One of the most helpful things I find with colleagues, is when I know they’ll just take care of something. Aligning expectations and setting up feedback loops helps, of course, but some people more readily demonstrate ownership of their work. Given a little direction they go a long way, checking in only for course correction and without a blow-by-blow account of the obstacles. They roam … Continue reading Taken care of

While out for a run this morning I listened to an auto-generated playlist based on one song that I love. Trotting along, I realised I hadn’t heard anything that grabbed me and thought about switching to a curated list I’ve created instead. That one song I love I only stumbled across on a different auto-generated list a couple of years back, I remembered. There aren’t … Continue reading One hit wondrous

It’s easy to find yourself with more to do than there are hours in the day, especially with a habit of involving yourself in lots of things. When paralysis is looming, it pays to ask what’s going to move the needle most. Not how many easy tasks you can knock off the list. Not what is someone shouting loudest about. No. What will move the … Continue reading If overwhelmed

While I’ve been interviewing candidates recently, I’ve often described the ‘t-shaped individual’ that we like to hire. We find that specialist knowledge has limited application without the collaborative and inter-disciplinary skills to build effective teams. The candidates with breadth have often consciously pushed at the edges of their roles. They’ve embraced opportunity outside of their core skill set, and often wrestled a steep learning curve … Continue reading Breadth and depth

The same box of cereal can be bought in two stores near me for surprisingly different prices. But you’re not really paying for just the cereal. You might be supporting an employer to pay the living wage at the more expensive store. Choosing a firm that values people’s rights and collaboration, over presenteeism and automation. Aiding investment and innovation, instead of cashing in and copying … Continue reading What you’re paying for

Some of my most important lightbulb moments are when a friend has kindly pointed out a mistake I’ve made. Perhaps a flaw I have. Maybe some behaviour that needs discouraging. That’s been uncomfortable at times, but has built trust that I can later count on, comfortably. I like a friend that doesn’t just smooth the way. They will shine a light and help me find … Continue reading What good friends are for

It’s wise to look ahead, to anticipate difficulty and consider your response. But it’s a step too far to imagine intractable conflict without a clear hint that this will be so. You stop thinking about ways to defuse or improve a situation, and turn instead to how to deny or avoid it. Changing the world demands influence, not abstention. Kindly, keep going. Continue reading Imagined difficulty

My beloved and I are re-watching Columbo episodes from 1971 and really enjoying watching each protagonist collapse under the weight of ‘just one more thing’. The portrayal of many female characters hasn’t gone unnoticed though. We talked about how some old TV series are full of behaviour that’s unthinkable now, but neither of us really picked up back then. While there’s so much still to … Continue reading Detecting progress

There’s not an ideal world. There’s almost certainly not a perfect solution. Values and principles are academic if you don’t contribute, so what will you do now to make progress? Continue reading Ideals and progress

A colleague told me today that they’ve heard more people have now been vaccinated against Covid than have been infected by it. They didn’t know the numbers, but felt very reassured by this, after struggling with anxiety over the course of the pandemic. They did say that the absolute level of risk hadn’t changed and recognised the numbers of infections were still going up, but … Continue reading Numbers and narratives