Posts from Awesome Folks #80

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

Author

Emily Webber
October 13, 2023

Hello folks,

I have been thinking a lot this week about habits. Mostly because I am trying to rebuild my running habit that has slipped a bit recently. I would like to get back to a place where I don’t have to think too hard about it being part of my routine. I am getting there and back to enjoying it.

It has also reminded me of how much I dislike the use of the work ceremonies when it comes to regular things that agile teams do; when people use that term, it makes me flinch a little. Here’s a short post I wrote about this a while ago called Why I’m going to stop saying agile ceremonies.

So here’s to building helpful habits.

Happy Friday, and enjoy this week’s posts.

Emily

People and Culture

Research: Can You Tell How You Come Across on Zoom?

By Hasagani Tissera and Marie-Catherine Mignault

If you want to make a good impression and gauge what a colleague actually thinks of you, should you meet in-person or over videoconference? This is the question the authors explored in their research.

hbr.org/2023/10/research-can-you-tell-how-you-come-across-on-zoom

TBM 245: True Empowerment

By John Cutler

There's a fine line between empowerment and absolving oneself of responsibility. Effective delegation is a key leadership skill. The key is discerning when delegation is used to empower others and get things done (and get out of the way) versus when we use it to avoid responsibility.

cutlefish.substack.com/p/tbm-245-true-empowerment

Help Your Employees Develop the Skills They Really Need

By Greg Satell, Abhijit Bhaduri, and Todd McLees

The future of work will not be determined by technology, but by creating the right mix of education, exposure, and experience needed to develop skills and put them to work, creating a vastly more productive workplace and economy.

hbr.org/2023/10/help-your-employees-develop-the-skills-they-really-need

The CEO’s New Shoes: Maintaining Culture In A Rapidly-Scaling Business

By Emily Sheen

Practical suggestions on how to shape, articulate, and maintain culture at key touchpoints along your growth journey.

peoplemanagingpeople.com/culture/workplace/maintaining-culture-scaling

Organisations and Systems

How to Avoid the Unexpected Consequences of Your DEI Policy

By Vanessa M. Conzon

Will the DEI policy you’re about to implement actually hurt some of the people you’re trying to help? New research on this question shows that, yes, this can happen if you fail to take a systems-level view — but the good news is there are three key ways to avoid unintended consequences.

hbr.org/2023/10/how-to-avoid-the-unexpected-consequences-of-your-dei-policy

CrossFunctional-Collaboration: Challenges and Strategies for Success

By Tim Neusesser

To improve crossfunctional collaboration, UX teams must be aware of the challenges they face and develop tailored solutions for each unique challenge.

www.nngroup.com/articles/ux-collaboration-challenges

Outcomes and Objectives

What Is Technical Debt (And Do You Have Too Much?)

By Clement Kao

Got tech debt? We answer the question 'what is technical debt?' along with strategies for using, measuring, and "paying back" tech debt.

theproductmanager.com/topics/what-is-technical-debt

Facilitation and Decisions

First Think It, Then Ink It! (reposted) - Training from the BACK of the Room! (TBR)

By Sharon Bowman

You’ve just delivered some important content via a lecture to a class of adult learners. You want them to remember the content, so how do you help them do just that? Here are three quick ways to ensure that your adult learners will remember what you’ve taught them. Stop lecturing. After a moment of silence, instruct your learners to

bowperson.com/2023/10/first-think-it-then-ink-it-resposted

Steal these guidelines for your next meeting

By Jackie Colburn

Earlier this year, I polled my LinkedIn community and learned that most facilitators’ biggest fear during workshops is managing unruly or…

jackiecolburn.medium.com/steal-these-guidelines-for-your-next-meeting-dab36291c17b