Why Most Teams Underperform
When we say a team is underperforming, it can evoke visions of a bad manager berating a team to try to force them to work… Read More
How to Launch a Highly Effective Leadership Team
Organizations succeed or fail in large part based on the quality of their leadership. But most so-called “leadership teams” aren’t really teams—they’re just leaders who have meetings. In this episode, we look at why and how to launch a cross-functional leadership team so it achieves meaningful results. Read More
5 Lessons from Music to Help You Succeed at Work
What can we learn about effective teamwork from the world of professional music? In this episode, Peter shares insights from his recent experiences playing in various musical groups and draws parallels to creating high-performing teams in any work environment. Read More
Don’t Put That In Your Backlog
The single biggest mistake that teams make with their backlogs and individuals make with their todo lists happens to be the most natural thing to… Read More
Why You Should Amplify Your Amundsens and Dampen Your Shackletons
In this episode, we introduce you to two polar explorers that vividly illustrate our tendency to see leadership potential in babblers, braggarts, and braggarts regardless of their actual competence. We share several ways you can bring things back into balance, separating actual effectiveness from the noise, whether you’re the quiet high-performer or the leader trying to build an effective team. Read More
The Duck Canopy Incident & Its Unexpected Lessons for Work
You may not be aware that Richard has a flock of ducks. Recently, Richard’s ducks had the most traumatic day of their lives, and it generated some unexpected lessons for humans at work. In this episode, Peter and Richard reflect on what happened and some lessons we learned to lead change more effectively. Read More
Facilitation Case-Study: Remembering the Future Together
Recently, we were asked to facilitate a working session for a leadership team. They were at the beginning of a major organizational change that they… Read More
Why Agile Jobs Are Vanishing, and What to Do About It
Big companies are eliminating roles like Agile Coach and ScrumMaster. In this episode, we look at why that might be happening, what to do if you’ve fallen victim to the layoffs, and why there’s still hope for the future. Read More
Maximizing the Flow of Value
In a recent Humanizing Work Show episode, we talked about the benefits of making things more visible so you, your colleagues, and… Read More
Employee Engagement Is Terrible. Why It Matters and What Can Be Done.
A recent Gallup study reported that only 30% of workers in the US are engaged or motivated in their work. And this has all kinds of negative consequences, at work and beyond. In this episode, we dig into the research and share some practical things you can do about it. Read More
