The sign of a good compromise
June 28, 2023
The past few years we’ve swung wildly between utopian and dystopian visions.
World's Best Newsletter Archive
Your pencils are sharp enough
March 22, 2023
We’ve learned that there are two types of work that are the most prone to getting stuck like this. And there are different tools we’ve found helpful for getting them unstuck.
Behind the scenes at the magic kingdom
November 16, 2022
We don’t need it to be all doom and gloom. But what does it mean when there’s no longer space to talk about what’s working and what isn’t?
What to do when you’re all out of puffins
October 19, 2022
The bullshit is supposed to be in service of something. Ideally, say, work that you’re proud of, whose impact matters to you, and which allows you to live a life you enjoy.
The little con and the big con
August 24, 2022
This Quiet Quitting thing may be the topic du jour, but it’s not universal. There are people out there doing engaged, enthusiastic work. There are organizations shining bright and without burning out. If you’re sweating it, worried that it’s happening with your team, here’s our advice.
You don’t want to drink that
August 10, 2022
Threats. Dismissiveness. Burnout. Micromanagement. Yelling. Every bad boss behaviour is going to come out of the woodwork in the next few months.
Smile more?
June 15, 2022
If you start from the assumption that you need to make your team happy – that happiness is an input to work that you need to maximize – you reach for one set of tools. Tools that reduce stress, remove discomfort, avoid conflict. And maybe at a birthday party, or a summer camp, those would be appropriate.
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.
The perks are great and the work is fine
February 23, 2022
Faced with that blandness, a lot of leaders are pushing back-to-office plans. They have nostalgia for the flavour of a packed and humming office, and feel like if people would just get back in there, it would fix things.
You only get punked when you don’t expect it
February 9, 2022
If we’re right about this prediction, the amount of energy coming at you is going to be intense. The question to ask is: do you have somewhere for that energy to go?
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?
Bad advice you shouldn’t take
January 12, 2022
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.
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