More opinion
Covid-19 and the hazards of experts
Rod Collins
Rather than simply a public health crisis, the Covid-19 pandemic is a social system crisis that demands solutions based on the evidence of data, rather than simplistic responses based on the opinions of experts.
Three ways to plan for an uncertain future
James Berry
In today's troubled times, even the most successful business can find itself in difficulty. So how can businesses plan for an uncertain future?
Old habits die hard, new habits die easy
Max McKeown
Habits are efficient. Without them, we would need to find a response to every situation no matter how many times we had experienced it before. But how do you change an old habit or create a new one?
Don’t confuse task completion with productivity
Wayne Turmel
People who work remotely often claim to be ‘more productive’. But productivity is a long-term measurement that means more than just getting more tasks finished in a given time period.
Managing the new era of flexible working
Fred Krieger
In the post-Covid era of flexible work, physical and remote workspaces will coexist. But the question is: how can this fragmented set-up be effectively managed?
Make your people part of the solution, even virtually
Matthew Handley
This year has presented companies with a series of seemingly insurmountable problems. But those that find ways to engage their employees in the design of solutions are likely to rise above the adversity.
The difference between a mob and a crowd
Rod Collins
How is it that sometimes when we come together in groups, we are extraordinarily brilliant, but at other times we are incredibly dumb? The answer is the difference between collective intelligence and groupthink.
The four obstacles to corporate innovation
Michael Ellenby
There are four main obstacles to corporate innovation that can stifle the potential of organisations of all sizes. Understanding how to overcome them is key to a healthy future for every business.
We’re in a crisis! Why can’t we all just get along?
David Livermore
Even faced by a global pandemic, we don't seem able to bridge our tribal divides and leverage our differences to find solutions, rather than using them to further destroy us.
Get out of the way!
Duane Dike
Barriers to productivity are many and varied, but the vast majority of them are by-products of the destructive attitudes and behaviors of leaders.
Mission first, people always
Gary Burnison
During this crisis, it is people who will be the ultimate differentiator. And leading means meeting people where they are, because that's the only way to convert self-interest to shared interest.
Leadership in a networked world: from chess master to gardener
Rod Collins
Command-and-control management assumes that social systems work like machines. But they don’t. So in today’s networked world, leadership is less about playing chess and more about becoming a gardener.
Be prepared: planning for a return to the workplace
Joanna Strahan
Businesses can't simply re-open after the lockdown as if nothing has happened. Planning is the key to managing the back to work transition, and those plans need to address a number of fundamental questions.
Seven ways leaders can prepare for post-pandemic times
Manfred Kets De Vries
Only by avoiding knee-jerk reactions will organisations emerge from the coronavirus pandemic re-energised and prepared to face the future.
Don't use technology as an excuse for bad management
Wayne Turmel
When it comes to managing a remote team, technology is not a communication problem. So stop blaming the tools if you chose the wrong one for the wrong reason.
Getting back to the office after lockdown
Andrew Parker
How should organisations transition teams back to the office once lockdown measures are eased? Here's how one employer is approaching a return to the ‘new normal’ and the factors that need to be considered.
The COVID era calls for a brand of leadership we have seen before
Christos Tsolkas
What kind of leader do you need to be in a crisis? Just as there are different kinds of crises, so there are different kinds of leadership. So what approach to leadership is called for now with COVID-19?
Honest feedback can make you a better leader
Jim Barnett
We humans are often very poor at self-awareness. But anyone who sees themselves as a leader can’t afford to be complacent, and emerging leaders in particular need honest feedback.
Remote working in the post-pandemic world
Jan Schwarz
When the coronavirus pandemic is over, many businesses will have to decide if, when and how they will bring employees back to the office, or whether they will keep encouraging staff to work from home.
Open questions, open communication
Wayne Turmel
Working remotely, we miss the non-verbal signals we see when working face-to-face. That's why asking open questions is one of the most critical skills the manager of a remote team can possess.
Will employment litigation derail recovery?
Alan Jenkins
It’s all very well governments wanting to get people back to work. But if employers risk litigation or prosecution if staff contract COVID-19, many will conclude that it simply isn’t worth the risk of re-opening.
A formula for trust
John Blakey
Academics have been arguing for years about what makes a leader trustworthy, but it can really be boiled down to three clear attributes: ability, integrity and benevolence.
Data, information and webmeetings
Wayne Turmel
Turning raw data into meaningful information is a key part of a manager's job. And smart managers know that webinars or videoconferencing tools can help translate one into the other.
Breakthrough innovation and corporate antibodies
Rod Collins
If companies want to be on the leading edge of breakthrough innovation, they have to neutralize the corporate antibodies that try to kill any new ideas that threaten the status quo.
Boost morale with a virtual event
Craig Bulow
Even if summer away-days and team-building events are off the agenda for the moment, there are still ways you can boost your team’s wellbeing and morale with in-person events that you can do remotely.
Snip those email threads!
Wayne Turmel
if there’s one complaint everyone has about communicating with their teammates it's long email threads - you know, the ones that start as a simple request for information and grow like a virus.
That furloughed feeling
Rhys Moon
Understanding how furloughed employees feel about the situation they're in gives an insight into what employers and managers can do to help individuals and the organisation as a whole.
Beyond the disruption of COVID-19
Tim Hood
For businesses that are reliant on manual processes that require people and paper to be physically together in one space, the COVID-19 pandemic is posing some fundamental challenges.
Reacting vs responding
Wayne Turmel
Do you interrupt what you're doing to read incoming emails? Do you hit “reply all” when you probably shouldn’t? Too often, we react rather than respond. And that can lead to trouble, especially for managers.
Let’s ditch self-improvement and focus on effective cooperation
Ab Banerjee
Many popular management theories focus too heavily on the cult of the individual and giving feedback at any cost. Instead, we need to think more about collective performance and adopt a cooperation mind-set.
Office politics when you're not in an office
Wayne Turmel
People who work remotely often view the absence of office politics as a real plus. But they’re wrong. Understanding organizational and inter-personal dynamics is a critical part of that thing called ‘work’.
Recent Podcasts
And some more
The importance of purpose in motivating your people
Marybeth Belka
One of the biggest lessons from the coronavirus pandemic has been that incredible feats can be accomplished when leaders share a sense of purpose.
Do you run meetings or lead them?
Wayne Turmel
Why do some online meetings get the job done, while others don't? The difference is that successful meetings need to be led - and there is a huge difference between running a meeting and leading one.
Mental wellbeing for leaders and managers
Christine Macdonald
Working in a leadership or management role can be trying at the best of times. But in the uncertain period we find ourselves in at present, the pressures can sometimes seem overwhelming.
Five ways to derail your remote meeting
Wayne Turmel
One reason video conferences and webmeetings often feel like a bit of a train wreck is because they tend to get off to a bad start. Here are the main things that derail virtual meetings and how you can avoid them.
What will life be like after the pandemic?
Manfred Kets De Vries
What is the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic going to look like? Will we go back to normal? Will we even want to? Or will the crisis invite us to rethink our future?
How to thrive while working from home
Tony Anticole
Despite its many benefits, many of us are also discovering the downsides of remote working and being physically distant from colleagues.
Five reasons remote teams fail
Wayne Turmel
Many managers are now discovering that leading a remote team isn’t that different to leading a co-located one. But they do have to re-think how they do certain things. Here are five ways you can get that wrong.
Mission first, people always
Gary Burnison
During this crisis, it is people who will be the ultimate differentiator. And leading means meeting people where they are, because that's the only way to convert self-interest to shared interest.
How do you manage distributed workers?
Rod Collins
As many managers are now discovering, traditional management isn’t designed for a remote workforce. Instead, we need to make a rapid shift from centralized command-and-control structures into highly adaptive distributed networks.
And still more...
Scenario planning: the time is now
James M. Kerr
As business leaders try to figure out how to stay afloat, it's important not to confuse scenario planning with business continuity planning. The two are not the same.
Leveraging the gift of crisis
Christos Tsolkas
The unforeseen arrival of the coronavirus means that all the rules of business have suddenly changed. Preparing for eventualities that were once unthinkable demands radical innovation - and in that sense, at least, a crisis can be a gift.
How businesses act in the face of adversity will shape their future
Jane Rexworthy
How organisations behave towards their stakeholders - their staff, their customers and the communities within which they operate - during the coronavirus crisis will not be forgotten after the pandemic is over.
Key skills for virtual leaders
Wayne Turmel
Suddenly finding yourself sitting at home leading a virtual team is a tough call, particularly with everything else that's going on in the world. So here are seven key behaviors that will make the task of virtual working much easier.
How to manage employees remotely
Hannah Prince
Thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, working from home is now the new normal. But for managers unused to remote team working , this will pose some serious challenges.
I think differently and that's OK
James M. Kerr
Conventional wisdom says that firms need access to experts from their industry to help them develop strategies that will separate them from the competition. But in reality, nothing can be further from the truth!
Collaborative technologies and the Coronavirus crisis
Sébastien Ricard
With the global spread of Coronavirus, how can companies leverage the digital workplace to keep employees safe, limit the loss of productivity and adapt work practices successfully during the crisis?
How different is leading remotely?
Wayne Turmel
If you've never led a remote team and you're worried about how you might cope if the Coronavirus puts you in that position, fear not. For a competent team leader, the differences aren't as great as you might think.
Managing in the Wiki World
Rod Collins
With the rapid emergence of the Digital Age, top-down, command-and-control management has had its day. Instead, today's organisations need to leverage collective intelligence and shared understanding.
Improve strategic alignment through better metrics
James M. Kerr
People pay attention to what they’re measured by. So the best way to get a behavior change is to measure to the new behavior intended to be instituted.
Seven characteristics of remarkable businesses
Andy Hanselman
What makes a business remarkable? What gets people talking about it and recommending it to others? The simple answer is that they are dramatically and demonstrably different.
There’s nothing soft about the heart
Wayne Turmel
Every animal depends on its heart for its existence. And exactly the same is true of an organization, except that rather than a multi-chambered muscle, an organization relies on leadership, managers and flows of information.
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