by Esther Derby | Oct 26, 2011 | Collaboration & Teams, Leadership & Management
A participant in one of my workshops of my workshops declared that in every team there is pecking order….and every one knows what the order is from one to n. Peck, peck, peck. Since this is the case, he reasoned, it follows that ranking people in organizations...
by Esther Derby | Jul 28, 2011 | Collaboration & Teams, Leadership & Management
Every team needs leadership, even self-organizing teams. When I make this statement, some people assume I mean that every team needs a designated leader. I can’t blame them, most people are accustomed to thinking of leadership residing in a role or a charismatic...
by Esther Derby | May 25, 2011 | Coaching, Collaboration & Teams
I was talking to my friend Penny the other day about a team she coaches. She has a problem I’ve seen on many teams: a smart guy (or gal) who dominates the team. I’ll call Penny’s team member Bob. Most of the time Bob is an asset to the team. But when...
by Esther Derby | May 16, 2011 | Leadership & Management, Organizational Change
People who work in software are smart people who take pride in their abilities to understand complex information and solve difficult problems. But much of the work isn’t only about smarts. Creating most software requires the help and cooperation of other people....
by Esther Derby | Apr 5, 2011 | Leadership & Management, Systems and Complexity
A while back, a colleague, Susan, called to ask me for some advice. “I’ve been planning a vacation with my family for months,” she said. “And now my new client wants me on-site next week. I’d be happy to come the week after next, but they keep pushing. I told them I...
