More Than a Lumpy Jumper

“It wasn’t me; it was her!” Are we listening to the words of a 5-year-old or an adult work colleague throwing you under the bus??! Both.

Blame just comes all to easily in the workplace to help us escape from discomfort, pain, anger and the like. But what happens when a leader takes true accountability for the part they played? When they have their teams do a deep dive into lessons learned when things go wrong

Come and join Bobby and Bridge as they track through the science of blame, their experience of blame cultures and practical advice on how to change an organisation’s narrative to one of accountability.

#nipitinthebud

Links

Brene Brown short on Blame

Project Retrospectives: A Handbook for Team Reviews: Norm Kerth

How To Stop the Blame Game

Creating a Culture of Accountability, Not Blame - Michael Timms (including Table showing Culture of Blame v Culture of Accountability)

Blame Culture Is Toxic. Here's How to Stop It. - Michael Timms

Oh they SO wanted to behave Disgracefully in this episode and then decided that perhaps they weren’t quite old enough yet?

So, instead Bobby and Bridge are here considering our aging workforce. What are the stages of life you witness at your dinner table when the family gets together? And then how does that extrapolate to a business? How do you cater for the spectrum of ages in a workforce and how they look at and interact with the world and each other?

Turns out this is a great topic…whatever your age. Come and have a listen.

Links

Richard Rohr - Falling Upwards

Falling upwards book

Harnessing the power of age diversity

Gentelligence: The Revolutionary Approach to Leading an Intergenerational Workforce : Megan Gerhardt, Josephine Nachemson-Ekwall, Brandon Fogel (Amazon.co.uk)

Article on Aging

Helena Clayton | Leadership or eldership?

The Elders | Independent global leaders

Ethical Leadership Why You Should Create a “Shadow Board” of Younger Employees (hbr.org)

Warning by Jenny Joseph - Scottish Poetry Library

Silos, Barriers, Walls … doesn’t matter what you call them, if they take hold in an organisation … EVERYTHING seems to get that little bit trickier – communication channels, processes, procedures and above all relationships.

So, join Bobby and Bridge as they do a little bit of ranting and a whole lot of chatting about how to deal with Silo Working. Do Silos ever work in an organisation? And what can you do rather than deconstructing a whole organisation in an attempt to get rid of them. That’s where the Bridge comes in. Over to you Bridge!!

Links

NextMapping | The Future is Human | Cheryl Cran

Future of work - No more silos

Breaking down silos - Cheryl Cran

Making Silos Work for Your Organization (hbr.org)

“I wonder if today’s the day I get found out”. “Oh…I was just lucky to get this job”. “I feel such a Fraud”.

Do any of these little mutterings ever take up residence in your self-talk?

Join Bobby and Bridge as they try and fathom which comes first your self-talk or the environment that helps create it. Is there a cure? And if not what strategies do we have to work with this phenomenon?

Links

The Secret Thoughts of Successful Women : Valerie Young

Amy Cuddy: Your body language may shape who you are

Stop telling Women They Have Imposter Syndrome

The Authority Gap : Mary Ann Sieghart

Ted Talk - How to close the authority gap

Why imposter syndrome doesn't exist

Tim Wilson - Redirect video

Wowzers…when you decide to get going on the topic of Belonging and Inclusion, you just find out how much we still need to learn and how far we still need to go. THIS, however, is no reason not to make a start.

So, join Bobby and Bridge as they make THEIR start in contemplating what it feels like to Belong BE INCLUDED.

Links

How to overcome our biases. Walk boldly towards them : Verna Myers (TEDx)

Micro-messaging-final.pdf (utsouthwestern.edu)

The quiet discrimination of microinequities: A Q&A with Adjunct Professor Mary Rowe | MIT Sloan

Micro messaging: Why Great Leadership is Beyond Words : Stephen Young (Amazon.co.uk)

9 Ways Leaders Can Build A Culture Of Belonging (forbes.com)

The Key to Inclusive Leadership (hbr.org)

Microaffirmations

What makes a great team? What makes a terrible one? And what do you do when you know the vibe is slightly off?

Join Bobby and Bridge as they attempt not to incriminate themselves talking about teams they have enjoyed being part of or leading and those they have not! Along with some pieces of research to help you in your quest for team dynamism.

Links

20 Questions to Ask When Your Team’s Vibe Is Off

Tuckman's Model of Team Development

The Avengers and Tuckman's Model

Johnson and Johnson Cooperative Learning

De Bono's Thinking Hats

Facet Five

Five Vital Conversations for Getting Things Done In Groups | Richard Watkins | TEDxRoma

Improve Your Team Dynamics (lianedavey.com)

Read the damn pre-read people! (lianedavey.com)

8 Alternatives to Having a Meeting (lianedavey.com)

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: Patrick Lencioni

A summary of The Five Dysfunctions of a Team : Executive Agenda

Good To Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't: Jim Collins

Dancing Man - Followership

Can you make “Sorry” sound like you don’t mean it at all? Or do you use it every other word out of habit, even when there is nothing to apologise for!

In the last episode of the “Easter minis” Bobby and Bridge offer some gifts to help break the habit.

#sorrynotsorry

Links

Stop Over-Apologizing at Work (hbr.org)

Shira Miller: Stop the Apology Speak | TED Talk

Hey Ladies, Stop Apologizing ... and Other Career Mistakes Women Make: New 2017-2018 Edition: Maja Jovanovic

How Apologies Kill Our Confidence | Maja Jovanovic | TEDxTrinityBellwoodsWomen (youtube.com)

Girl, Stop Apologizing: A Shame-Free Plan for Embracing and Achieving Your Goals: Rachel Hollis

This week is International Leadership Week (15th – 21st April) celebrating this year’s theme of the Power of Collaborative Leadership.

Bobby and Bridge offer some gifts around the topic including those inimitable words once again… Creativity and Communication

#CollaborateForSuccess

Links

Just because we love minions!

Betterup blog : Breaking Down Silos

Five Vital Conversations for Getting Things Done In Groups | Richard Watkins | TEDxRoma

Group Genius: The Creative Power of Collaboration: Keith Sawyer

How to manage for collective creativity, Linda Hill [TED] - DeBoer Fellowship

Cheryl Cran- Transformational Leadership & Breaking Down Silos

How do you introduce yourself? OK, fine…you might start with your name but then what? Your title? What does that actually mean or even say about you as a person?

Bobby and Bridge explore some more Easter gifts in this mini to support Leaders in leading without a title.

Step forward and be YOU!

Links

Leaders Without Titles: Unlocking the Power of People

Who Am I?: Psychological exercises to develop self-understanding: The School of Life

More Than My Title

Leadership is a Choice, Not a Title | Leadership Expert Mark Sanborn

You Don't Need a Title to Be a Leader: How Anyone, Anywhere, Can Make a Positive Difference: Mark Sanborn

How to be a leader without the title | Proclinical Blogs

Leading Without a Title: Robin Sharma

Does your face often scream what you are trying not to say? Oh yeah! Bobby and Bridge have tried for years to curb both their Inner Voice AND their faces saying exactly what they are thinking! So in some sort of cathartic exercise, they are looking to share some Easter gifts with you on this topic. And then, of course, they will need to go and take heed of all these gifts themselves.

Life remains a work in progress!

Links

Who Am I? How Face Language Reveals Your True Identity: Eric Standop

The Power of Face Reading: A simple illustrated guide to understanding our universal language: Mac Fulfer, Brenda Bence

Freeing the Natural Voice : Kristin Linklater

What's that look on your face Catherine S. Snodgrass

10 Face Yoga Moves to do each morning

How to Manage Your Facial Expression When You Speak

How to Control Your Emotions During a Difficult Conversation