Even better than inbox zero

Not all months are created equal. And July, in particular, is a gift for many orgs if you're able to grab it.

NewsletterJohnathan NightingaleJuly 10, 2024Melissa Nightingale, Johnathan Nightingale, Raw Signal Group, RSG, Worlds Best Newsletter, Management, Leadership, Management Training, Leadership Training, goals, reflection, performance, business strategy, startup

Whose job is it?

Folks are quick to say, "I'm not actively looking. I'm happy where I am. I feel lucky to have a job. But..."

NewsletterJohnathan NightingaleFebruary 7, 2024Melissa Nightingale, Johnathan Nightingale, Raw Signal Group, RSG, Worlds Best Newsletter, Management, Leadership, Management Training, Leadership Training, flexibility, performance, change, accountability, reflection, leading through uncertainty

You already know how your year is going

So much of being an effective operator is noticing problems early, because groups react differently to problems early on.

NewsletterJohnathan NightingaleJanuary 24, 2024Melissa Nightingale, Johnathan Nightingale, Raw Signal Group, RSG, Worlds Best Newsletter, Management, Leadership, Management Training, Leadership Training, flexibility, performance, change, accountability, reflection, leading through uncertainty

Director means something

And pretending it's a title or a pay bump without a new set of responsibilities is a disservice to everyone.

NewsletterJohnathan NightingaleJanuary 10, 2024Melissa Nightingale, Johnathan Nightingale, Raw Signal Group, RSG, Worlds Best Newsletter, Management, Leadership, Management Training, Leadership Training, flexibility, performance, change, org chart, accountability

If it's urgent, call my cell

We tell bosses that if they choose management as a career, every aspect of the human condition will at some point show up for someone they manage.

What to do with a gift you can't return

That sad, not particularly thoughtful gift with your name on it? That's how many people experience performance review season.

NewsletterJohnathan NightingaleDecember 13, 2023Melissa Nightingale, Johnathan Nightingale, Raw Signal Group, RSG, Worlds Best Newsletter, Management, Leadership, Management Training, Leadership Training, reflection, flexibility, performance, layoffs, power, managing up, feedback

I'll call you from the car

The important decisions you'll make as a boss — or a human — need to be made in the midst of very loud and poorly-timed chaos.

Still uncool, but finally useful

A great performance review is not an evaluation conversation, it's an alignment conversation.

NewsletterJohnathan NightingaleNovember 15, 2023Melissa Nightingale, Johnathan Nightingale, Raw Signal Group, RSG, Worlds Best Newsletter, Management, Leadership, Management Training, Leadership Training, reflection, flexibility, psychological safety, change, uncertainty, performance, goals, accountability

What to do with the muchness

Either, we're running as fast as we can toward clear targets. Or we're running as fast as we can without clear targets.

Day-to-day management in a polycrisis

Yours can be a team where people's humanity has space to coexist with, and even outrank, their productivity. It's worth building that. We're all going to need it.

What to do when everyone's eyebrows are glowing

You can't outsource interpersonal connection to the interns, and your team can't outsource it to you.

Is anyone ever ready for leadership?

One of the best, most leveraged, most impactful things you can do as a leader is to grow new, excellent leaders.

The future of work is in pieces

When we talk with bosses about their work today, we don't hear about commutes. We don't hear about summer hours, or four-day-work-weeks, either.

Hot goal summer

The opportunity in July (or whenever your mid-year review period lands) is to go back to the whole point of the exercise.

NewsletterJohnathan NightingaleJuly 26, 2023Melissa Nightingale, Johnathan Nightingale, Raw Signal Group, RSG, Worlds Best Newsletter, Management, Leadership, Management Training, Leadership Training, accountability, reflection, flexibility, power, performance, goals, psychological safety, business strategy

Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right

How do you know? How is it that you can listen to someone talk about work and consistently know what's going to happen next?

You don't have a culture problem, you have a management problem

Culture handbooks don't produce culture, people do.

NewsletterJohnathan NightingaleJune 14, 2023Melissa Nightingale, Johnathan Nightingale, Raw Signal Group, RSG, Worlds Best Newsletter, Management, Leadership, Management Training, Leadership Training, performance, accountability, values, culture, reflection

The stuff at the bottom of the to-do list

Your team might need better process as you scale. But do they really need you to write a bunch of documentation that you hate, and that they won't read?

NewsletterJohnathan NightingaleMay 31, 2023Melissa Nightingale, Johnathan Nightingale, Raw Signal Group, RSG, Worlds Best Newsletter, Management, Leadership, Management Training, Leadership Training, performance, accountability, values

Standing alone at a cocktail party

So much of the hard work of management is unsexy. Unglamorous. It is a grind, and often thankless. And nowhere is this more true than in performance reviews.