Director means something
January 10, 2024
And pretending it’s a title or a pay bump without a new set of responsibilities is a disservice to everyone.
Archives
If it’s urgent, call my cell
December 27, 2023
We tell bosses that if they choose management as a career, every aspect of the human condition will at some point show up for someone they manage.
What to do with a gift you can’t return
December 13, 2023
That sad, not particularly thoughtful gift with your name on it? That’s how many people experience performance review season.
I’ll call you from the car
November 29, 2023
The important decisions you’ll make as a boss — or a human — need to be made in the midst of very loud and poorly-timed chaos.
Still uncool, but finally useful
November 15, 2023
A great performance review is not an evaluation conversation, it’s an alignment conversation.
What to do with the muchness
November 1, 2023
Either, we’re running as fast as we can toward clear targets. Or we’re running as fast as we can without clear targets.
Day-to-day management in a polycrisis
October 18, 2023
Yours can be a team where people’s humanity has space to coexist with, and even outrank, their productivity. It’s worth building that. We’re all going to need it.
What to do when everyone’s eyebrows are glowing
October 4, 2023
You can’t outsource interpersonal connection to the interns, and your team can’t outsource it to you.
Sorry I’m getting kicked out of this room
September 20, 2023
If we want to understand the nagging sense, the underlying frustration, the thing that’s screaming in blinky red lights. We’re gonna have to say it out loud.
Thanks but no thanks
September 6, 2023
Sometimes humans really do need a reality check, that’s fair. But if you’re going to reality check someone, we suggest starting with the manager in the mirror.
Is anyone ever ready for leadership?
August 23, 2023
One of the best, most leveraged, most impactful things you can do as a leader is to grow new, excellent leaders.
The future of work is in pieces
August 9, 2023
When we talk with bosses about their work today, we don’t hear about commutes. We don’t hear about summer hours, or four-day-work-weeks, either.
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