On fun, time management and more... CoW#9
Every week I read about technical leadership, management and personal development and I share my notes and thoughts with you all.
Another week is about to start. This is again another Sunday newsletter. I would like to get to a point where I don’t have to work on Sundays. I am committed to fixing this. I like this activity, but somewhat I tend to procrastinate. I also know, that if I let a week slide, I will drop this commitment.
If you have a newsletter and have some tips, please leave them in the comments or message me. Thank you.
Personal & Well Being
The power of fun ( Read more )
Some weeks ago I experimented with taking a break from my phone. I was trying to enhance my focus, by avoiding distractions also in my free time.
I recently fell into my old bad habits again and I was looking for more reasons to get back to my experiment. I need to build a habit. I need to start small. Yet when building a habit it is important to find values that nurture your identity.
This article talks about the concept of “true fun“. It is inspired by the book “The Power of Fun “ by Catherine Price. Fun happens when: playfulness, connection and flow are present at the same time.
Going back to my issue with distraction, according to this book:
Distraction is a true fun killer. This is because our attention is divided and we don’t experience flow. Similarly playfulness and connection are compromised when you are distracted.
This concept made me think more about how I spend my free time. Am I prioritising fun? Am I filling up time? I am thinking especially about the hours spent watching TV.
The four types of professional time ( Read More )
I recently took on another team. I still have to find a good balance between the time I spend with each team and the time I allow myself to focus and think.
This article for Sahil is spot on, as it makes a case for using 4 categories
Management
Creation
Consumption
Ideation
I was curious about 3. and 4. Because I prioritise 1. and 2. in my day to day.
Curating this newsletter was a way for me to do 3. and 4. Yet, the exercise of analysing my calendar can be useful. I suspect my calendar will be 90% 1.
Let’s break down what 3. and 4. are:
Typical activities of Consumption Time include:
Reading
Listening
Studying
To paraphrase author James Clear, everything you create is downstream from something you consume. Consumption Time focuses on quality upstream to ensure quality downstream.
and:
Typical activities of Ideation Time include:
Brainstorming
Journaling
Walking
Self-Reflecting
As I wrote in my piece on The Think Day, most of us have zero time for stillness and thought in our day-to-day professional lives. As such, we make linear progress and miss out on the asymmetric opportunities that require creative, non-linear thinking.
Ideation Time is focused on this stillness and thought.
People and Teams
5 things you can do as manager of newer managers ( Read More )
When I first became a manager I felt I did not have all the support that I needed. I have seen unfortunately this pattern repeating. Now that I manage also new managers, I understand why. It is hard. Yet, it is much more hard to fix problems later.
The reality is as soon as you are not moved into a managerial role there is a lot to learn. It is a new job. this article provides a good summary. My favourite one is “Teach a design approach to feedback“. The number 1 problem that I see in many teams is the reluctance to give feedback. Often people are afraid of upsetting others. My approach is to give feedback and lots of it. The hope is that showing a good approach to feedback can inspire managers to do the same.
As much as it might be nice to expect everyone to play and perform nice, humans are involved, and there will be issues the new(er) manager must address. Help them start strong and teach or send them to training on handling this vexing communication challenge called feedback. The article refers to this feedback framework
The other point that I care about is the first one: “Observe and coach“. This is also a hard one. Coaching and mentoring are the ways to help your new manager grow. Yet, this is not micromanaging them. You have to respect their differences and approach.
Ensure your approach and tone aren’t micromanaging or come off as hyper-critical. Acknowledge the challenges in the role. Ask questions about different situations you observed, and work together to design approaches for future situations. For example, “The next time you encounter problem X, what are some different ways you might handle it?”
First team, why does it matter? ( Read More )
Patrick Lencioni in his seminal book “The five dysfunction of a team“ talked about the idea of the first team. Here is a nice summary of the idea.
The “first team” approach will profoundly shift how you view your role as a leader: Instead of focusing on what’s best for the group below them in the hierarchy, you’ll prioritize what’s best for the business as a whole.
When leaders work together they enable consistent change in the company as a whole. This will have a great impact on their teams too. The main challenge is that leaders will be worried about neglecting their teams. Yet doing this brings to the teams:
better business outcomes
alignment
enables them to grow more.
In fact, as leaders this means focusing on higher-level goals. We do this by stopping being the bottleneck for your teams by delegating.
Create lasting organizational change: This sustained change is not made by individuals acting in isolation. Organizational change can be initiated or coordinated by individuals, but by definition, organizational change involves, well, everyone in the organization.
Learn to optimize for the business when you switch in how you think and work from “What’s good for my team?” to “What’s good for the business?”
Get out of the weeds and out of work that’s too low-level
Collaborate as a leadership team and lead by example
Improve the quality of your leadership and management
Particularly as a line manager, shifting to a “first team”-mindset can also help you see more clearly how to balance organizational and team needs
If you got until here 🏆 and you enjoyed please leave a like ❤️.
If you have something to say or share, leave a comment 👇.
I would enjoy if my posts would allow constructive conversations. 💬
Have a great week! 👋🏻