30

Sep

How to provide input constructively

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liane

advice, collaboration, communication, etiquette, Input, recommendations, suggestions

Be a better team leader, Be a better team member, Communicate, Horror Stories, How to fix teams, Right Words to Say

  In three sessions with three different teams recently, the key theme has been the lack of shared ownership: A phenomenon one participant described as “everyone swimming their own race.“ This affects the value added by the team in two ways. First, when you’re focused on your own responsibilities, you’re unlikely to provide input on […]

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27

Sep

When to seek input from your teammates

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liane

accountability, collaboration, cooperation, independence, Input, interdependence, matrix, Speed, teamwork

Be a better team leader, Be a better team member, Communicate, Horror Stories, How to fix teams

Many of the team members I’m working with right now feel caught between two opposing forces. On the one hand, they’re living in matrix structures that require tightly aligned team behavior and interdependence. On the other hand, they feel the weight of the expectations for personal accountability and speed of execution, which are inadvertently driving […]

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23

Sep

How to go faster

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liane

passive aggressive behavior, poor implementation, resistance, Speed, speed of execution, timely decision making

Be a better team leader, Be a better team member, How to fix teams

  In my previous post, I talked about the blight of teams today: the overpowering compulsion to go fast. I’m not delusional and arguing for a return to the leisurely pace of the good old days. I’m just worried that teams that try to go fast actually go slowly. The problem lies in the difference […]

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20

Sep

You’re not going as fast as you think

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liane

anxiety, decision making, efficiency, fast, Pace, rework, slow, Speed

Be a better team leader, Be a better team member, Horror Stories, How to fix teams

  “We’re lost, but we’re making good time.” This is my new favorite quote. A client shared it with me last week. She used it to describe the feeling in the room as the executive team that she is a part of raced to come up with a solution without being aligned on what they […]

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16

Sep

Good and bad stress

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liane

destructive, Needs, pressure, productive range of distress, productivity, stress, workload

Be a better team leader, Be a better team member, How to fix teams

  Stress…a concept we’re all familiar with these days. Recent studies suggest that 50% of office workers are experiencing significant stress at work. That’s what caused me to write last week’s post on the tsunami of stress.  But is all stress bad? Is there good stress? This was a question posed to me by client […]

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13

Sep

Tsunami of stress

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liane

connection, overwhelming, stress, workload

Be a better team member, Horror Stories

  About the fourth week of August this year, the early warning systems started signaling an oncoming tsunami. Three alarms went off for me. First, my editor at HBR.org asked if I could contribute to their increasingly popular series on stress in the workplace. Second, at the company where I write an employee advice column, […]

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09

Sep

On the merits of productive disengagement

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liane

adult colouring, coloring books, contemplation, downtime, honey bees, machine learning, resilience, silence, Thinking, vacation

Be a better team member, Success Stories

  Thank you to those of you who have sent notes complaining about the dearth of posts this summer. It’s nice to know that you miss them! It’s been an eventful summer for me and my reaction was to think more and write less. My kids headed back to school Tuesday and our household is […]

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