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

When someone tells you there are only two types of leaders

The number one rule of leadership development is that there’s no growth without reflection. So come sit a spell and let’s reflect. How’s that two-shapes-of-humans theory actually playing out?

NewsletterJohnathan NightingaleSeptember 18, 2024Melissa Nightingale, Johnathan Nightingale, Raw Signal Group, RSG, Worlds Best Newsletter, Management, Leadership, Management Training, Leadership Training, reflection, culture, values, future of work

Lower your expectations

We have been to a lot of corporate all-hands, gatherings, conferences, and un-conferences. Some of them have been incredibly well-run. Some of them have been a rolling shit-show. But holy shit what if you did this?

NewsletterJohnathan NightingaleSeptember 4, 2024Melissa Nightingale, Johnathan Nightingale, Raw Signal Group, RSG, Worlds Best Newsletter, Management, Leadership, Management Training, Leadership Training, reflection, culture, values, connection, future of work, community, COVID-19, happiness

Okay, call it a come back

There is some design work to do if we want to build new connections, and rebuild the ones we miss.

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

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.

Everyone's favourite face tattoo

The neat part about client-ready and exec-ready hides in the 3000 words behind the hyphenation.

NewsletterJohnathan NightingaleMarch 20, 2024Melissa Nightingale, Johnathan Nightingale, Raw Signal Group, RSG, Worlds Best Newsletter, Management, Leadership, Management Training, Leadership Training, change, reflection, culture, accountability, values

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 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.