Sometimes my calendar looks like an LA freeway: 100% utilization, ultimate deadlock. This is not one of those times. November through January are quiet at my current job, no big launches or deadlines. I can take a breath. My instinct is to fill it. Sign up for more! Commitments! Deadlines! Quick, pull in the next … Read moreEnabling Gaps
As a manager, I want to tell a team what I need and they make it. Is that too much to ask? It depends what you mean by “tell.” Without the information we need, work is like “Bring me a stone.” In this game, the Boss says to the Worker, “Bring me a stone.” The … Read moreControl from within
“Enter your concrete goals for the next six months.” This software is supposed to help your career. Seriously? If the best I can do is something I could name six months ago, I am not learning anything. If I hit some metric, what did I ignore or sacrifice to get there? Knowledge work is about … Read moreYour Goals Are Holding You Back
There’s this church near my house, with a statue of Mary Magdalene. She’s the picture of deference. As a child and as a Christian, I was raised to see deference as a virtue, to find this statue beautiful. As an adult and as a systems thinker, I learned that deference is dangerous. Nora Bateson pointed … Read moreDeference or Collaboration: pick one.