Warwick Business School hosts a free summer school, 17-18 June for Early Career Researchers & PhD students: - interested in a career at a business school - have an interest in health & care research or using it as a context for their work Apply by 17 April Please share: warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/wbs/...

New McKinsey research says that for workforce performance/productivity, the working model (office based, working from home or hybrid) is far less important than other factors. What matters most is the work environment that leaders create (whatever the working model): mckinsey.com/capabilities....

4 types of thinking for use beyond everyday thinking. We need to develop capability in all to address increasingly complex leadership challenges: 1) Expert 2) Critical 3) Strategic 4) System All are best done in teams. Together, asking even better questions: hbr.org/2025/02/the-... by Heidi Grant

Trust is essential for cooperation/coordination/performance at work. Trust is a dynamic process, not static, fuelled by reciprocity: people responding to positive actions with other positive actions sfu.ca/complex-syst.... By simonfraseru.bsky.social. Indepth: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Is it time to shift the balance of our change thinking/practice from changing individuals to changing the systems around them? Not just just redesigning choices - but reshaping the conditions that create them: medium.com/@noelito/fro.... By noelito7.bsky.social who posts great content on Medium.

Some fantastic (free) resources for change inspired by social movements in the Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario "Leading Change Toolkit": rnao.ca/bpg/leading-... A key graphic has been adapted by The Center for Implementation: thecenterforimplementation.com/toolbox/soci....

We're constantly comparing ourselves to others. Comparison can be a source of distress or development. How to avoid comparison that creates feelings of inadequacy & reduced self worth whilst using comparison for inspiration, motivation & perspective: sloanreview.mit.edu/article/a-be...

There's a growing appreciation of the power of "empathetic leadership". Yet 52% of study respondents felt their organisation's efforts to be empathetic were dishonest. This suggests that while leaders are trying, many of us may be going about it wrong: t.co/2D5QlGLL4b. By tanmayvora.bsky.social

When we take part in unproductive meetings, the effect isn't just the immediate impact of wasted time. The effect can go on for hours. It's called a "meeting hangover": a period of diminished focus, motivation or productivity following a bad meeting. hbr.org/2025/02/the-.... V brentreed.bsky.social

Wanting to be "productive", we may spend much time in "doing" mode (achieving goals & checking items off lists). Might be better in "spacious" mode (pausing to see multiple possibilities, make wiser decisions, build relationships): hbr.org/2025/02/how-.... By Megan Reitz. Art: lianafinck.bsky.social

Addressing power gradients (gap between those with the most & least power in a team or system) is THE most effective lever for increasing psychological safety within a team. Many ways to take action for this: psychsafety.com/reducing-pow.... By jadegarratt.bsky.social via tomgeraghty.bsky.social

The "messy middle" of change: gap in the change process between intent/ambition & the ability of a system/org/team to make progress. Without methods to motivate people to work towards something new, we may never get past it. benholliday.com/2025/01/28/t... @benholliday.com. Graphics:Tash Willcocks

7 elements in tackling complex problems at work (not necessarily in linear order - all elements are interconnected). It starts with seeing the wider picture: we need to pull ourselves out of the specifics due to the interdependencies in big, complex problems: plan.io/blog/solving.... By Planio .

Effective facilitation can make a huge difference to outcomes. Clear communication, structured problem-solving & inclusive decision-making drives performance & innovation. Applies to both external facilitation & facilitation skills by every leader: voltagecontrol.com/articles/the... Image: Tim Leake

How do we create change to have impact on complex societal challenges? The Good Shift has a new “Learnbook”. Rather than the typical method of “understand the system first, then act”, their approach is “learning forward” through small actions as learning probes. t.co/EkOPpsP4Su. Via Tanya Verrall.

Research by Asana on 10k "knowledge workers" (like clinicians & managers): 60% of their time is spent not on their actual job, but on "work about work", eg, searching for information, managing shifting priorities & chasing work status: asana.com/resources/wh.... Via ferraroroberto.bsky.social. .

The simple act of sharing ideas can unlock unprecedented change across organisations & systems. If we want high-performing, productive people, building a culture of ideas-sharing is a big priority: jointhecollective.com/article/buil.... By Join the Collective. Graphic by Office Guy Cartoons

Research shows for employees, “feeling respected” is 17.9 X more powerful a predictor of an organisation’s culture score than the average factor (& 2 X as strong as the 2nd most important factor, supportive leadership). Advice for leaders: sloanreview.mit.edu/article/are-.... Graphic: Gaping Void .

"Team rituals" are regular activities/practices, eg huddles, team lunches, check-ins, celebrations. New research shows teams with more rituals have more engagement, psychological safety, knowledge & job satisfaction, leading to higher productivity/performance: lnkd.in/eXNNvP-G Art: lnkd.in/e_XmBeg9

With the correct link to the podcast: knowledge.insead.edu/leadership-o.... Thanks Annabav.bsky.social for alerting me!

Why efforts to decentralise decision making consistently fail & how to make it succeed. Redrawing the structure chart needs backing up with an ongoing effort to change the power dynamics. Podcast: knowledge.insead.edu/leadership-o... Article: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/.... By Michael Y Lee.

To be effective leaders of change & improvement, we can’t take a "one-size fits all" approach. The change methods need to fit the goal/problem, not the other way around. Greg Satell identifies 3 types of change problem & offers links to methods to support each: digitaltonto.com/2025/3-types...

"Humanocracy: creating organisations as amazing as the people inside them": a book that's had big impact on my change practice (new edition out in Aug 25). tanmayvora.bsky.social s new sketch on a key "Humanocracy" principle: impact multipliers for large scale change: linkedin.com/posts/tnvora....

For change agents, our ability to influence without authority is a key issue because the impact we create is tied to it. So I appreciated this article which sets out five approaches to influence: medium.com/code-like-a-.... By Vinita Bansal. Graphic by Office Guy Cartoons. .

Today, mitsmr.bsky.social published ten essential leadership tips for 2025 to "build your leadership skill set & solve tough challenges in the new year": sloanreview.mit.edu/article/10-e... Interesting how many of them are so called "soft skills". Perspectives of leadership are changing.

Too many health & care orgs have separate, unconnected strategies for quality/process improvement & AI. Yet they are mutually reinforcing: combining them can generate huge productivity gains. However, it requires a lot of change leadership: hbr.org/2025/01/how-.... By Tom Davenport & Tom Redman.

"Busyness" is an affliction for many of us. It often fulfils a deep need but means no time for things that really matter to us. We can make 2025 the year when, individually & collectively, we're less "busy". See: medtrics.org/why-do-we-al... by Dalia Oufi. Art: Liana Finck via adamgrant.bsky.social

I've created a deck of 50 graphics I posted on X, LinkedIn and/or Bluesky that got the greatest response in 2024. I put them on SlideShare (Hope you can see past the multiple adverts). Here's to a 2025 where we can learn, share, listen, debate & make change together. slideshare.net/slideshow/20...

Planning is important for leading change but mostly for different reasons than people think. Plans are NOT about prediction/control. They're about giving the permission/confidence/encouragement to move forward: thelsweekly.substack.com/p/psychology.... Via sheril mathews & ferraroroberto.bsky.social

Taking a systems approach to leading with kindness. Outstanding new paper - Dec 2024. Sets out 10 evidence-based systems based on 4 domains (agency/collective effervescence/camaraderie/optimism): drive.google.com/file/d/15qAu.... Thanks Steve Swensen for this link so article isn't behind a paywall

New Demos report on public sector productivity says leaders over-focus on “what works” for efficiency, rather than “what matters” to people: alexfoxblog.wordpress.com/2024/11/13/t... Via alexfoxshared.bsky.social Blog (with links to resources): linkedin.com/pulse/moving.... By noelito7.bsky.social

There's a growing appreciation of the importance of trust for team leadership & effective change. As leaders we're signal generators - our smallest actions/interactions can build or destroy trust. A piece on powerful, practical ways we can build trust: medium.com/management-m.... By Pinnacle Project

Thinking differently about change. - Transformation: large-scale, top-down initiatives aimed at achieving an ideal end state. vs. - Trajectory change: deep, values-aligned shifts, rooted in adaptability, collaboration & shifting power. charlierataj.medium.com/from-transfo.... By Charlie Rataj .

New! (Free)"special report" from Sloan Management Review on innovating with day-to day work & workflows to improve productivity, engagement & retention. It covers: 1) work design 2) work scheduling 3) improving the flow of work by reducing bottlenecks. sloanreview.mit.edu/offers-free-...

Yesterday I got to listen to and meet Dr Anthony Fauci at #IHIForum. His messages about championing science and truth, and about really listening to people, even if they present as adversaries are messages for the world. Thank you @theihi.bsky.social for enabling this.

Had a conversation today about the difference between "kindness" & "niceness" in leadership so decided to post about it. The article & graphic explain why, as leaders, we should choose kindness over niceness: lnkd.in/e6FfD8eQ. By Emmanuel Barrera. Graphic: @justin-mecham.bsky.social via Dan Grimes

Simple rules can be a powerful way to enable change in a complex system. They're a set of principles that everyone agrees to & help us move forward in a consistent/shared direction. See hsdinstitute.org/practice-hsd.... Simple rules for leaders from Goran Henriks & I: blogs.bmj.com/bmjleader/20...

The strategic power of hope. New Harvard Biz article. Negativity attracts attention BUT if we anchor our strategies in hope - a deliberate belief in shared goals & actions - we can steer our teams towards growth, connection & creativity: lnkd.in/eQ_eBcD2. By Jamil Zaki. Graphic: Office Guy Cartoons.

Collaboration & co-creation aren't the same thing. If we want to do things differently in future, collaboration (working with others who might not share our goals) isn't enough. People need to be near the creation process (co-creation) to work in creative ways. lnkd.in/gA2sB4Z9. By Dennis Hambeukers

NHS managers at (Agenda for Change) bands 6-8a line manage up to 80% of NHS people. These “frontline” leaders have an outsize influence on NHS performance. See eg: bcg.com/publications... by BCG. I'm spending tomorrow with 4 NHS systems seeking ways to unleash the potential of frontline managers .

We work in socio-technical systems. Very often our improvement efforts over-focus on the technical (strategies, priorities, processes, methods, metrics) & under-focus on the socio (collaboration, agency, relationships, culture). See nateschloesser.medium.com/people-over-.... By Nate Schloesser.

New article in MIT Sloan Management Review shows how leaders who influence through collaboration get better outcomes from decisions than leaders who try to "sell" their ideas. Getting the support of others without formal authority works better than persuasion: sloanreview.mit.edu/article/why-... .

Increasingly as leaders of change we work with/through community. "The Community Weaving Handbook" (weaving as you can't just build a community in a mechanistic way) offers outstanding learning about creating healthy communities: handbook.community-weaving.org/communitywea... via Fabian Pfortmüller

As leaders, we cannot be silos. Our role is to enable the collaboration/connections that mean our teams can play to their specialist strengths but operate as part of a bigger collective whole. @jillgeisler.bsky.social suggests 8 actions for leaders: hfma.org/leadership/l.... Graphic: Julie Woodard .

Do we need different approaches for spreading/scaling innovation from spreading/scaling good practices for improvement? Join our virtual journal club to discuss: 3 Dec 1-2pm GMT. All welcome. Just register & turn up: events.zoom.us/ev/Ap902aD_6.... Read the article in advance: t.co/QGJ04JnxXp.

New research shows 5 actions leaders can take to make constructive challenge not just possible but an integral part of a thriving organisational culture. Summary article: sloanreview.mit.edu/article/five... (Fab)whitepaper setting out the research: imperialcollegelondon.app.box.com/s/7ykk79b6sz...

New research shows people will take on more challenging tasks if they see others around them do so - a form of social contagion. If, as leaders, we visibly engage in challenging tasks, we influence our teams to do the same, building a culture of growth & innovation psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/202...

It's great to see @tanmayvora.bsky.social on Bluesky. Tanmay's content is brilliant. I hope that others will follow him.

Sensemaking is a key skill for leaders. It means being an explorer rather than an expert, constant experimenting & sound judgment. Tanmay Vora shares "6 key practices of sensemaking" by @harold.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy & also sets out his own approach: claritycanvas.substack.com/p/leading-le...

Boundaries give us a sense of control/agency, clarify our responsibilities, preserve energy & let us live our values/standards. Often "boundaries" means time or home/life balance, but we should think about other boundaries as well. Great piece from Dr Hayley Lewis: halopsychology.com/2024/11/12/h...