PinnedMember-onlyThis simple team activity builds psychological safety.invite participation, promote open conversation — Your team is highly unlikely to access high performance when psychological safety is low. When it comes to high performance, that sense of safety is simply table-stakes; an enabler. Most people think psychological safety is about creating happy teams. Nope. Wrong. Psychological safety is about high performance. That’s it. Now…Psychological Safety3 min readPsychological Safety3 min read
PinnedHave Better 1:1 Meetings by Talking Less and Drawing MoreAdd lightness, play & safety to challenging conversations in 30 seconds — When your boss wants you to work on being more “[insert quality here]”, this quick and playful game brings lightness, openness and safety to the conversation. Take, for example… … “You’d do well to be more ASSERTIVE in the room.” … “I get feedback I need to work on INFLUENCE.” …Leadership2 min readLeadership2 min read
PinnedMember-onlyLet Me Hold Your RopesWhat I think about when I think about coaching — What is coaching? How does it work? What happens? My answer has many words, and many more feelings. Let me show you a singular image. One to convey the essence of coaching. One that immediately connects me to partnership, exploration, aliveness and audacious goals. So what is coaching? For me…Leadership6 min readLeadership6 min read
PinnedDiary of a Broken BoarderTrue Events from Les Deux Alpes, 1999 — Prologue In 1999 I broke my back in a snowboarding accident. I was fortunate, and six months later enjoyed a full recovery. For many years this small chapter was a defining identity story for me. …Life Lessons11 min readLife Lessons11 min read
Mar 20Member-onlyCurious leaders need disruptive provocation to challenge their thinking.15 spiky points of view to help you reflect — An executive coaching client recently said of me— “Few people challenge and engage like he does.” As a positive testimonial of what I bring to coaching clients it means a lot to me, because it reflects the discomfort and edge-work I continue to engage with. Provocation There is significant value in…Leadership3 min readLeadership3 min read
Aug 24, 20224 beliefs that held me back as a new manager in the tech world and kept me playing small too long.How changing my mind got me out of my own way — In 2014 I was offered the chance of a lifetime — to feel like an incompetent, spineless, lonely phoney — and I went all in. I became an Engineering Manager at Google in NYC. And that’s when I created my own hell. So if you too want a promotion, and…Leadership Development2 min readLeadership Development2 min read
Aug 22, 2022Quickly build your empathy to expand your leadership impact in the tech industry with this 1 surprising activity…… and see your teams’ performance soar. — Hey, you want to go rock climbing? I’ll hold your ropes. So you want to build empathy? Are you ready to step out of your usual comfort and open yourself to feeling higher intensity emotions? Go rock climbing! Here’s what I promise you: 👉 You are physically connected to someone else, and you rely on…Empathy2 min readEmpathy2 min read
Aug 18, 20229 ideas that kept me afloat during an identity crisis when I let go of 28 years as a tech leader and became someone new.How I remembered what I’d forgotten about who I am — In 2018 I had an identity crisis. I left the best job I’d ever had and relocated from a dream life in NYC back to the UK to start something new. I was fast approaching 50. The stories I clung to about who I was no longer kept me afloat. …Identity3 min readIdentity3 min read
Aug 17, 2022Why new tech managers should care about getting people promoted, even those that hate it.It’s not about promotion. It’s about high performing teams. — As a new tech manager you should care deeply about getting people promoted, even those that hate it, so that you can build a high performing team. 👇 “I’ll go for promo next cycle” “I’m too busy” “I haven’t prepared” “Everyone wants my feedback” “It’s all corporate bull-$#!+” Yes and…Leadership Development2 min readLeadership Development2 min read
Aug 16, 2022The Single Most Important Leadership Lesson I’ve Learned Working In Big TechNot all lessons are created equal. Some lessons we learn are small. They are little reminders along the way of what truly matters. Other lessons are transformational. They fundamentally change how we see ourselves and the world we create around us. Over the past 30 years working in big tech…2 min read2 min read
