January 2022
#MonthNotes
I’ve decided to continue with the practice I developed in 2021 of writing MonthNotes. I’ve taken this decision partly becuause I’ve found reflecting and writing these notes helpful, partly because last year I valued having the record, and partly because I believe in the value of working in the open.
1. What went well?
- Starting a new project to develop guidance for teams on how to go-to-market with new products
- Finding — and working with — new coachees
- Conversations about the medium-term future of Cambridge Curiosity & Imagination — the arts & wellbeing charity whose board of trustees I chair. We’re developing a three-year plan for the organisation for the first time and also beginning to discuss how to sustain the organisation’s work beyond that period.
- Finding focus at work:
Early in January, I was feeling that there were lots of things I could be doing, and I wanted to ensure that I stayed focused on the things where I would add most value, or have greatest impact (eg where I felt that if I didn’t move an intiative forward, it would slow down), and where there was a clear connection to our organisational priorities.
For the first time in my life, I drew up a list of my personal ‘Big rocks’: I had five of them. I wasn’t explicit in deciding what I would not do, which is a classic technique for focusing/prioritising. However, having my list of Big Rocks meant that when a request or something new came up, I had a tool to help me assess whether to take it on and how to respond. (A bias for action can be an advantage, but sometimes reflection over action is good.)
Having the list also helped me to limit the amount of my ‘work in progress’: over the month I’ve been comfortable adding two new Big Rocks to my list, partly because three of my Big Rocks I managed to progress to the stage where I handed them over to someone else. (I expect they’ll come back to me at some point, but they’re not currently sitting with me, and when they do, I’ll be able explcitly to weigh them against the other Big Rocks I have on my list at that time.) Also, there’s another piece of work that I’d like to do (and that noone else will do), but I’ve decided that I’m not going to start it until I can get another on my Big Rocks to the stage where it’s ‘done’ (or at least I’m done with it).
2. Who did you meet up with in a different organisation/sector?
I went to a meet up of the Better Value Sooner Safer Happier Community, where Giles Turnbull — whose work I’ve admired for years — gave a fantastic talk on ‘Five ways to get started with agile comms’:
As a former chief of staff, I ran a session for 30+ chiefs of staff as part of On Deck’s chief of staff fellowship, which brings together chiefs of staff to learn in a community of peers, mentors, and leaders. I talked about the importance of psychological safety.
I was planning to join a meet up with a talk by Tom Geraghty on the history and evolution of psychological safety, but Life…
So I watched the recording later instead. (Tom also shared his slides.)
3. What was difficult?
We’ve got some organisational changes happening at work. The changes themselves are spot on, and I’m really pleased they’re happening (indeed I’ve been saying we should organise ourselves in this way for at least a couple of years). But — despite thinking that I’ve pretty good attenae — the day I was told they were happening, I felt discombobulated by the news, as my mind raced to process the changes and understand what they meant.
Later, I was reminded of this quote that Dan Pink shared:
As Dan said, it’s a cheesy quote but good advice nonetheless.
4 . What did you learn?
I learnt a couple of new words that I like:
- Nemawashi (根回し) in Japanese means an informal process of quietly laying the foundation for some proposed change or project, by talking to the people concerned, gathering support and feedback, and so forth
- Generativity involves caring about what comes after you (eg in future generations), and I like how Jessica Kerr applies it to unseen work in teams and organisations
In my coaching training, we discussed giving feedback and how to start with the end in mind. I found helpful the suggestion that we think about two key questions ahead of giving feedback to someone:
What do you want your feedback to make the other person think, feel, or do?
If you were the other person, what feedback would you find most useful?
Linked to those questions, we discussed the timing of feedback and what might be effective at different times.
I also learnt about the ‘AID model’ for giving feedback:
Other thought-provoking resources I got on feedback:
- Moving from feedback to feedforward — interview with Joe Hirsch
- How to reduce bias in feedback — interview with Therese Huston
5. Who or what inspired you?
- Elsevier’s work to make our products fully accessible to everyone, regardless of physical abilities
- Henry Shukman:
I first came across Henry through his interview on the Tim Ferris show.
I followed that up with his interview with Sam Harris.
- Listening to A Call for Being Together Differently
6. What did you enjoy?
- Meeting people in real life:
I had three meetings where everyone was together in the same room — the first such meetings I’ve been in since March 2020 (22 months ago…). It brought back to me what I get from reading the room, which you cannot get from an online or even a hybrid meeting.
- Rebecca (finally) re-starting the third and final year of her Rolfing training, after a delay of 20 months
- Embarking on a new ‘ten series’ of Rolfing sessions myself as one of the practice clients for one of the other students on the training course and having my first three sessions in the series. (I first went through the series four years ago.)
- Watching the Back to the Future triology
- Discovering the music of Joel Grainger
- Planting trees with Cambridge Past, Present & Future
7. What are you looking forward to in February?
- The first meetings of my new team
- Meeting new starters when I present a session in our onboarding program
- Continuing my Rolfing series
