Tag: Leadership and Culture
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Happy Economics, by Mark Price
Opening Gambit I recently had an interesting conversation with an employee at WorkL, the company dedicated to happiness at work, and used by the Sunday Times Best Places to Work run its surveys of employees. WorkL’s survey comprehensively shines a light on employee engagement and satisfaction, but Mark Price, the founder of the company, and…
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Helping your teams to thrive in autumn term 2
I’m not a huge believer in obvious or cliché claims of cause and effect. Even as a child I found it irritating when someone linked being outside for too long with catching a cold. Sometimes, things just happen! Don’t read too much into it. But, when you run staff surveys throughout the school year, you…
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Team vision: more than a stirring anecdote
Summer events often provide inspirational anecdotes for school leaders when addressing their teams, in September meetings or assemblies. An underdog, against-the-odds story from the Olympics. A holiday anecdote that demonstrates or celebrates different cultural norms. Perhaps, this summer, it will be the resilience and collaboration of communities in the face of riots. To my shame…
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Eleven Rings, by Phil Jackson
Opening Gambit I love Michael Jordan’s story and career. Growing up in the 1990s, I was too young to understand his talent beyond watching Space Jam and collecting the Tazos (yes, remember them?!) and hearing of the infamous Chicago Bulls team featuring Jordan, and led by the author of this book, Phil Jackson. Like many,…
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The Best Place to Work, by Ron Friedman
Why I read it I read Ron Friedman’s Decoding Greatness a couple of years ago, and found it compelling. I applied many of the principles to my leadership and teaching; for example, the concept of reverse engineering to break down the key components of something successful. Check out my blog for more. I subscribe to…
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Coaching the Team at Work, by David Clutterbuck. Part One: Teams
This is a Pocket Wisdom first! I bought this book to learn more about coaching, and team coaching. These topics unite my two professional passions: high-performing teams, and coaching for development. However, the book is so densely packed with research, theory, practical ideas, and Clutterbuck’s wisdom, that I had to split the post in two.…
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The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, by Patrick Lencioni
Why I read it I really enjoyed Patrick Lencioni’s The Advantage, and have since read some of his other works, and listened to interviews and podcasts featuring his words of wisdom. Since beginning my research project on teams, I had to check out The Five Dysfunctions of a Team – a unique take on teamwork…
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Belonging, by Owen Eastwood
Why I read it: I recently connected with Rebecca Levett, a brilliant sports psychologist who also happens to be a distant relative, as we put together some thoughts for an event. During the conversation, Rebecca recommended Belonging; 3 minutes later, it was in my basket, and 48 hours later, it was perched atop my reading…
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Thanks for the Feedback, by Douglas Stone and Sheila Heen
Why I read it: As part of the Thriving Teams research project that I am midway through, the importance of communication and constructive conflict keeps shining through in research and studies that I have read. After reading Radical Candor, which focuses on the art of giving feedback well in order to improve the performance of…
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Radical Candor, by Kim Scott
Why I read it: This one had been on my reading pile for a couple of years. Kim Scott offers a direct title and even clearer subtitle: ‘How to get what you want by saying what you mean.’ This isn’t just about having ‘tough conversations’, though, it’s a principle for leading teams that puts relationships,…
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Leadership: Being, Knowing, Doing – by Stephen Tierney
Why I read it After reading a series of books on teams, I wanted to return to core school leadership skills and knowledge. A coachee had generously given me a voucher for Christmas, and, being a fan of Stephen Tierney’s previous books, I decided to spend it on his new book on leadership. In summary…
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Thriving Teams #4: Team Debriefs
Watching footage of post-game team talks by football managers always fascinated me, on the rare occasions when the cameras were allowed into the changing room. Sometimes it was dominated by cheering and roaring champagne as a team progressed to the next round of a cup; other times, a Neil Warnock-esque manager would be snarling and…
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Thriving Teams #3: Psychological Safety
It can be difficult to define what makes someone feel confident or at ease within their team. Some argue that a happy team is a productive team, while others say the opposite is true. In my years’ long pursuit of staff wellbeing and satisfaction, I’ve often leant towards autonomy, trust, and opportunities to collaborate as…
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Thriving Teams #2: Purpose and Goals
Every organisation has a purpose: a sense of why it exists and what it serves through that existence. For schools, this is perhaps obvious. The school exists to serve its children: to keep them safe, to help them to learn, to gain the best qualifications possible, and to prepare them for the world (add others…
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Thriving Teams #1: What is a team?
Each of us belongs to a number of teams, depending on your definition. A family. A sports team. A volunteer group. And, at work, you could be a member of several teams. Each team has its own purpose, dynamic, and tasks; each team’s success may be measured differently. Some of our teams may be healthy,…
