Building the foundations for teams to exceed expectation In my experience, there are two characteristics to a successful team reflection session: The team learns something new about themselves The team did not expect to learn that thing. In their most recent retrospective, a software development team I coach was interrogating their reflection that they are communicating well, and…

Your strategy is out of date from the moment you complete it. So would it follow that an effective strategy is one that isn’t complete? — Penguins have a tough job to do in a harsh and unforgiving environment. They survive and succeed by making behavioural and structural adaptations. Behaviourally, they survive winter storms by combining the body heat of the community, and tens of thousands of them may huddle together for warmth. Structurally, they have…

I’m a staunch advocate of the practice of reflection. The benefits are extraordinary: greater ability in sense making; developing a better understanding of yourself and others; recognising connections between people and practices; creating and maintaining space and reducing cognitive load. It can be easy to drop it in times of…

A foundation for your team’s success is the starting point for your own. You’re in your first management role, and there is no shortage of advice available to you. Stop being a friend, start being a leader. Dress for the role. Build relationships with everyone around you. Be productive. Inspire…

How do we make plans that can succeed in an out of control world? — As 2022 begins, we live in a chaotic world. And we make our worlds even more chaotic by trying to impose order. I resolve to do this. I will achieve that. “This will be my year.” Can we really do this with willpower alone? That disorder, or lack of definition…

How I coach team members who are struggling with focus — I am now, as I have been for the last week, blocked. I’m stuck. I can’t get started. I have no plan. I have no idea what this article will be about. I don’t know how, when, or if I’ll be able to publish it. I am devoid of any…

Feedback is most valuable when it’s difficult to hear. Three actions to create better relationships for feedback. — We all want to improve. Intentionally or otherwise, we do this by experimentation. We take new actions or try different methods to see if our outcomes improve. One of the key ways we measure that improvement is by external feedback. …

Three actions to ensure we keep talking about capability — I was asked last week to provide a reference for a former team member. I enjoy putting these together — when we work together every day our conversations tend to focus more on output and ‘performance’. Those themes also tend to dominate internal review processes in a lot of organisations…