Keeping Remote Teams Engaged

THERE’S a phrase that seems to be everywhere in the business world right now, but it is likely missing from most companies’ crisis management plans: Artificial Intelligence (AI). Crack open any decent crisis planning playbook, and you’ll find detailed roadmaps for navigating natural disasters, system failures, and traditional cyberattacks. These risks are well understood, and crisis management planners have often seen how other organizations have handled these setbacks or even dealt with them themselves. Although AI now touches on great swaths of our professional and personal lives, it is still a very young technology. And while most people vaguely understand that AI in…

IDEAS shared have the power to expand perspectives, change thinking, and move lives. Here are two ideas for the curious mind to engage with: I. Carey Nieuwhof on large and loud opponents to change: “The loudest people affected by a proposed change are those who are most opposed. The more opposed people are, the louder they tend to become. The problem arises because the noise of opponents to any change will make you a bad mathematician. “You will confuse loud with large. And you will confuse volume with velocity. You will begin to believe that because opponents are loud, they are many, and because they have volume, they have momentum. Those are the two traps almost ev…

MOST leaders reach a point where they can see exactly where their company needs to go. The vision is clear — more sophisticated, more scalable, more aligned with the leader they’ve become. They didn’t get to this point by accident. The clarity they have now is the product of a commitment to transformation expressed through years of building, learning, and evolving. But the company is still organized around an earlier version of their leadership. The revenue is real. The clients are happy. On paper, it works. But the routines, the roles, the decision-making patterns were designed for a different stage. Maybe a different strategy entirely. As the founder, every day pulls …

IDEAS shared have the power to expand perspectives, change thinking, and move lives. Here are two ideas for the curious mind to engage with: I. Nicole Vignola on learning as default thinking: “The first major underpinning of a growth mindset is that people with this mindset understand that learning is a valuable opportunity in the face of adversity. When people believe that they can improve and grow from failure and setbacks, they are more likely to engage in challenging tasks and persist through difficulty. When people know and understand that the brain is malleable and are willing to adapt to circumstance, they are more likely to persist in the face of obstacles. Th…

THE causes of job strain, burnout, and poor mental health at work are well understood — and so are the solutions. Workload can be managed. Jobs can be designed with autonomy and voice. Leaders can be trained to create psychological safety. Systems can be built that reward recovery and fairness, not just output. Which means harm to our workers isn’t inevitable — it’s a design choice. Organizations that fail to design for good work will pay for it in absenteeism, turnover and disengagement. But the deeper cost is borne by the workers. People don’t thrive when they’re confused, unsupported, or underused. They thrive when they feel capable and valued. Research by organizati…

IDEAS shared have the power to expand perspectives, change thinking, and move lives. Here are two ideas for the curious mind to engage with: I. Brad Stulberg on goals: “Goals are like mountaintops. They are important insofar as they provide definition and direction for our journeys. They serve as targets, offering a wellspring of motivation. They keep us focused and prevent us from aimlessly wandering. Yet nearly all of our growth, development, and meaning occur not at the point of accomplishing a goal but during its pursuit. There is no greater illusion than thinking the accomplishment of some goal will change your life. What will change your life is how you are tran…