Tag: communication

Boxes

FabrizioLeave a comment

Most companies want employees to not work in silos. And then, they organise their work in little, hierarchical boxes.

They split the workforce in departments. They assign managers and middle-managers to each of them. They give them goals and agendas and salaries and development plans that are unique. And they get mad because Product doesn’t talk to Sales, because what Marketing promotes is not the story that Customer Success tells, because the Leadership Team meetings are just a battle for budget and recognition, and because their Customers are sick of waiting for the promised improvement.

So, the opportunity for you is to become the person who looks at problems horizontally. To learn about others priorities and spot lateral developments. To become the glue that delivers and the light that shines on colleagues.

If you’ll just stick to your box, you’ll be part of the problem, not the indispensable solution.

Very small step

FabrizioLeave a comment

When something seems to big to tackle, it’s ok to start with just a small part of it.

You don’t have to start with being a content creator, you can start with one post.

You don’t have to get straight into that difficult conversation, you can start by meeting on a different topic.

You don’t have to share the bad news with your dear ones, you can start by spending time with them.

Many hide instead, but there is immense value in starting with a very small step.

Shifting perspective

FabrizioLeave a comment

The worst mistake a manager can make is taking decisions as if everyone would be like them, think like them, adhere to their same set of values and principles, care as much as them, earn as much as them.

Shifting perspective and accepting that others have different views seems to be one of the biggest challenges when you are in a position of power.

Enough data

FabrizioLeave a comment

A little data is always better than no data. Because no data is the realm of opinions, hearsay, gossips, and past experiences.

A lot of data is sometimes better than a little data. Because a lot of data can be confusing, irrelevant, misleading.

A good amount of data is difficult to strike. Because when you start getting data, you want more, and that’s when you end up with a lot of data and the problems from the paragraph above.

The point is that data is useful and should be used, as long as, at some point, you can say “enough!”.

Full circle

FabrizioLeave a comment

When we are kids, we think everybody is interested in our opinion, in what we think, even when we know absolutely nothing about the topic. It might be because our parents have taught us that we matter, that we are the centre of the world. And so of course what we have to say is relevant to the situation. No matter what situation.

Then, we grow up, and somehow we develop some kind of filters. Some do, at least. We start getting feedback that what we say is not really useful, we notice others putting themselves into awkward situations we want to avoid, we are reminded of our limits, and we realise that not everything we have in our head is worth sharing.

Unfortunately, that seems to stop in a couple of instances, at least.

  1. When our identity is hidden.
  2. When we are in a position of power.

The second case is incredibly similar to what happens to kids. We are surrounded by people who mainly confirm that we are important, that we matter, that we know, that we are better. And we lose the ability to distance our thoughts from what is needed, appropriate, relevant.

That’s a risk that’s worth keeping in mind. Unless we want to come full circle and be just like kids once again.