Hovering over decline and clicking accept
February 10, 2021
The truth about most calendar-run organizations is that calendars are law. If it’s on the calendar, it’s real. And if it’s empty, it’s up for grabs.
Archives
If there’s light at the end of the tunnel, why is it still so dark?
January 27, 2021
Maybe this is you and maybe it isn’t. But if you’re leading a team, understand that many of your people are doing this. And if so, here are some things you can do to help.
Who tells you no?
January 13, 2021
Psychological safety isn’t a workplace full of snowflakes who are too sensitive to get real feedback. It’s not about coddling your people. And it’s expressly not about avoiding hard conversations.Psychological safety is the opposite of that. It’s, “I know what’s expected of me.”
Has your eye stopped twitching yet?
December 30, 2020
Thank you for 2020. Thank you for forwarding our stuff, and writing us to tell us when it hit. We’re trying to make work better for people because we think it’s possible and worthy and important.
It’s not rest if you can’t sleep
December 16, 2020
The bosses we know don’t rest very well while their team is in chaos. And many times the people on their teams don’t rest, either. Goals are hard work, we know. But they are how we buy ourselves some clarity. And for us, at least, clarity is what lets the rest actually happen.
Evidence-based hope
December 2, 2020
We talk about power head on. And what it means to be the people who control how work feels. What an awesome responsibility it is. And what happens when leaders fall short. We don’t let them pretend it away. We sit in the discomfort of the thing. And that’s where our hope comes from.
But we’re being really careful
November 18, 2020
This week in particular we need you using your sway in the organization to make structural change. We need you managing up and across. Whatever’s on that list is going to need action, if your people and your organization are going to make it through winter in one piece.
Read this first
November 4, 2020
This is a week to reach for empathy before accountability. Not because accountability doesn’t matter. But because you’re at risk of mistaking hurt humans for bad employees. That’s a mistake we don’t want you to make.
Is it okay if I eat while we talk?
October 21, 2020
We’re asking our brains to do a lot of work right now. We’re doing our day jobs, caretaking, feeding ourselves, figuring out voting, trying to keep track of the latest public health guidelines, R (and also k), and waiting for updates from the vaccine trials.
Companies don’t make decisions, people do
October 7, 2020
So on the one hand, you have employees agitating for a more complete view of how their employers’ activities impact the world. And on the other you have CEOs hoping that no one will notice those impacts.
How to quit your job during a pandemic
September 23, 2020
If you don’t need to quit during a pandemic, this one isn’t for you. The rest of you who are still here, welcome. This is the unofficial guide for how to quit your job during a pandemic.
262,800 minutes
September 9, 2020
What’s the opposite of social distance? It’s not social closeness. It’s social spontaneity. Those serendipitous moments of inspiration and collaboration. Those happen most when humans are in close proximity to other humans.
Build Something Better
Subscribe to our free, biweekly newsletter