Posts from Awesome Folks #103

A weekly round up of blog posts I've been reading

Author

Emily Webber
April 19, 2024

Hello folks,

It’s been a busy week split between London and Merseyside, with workshops, trains, video calls, roadmaps, organisational models and overeating Percy Pigs (my go-to workshop sweets).

In between that, I have mostly been thinking about hybrid work and tinkering with animations ahead of my talk at Agile Manchester next month. If you want more of this Keynote animation magic and to learn more about this topic, then come along.

An animated slide showing: In a hybrid environment how do people share information, keep connected, bump into things.

Some slide animations from my talk

I’ve also been developing an approach to team taxonomies in digital, data, and technology organisations, which I have written about in a new blog post and included in this week’s posts below.

Enjoy, and happy Friday.

Emily

People and Culture

The Research-Backed Benefits of Daily Rituals

By Michael I. Norton

While some may cringe at forced corporate rituals, research shows that personal and team rituals can actually benefit the way we work. The authors’ expertise on the topic over the past decade, plus a survey of nearly 140 HBR readers, explores the ways rituals can set us up for success before work, get us psyched up for important presentations, foster a strong team culture, and help us wind down at the end of the day.

hbr.org/2024/04/the-research-backed-benefits-of-daily-rituals

Crisis Leadership Lessons from Polar Explorer Ernest Shackleton

By Nancy Koehn

Discover lessons in building a team, learning from bad bosses, and cultivating empathy.

hbr.org/podcast/2024/04/crisis-leadership-lessons-from-polar-explorer-ernest-shackleton

Organisations and Systems

Team Taxonomies for digital, data and technology organisations

By Emily Webber

I have been working with digital, data, and technology organisations for a long time, many of which are in UK government departments. One thing that I have seen people get tripped up on is how they describe teams.

emilywebber.co.uk/team-taxonomies-for-digital-data-and-technology-organisations

What Space Exploration and Health Care Can Teach You About Navigating Uncertainty

By Ruth Gotian, Charles J. Camarda, and Zachary A. Turnbull

In order to successfully navigate the uncertainty that characterizes today’s fast-paced and unpredictable world, leaders need to proactively prepare their teams for unexpected and time-sensitive emergencies. Space exploration and health care have cornered the market in this level of preparation. From the takeoff and landing of a space shuttle to managing uncontrollable bleeding in the operating room, there are vital lessons to be learned from these industries and adapted into others.

hbr.org/2024/04/what-space-exploration-and-health-care-can-teach-you-about-navigating-uncertainty

Outcomes and Objectives

Create More Success: How to Say No to "Everything" to Say Yes to What's Necessary Now - Johanna Rothman, Management Consultant

By Johanna Rothman

Jenny, a product leader, glared at her supposed product backlog. She'd just transferred to this product and now she knew why the teams weren't making progress. This backlog was more like her overstuffed sports closet. That closet had tennis rackets, a bat, and her two pairs of skis—all sports, but not for any one specific […]

www.jrothman.com/newsletter/2024/04/create-more-success-how-to-say-no-to-everything-to-say-yes-to-whats-necessary-now

Why is it so hard to admit there's uncertainty in our work? 

By Jeff Gothelf

No matter how much technology improves to help us sense and respond we continue to run up against the risky onslaught of prescriptive certainty.

jeffgothelf.com/blog/why-is-it-so-hard-to-admit-theres-uncertainty-in-our-work

The Prioritization Problem

By Marcus Castenfors

It was tense. A long list had been shared. Big features to build, new markets to launch. You could feel the built-up tension in the room. In the past, there had been a lot of friction.

blog.crisp.se/2024/04/16/marcuscastenfors/the-prioritization-problem

Team Approaches

How to Create Better Products With Much Less of a Backlog - Johanna Rothman, Management Consultant

By Johanna Rothman

Do you have an overstuffed backlog the way Jenny did in Create More Success: How to Say No to “Everything” to Say Yes to What’s Necessary Now? I offered “now” advice in that newsletter. But what about the future? How can you prevent an overstuffed backlog, roadmap, or all those great ideas from interrupting your […]

www.jrothman.com/mpd/2024/04/how-to-create-better-products-with-much-less-of-a-backlog

The effect of goal setting on group performance: A meta-analysis

By Christina Wodtke

Introduction to Something New! This blog is 24 years old, and I’ve done many things with it. I’ve blogged, Tweeted, shared talks, diagrams & images, and run series like Gleanings (l…

eleganthack.com/the-effect-of-goal-setting-on-group-performance-a-meta-analysis

Other Things

NFT:WTF? on Netflix, learn about the first NFT and where it went from there. A documentary that blends fine art and tech (just like my master’s degree).