There is no narrative arc more dystopian than insecure people with power and limited accountability. Our tiny headlamp in an otherwise pitch black situation starts with the idea that work can be better.

NewsletterJohnathan NightingaleDecember 11, 2024Melissa Nightingale, Johnathan Nightingale, Raw Signal Group, RSG, Worlds Best Newsletter, Management, Leadership, Management Training, Leadership Training, reflection, power, psychological safety, culture, values, uncertainty, goals

I do not think it means what you think it means

Attaching the word performance to something doesn't automatically make it a good idea. In fact, most of the time when we see performance initiatives announced, they have the opposite of their stated intent.

True power lies elsewhere

A lot of stuff lives in the "about work and not about work at the same time" bucket. Turns out that organizing humans around complex tasks is messy.

This is not a democracy

There was a hard call to be made. And Jeff made it. That's not abnormal. Jeff makes a lot of hard calls. He has trained his whole life for just this moment. And this one just went very badly.

NewsletterJohnathan NightingaleOctober 30, 2024Melissa Nightingale, Johnathan Nightingale, Raw Signal Group, RSG, Worlds Best Newsletter, Management, Leadership, Management Training, Leadership Training, reflection, power, psychological safety, change, culture, accountability, values

Nice, nice, very nice

The longer you're in a culture of niceness and side-channels and things left unsaid, the more you have to wonder about the conversations happening out of earshot.

NewsletterJohnathan NightingaleOctober 16, 2024Melissa Nightingale, Johnathan Nightingale, Raw Signal Group, RSG, Worlds Best Newsletter, Management, Leadership, Management Training, Leadership Training, reflection, power, psychological safety, change, culture, feedback

Power-posing in the driver's seat

"Don't worry, we have a slackbot that does weekly micro-learning prompts on how to use the brakes" is a transparently bad idea.

NewsletterJohnathan NightingaleOctober 2, 2024Melissa Nightingale, Johnathan Nightingale, Raw Signal Group, RSG, Worlds Best Newsletter, Management, Leadership, Management Training, Leadership Training, reflection, power, psychological safety, uncertainty

What did they say when you told them?

You're just reminding them that it's a fair expectation that they would try to resolve it directly.

NewsletterJohnathan NightingaleAugust 7, 2024Melissa Nightingale, Johnathan Nightingale, Raw Signal Group, RSG, Worlds Best Newsletter, Management, Leadership, Management Training, Leadership Training, reflection, psychological safety, uncertainty, accountability, feedback, culture, values, connection

Announced on Sunday, handed off on Sunday

The path to better succession planning starts with taking a moment to reflect.

NewsletterJohnathan NightingaleJuly 24, 2024Melissa Nightingale, Johnathan Nightingale, Raw Signal Group, RSG, Worlds Best Newsletter, Management, Leadership, Management Training, Leadership Training, reflection, business strategy, leading through uncertainty, flexibility, psychological safety, uncertainty, accountability

I don't really have anything this week

There's a difference between surviving and thriving.

NewsletterJohnathan NightingaleMay 29, 2024Melissa Nightingale, Johnathan Nightingale, Raw Signal Group, RSG, Worlds Best Newsletter, Management, Leadership, Management Training, Leadership Training, accountability, change, power, psychological safety, culture, connection, future of work

Was the Future of Work a ZIRP?

You can feel lucky to have a job and still want your work to have reasonable hours, pay equity, and the flexibility to deal with family matters on a Wednesday afternoon.

NewsletterJohnathan NightingaleMay 15, 2024Melissa Nightingale, Johnathan Nightingale, Raw Signal Group, RSG, Worlds Best Newsletter, Management, Leadership, Management Training, Leadership Training, reflection, accountability, uncertainty, change, org chart, power, leading through uncertainty, psychological safety

Find the through-line or make one

"How do I set goals without a strategy?" Or "How do I get my team working on the right things, when no one has told me what the right things are?"

NewsletterJohnathan NightingaleMay 1, 2024Melissa Nightingale, Johnathan Nightingale, Raw Signal Group, RSG, Worlds Best Newsletter, Management, Leadership, Management Training, Leadership Training, reflection, accountability, uncertainty, change, org chart, power, leading through uncertainty, psychological safety

The workplace fight worth having

Policy can be a tool for that care when it's built thoughtfully, and when it evolves with the needs of your people.

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.

Sorry I'm getting kicked out of this room

If we want to understand the nagging sense, the underlying frustration, the thing that's screaming in blinky red lights. We're gonna have to say it out loud.

Thanks but no thanks

Sometimes humans really do need a reality check, that's fair. But if you're going to reality check someone, we suggest starting with the manager in the mirror.

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.

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