people signal effort instead of spending time on relationships or leisure (workaholics assuring people that they are good people).
  • Capitalism should root out inefficiencies in labor, but there is “workism” — source of your paycheck, your identity, and pathway to self-actualization. We are forced into this; we not only have to be a good cooperation partner, but better than the next guy –> arms race of workism. Our culture punishes us for not keeping up.
  • We’ve built a culture that asks for the wrong thing — effort. We should focus on producing meaning.

Motivating people

How to Motivate Employees When Their Priorities Have Changed (via HBR)

  • “People are most productive when they feel motivated about what they do and how they live. We need both to thrive.”
  • “Encourage workers to define passion in any way they want, and align your workplace to support a wide variety of situations.”
  • Just because you had to pay your dues doesn’t mean current employees have to.
  • Focus on performance, not time spent.
  • Fear is not an effective long-term motivator.