Posts from Awesome Folks #147

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

Emily Webber
April 04, 2025

Hello folks,

It’s been a week heads down in Keynote presentations - prepping for Agila Örebro next week and recording videos for the online course Building Successful Communities of Practice; it’s looking great. So, I’m keeping this very brief so I can get back to it.

A welcome return of blue skies this week

Enjoy this week’s posts and happy Friday.

Emily

People and Culture

How To Make Remote Work Succeed Amid Return To Office Mandates

Joe McKendrick

The remote work revolution appears to have run its course. However, it actually represents the future of work, if managed properly.

www.forbes.com/sites/joemckendrick/2025/03/24/how-to-make-remote-work-succeed-amid-return-to-office-mandates

In a Slump at Work? Here’s How to Motivate Yourself.

Octavia Goredema

Poor performance management, lack of visibility, repetitive routines, and restricted growth opportunities can result in feelings of frustration, stagnation and boredom. Maybe you have a boss that doesn’t see your potential. Maybe there’s lots to do, but none of it excites you. In an uncertain economy, making a career move might not feel realistic or desirable. Especially for remote workers, there might not be many opportunities for organic networking opportunities. Here are five ways to reignite motivation at work.

hbr.org/2025/03/in-a-slump-at-work-heres-how-to-motivate-yourself

Why You Can’t Hire for Skills Without a Skills-Based Culture

Maria Flynn

The shift to a skills-focused hiring approach requires a cultural transformation and consistent, long-term effort.

sloanreview.mit.edu/article/why-you-cant-hire-for-skills-without-a-skills-based-culture

How to Prepare for a Meeting Where Emotions Will Run High

Dina Denham Smith

Managing sticky, emotionally loaded situations comes with the territory of leadership. Beyond interpersonal issues, you sometimes must deliver bad news to your beleaguered team, address a client’s frustration, provide tough-to-hear performance feedback, or communicate a mistake or delay that affects the business. These moments can be tense, and even experienced leaders can feel stressed and unsure, worried about escalation or unintended fallout.

hbr.org/2025/04/how-to-prepare-for-a-meeting-where-emotions-will-run-high

Organisations and Systems

10 Questions About Buurtzorg's Self-Management Model - Answered

Joost Minnaar

How does Buurtzorg thrive without managers, KPIs, or promotions? Discover 10 answers from the teams that make self-management work.

www.corporate-rebels.com/blog/10-questions-about-buurtzorgs-self-management-model-answered

Navigating the Hybrid Work Dilemma

A conversation with HBS professor Raj Choudhury on what research really shows about hybrid work.

hbr.org/podcast/2025/04/navigating-the-hybrid-work-dilemma

Why Four-Day Workweek Experiments Fail (and How to Make Yours Stick)

Benjamin Laker and Chidiebere Ogbonnaya

Success in adapting to a four-day workweek lies in execution. These strategies can help smooth the transition.

sloanreview.mit.edu/article/four-day-workweek-make-it-stick

Outcomes and Objectives

How to make strategic planning stick: 3 tips for avoiding common pitfalls

Jackie Colburn

Strategic planning sessions often feel like a breakthrough — big ideas are mapped out, goals are set, and your team leaves feeling…

jackiecolburn.medium.com/how-to-make-strategic-planning-stick-3-tips-for-avoiding-common-pitfalls-38dde5cf994e

Other Things

Responsible-ish GenAI dos and don’ts: text edition

Rachel Coldicutt

Seven things to bear in mind and three responsible-ish AI strategies

www.careful.industries/blog/2025-4-responsible-ish-genai-dos-and-donts-text-edition

The AI engineering curriculum

Scott Carey

A reading list to help understand the impact AI coding tools are having on software engineering.

leaddev.com/leadership/the-ai-engineering-curriculum