By Kate Duchene and Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez

Hollywood films have long been made by teams of independent contractors and employees of different production companies brought together for short-term projects. Companies have embraced this model for transformations, with data showing that 45% of the people on these projects are not regular employees. Managing a disparate group like this can be a challenge, but team leaders can overcome that by working to create one culture, making work personal, and empowering the team leader.

By Deborah Lovich and Rosie Sargeant

Companies continue to struggle to design and implement a post-Covid return-to-office strategy that works for employees. To find the most workable alternative, they should focus on four factors: the needs of the work, the needs of the people, how work gets done, and the new managerial muscle required to manage a hybrid workforce.

By John Coleman

Curiosity is not just a medium by which we achieve professional success, it’s also imperative to unlocking purpose and meaning at work. Curiosity about ourselves, our work, and our colleagues is the key to unlocking the significance behind our work. Adopting the mindset of curiosity with the intention of discovering purpose is made possible through four simple practices: crafting your work, making work a craft, connecting work to service, and investing in positive relationships.

By Joost Minnaar

Why you should always ask employees to delete things, not to add things.

By Jurriaan Kamer

Here are 14 signs that your leadership team might not actually be a well-functioning team:

By Frances X. Frei and Anne Morriss

In their new book, Move Fast and Fix Things, Frances Frei and Anne Morriss outline five strategies to help leaders tackle their hardest problems and quickly make change. Their second strategy is to build — or rebuild — trust with your stakeholders. This means they need to believe three things: that you care about them (empathy), that you’re capable of meeting their needs (logic), and that you can be expected to do what you say you’ll do (authenticity). Most organizations are shaky on at least one of these trust pillars, commonly in one of the below scenarios.

By Rob Cross, Karen Dillon, and Martin Reeves

Many people believe burnout is driven by excessive work demands. In fact, it’s driven by a specific type of demand–work that requires too much collaboration between individuals or teams of employees. To reduce this collaboration overload, ask these four questions: Can we reduce structural complexity? Does our workflow make sense? Hasthe profusion of teams spiked employees’ microstress? And have we built a sense of purpose in our employees’ everyday interactions?

By John Cutler

A couple drawings…

By Jeff Gothelf

10 prevalent hurdles that organizations encounter on their journey to putting customers at the heart of everything they do.

By Johanna Rothman

Several people on LinkedIn commented on my post, Want Better and Faster Results? Increase Team Size and Reduce WIP. They wondered if adding more people to a small team would violate Brooks' Law. As with all good questions, the answer is “It depends.” It depends on how your lifecycle manages feedback loops and learning, how … How WIP Insights Allow Us to Revisit Brooks’ Law About Adding People to a Team Read More »

By Emily Dugan

Durham University researchers also found novelty backgrounds lowered perceptions of trust and competency