Dependent or Inter-Dependent?
Are your teams dependent or inter-dependent? Dependency alone sets up a power dynamic that gets in the way of good cross-functional teaming. Inter-dependency allows for power sharing – allowing both parties to share situational power. It’s a healthier state. When you charter projects or teams, look for ways to create interdependencies. If they don’t occur […]
Don’t Wait for a Crisis
During a crisis, we can only deal with the urgent – and that rarely includes building relationships. If you are only communicating with others when there is an urgent problem, you are setting up poor relationship patterns and damaging your effectiveness. At best, issue focused communication will produce simple accomodatation of your immediate needs. At […]
Good Guy vs Bad Guy
Here’s a classic case of Good guy vs Bad guy: Intentions vs Behaviors. Intentions are, of course, the good guy. Behaviors, the bad. We begin each year, month, day with intentions about how we will spend our time and how we will behave. We end each year, month, day with behaviors that have diverged from […]
Optimize
With my background in industrial engineering, my core is optimization. So I’ve been fascinated with the recent popularity of “life-hacking,” which is really just optimizing your time. How few minutes can you exercise (20? 7? 1?) and still receive health benefits? How little time can you spend acquiring food (Blue Apron, Hello Fresh, …) and […]
Is Your Team Scaling – or Straining?
There’s a big difference in scaling and straining as the organization grows, and that difference matters to a team’s ability to execute for the long haul. How do you know how your team is doing? Here are a few indicators for each. Scaling Mostly heads up, focused on the end goal Taking actions that solve […]