I’ve been donning the hats of delivery lead, scrum lead, team coach, project manager, program manager, and an all-in-one problem solver, even throwing in some mystical yogi vibes on the side. By my own measure, I’ve been successful in this multifaceted role.
Continue readingPeople and the things they do
Setting the table: knowing where to stop
I recently had an interesting conversation with someone about doing too much and burning out. This is a very real situation that people face not only in their work lives but also in their personal lives. I used the metaphor of setting a table and it seemed to have resonated with them and perhaps it will resonate with you.
Continue readingWhat do you write when you have nothing to write about?!
I find it quite amusing that the only thing I can write about fluidly is the thing I cant seem to do at the moment. I can’t finish the articles. I have twelve drafts and I just can’t be bothered to finish any of them. It’s like this with a lot of personal projects, but why is that, why can’t I finish personal projects? Shall we dwell in my mind for a couple of minutes? Come on it will be fun, I promise…
Continue readingChaos and the junkies that shoot it.
Chaos is a business drug that too many people are addicted too. I have had the pleasure of working alongside chaos junkies for much of my professional career, and as with any addiction it has some real impacts on those addicted and those around them.
Lets have a look at what a chaos junkie looks like, how we can spot them, and what we can do to help!
Continue readingSometimes I just don’t want to anymore.
It’s always surprising how I find myself in spaces where I just don’t want to anymore. I don’t understand the reason for doing things and I certainly don’t understand what the effort is being invested in.
Continue readingBuilding to Successful convergence: People, they make or break convergence.
Building on an article published by my good friend Sally Acton from Torque Solutions, “Employee Experience: Wants + Empathy = Clarity”. This is the second article in the series, the first can be found here. If you haven’t read the articles please do so, enjoy and get in touch if you have questions. @wernerSmit or @SallyActon
Building to Successful convergence: Article 2 – The People of Convergence
In article one we discussed the four convergence factors:
- Trust Building
- Trust Erosion
- Convergence Blockers
- and Convergence Enablers
Building to Successful convergence: A series on telling the truth
Building on an article published by my good friend Sally Acton from Torque Solutions, we had a chat and decided to collaborate and write a small series of articles, about 5 or so, building on her original post “Employee Experience: Wants + Empathy = Clarity”. If you haven’t read the article please do so, we reference it throughout the series and having a background will be helpful. What follows is the first of what hopefully will be many more collaborative writings to take place, enjoy and get in touch if you have questions. @wernerSmit or @SallyActon
Building to Successful convergence: Article 1 – The Convergence Factors Four
The original article was easy to read and understand but deep in its implications. In these times of rapid change and fear, knowing what’s going on is a vital part of survival. Especially for your mental health and also for your contributions to the business you help build and the homes you are in. Whether you are an employee or employer, everyone is suffering from fear, uncertainty and doubt, or as many of us know it FUD, it makes the world go round.
In an effort to reduce “the FUD” the concept of sharing openly, for example “where the business is” and asking for insights from those around us was the basic premise of the original article, it specifically focused on financial statements but this could be true for anything.
Continue readingHi, Hello, Good Day, Sup, simple enough to read now try it on a stranger.
Admittedly I would not be classified as an introvert, if you believe in this archaic classification at all. Neigh I would be classified as an extrovert, or as some like to say an energy thief bent on brightening up your day while sapping your valuable energy to fuel more mischief. And how is this done? Simple, do something that seems to have gone out of fashion, say hello…
Fresh Meat: A Survival Guide to being “the new person”.
For most of us the inevitable is that you will change jobs and this means leaving your old tribe and joining a new one. Joining new tribes can be daunting, but luckily there are some tips to surviving the courting ritual, and hopefully, seeing you joining your new tribe with limited scars and perhaps a symbolic branding of some sort.
Want to exploit teachable moments? Cover brains in Superglue and Honey and watch the magic!
Some say the chance to teach is rare, like albino baby seal rare…you will find that Some are wrong! What if almost every moment could be a teachable moment? What if you are already teaching but not aware of it? Ever showed someone a better way of handling a situation? Ever had a conversation about a challenge someone is facing? Ever been asked for an opinion or help on solving a problem? All of those are potential teachable moments, and you, you are deep in it!
Mind, on the rocks?! 