Doing all the work
October 5, 2022
Accountability is a big, heavy word. It manages to be about management, and feedback, and operational excellence, and culture all at once.
World's Best Newsletter Archive
Let us feed you
September 21, 2022
Delegation fails at work when the hand-off is incomplete, and also when the hand-off is too complete. And once you know that, you can get better at this fast.
The unloved doc with all the answers
June 1, 2022
The org chart is a power map. Not figuratively. Literally. It is a map of relationships, reporting structure, and accountability lines. When we talk about issues being structural, this is where that structure shows up.
The laziest form of management
April 20, 2022
At the core of every boss quoting some article about kids today is a two-part management failure. First, a failure to adapt to the changing workplace. And second, a failure to listen to the feedback that they are part of the problem.
The donuts aren’t working
April 6, 2022
We’re hearing from the bosses and people and culture teams asked to implement the Bums-in-Seats directive. Even when they, themselves, are skeptical.
Everyone’s a great manager until they start managing
March 9, 2022
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.
Okay, but what about managing up?
January 26, 2022
What’s to be done about the boss above me who doesn’t know this stuff but needs to? How do I get them to show up for me so I can show up for my own team?
We didn’t build *that* Better boss
December 15, 2021
People send us the links in part because, haha, you build better bosses. Here’s the literal CEO of Better and seems like he could have used some management training. Hardy har har. But some of them also want to know, “Is this normal?” And if so, how often does this happen? And why?
Long on empathy and short on patience
August 25, 2021
We told leaders to be empathetic. We told them to be understanding. And they are doing that. They are phenomenal about understanding the conditions for underperformance in their teams. But it’s not working…They are patient to a fault.
Have you noticed everyone’s on their worst behaviour?
July 28, 2021
People who are frustrated. Sharp. Daring someone to call them on it and spoiling for a fight. If you’re managing a group of people, you see it in slack messages. The passive aggressive ones. But also the aggressive aggressive ones.
Your home office is not a scent-free workplace
July 14, 2021
Every company is a community that needs rules. And, as bosses, making the rules of engagement clear is our job. That’s true whether your company is remote, in-office, or a mix of the two.
Elijah you need to unmute
March 24, 2021
Fully remote, fully in person, or a mix of the two. This is the question that will dominate the rest of this year and into the next. The extremes are the easiest to navigate.
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