How to use your greatest human capabilities for the unfolding future
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I acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which I live - the Yalukit-Willam - and pay my respects to their elders past, present and emerging.
It's always a good time to think about what you want from your work and what you work gives you.
Work, workplaces and the world of work is changing -- and continues to change. And you might need to adapt or change what you do for work or how you work.
Read more in this piecefrom Psychology Today and take another look at the meaning of work and how things might, possibly, be able to shift for you.
Not know and be ok with that
It sounds unusual but we can be bored and frustrated... and it can be ok.
We can be caught up with wanting to feel wonderful and put-together all the time, but there are benefits to these other states.
This is a reminder for me frequently; to not keep pushing and busy-ing but to let the uncertainty or unknown of boredom, irritation and frustration be a place of great things.
It’s summer here in Australia and for those who get annoyed by it … there can be ‘sand everywhere!!’
No matter your season, take a moment to feel the sand between your toes inthis lovely readof the art and science - and creative uncertainty - of sandcastle making.
There are themes here of
▫️Philosophy
▫️Impermanence
▫️Uncertainty and that which is outside of our control
▫️Resources and sustainability
▫️Ingenuity
▫️Friction and
▫️Tension.
Thinking of making a leap this year
Career changes, pursuing that which you’ve always had an interest in, or just thinking it’s time for a change.
Making a leap into a new way of working can mean a career or job shift — and that can mean working for yourself, registering a business or taking a whole new work direction.
What are you thinking about work … and how might things be new for you this year?
This article in The Ageshared some inspiring examples of what's possible and practical and implementable, not just what is a faraway dream.
Some businesses and leaders just aren’t letting go of their return to office mandates and attendance requirements.
And we might be understanding some further reasons why they’re holding on so strong.
Memories, nostalgia, legacy and a sentimental history could be part of what’s keeping organisations stuck from evolving towards more modern work.
How? When so many people grew through their career working in an office — or a business or organisation that had a head office — changing that deeply historical mindset towards the office is what’s tough to shift. Memories of the good old days and the great times working in the office pre-pandemic could be a deep reason why some people/leaders/cultures are battling to evolve to newer ways of working.
Remote, flexible, asynchronous, hybrid and non-linear work are all part of the new way of working. Yet nostalgia can be strong.
Memory biases like Rosy Recollection, Episodic Memory, Recall Bias and Selective Memories all contribute to how we perceive the past and the present. And the way we see the office is a big one of those perceptions.
What to do?
🟨 Bring creative thought to combine old ideas into new original ones; be willing to experiment more with different approaches, pilots and techniques about modern work.
🟨 Don’t assume you’ve got it perfect and right after your first attempt at a hybrid model. Increments and iterations are part of new ways of working.
🟨 Look beyond leadership perspectives. Get more ideas and input from across the organisation. Consult further. Be willing to ask for opinions. No one view is right.
Being stuck in old ways of working comes about because of old systems, structures, mindsets and fears — masquerading as leadership, compliance and control. There’s so much more to new ways of working than how many days you return to a nostalgic office.
New ways of working don’t just change businesses. They’re helping change people and the way they think, work and lead.
If you haven’t changed much about how you work since … well, since you learned how to work, it might be a good time to.
New ways go beyond the obvious stuff that’s changed work recently like technology or even increased remote work.
Look deeper and you can begin to redesign the way you think, the way you interact or collaborate and work with others and the way you lead a team.
The idea of ‘movement thought rest’ or MTR/motor framework shines a light on how the go go go push push push of work is an old old old way of working. Yes, ‘pushing through’ is very much an old way of working or thinking about the work we have to do.
Old metaphors, methods and models of work are breaking down in favour of more modern concepts that bring greater sustainability, wellbeing and enjoyment … to the whole of life.
Read more in this articlein Fast Company and think about how you could be making the old ways of working a little more modern.
The dreaded middle
You might wince when you see a boarding pass for a flight that has you in the middle seat or realise the discomfort that’s ahead as you walk down the aisle.
Memes, stories and experiences abound on the tricky situation being ‘stuck in the middle’ can have: complex armrest rules, violated leg space, no quiet privacy, and gymnastics for getting in and out over sleeping peoples.
That’s indicative of other middle locations — particularly in today’s workforce.
The challenges of middle managers trying to survive the sandwich pressures of above and below have led to more stress, conflict, burnout, less satisfaction, layoffs, pay cuts, inflexibility …
The middle may have become more of a crowded cliff as lower levels have been pushed up into the space and higher levels slash and burn that which is below.
Research quoted in Fortune by Chloe Bergermakes me wonder if the uncomfortable middle people might be rethinking who and what they want to be, where they want to be it … and how soon they can start making that change. The messy middle has become an even more turbulent space to be in recent times.
When one is not enough. Jobs that is
Many people may well be drowning under the weight of the responsibilities of one job role plus … you know… life.
And a good many people take on a second job to fill gaps in needs, meet their basic financial commitments or to build for their future.
But there’s a whole other world of the ‘over-employed’ who are working their work gigs to the max.
These eye opening accounts of how people take on, juggle and handle multiple job roles, reveal the hacks, tips, hints and tools used to put one over the employer … while you take two or three for yourself!
With recent years’ rise in remote work, stories of dual (or more) jobs held by one person were rumoured and reported on — but now there’s more insight into how it’s actually happening.
Before you get all “that’s so wrong” or “good for them” about it, read more to see the situations, skills, roles and reasons this is happening.
It’s another trend in response to the evolving nature of work.
While the underemployed people in our communities struggle to find suitable, flexible and reasonably paid work, there are many who are rising through the multiple job roles ranks.
And while there are tips here on how to do it… there are also some handy insights on how to spot it if it’s happening in your team or business.
As newer ways of working have reached many sectors and businesses, there’s still much to do. Many leaders still aren’t quite sure though, how to change work to adapt to the recent pressures of stress, burnout, flexibility demands and global pressures.
Lynda Grattonalways seems to know just what to say!In this great articleyou’ll see some key points and suggestions about adopting new ways of working and redesigning work.
BUT … what about the HUGE point that could be getting in the way of change?
It’s right there… hidden in plain sight - that we can’t and shouldn’t be adopting or following the CEO’s default preferences for ways of working!
Yep, that’s a big status role in the organisation to influence and challenge … but well-being, productivity, engagement and success depends on it.
So many organisations find a shift to new ways of working challenging and full of roadblocks because of C-level attitudes and dated ways of thinking about work.
They often ‘know what’s best’ from their ‘experience’ - but that experience is rapidly becoming out of date and gained in a different era of work. I see this so frequently when I speak to senior leadership teams about new ways of working. I spend time guiding them through the ideas, evidence, methods and shifts they need to adopt to change and redesign the way their organisation thinks about work. And sometimes that’s a tough gig.
Attitudes and beliefs run deep.
And they want to minimize the risk, know that it WILL work before they adopt new ways.
But new ways are very much a new way of
▫️Thinking
▫️Working and
▫️Leading.
And it’s tough when that thinking gets blocked at the top.
We can help break through the blockades of dated experience that could be hindering how your organisation thinks about redesigning work.
Don't be the dull, ineffective one who leads
A meeting leader can often help find a path of progress through a meeting, is able to handle the agenda (or even no agenda!), the behaviours in the group, the barriers to progress, AND the obstacles to having a productive and successful team session.
That's a lot to juggle; no wonder meetings continue to be dull wastes of time. So it's possible .... that we could be leading dull, droning, ineffective meetings. Well, somebody sure is!
Lifting your leadership here -- where people get together to do work -- can make a huge shift in performance, engagement, morale and communication.
And if this is something your team or organisation needs,let me know- I can deliver it inhouse, remotely too.
Getting started
If you’ve got plenty of ambivalence/meh and not enough motivation, perhaps this way of thinking and working can help.
Notice the difference between
🔆motivation: that longer term energy and drive that keeps you going
🔆activation: the tactics that get you started on something, and headed toward motivation.
I’ll frequently hack myactivationfor work by:
🔆gathering ideas when they pop into my head
🔆brainstorming some possible content for a keynote as soon as the enquiry comes in
🔆following my curiosity when I’m thinking about a topic and
🔆choosing the nicest task possible from a list of things to do for a project (like playing around with the book cover design over researching a dry topic.)
Momentum is joyous when you’ve got it. Just ask a kid on a swing.
But if you haven’t got it, how do you get started?
Find the thing that will get you going. Once you get going —activated— you may feel some more interest or purpose and energy for the work —motivated.
As welearn more about how we think about workand how we work best, the difference between activation and motivation can become enlightening… and mighty empowering.
The ‘meh’ feeling is nothing to feel bad about. Look for the things, tasks, hacks and tips that activate you … towards finding some motivation.
3 Mentoring spots available
As the end of year approaches I’ve got availability to work with 3 people 1:1 in mentoring over the next 6 months of 2024.
If you run your own business, run your own practice or are keen to build and grow, let’s talk about getting 6 x 1:1 sessions (+ other support, clever ideas and resources including my book writing program) locked in.
Sharing ideas with coworkers or colleagues can be an exciting time. You’ve had an idea and you want to verbalize it or explain it, explore it a little more.
But some people have that unfortunate wet blanket ability to cut down and dismiss ideas in three seconds flat! Their techniques might not be the old clichés of ‘we’ve tried that’ or ‘that won’t work’.
No, today’s idea deflaters are a little more insidious and subtle than that. Because the first thing you’ll notice is the inspiration you had for the idea has rapidly deflated and the focus is now directed elsewhere. The vibe has gone.
It’s like the time, space and idea has been hijacked.
Idea hijackers love to:
▫️contribute immediately with something they know or have done, ahhh, also known as ‘interrupting’.
This behaviour:
▫️deflects from your idea, and
▫️distracts with new information about something, somewhere or someone else.
They might keep hijacking when they:
▫️ elevate the something or someone else higher, greater and better than your idea
▫️ provide unsolicited comparisons
▫️ rush to premature solutions and conclusions, and
▫️ move the conversation on to other topics.
Boom. Slash. Switch. Sleight of hand and verbal misdirection. All the while, they’ve ignored that which was in front of them: you the human, and the idea you shared or expressed. Tune in to it. Notice it. The status shift in the conversation or interaction is observable and palpable.
Idea slashers get away with their frequent whipper-snipper action as if it’s just how things are these days.
No wonder people don’t feel safe sharing their thoughts and ideas, contributing or participating. Whether it’s ego, discomfort, narcissism, a desire to show their knowledge and power … whatever it is…It’s a perfect reason why collaboration and conversation often needs to be moderated, facilitated and ‘air traffic controlled’ to keep a watch for these rogue craft infiltrating protected airspace!
Rather than rushing to fix, shame or remediate the hijacker/interrupter, stand by and refocus the time, energy and attention of the group back to the original contributor. Redirect to the OG and re-explore from there.
Everyone can have their turn and have their say. But to handle these types of situations requires nuance and subtle diplomacy. Offence is everywhere.
These situations are exactly why today’s leaders need some new ways of leading.
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Live Workshops in Sydney
I'd love to see you at these half-day public workshops; tickets are now on sale for October dates
These are high impact morning workshops - all thriller, no filler 😉
🌕 VISUAL SENSEMAKING : October 17
Use these clever visual skills every day to sketch, scribe, think, lead & manage - the perfect communication and collaboration skills
🌕 ADVANCED TECHNIQUES IN FACILITATION : October 18
Lift your capability to design processes, lead groups and achieve outcomes. Handle challenging situations, people, groups and projects.
🌕 CHANGE TOOLS : October 19
Leading change needs clever, creative, adaptive tools. Use these 10 change tools to better engage, lead & impact change & transformation.
It couldn’t have been a better name for a conference room… the ‘Great Room’ at W Melbourne Hotel.
It made me laugh with nervous expectation!
It was great because the room was full of glorious people from a great team at UniSuper. Great because they’d been learning, inspiring, advancing and working on their professional development.
And then great for me because I had the pleasure of joining them for the closing keynote of the program. It was all primed for … greatness.
We wanted to do more with that closing session than just the keynote speaker who … speaks.
We went further with a facilitated experience to boost attention, engagement, connection and participation.
And then we went further … with a co-creation, contribution and euphoric wrap-up experience that would seal the learning and carry it forward into workplace action.
Conference delegates need more than passive listening or clichéd games. They have contributions to make, ideas to share and insights to inspire.
This is what I call ‘The Co-Creation Experience’ and it’s available now for great teams in great rooms at great conferencing events.
Yes … please go beyond the pale stale dot point slide shows that are too often the default.
Great things can happen at a conference gathering … if you plan for a great co-creation experience.
And now I need a little lie down … 💤😄
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Move this from 'Backlog' to 'To do'
Do you Kanban?
Then join me for the Kanban Australia Conference in Melbourne October 9, 2023 - at the Jasper Hotel in Melbourne CBD.
It's a full day to connect, share and learn about the use of Kanban in Australia and neighbouring regions.
New tools, thinking and support to deepen our capability.
I'll be closing keynote speaker on 'The 3 Futures of Work'. And there'll be no photos of robots or AI, promise! 🤩
Get tickets for $275 - and it includes lunch. What's not to like?
Pull it pronto into your To Do column, no ... straight into Doing, now!
It might be a little agile, a little NWOW, a bit of this and a bit of that - all designed to suit the team, who they are, how they work and what they need to achieve.
I've worked intensely with several HR teams over the past year, building their awareness, capabilities and behaviours to work in new-ish ways.
Get in contact if you're an HR professional, part of an HR team or are curious about how New Ways in HR can help.
Out of the box... but not too far
What organisation doesn't want their people, teams and leaders to be innovative and creative?
Yet when they do, or try to be, it can become 'too far' out of the box.
The thinking, ideas and suggestions can seem
too radical
too extreme
too costly
too time consuming
too big a change or
require too much time and effort.
The 'too much' ... not that far, WOAH, we didn't mean THAT creative or innovative -- is prevalent in many teams and organisations.
It's a kind of 'we want your creativity but keep it in control, please.'
And we may rush to criticise this response, but remember that brilliant creativity IS possible within a box, boundary or constraint.
It's how many artists and innovators create such clever thinking and ideas; via a restriction or limitation - in time, resources, space, materials, thought or imagination.
So yes, think out of the box, but it your thinking and ideas ARE a bit too far out there and it's too much for a leader, team or organisation to acknowledge, validate, support or endorse ... it's ok.
Re-check the brief, the boundaries and the constraints. Superb creativity and ideation is still possible in a slightly more controlled situation.
The key for leaders is they must specify or explain the boundaries. And if they haven't, ask 'em!
Then you can go WILD creating within that scope.
Give me some boundaries any day and I'll create with wild fervour! Say there are no boundaries, that anything is possible - or omit to explain the scope - and I may be hesitant in case I push it too far.
Even if you think you're not that creative, or that the organisation doesn't think far enough out of the box it is in, check the scope and boundaries that exist and then go wild.
Push to the absolute edges and extremes of the boundaries.
The delusion of innovation in the office
The debate to return to the office has escalated for some employees - and turned into a mandate or stronger for some.
A number of reasons to return are presented by businesses, but it’s this one — better collaboration and innovation — that I’d like to explore.
Because nothing has changed.
Requiring people to come to a specific geography infers there might be better or greater collaboration and innovation happening there. But nothing has changed.
Since the pandemic and the forced remote era, have businesses and their leaders set new processes, conditions, constraints, capabilities, situations or environments for making all this magical collaboration and innovation happen?
Yeah? No.
A call to return to the office because it will ‘be more collaborative and innovative’ has seen employees in quiet offices and meeting rooms in online meetings trying to do all the innovation and stuff.
But nothing in the environment has changed to boost, invite or foster it. It’s the same old tired grey meh.
Collaboration and innovation relies on a process or constraint, a purpose or a reason to get it going and make it happen.
Some teams are great at it, having forged a collaborative, communicative and creative culture of working together like this for some time. No matter the geography and whether they’re together or apart, in person or remote.
But if nothing has changed about how leaders are setting up the conditions and situations for collaboration and innovation … it won’t … just … happen.
If nothing much has changed in how a business facilitates, guides or supports collaboration and innovation, arriving into a same-old stale office situation will do nothing to make people magically start collaborating and innovating.
It will do the reverse and make ideas and energy evaporate.
Collaborations and innovation seem like great reasons to spend more time in person with colleagues in a workplace.
But if nothing has changed in how leaders lead collaboration and innovation … it’s just … not … happening.
New ways of working need new ways of leading - not mandates and force.
The latest Workish episodes
Workish #4 with Lynne Cazaly
This episode features: What's behind the fear toward AI; What might be greater than wellbeing at work; The new fusion of 3 things in the workplace; Solving the challenges of learning; Boosting your diversity, equity and inclusion understanding ... and, some Randomness
Workish #5 with Lynne Cazaly
Do you have a toxic culture of niceness /How to stop the 'where are you working from today' questions / How to keep in touch with the office buzz ... and one thing that could be killing it / How you could be missing out on coaching, development or feedback / A cool choice for increasing employee retention and flexibility
Extracting creativity from reality
You know those reality shows on cooking, baking and making — you can love ‘em or hate ‘em — but there’s so much to learn from them.
And it’s not how to make a buttercream something or be a crowd favourite!
Each episode centres on a themed challenge. Plus it’s time-based as well, to help build the pressure, performance and interest.
Look beyond the characters or the game and you’ll see so many brilliant skills and capabilities at work.
Skills and techniques like:
🌀Listening - to a story, brief, background or feedback
🌀Understanding - the situation, challenge or problem to solve
🌀Ideation - of options, answers and making elements for the task
🌀Imagination - to find alternate methods or techniques
🌀Problem solving - when you’re bringing your idea from a conjured mental image to reality
🌀Slicing - not just the cake but breaking the seemingly insurmountable task into smaller steps
🌀Emotional regulation - dealing with anticipation, disappointment, nerves, doubt or dashed expectations
🌀Crisis management - when something unexpected happens, fails or breaks
🌀Persistence when a task seems impossible within the constraints
🌀Scaling - for quantity or visual impact
🌀Optimism - in the face of wanting to give up or run away.
We may not be certain what a particular skill or capability looks like until we see it demonstrated. These creative programs are packed full of skillful flavour … skills that apply to work and life.
Watch how people think, understand and act in an environment that demands changing and adaptive innovation.
What skills have you seen people display to solve the challenge and make the thing?
📺 What to watch?
Check Netflix and see programs like ‘Is it cake?’ or ‘Bake Squad’.
The comfort blanket of headphones 🎧
Do you use them, you know, really need them — headphones — for silence, concentration and focus?
Or as described here, are they ‘a way of insulating oneself against the hell that is other people’.
From the bustle and buzz of the pre pandemic workplace to the isolation of remote work: the silence and quiet of just a lone voice or three at home has potentially given us a greater need for the comfort of quiet.
All the noise cancelling time.
I wore them walking around a shopping centre the other day to create my own ambience and vibe thank you very much.
Boarding a plane and we may don the ear blanket asap. Or pre boarding if you really want protection from all the peoples that will be squashed together inside the metal.
Zoning out from others’ podcasts or streaming choices? Pass me my comforter… I mean my AirPods.
Debates aplenty here with:
▫️ear damage and etiquette
versus
▫️focus and creativity.
What say you? Hey… you, *waving*, talk to me will you.
What do you think about headphones at work, in life, in sleep, in a shop, at home? Do you need … you know, really neeeed?
Read more about how and why to detox and why drawing, sketching, getting into something a little less bright-light, might be just what you need
Designing for flexible work
Some brilliant insights in an article on flexibility for workers — not just parents who might want time off during the week, but older workers who might want a chunk of time off to travel.
And this often overlooked benefit :
“By sharing their knowledge, skills and life experiences, our older team members often become great mentors to their younger teammates.”
With life, industry and trade experience older workers are valuable to the team … and customers.
Flexible recruitment processes, flexible rostering and a reduction in hours when on the path to retirement, are all smart benefits that demonstrate a broader understanding of what it means to be flexible.
And consider how you and your teams can lead with greater focus on the important parts that are being missed.
Sync Async Audiobook is out now !
My most recent book ‘Sync Async: Making progress easier in the changing world of work’ is now available in audiobook.
What’s it about?
One of the best ways to respond and adapt to the changing world of work is to consider not just the work itself … but the WAY it gets done.
Consider:
◻️ Do we really need everyone at the same meeting at the same time? (synchronous work)
◻️ Could some people contribute prior to, or after the meeting or begin working on tasks outside of a meeting? (asynchronous work)
A growing number of teams and businesses are learning and experiencing the value of deliberately working in sync / async ways.
That is, some work is completed synchronously — at the same time with other people; and other elements of work completed asynchronously — at a time and in a way that suits them.
In this book you'll hear about:
◻️ how, why and when to work in sync and async ways
◻️ tools for creating your team’s sync async strategy
◻️ ways to identify the type of work you prefer
◻️ techniques to work in more async ways
◻️ how to make daily progress easier — get started on things that have stopped and accelerate things that have slowed.
You don’t need to wait for a culture to change or for someone to give you the go ahead on this. You can start working better in both sync and async ways from today.
There will always be too much to do and not enough time in which to do it. Putting practical sync async techniques to work can make your work easier … and the rest of life better.
Available via your usual audiobook app or supplier. Use one of your Audible credits to get the book now.
New ways in schooling
Evolutions in how we work don’t just happen in corporate offices or businesses.
New ways in how a school can work are most certainly working for the glorious Hester Hornbrook Academy led by their highly regarded principal, Sally Lasslett.
In this great piece in The Age, insights abound on how innovation, inclusion and new ways of thinking and working are helping make education happen … for the better.
Adaptive thinking in education is working on things like:
▫️meeting students where they are
▫️classes starting at 10 am
▫️no rows of desks, replaced with flexible seating like groups of desks or beanbags
▫️a focus on who students want to be,
and
▫️no need to leave after a graduation; students can keep coming back!
Funded by Melbourne City Mission (MCM), the independent school is thriving and growing and gaining attention for the right reasons.
It’s a most beautiful example of how to think beyond the default or mainstream … no matter the kind of work you do or the services your organisation provides.
Following on from the above post about Hester Hornbrook Academy in Melbourne, Australia, which has created a school for students who don’t like going to school, let’s think further …
How might we apply this to the workplace, more broadly?
Some changes in ways of working have been successes for those who need them:
▫️the non linear work day
▫️remote work
▫️asynchronous work
▫️work from anywhere
▫️the four day work week
▫️flexible working hours …
And so what else?
How else are workplaces helping make work better for those who don’t like work? Or don’t much like going to work?
There are things like:
▫️quiet spaces, booths and soundproofed areas
▫️collaborative cafe-style designs for a less formal feel
▫️softer furnishings to create a more comfortable environment
▫️ambient sounds and effects to create calm yet productive spaces
▫️creative tools for communication and collaboration
▫️online apps for contribution and collaboration
▫️cross functional teams to create greater progress and autonomy
▫️self-selected teams enabling people to exercise choice
▫️incremental work to help make better progress
▫️less time wasting activities like boring meetings and more outcome focused work
▫️iterative work to break tasks down in to manageable pieces
▫️a mindset of good enough to reduce the effects of perfectionism, …and plenty more.
What else?
What do you see that companies, business, leaders and teams are offering to make work that little more workable — particularly if you don’t want to go to work?
The meh of work / the anti-work trend
Any leader leading a team, any worker trying to work, is sure to have felt and seen that malaise … the discomfort and disinterested feeling towards work.
Where did the motivation go? How long has it been gone? And was it ever really there?
The stats are showing that many of us are wading through the ‘scrap heap of broken promises’ about a version of a future dream we’ve been quietly conjuring.
It’s a 50/50 moment. Some of us are happy enough and interested, some of us not so much.
With job roles important to our identity, if something isn’t quite right then it can feel incredibly wrong, having compounding effects elsewhere in our lives.
While a magic fix might not be as entirely visible — or as possible — as people would wish it to be, simply understanding that people are pretty ‘meh’ with things is important.
You know the … ‘I don’t need a solution, just give me some support, empathy and understanding’? Yeah, that.
As a team leader or HR practitioner, consultant, adviser or manager, be aware of these tones so you read the room and respond accordingly.
Thursday, February 8, 2024 at 8:45AM 
