— David J Bland (@davidjbland) April 9, 2015
Author: Designing WorkExperience
A provocation from HBR…
One reason why brainstorming meetings are a waste of time: social loafing http://t.co/Y3509np4IU pic.twitter.com/FLfdkOHRA3
— Harvard Biz Review (@HarvardBiz) March 27, 2015
but I agree with this user…it all depends on how you design your group session
@HarvardBiz Not a waste of time if you use a brainstorming framework & formal methodology! Generalizations like this are dangerous.
— Alexandra Fiorillo(@alexfiorillo) March 27, 2015
Categories
Leadership
SBS TV’s Insight delivered a great panel on leadership. My takeaways captured in favourite tweets here.
On purpose and direction and style
On knowing it all
Titles, signs of respect and cultural context
It’s lonely at the top
It’s not about rank or role … reminds me of the leadership ladder concept
And a since deleted tweet by @DavidReid1 (thank you Wayback machine) commented “If you are part of a team and you are making that team work better then you are a leader. It is not about rank or role.”
Hear hear to that.
To watch the episode in full head to SBS: https://www.sbs.com.au/news/insight/tvepisode/leadership
I am rather impressed as I’m working away in an open office environment, when I hear colleagues cite our company principles. And I should add they are cited sincerely, are being used to think about behaviour — not being used ironically.
I was reminded though of perhaps the most candid and abrupt corporate principle ever — Cut the Crap.
In 2002 the BBC CEO made a speech and a soccer style card:
I would also ask that people in every team in the BBC be it at Watchdog, Radio Leicester or outside broadcasts discuss how we make this place better, how we make it exciting, how do we ensure that the cynics and moaners in the organisation and they’re there in all big organisations are marginalized. In short how do we cut the crap and make it happen?
To help me I’ve had a yellow card printed which says on it “cut the crap and make it happen” which I plan to bring out at every meeting when someone is trying to stop a good idea rather than make it happen. We’ll send one to anyone who wants one.
The BBC is a pretty extraordinary and innovative media organisation. I guess it worked.
Read more:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/speeches/stories/dyke_makingithappen.shtml
http://www.theguardian.com/media/2002/feb/08/broadcasting.bbc
http://www.theguardian.com/media/2002/feb/07/broadcasting.bbc
image from https://newsmutt.wordpress.com/2011/11/17/cut-the-crap/
“… It’s a pretty good test and I think this rule has served me well.” — Mark Zuckerberg
From a Q & A session at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, read more at: www.news.com.au/finance/work/facebook-ceo-mark-zuckerberg-reveals-the-secret-to-getting-hired-by-him/story-e6frfm9r-1227249395211
Is there a downside to everyone being happy at work? Is conflict good or bad? Does hiring for cultural fit produce group think? A great summary over at HBR of what to consider if your goal is to foster a critically engaged team.
“… task conflicts produce better decisions and stronger financial outcomes. … Healthy debate encourages group members to think more deeply, scrutinize alternatives, and avoid premature consensus. While many of us view conflict as unpleasant, the experience of open deliberation can actually energizes employees by providing them with better strategies for doing their job.”
Read the rest and the top 5 tips at https://hbr.org/2015/03/5-myths-of-great-workplaces