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.
7 deadly sins of knowledge management - part 2
We continue exploring the seven deadly sins of knowledge management in this week’s post. I explained three of them to you last week. Here are four more.
7 deadly sins of knowledge management - part 1
In a massively distributed world of work, effective knowledge management is a superpower for your people. On this site, we’re already discussed many things you must do, to foster knowledge sharing. This post is the first, in a two part series about things you shouldn’t do.
How I like to organise team retreats
I recently went out for a mid-week retreat with colleagues on my new team and as a fortuitous coincidence, I was one of the event hosts. The experience brought back into view a few of my principles and practices when organising such an event. In today’s post, I want to share these thoughts with you.
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.
Remote work is a two-way street
The remote-work divide between employers and employees feels more stark each passing week. Lest it descend into an adversarial relationship, I believe we must view this exchange as a two-way street.
Remote-first coaching and mentoring
A common argument against remote work is that coaching and mentoring are harder when you’re all remote. But I believe that if companies are intentional about building modern coaching and mentoring skills, they’ll do much better being remote-first.
Our workplaces have a masculinity bias
The world of work has a toxic masculinity bias. In this post I share some thoughts about such biases.
Anonymity is an ally to open discussions
To invite diverse views in an open discussion, psychological safety is essential. In this article I want to tell you how anonymity can help create that safety.
Get volunteerism right in the workplace
Organisations can benefit from volunteerism in the workplace by harnessing their people's spare capacity. But how do you get it right? Allow me to explain.
Stop the Zoom recordings already!
I think sending meeting recordings instead of meeting minutes is inefficient and insensitive. You can do much better.
No, that’s not culture
If you’re calling your culture a “secret sauce”, or your “x-factor”, you’re doing little to clarify it. To demonstrate care for culture, means that we must define it clearly, at the level of behaviours. We must move beyond platitudes and poetic expressions.
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.
You don't need Slack. You need slack.
It’s tempting to extract the last bit of productivity from our work schedules. However, busyness isn’t the same thing as productiivity. Let me explain why cutting yourself some slack, is a better idea.
In 2023, don't disrupt yourselves
With their return-to-office (RTO) strategies, I see many IT firms take a passive-aggressive stance with their people. This, I fear, can be disruptive, in an industry where people matter most.
Please, please, don't write in slides
Wait, what? Write in slides? Well, yes. And I’m sure you’ve seen this yourself. Heck, I’ve done it myself as well. Guilty as charged!
If you’ve normalised this approach to writing and sharing information, then I’m here to tell you that you should write differently. That’s what this post is about.
Shapeless days are not a badge of honour
Unpredictable days are shapeless days. This represents the classic maker-manager paradox. Makers need contiguous blocks of time to achieve meaningful outcomes. A calendar driven schedule is amongst the worst blows to a maker’s productivity. We can’t be proud of this way of working.
A couple of days in the office
I recently spent a couple of days in an office. That experience made me reflect a bit more about the tensions between remote work and the role of the office. In this short post, I share some thoughts about the purpose and a potential future for the office.
Beg for forgiveness, don't ask for permission
If decisions are the fuel for high-performing teams, a permissions culture is its kryptonite. In this post I discuss three areas you must focus on, so your team can maintain a high decision velocity.
Offices in the cloud are just a bad idea
I notice that some teams, organisations and products are attempting to recreate an office in the cloud. This is a counterproductive trend. In this post I explain why being async-first is a better idea.