COLIN ON CULTURE
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The webcam on/off conundrum
The tangled web(cam) we weave when choosing rules and mandates over common sense and trust.
Toxic Culture Isn't Inevitable
The signs of toxicity in any culture are there if we’re willing to look. And once we’ve seen them we have a responsibility to take action.
5 Reasons Why Celebrating Success is Important
Create the conditions for even more success by making sure you pause, appreciate and celebrate the wins along the way.
No Trust, No Teamwork
Trust should be part of our day-to-day work experience and demonstrated through our behaviours, but more often it is deemed something to be earned and given reluctantly.
How Much Is Enough?
Are things unneccessarily complicated where you work? They don’t have to be. Let’s choose a simpler way.
Is your company bad for your employees' health?
We’re increasingly seeing research that points to behaviours in the workplace that are responsible for stress, anxiety, overwhelm and worse. Looking the other way is not an option. Create a culture of caring, not scaring.
In a hybrid world, you have to work harder to keep talent
It’s just the way it is now and the quicker we adapt, the better. Define your new working culture, trust your people to get on with it and create and support more effective ways of working (not more work!) if you want to attract and hold on to the talent your business needs.
5 Traits of Great Culture Makers
Years served or status reached does not automatically create a manager who can build high performing teams. It takes deliberate effort and attention, skills development and practice, to be the kind of manager who is a Culture Maker.
Impressive Inductions
You only get one chance to make a first impression so make it count. From the position description to the interview questions and the first 90 days, create a culture experience.
10 Ways To Make Work Less Boring
Inject some novelty, variety, humour and vitality into your days - and your culture - by stopping some things and adding others. It might feel strange at first but I’ve done these things and it works.
Values Aren't Values Forever
Nothing lasts forever - and that includes your values. Businesses grow, society evolves, people change - so, do your values still reflect your culture and what you stand for?
Use It Or Lose It!
If you don’t use your training and development budget, someone else might get the spoils! Be smart, identify strategic development needs throughout the year and provide your people with relevant experiences, not excuses.
Hybrid Working is an Experiment
Experimentation entails making mistakes, doubting the outcomes, staying the course and keeping tabs on what’s actually working
Are you building a culture or a cult?
If a culture demands that you give up who you are and what you stand for is it more of a cult? Control is a key part of a cult so check yourself and make sure you’re not asking everyone to drink the Kool-Aid.
Try A Little Levity In 2021
There’s strength in a little lightness, especially when things are out of your control.
The Case for Specialist Project Managers: An Idea
Projects continue to fail yet there’s little new thinking around how projects are set up, managed and delivered. What if there were PMs for each aspect of a project, all performing at the top of their ability? Like a baseball team strategising for a win, this could be a homerun for project teams!
Employee activism is part of (not separate to) company culture
Instead of fearing Employee Activism, engage with your people to get their perspectives. Listen, consult, consider and then take action.
Is your organisation purpose-led or purpose lazy?
Purpose has become an important, and public, component of an organisation’s offering. A zingy line of copy is no longer doing it - people demand an organisation’s actions reflect its purpose.
Is your culture making good people bad?
No one sets out to do a bad job but when the systems and senior leadership let them down there are toxic times ahead. If the right conditions bring out the best in people, then the opposite is also true.
The Return to the Office: Boom or Bust?
This is an opportunity - don’t waste it! Do the groundwork to create a well defined hybrid culture and you stand a better chance of creating something sustainable that harnesses the best of both worlds.