I’ve seen lots of managers struggle to help teams. Often, they are driven by deadlines and goals set by their managers. They do what they think will help, acting out of their current view of how things work. Sometimes they look for new ideas on how to manage....
In two recent posts, I offered cautionary tales for managers of self-organizing agile teams: Tale of a Yo-Yo Manager Tale of a Too Hands Off Manager. So what is it that managers should do to move from big boss to partnership? It’s actually quite a long list, so...
I’ve been writing about seeing systems, and got to thinking about a company I did some work for a few years ago–because they were a great example of how focusing on events leads to blame and prevents people from seeing patterns. Here’s the story....
Sometimes, wanting to give a team space to take more responsibility, managers step back. Sometimes too far back. However, a too hands-off approach can be just as bad as micromanaging. Both inhibit learning and effectiveness. A Struggling Team I recently worked with a...
There is much more to empowering a team than simply stating “You’re empowered.” Consider the three Ws of empowerment: “what,” “when,” and “why” when creating boundaries that define which decisions are the team’s...
As a manager, your job is to organize people and work for success. That includes work design–figuring out whether you have a group or a team and creating an environment where people can do their best work. I don’t know about you, but work design...
Many managers believe that giving feedback is their job. And they’re right. But it is also everyone’s job to offer feedback when it comes to building working relationships. A Story Tom looked up to see Jonathan, who had just transferred onto the team,...
Sooner or later every manager faces the same dilemma: what do I do when I inherit or hire an employee who turns out to be a poor fit for the job? And how much time and effort should I invest in a performance improvement plan? Let’s start by taking a look at an...
I spent a couple of days with the web crowd last week at Web Directions in Atlanta. Design matters on a website, where attention to user engagement can mean the difference between a flop and a million dollars. I live in the software world, mostly around agile...
I read some advice suggesting that when we’re stressed or feeling non-positive emotions because of situations out side work—the illness of a spouse or child, a divorce, or other personal problem–employees should hide their emotions and pretend to be “eager...
I was recently interviewed for an article on how managers should handle office romances: Office romance 101: Relationship advice for managers:46% of employees have been involved in an office romance. If you haven’t dealt with this issue yet, you surely will....
A couple of weeks ago, I listened to a very funny story about economic incentives on NPR. (Something funny on economic incentives?!) The story was about an economics professor who decided to use incentives to shape the behavior of his children. He devised an incentive...
What to do when your (so-called) MVP is destroying team productivity. Luke, the manager of the Rev 2.0 team, was walking on eggshells. He’d had another blow up with Shelly, the team architect. He tried to talk to her about the way she had treated the newest...
When managers want to improve financial results, they turn first to trimming costs. This is the logical first place to look if balance sheets are your primary view into how the organization functions. Many cost cutting measures do have an immediate effect on the...
I talk with many managers–and some coaches–who complain that their teams can’t function without a leader. “Leader,” in these conversations, usually means someone who set standards, assigns work, tracks progress, tells people what to do. That is not...
Authors Note: The relationship between an employee and his/her manager determines how long a person stays with a company and to some extent how productive he’ll be while he is there. That relationship also plays a part in stress level,and physical health....
Authors note: A recent blog post on Bob Sutton’s Work Matters reminded me of this little piece I wrote a while ago. A simple thank you can make a difference; appreciation builds good will, and reminds people that they are valued as human beings, not just as CPUs...
I’ve noticed something lately: when people write about collaboration, they discuss facilitated meetings or affinity grouping stickynotes. Well-run meetings that encourage participation and building consensus are certainly valuable. Grouping stickynotes can help...
I noticed at the recent agile conference that there were lots of people who billed themselves as agile coaches, and several sessions on coaching. Seemed like more of both than in past years. I consider myself a coach, too, though not with a capital C. I usually coach...
Questions matter. The questions we ask open one avenue of inquiry, but close others. If we want to change the way we manage, we need to change our questions. And so, here are my slides from my talk at Agile 2010: 14 Essential Questions aimed at refocusing...
