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.
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What did they say when you told them?
You’re just reminding them that it’s a fair expectation that they would try to resolve it directly.
If you’re doing their job, who’s doing your job?
The cure for a structurally overwhelmed team is a better structure. It’s clarity about what matters most, and permission to hand off or put down the work that doesn’t.
Everyone’s a great manager until they start managing
It’s easy to dip into “I would never talk to my team like that. If I were in charge, I would be a way better boss than that.” That smug satisfaction about what you would do if you were in charge? Well, we understand the appeal.
Bad advice you shouldn’t take
Resignations. Competitive talent markets. The structure of the org chart. All of these things can feel bigger than you, as an individual leader trying to get things done in your organization. We get that. But be skeptical of any advice that takes them as fixed.
Bring your slop to work day
May 28, 2025
It’s definitely giving some low-key asbestos vibes.
The enshittification of work
April 2, 2025
The froth has subsided. And in its wake, organizations have found some truly short-sighted approaches to labour.
Where are the people-pleasers?
March 19, 2025
The biggest issue for people-pleasing leaders isn’t that they need to be tougher. Or scream more. Or play a different boss on TV.
Run it like a business
March 5, 2025
You should have just said “run it badly.”
Nice, nice, very nice
October 16, 2024
The longer you’re in a culture of niceness and side-channels and things left unsaid, the more you have to wonder about the conversations happening out of earshot.
What did they say when you told them?
August 7, 2024
You’re just reminding them that it’s a fair expectation that they would try to resolve it directly.
If you’re doing their job, who’s doing your job?
April 17, 2024
The cure for a structurally overwhelmed team is a better structure. It’s clarity about what matters most, and permission to hand off or put down the work that doesn’t.
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.
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.
You don’t have a culture problem, you have a management problem
June 14, 2023
Culture handbooks don’t produce culture, people do.
This will only take a minute
March 8, 2023
You can’t live in hypervigilance. Well, let’s rephrase that. You can, it’s possible. But it’s unpleasant to be around someone who has stayed in that state for too long.
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