Posts from Awesome Folks #71

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

Author

Emily Webber
July 28, 2023

Hello folks,

I scribbled a quick flow chart in 2018 to describe some frustration I was feeling over the use of the word “resources” and tweeted it out. Every now and then, that tweet gets a flurry of interaction, and this is one of those weeks, so I thought I’d share it here.

People don’t like being called resources; it dehumanises them and suggests they are interchangeable. Calling anything else resources creates ambiguity and is confusing.

I’d hear people say things like, “We can’t start this piece of work; we don’t have enough resources”. What does that mean? Money, people, time, chairs, pens? You can’t solve that problem when you don’t know what it is.

I also turned that tweet into some stickers, which you can download to pring here, and a click-through guide that you can find here.

A good reminder to be clear, be kind. Language matters

Enjoy this week’s posts, and happy Friday.

Emily

People and Culture

Research: A Little Nature in the Office Boosts Morale and Productivity

Research on “micro-nature” — the incorporation of small, affordable natural elements into workplaces — demonstrates its positive impact on employee performance and well-being. Studies show exposure to nature at work boosted productivity, helpfulness, and creativity, with no evidence of negative effects.

By Anthony Klotz, Shawn McClean, and Pok Man Tang

hbr.org/2023/07/research-a-little-nature-in-the-office-boosts-morale-and-productivity

Finding a buddy when you’re a team of one

I’ve been working with the rad team at Fly.io for the past few months as a fractional VPE, mainly focusing on management-y and culture stuff as the team grows.

By Lara Hogan

larahogan.me/blog/find-a-buddy-team-of-one

How to Be a Purpose-Driven Leader Without Burning Out

The idea of servant leadership — putting your team’s needs ahead of your own — brought us to a more compassionate, human-centered work environment. But in today’s environment, it’s a recipe for burnout. Instead, the authors suggest a more impact-driven philosophy called “noble-purpose leadership,” that ties leaders and teammates to the pursuit of a shared goal that positively impacts constituents.

By Lisa Earle McLeod and Elizabeth Lotardo

hbr.org/2023/07/how-to-be-a-purpose-driven-leader-without-burning-out

Outcomes and Objectives

Growing an experiment-driven quality culture

Learn about the actionable steps you can take to achieve an outstanding quality culture via experimentation.

By Lisi Hocke

leaddev.com/process/growing-experiment-driven-quality-culture

OKR Pro Tip: Change the question you're asking

OKRs can be a big change. Reduce the risk by notching small wins. One way is by changing the questions you're asking. Here's how.

By Jeff Gothelf

jeffgothelf.com/blog/okr-pro-tip-change-the-question-you-are-asking

Team Approaches

Delivery at CYB: helping teams stay focused on outcomes

Ros Vaughan, CYB’s Associate Delivery Manager, writes about how best to keep teams on course to achieve agreed results

By Ros Vaughan

www.cautionyourblast.com/insights/delivery-at-cyb-helping-teams-stay-focused-on-outcomes

Building a prioritization framework

During key planning periods, it’s important for engineering managers to ruthlessly prioritize projects for their teams. Here are some frameworks to help you get there.

By Saimon Sharif

leaddev.com/process/building-prioritization-framework

3 Facilitation Techniques for Effective Group Decision Making

Helping teams make decisions can be a complex process when there are various group dynamics, cultural quirks, and political intricacies at…

By Jackie Colburn

productcoalition.com/3-facilitation-techniques-for-effective-group-decision-making-9215cd6aee11