I've never met a leader who hasn't learned to adapt their speech, mannerisms, focus on detail, and other aspects of their leadership style based on the situation they're in. A classic example is managing up often looks quite different from managing d...

I can't remember when there wasn't some emphasis on participating in a team—starting back in college when our assignments moved from individual to team assignments and continuing into every single job I've had since. Even when moving into consulting,...

So a lot of us are at home and adjusting while there is also much uncertainty in what the future holds. There’s a small idea that I want to offer as we get through these changes right now and in your career. Working From Home For everyone working fro...

Okay, so I’m old. I’ll be forty in two years, and writing that is enough to put me in my place. At the same time, I’m experiencing a lot of imposter syndrome in similar ways when I’ve started my career or transitioned to new ones. What’s going on? We...

Since teams, or something parading around with that word, are the norm in most companies, let’s talk about some qualities of teams and contrast that to what exists instead. That way, we know the difference we’re aiming for and how to spot it. Good: T...

I wrote an article last week about the [Theory of Constraints]({% post_url 2022-06-16-thinking-on-the-theory-of-constraints %}). In particular, I highlighted how variability is probably the biggest enemy you have to a method like that working. So in...

At some point in one’s career in tech, you’ll wind up leading a meeting and need people to take part in some facilitation activity. That might be a retrospective or an activity where you hold a vote. If you’ve ever felt awkward introducing the activi...

Team is one of those words that gets thrown around a lot and sadly often means individuals assigned to work in close proximity. Since I specialize in building teams, I have a very different definition. Teams are a collection of folks who have traded...

Some time ago, I was on a coaching call, and I noticed that they were getting frustrated as they talked more and more about all the work they weren’t getting done. I remarked that they seemed to be frustrated, and they then expressed that they keep p...

The adjustment to everyone working remotely continues, and companies everywhere are experiencing a lot of hard decisions as their main lines of business are interrupted. My clients and others I know are reporting layoffs, furloughs, and other work in...