Teams

Managing everyone in the same way can magnify differences and fuel resentment.

It allows big companies to recapture the energy of a startup.

Nowhere in a company is the need for coordination more acute than between the people who are responsible for product design and those responsible for manufacturing. As Daniel E. Whitney argued in these pages recently (“Manufacturing by Design,” July–August 1988), most companies have operated for years in an environment where design and manufacturing communicate infrequently, […]

Not long ago I was talking with a recently retired client who said that the best thing about retirement was not having weekends. I must have looked puzzled,...

I was reminded last week of a simple but important truth: if you want to manage people effectively, ask them what they need from you in order to succeed. The realisation came as I was coaching a executive who had been finding it very difficult to manage the disparate people in her team. Some were […]

Companies increasingly use external specialists to do key tasks. Processes don’t have to suffer.

How do leaders maintain morale and momentum when members of their team are close to collapsing in frustration over the obstacles they face? Perhaps the...

Researchers found educationally diverse teams perform better, but adding MBAs to the mix has both negative and positive effects.

The struggle to do more with less.

Here’s how smart companies deploy their best people to get great results.

Recently, I’ve been collaborating with Lynda Gratton of London Business School on a large research study of team behavior. As the Right Brain-Left Brain folks knew, diversity can in theory be very beneficial to team performance, particularly when innovation is the goal. However, to get the benefits of diversity, the team members must work well […]

The news that Cisco is dismantling its unique structure of councils and boards to reduce bureaucracy presents a cautionary tale and an insight into the...

Manage the onslaught.

Think of it as a common language for distributed teams.

It's the thing your boss most wants from you.

The famous Duke University basketball coach discusses his four-decade career, how he recruits and disciplines his players, the difference between college...

A four-step process.

It takes psychological safety, diversity, teamwork, and mission.

All teams would like to think they do their best work when the stakes are highest-when the company's future or their own rests on the outcome of their...

Ugh.