Posts Tagged ‘organizational culture’

Alternatives to bureaucratic hierarchy

April 23rd, 2012

I don’t doubt that its possible to have an organization with out traditional managers. I’ve read about Semco and Morningstar Farms. I’ve talked to people who work at Gore. My husband works for a less well know firm that doesn’t have traditional managers. But those companies didn’t get there by happenstance. They got there by

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Trifecta of Doom: How Expectations for/about Managers Stymie Learning

December 19th, 2011

When I was promoted to a management role, I realized that the skills that made me standout as a programmer were not the skills I needed in my new role. I started reading. I found a mentor. I applied for a graduate program in leadership. But I was something of an exception. Many managers feel

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As Goes the Contracting, So Goes the Contract

April 5th, 2011

A while back, a colleague, Susan, called to ask me for some advice. “I’ve been planning a vacation with my family for months,” she said. “And now my new client wants me on-site next week. I’d be happy to come the week after next, but they keep pushing. I told them I couldn’t come because

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Resources don’t write software. People do.

December 6th, 2010

Resource 1. a : a source of supply or support : an available means —usually used in plural b: a natural source of wealth or revenue —often used in plural c: a natural feature or phenomenon that enhances the quality of human life d: computable wealth —usually used in plural e: a source of information or expertise

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culture of entitlement, culture of blame

May 17th, 2010

I received an email advertising  a workshop for managers, titled “Overcoming a Culture of Entitlement,”  last week. Here’s the hook: “When employees feel “entitled,” they resist change, they drag their feet, they’re not accountable, and leaders are constantly frustrated.” Who are these leaders that are constantly frustrated?  Might they be the same ones who had

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A Defining Moment

March 24th, 2010

ac-count-a-ble adj. 1. Subject to the obligation to report, explain, or justify something; responsible; answerable. 2. Capable of being explained; explicable. (The Random House College Dictionary, Revised Edition, 1988.) Did you know that’s what accountable means? I never would have guessed that from listening to how people use the word. And I hear people use it a

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