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Jurgen,
Good points. I think cross-functional teams, like many things, are a trend caused by good ideas that grew too far.
Cross-Functional Teams Don't Come Free
How should people be grouped together? Basically there are two main options to choose from: group people by similar function or by similar business. Grouping people by similar function means that you put developers with developers, testers with testers, and project managers with project manage...
Wow. An awesome story. Trust is a two way street, but unfortunately know one is willing to start down the road for fear no one will be at the end.
Three Stories of Communication and Trust
We had lived in our new neighborhood for about four months when our neighbors from across the cul-de-sac stop by to let us know that their pool was open and ready for swimming. Stop by anytime, they told us. A week or so later, they followed-up with a dinner invitation, and while we enjoyed di...
I agree with Dan. It seems like a lot of this stems from the defensive nature of leaders. I think the competitive nature of moving up in organizations causes a lot of this. Leaders almost have to fight to attain power, as such they're defensive and don't want to lose power. It's be interesting to study the difference in defensiveness and mum effect in hierarchy and non-hierarchy (Gore & Associates) type organizations.
Some Bosses Live in Fool's Paradise: The Mum Effect
As I wrote earlier in the week, my post over at HBR on 12 Things That Good Bosses Believe generated a lot of interest and 75 comments. I am now going to dig into each of the 12 points in detail over there. The first one is "I have a flawed and incomplete understanding of what it feels like to ...
Congrats on post 400. You couldn't have gotten the hits you do without useful stuff.
Blog Post #400
It’s becoming sort of a tradition for me to reflect on my blog writing at every 100th post. And so here it is, the 400th blog post! Since January 1 of this year this blog has had almost 110,000 visits, and 170,000 page views. That is 750 visits and 1160 page views per day on average (with a c...
Great explanation of servant leadership.
Real Leaders Serve
“Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country,” implored John F. Kennedy in his inaugural address in 1961. On that day, Kennedy did more than ask us to serve our country, he asked us to lead our country so that our country could lead. This is the irony to bei...
Do you think these two ways are just the evolution of Theory X and Theory Y?
Two streams of thought in management today
In a recent discussion about finding a suitable synonym for "human capital", my friend and colleague, Madelyn Blair, put her finger on the key issue: " human capital would be - ah - people." There are thus two deep streams in management in today. They are like oil and water. We can pretend tha...
Great ideas. I think most of the people who are labelled bad leaders are label so because they aren't honest about 1 or 2. As a result, followers arrive at the outcome and are disappointed.
Making A Change? What People Want
1. An accurate picture of reality. 2. A sense of hope based in the proposed new reality. 3. The whole truth about 1 and 2. Change is really about adults making effective decisions. Decisions to commit, decisions to opt out, decisions to wait a bit, decisions about what might be best for their ca...
Great study. One more reason to forgive. Thanks for sharing.
Forgive Yourself for Past Procrastination: You Will Perform Better Next Time
There is a delightful little study summarized in BPS Research that shows students who forgive themselves for procrastination in their preparation for past tests feel better about themselves, procrastinate less in the future, and perform better on future tests compared to students who do not forg...
Great post John. I'm a huge fan of flow and the application of positive psychology to the workplace.
Creating Flow at Work
People at all levels report a need for challenges that create flow at work, according to psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, author of Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. Challenges must stretch our capacity, without being overwhelming. The main elements for flow include: 1. Clear ...
I think 360 is a useful tool, but if manager's only respond to anonymous 360 feedback programs, you've got a much bigger problem on your hands.
Performance Feedback Through The Back Door
Are you getting any real feedback on your performance at work? Faux Feedback Disguised as 360 Assessment 1. I was asked late last year to provide coaching for a middle manager. During the exploratory meeting, I asked his boss how he (the middle manager) responded to the performance feedback that...
Best. Study. Ever.
Naps Are Wonderful, Especially If You Can Lie Down
I have always been intrigued by research on sleep, sleep deprivation, and naps. In brief, a pretty big body of research shows that sleep deprivation, make people unhappy, nasty to others, and undermines their creativity and performance. And a related body of research suggests that even a s...
Love Pink's work. However, I've never thought of his motivation recipe as a replacement for empowerment. Rather it appeals to me as a three=pronged method of empowerment.
Empowered Teams Are Dead – Long Live Autonomy, Mastery and Purpose
Agile methods emphasize and encourage empowerment and creating empowered teams, but empowerment is not enough. Empowerment, according to Daniel Pink author of “Drive: The Surprising truth about what motivates us“, is just a slightly more civilized form of control. This control is part of a brok...
Just filled out the survey. Looking forward to the results.
Survey on Leadership Effectiveness and Email: Sneak Peak
My online survey about the role of email and leadership effectiveness continues to enroll respondents, and will remain open until we have 1,000 responses. Click here to take the survey, and please tell others in your network about it. With heartfelt thanks to the 124 professionals who've taken ...
Kind of fun knowing the backstory behind the post.
I totally agree. In fact, most of the people who commented are those I am beginning to grow these same relationships with. It's amazing what technology does.
With Only A Few Key Strokes
One of the reasons I love social media is that it allows me to connect to people around the world. Social media gives me the ability to learn from and share with people I may not have the opportunity to meet any other way. Recently, I met a man on Twitter who teaches leadership at the Naval Acad...
What do you think of the folks at 37Signals new assertion that "planning is guessing."
The Missing Link in Strategic Planning
Monday's post talked about the relationship between strategic planning and relevance. In short, the typical process we use for strategic planning (scan-plan-implement-evaluate) actually skews us towards remaining merely relevant, as opposed to advancing our memberships to the next level. Even if...
I absolutely love this book. I think anyone who has read it is like a member of a secret society, with knowledge that others don't have.
Video Book Club: Orbiting the Giant Hairball
In this week’s VBC, I address two compelling questions. What is a giant hairball and why should you consider orbiting one? The answers are contained in the gently subversive classic, Orbiting the Giant Hairball by the late Gordon MacKenzie. As the self-appointed Creative Paradox at Hallmark Car...
Great post. I've been using their format as the beginning of my own annual personal retreat for several years now. It's a great exercise.
Developing Your Professional Vision
Truly great professionals understand the difference between what should never change and what should be open for change, between what is genuinely sacred and what is not. This rare ability to manage continuity and change--requiring a consciously practiced discipline--is closely linked to the abi...
I wonder if there is a sweet spot of teamwork though. If teamwork brings creativity but too much tension negates creativity, is there a Laffer-curve-esque chart to help guide.
Interesting stuff.
Why Teams?
Can you hear the grumbling? It's the second week of class for my students in Mountain State University's BSOL online program. So far, working on teams has been challenging for my students. At school or in the workplace, working with others can be difficult. Here's why: When people work on teams,...
I think you're viewing multi-tasking wrong. Having multiple projects going at the same time is not multi-tasking, it's life. Multi-tasking is trying to write, while delivering a webinar and clipping your toenails at the same time.
The opponents of this type of multi-tasking argue that it's bad because you can only truly focus on one thing at a time, not three. So you'll probably clip your toenails too short. However, focusing on one project for 30 minutes to an hour and then switching isn't the same.
In Praise of Multi-Tasking
I have a blog. And I am writing a book. And I am leading a business. And I speak at conferences. And I support an election campaign. And I am in a relationship. And I have children. And I love reading books. And I consider these my ongoing projects. Again and again, I read blog posts from peop...
Great list. Thanks for tipping me off.
The Rainmaker 'Fab Five' Blog Picks of the Week
I like to kick off each week with five blog posts that I especially enjoyed reading over the past week. Here is my top five for the week of April 5th - 11th, 2010. Enjoy! Wally Bock, Three Star Leadership: The Myth of Perfect Productivity - Wally rejects the myth of so-called "perfect producti...
Still amazes me that people think they can fake their way around truth.
Leadership Skills: Truth
So last week I gave you the background. This post talked about the trends impacting leadership these days (pace of change, social internet, generational shift), and then this post suggests three new mindsets for leadership (ecosystems not machines, innovation as staple, clarity over control). Th...
Great point on practice.
Oh, and that axe is killer.
Video Book Club – Talent is Overrated
Have you ever watched a great musician or athlete or speaker and say, “Wow, they must have been born with so much talent, I could never do that.” Well, don’t be so sure about that. As Geoff Colvin explains in his book, Talent Is Overrated , the difference between you and that person you admire ...
I think all bias is hidden. Once we're aware of our biases they can be counteracted. (They'll still exist but won't be as powerful).
Hidden Bias
Last night I participated in and and observed a live chat in one of Mountain State University's Bachelor of Science Organizational Leadership courses. It's an exciting next step for me as I prepare to become one of MSU's newest adjunct faculty members. After reading and writing about Mountain St...
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