Category: Team Building
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Culture needs a foundation to build on
We talk about culture a lot, in books, talks, meetings, it’s a major focus area for companies. We start initiatives to build our culture but, at the same time, we want to let the culture grow organically through the people. For this to happen there has to be a solid foundation for the people to…
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Video: the drastic effects of incivility
incivility – rude or unsociable speech or behaviour. This 15 minute TED talk by Christine Porath explains how incivility can have drastic effects on the teams and culture. She shares some powerful research showing the true cost incivility has but also simple steps on how we can avoid it by thanking people, sharing credit, listening…
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Radical Candor – Quotes and Thoughts
Radical Candor by Kim Scott is one of my top recommended reads for leaders. For any leader or those aspiring to be it’s packed with great advice around building relationships and should challenge or direct how we do things. This blog is simply to highlight some of the areas that jumped out at me so…
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Recommended Reading – July 2018
Some blogs I recommend reading from this month… How to Manage an Employee Who’s Having a Personal Crisis Whether we like it or not people in our teams will go through difficult times, this covers good points for supporting those people in the right way. The 4 questions you should stop asking during your one-on-one…
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Mentorship: 3 approaches and who really benefits
Mentoring can be wide-ranging from offering guidance to advice and support. Approaches can vary, from the very informal to a fully documented structured program. Different approaches have their merits, the correct one will depend on the goal of the mentorship and the people involved. It could be said that any approach is better than none,…
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What does it take to be a tech manager?
When I first became a tech manager it was an exciting time, I knew it would be a challenge and was ready to go! I quickly realized management is not something a two-day training course can really prepare you for but I had one thing going for me, I knew I wanted to be a…
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Tell me what’s wrong with this plan
Imagine being in a team when the manager gets you all together to present a plan for a new project starting in a few weeks. It doesn’t have to be a software project, it could be anything. The plan includes the vision for the project, timescales, and people’s names against areas of work. After a…
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Adjusting for people with different needs
We all have needs and many of these are unique, this is what makes working with people intriguing. Some needs are obvious, others are closely guarded secrets, and more we don’t even know ourselves! As leader’s we have to make every effort to understand the needs of the people in our teams and adjust our…
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To praise, or not to praise: that is the question!
The desire to praise people or teams should be firmly rooted in the mind of every leader. When someone does good work or puts extra effort in for the team it feels natural to praise them for it. I wouldn’t want anyone to think their effort has gone unnoticed. HBR’s blog – The Easiest Thing…