I’m fond of saying, “If you don’t have authority, you’ve got to use influence.” Sounds great, right? But ‘influence’ is often hard to define in the workplace. What does it look like? And, more importantly, how…
If you’re wondering whether interruptions from colleagues have disappeared during the COVID-19 pandemic, rest assured, they have not. Ask just about anyone—those side conversations are still happening, whether you’re working remotely or onsite. Whether it’s a…
The number one most effective form of shareable job aid I have seen is the humble checklist. It’s a simple but powerful tool used from kindergarten classrooms to nuclear launch sites. And in a world of…
Attitude may be intangible, but it really matters. You cannot always control your feelings (nor should you necessarily try to). But feelings are on the inside. Attitude is what you show everyone else on the outside—and…
We all know it but don’t often say it—email is a huge productivity killer. Like clockwork, as soon as we are about to start working on a task or project, an email pops into our inbox.…
When work is highly collaborative, there arises an authority conundrum. When there’s a problem or delay, and you’re left to work things out at your own level, nobody has the power of rank to resolve things…
Meetings can be great opportunities, but not all meetings are great. There are really only three good reasons for a meeting: To create a feeling of belonging and togetherness To communicate a bunch of information to…
The folks at Fellow recently posed this question on Twitter: What is the most underrated management skill? My answer? Alignment. Alignment has become a huge focus of my work with clients over the past decade or…
“I believe that all human progress begins with trust.” This was something Frances Frei said to me in a recent conversation we had about transforming toxic workplace cultures. And research seems to support this belief. In…
One of the fundamental tenets of go-to-ism is to keep getting better and better at working with others. After all, in today’s high-collaboration workplace, your results are only as strong as the team behind them, right?…
