Know Your Team
Every few weeks, I ask one question to a founder, CEO, manager, or business owner I respectâŚ
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The Heartbeat Podcast: A chat with Chip Conley
Listen to the podcast and read the transcript of the interview here.
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What Iâve been writing lately
How to build social connection in a remote team
âAccording to a survey we ran this past fall with 297 remote managers
and employees, âfostering a sense of connection without a shared
locationâ was seen as the #1 most difficult part of being a remote
manager â and the #1 most difficult part of working remotely, in
general.â
The 9 best interview questions to ask according to 1,000+ managers
âYou only have one hour with this person, so you need to decide: What are the best interview questions to ask them?â
What Iâve been reading lately
Why the Most Productive People Donât Always Make the Best Managers
âNearly one-quarter (23%) of the leaders who are in the top quartile on
productivity are below the top quartile on these six leadership-oriented
skills. So, the odds are that one out of four times a person is
promoted to a leadership position because of their outstanding
productivity, they will end up being a less effective leader than
expected.â Written by Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman, Harvard Business Review
Goals Gone Wild: The Systematic Side Effects of Over-Prescribing Goal Setting
âAdvocates of goal setting have had a substantial impact on research,
management education, and management practice. In this article, we argue
that the beneficial effects of goal setting have been overstated and
that systematic harm caused by goal setting has been largely ignored. We
identify specific side effects associated with goal setting, including a
narrow focus that neglects non-goal areas, a rise in unethical
behavior, distorted risk preferences, corrosion of organizational
culture, and reduced intrinsic motivation.â Written by Lisa D. Ordóùez, Maurice E. Schweitzer, Adam D. Galinsky, and Max H. Bazerman
Why Teams Still Need Leaders
âHierarchy does not have to mean less autonomy. For example, when I talk
to the CEOs of companies doing really well with a remote-work model â
Iâm thinking about Automattic, which owns WordPress, or 10up, a
successful web-design company â they emphasize the need for structure.
In practice, this means that they put much more effort into coordinating
how people work together than other companies. They formalize role
descriptions and onboarding better, and theyâre more intentional and
specific in their recruiting and hiring.â Lindred (Lindy) Greer, interviewed by Frieda Klotz, MIT Sloan Management Review
Develop better leadership habits to thrive in an age of information overload
âInstead of reducing things to an either/or disposition, which can
create false and anxiety-provoking dilemmas, dialectical thinking
embraces a combination of this and that. Itâs a mind-set that widens the
aperture and considers opposing views not as incompatible, but as
potential source material for new and unexpected combinations of ideas
and insights. Without this bridge making embedded into your thinking,
youâre left with limiting choices.â Written by Jesse Sostrin, strategy + business
A handy leadership tip
From our online leadership community of 1,000+ managers in The Watercooler in Know Your TeamâŚ
How to give feedback to team member who isnât your direct report
- Worth having a joint meeting with you, the other director and the employee, if you havenât already.
- Anchor feedback around organizational desired outcome you both want: What do you both what the project outcome to be? What do you want the organizational outcome to be?
- Have you and/or their direct manager be more direct and candid. E.g., âWeâve spoken several times and I felt we had a common understanding yet we are still consistently experiencing the issues weâve talked about. Why is that?â
- Try asking open-ended questions (i.e., something other than yes/no) to the problematic colleague to see if their view of reality (or your expectations of them) match yours.
- Ask the team member what they would do to resolve the issue if they were in your position.
- Seek to build a foundation of trust. Try approaching the person with intent to learn more about them. You may be surprised with what you learn. Often itâs great additional perspective that you may not currently have. Your act of listening will pave the first pieces of that trust foundation.
Just for fun
Artist Tom Sachs Teaches Us How to Learn How to Surf
I started surfing more recently, and this piece has been a lovely companion.
