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Twenty years ago I used to think that many problems in the workplace were fundamentally communication issues.
I’ve refined my thinking since then.
The problem with this mindset is that the solutions seem obvious: More communication. Clearer communication. Stronger communication. But the fact is that we’re incredibly over-communicated these days, and it’s overwhelming and stressful.
Read the rest of this entry »What does it mean to truly be committed to something?
In the workplace, we let the concept become very slippery. We ask people to commit to a deadline, and try to hold them “accountable” for that, but despite that many things don’t get done on time or done properly.
So let’s take a moment to step back and look at the concept of making a work commitment.
Read the rest of this entry »I have to confess that I’ve been cynical about AI. Which is a bit weird, given my tech background and inquisitiveness.
But I’ve seen some demos recently which are pretty interesting. Here’s what I learned: these tools don’t replace human intelligence. But they can simplify drudgery.
There are a couple of places which are particularly useful: Pulling together tons of data, and creating summaries.
Read the rest of this entry »I’m currently in a season of recognition and appreciation for the people I’ve been working with.
It’s actually a pretty interesting topic, primarily because it depends so much on the existing relationship and the cultural context.
We all remember that appreciation should be timely, specific, and honest:
Read the rest of this entry »We all learn to hold back negative feelings, because it helps us to mature from childhood.
The negative side of this, though, is that those feelings (which can stem from misunderstandings, mistakes, and disagreements) can then grow until they emerge to cause real damage.
They can explode into arguments and destroy relationships. So how do we deal with this in the workplace?
Read the rest of this entry »We’re creating more and more innovative team structures. Some people are at home, some in the office, some in a remote office, ….
It’s truly exciting as we discover how much work is independent of location.
But the challenge is that not everyone is on an equal footing.
One of the key frustrations that employees have identified with returning to the office is that they haven’t heard what the plans are.
I get that. As a leader, you want to have a plan that’s solid, one that’s been checked out and can be committed to your folks. Otherwise you might look flaky.
But you have to fight that urge. Your people deserve more respect and need to know what’s in the works before it’s totally solid. And you need their feedback.
Perhaps you’ve noticed that some relationships have drifted a bit over the recent months. The fact is that all connections will tend to wither if not tended to, and communication has become difficult.
For me at least, it seems like I’m doing a lot more communicating than I did last year. With end-to-end Zoom meetings and a deluge of emails, I certainly am having many conversations. But are relationships suffering?
Well, there are different levels of communication. Humans are inherently social animals, and we need regular interaction to be happy and get things done. Yes, even introverts.
Read the rest of this entry »Things are changing quickly, but making progress slowly. It’s all very confusing.
Certainly my sense of time has gotten all screwed up since March.
The challenge is that you, as leader, are tasked with leading communication for your organization.
Read the rest of this entry »The world is an incredibly complicated place, and it drives me nuts sometimes.
Just when I think I’ve teased apart one problem, I find it’s connected to something else. And on and on!
So how should we deal with this fact of life?
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The Values-Based Business 