Async agile 1.0, is distributed agile 2.0!
This blog expands on the ideas from “The Async-First Playbook”. You can either browse through the posts using the grid below, or start at the very beginning. Alternatively, use the search bar below to find content across the site.
Embrace the disconnect
Regardless of how passionate you are about your work, I encourage you to find ways to separate your professional life from personal time. It’s a win-win-win for you, your colleagues and your employers.
3 ways for super managers to keep their ears to the ground
Super managers, i.e. managers of managers must monitor if their direct reports demonstrate care for their team members. In this post, I discuss three techniques for super managers to hear directly from their direct reports' direct reports.
Workers of the world, unite
IT workers successfully pushed back against a draconian 70-hour work week proposal in Karnataka. But such victories are shallow if we don’t stand in solidarity with our other, worker brethren, who often endure far worse working conditions.
The joy of being insignificant
When I look back at my life’s experiences - by accident or design - I’m glad I ended up being insignificant enough that no one misses me too much when I go away for a bit. I may not have made my dad proud, but I’m happy.
Sabbaticals are amazing, but...
Sabbatical policies can benefit both employers and employees. But these extended leave arrangements need careful design and inspection.
In 2024, be the manager your people wish for
Middle-level and people managers play a crucial role in companies, but they also model many corporate dysfunctions. It’s time for people managers to get back in service of the people they lead.
4 ways to throttle your shallow work commitments
Our time is a zero-sum game. We don’t want shallow work commitments to steal our deep work time. Shallow work is unavoidable, but we can control it. In this article I explain four ways to do so.
Sorry, but don’t be sorry
We wrongly apologise for switching off from work or work related communication, when we have enough reason to do so. Such apologies undermine our professional contracts and set us back in our attempts to achieve work-life balance.
Why everyone needs a hobby
You won’t hear from me for the next few weeks, because I’ll be out practicing my hobby; i.e. photography. I believe everyone needs a hobby that they practice for its intrinsic value.
The async worker's guide to finding balance
For remote workers the boundaries between work and life can often feel blurred. In this article I discuss seven strategies to achieve work life balance.
Patterns to build trust and cohesion on distributed teams
Teams needn’t be groups of BFFs. Trust and cohesion are far more important attributes. You don’t build trust and cohesion by accident though. Leaders must employ attentive design and intentional actions.
From junior to Jedi - cracking the leverage code
Most tech companies want to run well-leveraged teams; i.e a few senior people and a bunch of junior people. But many of us lack the process discipline to do this well. How do you design a team environment that’s inclusive of junior people? That’s the million dollar question I address in this article.
Reframing our relationships with employment
The recent slew of layoffs should give us all pause for thought. How should we view our relationship with employment? I’d like to share my perspective.
Form your team right
Poorly formed teams are woefully ineffective, but I see it so often that I’d be remiss not to state the problem. In this article, I’ll call out two common problems I see leaders repeat when forming new teams. I’ll also describe a few simple ways to avoid these problems.
Scale yourself with the "metawork mutual fund”
If you want to grow as a professional or a leader, you must stop doing some work, to take up new work. In this post I explain the concept of “metawork”, why it should be explicit and how it can help you scale yourself.
What are your people upto?
If you learned to be a manager in an office-centric setup, async-first remote work may seem like an opaque way to lead your people. How do you manage without walking around and listening? In this post, I’ll unpack the risks of leading unhappy, disengaged or struggling team members in remote teams and what you as a manager can do to pre-empt these problems.
Manage your people with care
In an async-first culture, the role of a manager is crucial. If the company is the mother-ship, the manager’s the employee’s bridge to it. They should be the individuals that know the most about their people, their skills, abilities and strengths, their personalities and their aspirations. You need managers who lead with care. In this post, I want to address how you can show that care as a leader and a manager.
Smart money - spends that are worth their weight in gold
Depending on the level you operate at as a leader, you probably have some discretionary budgets available to you. When you spend that money, your company wants you to get the most bang for their buck. In this post, I want to explore four areas of expenditure that’ll make a big impact on your remote teams.
Here’s what you need, to “organise” serendipity and knowledge sharing
With the right systems and the right people in community management and curation roles, you can brew the perfect storm of “organised serendipity”. I daresay, that this can often work better than the proverbial water cooler meeting.
In this post, we’ll discuss how you can enhance your knowledge ecosystem by building on your existing collaboration stack. I’ll also go over how to create the right team of people to govern, curate and nurture that platform.