Table of Contents

• Hello!

• Updates

• Learning Cultures Build A Culture of Resilience

• 1% Solutions

• Things I’m Reading/Listening To

Hello!

I’m writing live from Austin, Texas and SxSW EDU!

I’ve been exploring topics like skills based hiring, youth apprenticeships, staffing , and educational R&D- and that was just Monday! One of the best parts of being here is connecting with practitioners in the work who are working to for kids and our greater society despite the chaos. It’s a good reminder to step back from the news and be in the world. Even if don’t work in social impact or can’t be at a conference, pick a cause you care about and volunteer your time in some way. Much better than hate following your crazy cousin or high school classmate on IG and wondering where it all went wrong (hypothetically speaking, of course)

I am also on a side quest to eat as many tacos and quesadillas as possible. If you ar reading this before Wednesday, feel free to share your recommendations!

(If you are interested, I have been to: Veracruz, Tacodeli, Taqueria 10/10 and Asador on Rainey. All amazing- though I think the carne asada quesadilla from Taqueria 10/10 may have been my favorite).

Updates

I’m on topmate! I’ve found that micro-engagements can be super helpful for many people- one hour or a few emails can sometimes be just the boost you need to be more strategic. You can book a strategic call or emails directly on the site itself.

I’ve paused my midlevel leader cohort as my announcement fell around the time all the executive orders began coming out, and folks were still figuring so many things out. But I have been working with a few organizations on designing internal leadership training programs. If you or your team are interested in either having an outside facilitator or booking a strategy session to develop your own program, let me know. I have availability in April for up to two more engagements. Book time here.

Learning Cultures Build A Culture of Resilience

Years ago, we learned about the importance of grit and many of us- myself included - began integrating it into how we spoke to students and staff. The problem that soon arose was that organizations were praising those with grit or calling on those without recognizing its own role. At best this is a miss, at worst it feels like organizational gaslighting. And while yes we need to have individual responsibility and accountability it is also on the organization to create the conditions in which those characteristics thrive.

Which brings us to today. The buzzword I hear a lot is resilience. How do we help our folks to be resilient?

Because I am chronically online, I saw this post from Sharon McMahon (which drew from Dr. Becky Kennedy’s work), and it immediately resonated. Not knowing is uncomfortable and in our fixed mindset culture comes with a feeling that we’ve done something wrong or that we’re missing something. We don’t reward uncertainty nor do we often create space for it. So it shouldn’t come as a shocker that many organizations bemoan that teams aren’t resilient. (A side and related note: I find this can be just as true in school and social impact spaces. The urgency and weight of our mission can sometimes lead to a focus on outcomes rather than process- to the detriment of both).

I’ve had some experience in getting folks to be comfortable with being uncomfortable: teaching middle school, starting our network’s first high school, launching performance management systems, leading change initiatives. While these may seem like very different ventures, the through line is getting folks comfortable enough to adapt and see the learning as a challenge and opportunity. Some tactics that I’ve found helpful in building the

• Reframe from “you have to do something differently” to “WE are figuring this out together”- Leading change solely in a top down way seldom goes well- especially if you are working with adults with experience and who are knowledge workers.

• Create a culture of rigor and questioning- Set your team up to act like scientists. What is the actual problem you are trying to solve?How do you know? Where are the bright spots? Is everyone experiencing the problem in the same way? Make this type of analysis how your team operates consistently. Routinely looking at data and progress ensures things don’t suddenly go off the rails and encourages a culture of consistent improvement And yes, you have to make sure you turn this lens on yourself as well.

• Normalize error- In spaces where there is not a clear path, normalize error. While your values, principles and strategic goals should be clear, HOW we get there should be up for debate. (Note: if you are in an industry with any sort of compliance- e.g. education or health care- make sure these things are clear) When things go awry, what can we learn from it? Encourage mini-pilots and experiments where appropriate.

• Create community - Part of what exacerbates anxiety during crisis and change is feeling along, like the only one struggling. So creating community where folks can rigorously problem solve and thought partner is essential. Reimagining team and 1:1 meetings can go a long way.

• Focus on inputs- If there are forces that make outcomes difficult to control, I’ve found it helpful to focus on process rather that outcome. For example, my recruitment team set a goal of of a certain number outreach emails they would send. They had analyzed the data to determine our average conversion to apply rate, and then work diligently to hit that number. Separately, the thing we can always control is controlling and analyzing our data. Having a clearly agreed upon action that folks re consistently held to can help cut through the noise and help folks to take cation. This doesn’t mean we abandon outcomes- that’s where the culture of rigor comes in- but it gives people a tangible and reasonable action to be held accountable for.
  
  Like anything, the above are not a one and done solution, and like any part of culture, it requires time and attention. Folks say culture eats strategy for breakfast, but you also need a game plan for articulating and operationalizing that culture.

1% Solutions

• Share an evaluation audit with managers and add this to your next check-in- It is March— meaning that we are about two months out from your last performance review. How are folks doing? How do you know? Have you shared that with them? Take the time to do a feedback audit and then follow up with folks accordingly. If folks are making great progress or are consistently doing well- tell them! And if the needle isn’t moving, get curious as a first step. And also, please talk to your HR Business Partner for ideas on how to engage in this conversation with the person you are supporting (If you don’t have one and need one, feel free to email me)

• Complete a crosswalk of your strategic goals for the coming year and your evaluation- Our evaluation systems codify and reward the behaviors that we want to so see. So if you’ve engaged or are engaging in a strategic plan of any scope, I suggest doing a crosswalk to see how your evaluation aligns with the new plan. Likely, there are connections and you need to align language. In some cases, you may need a refresh. But if your evaluation and strategic plan are not speaking the same language, this can lead to confusion and/or frustration by your team.

Things I’m Reading/Listening To

• Move Fast and Fix Things- I just finished this book by Francis X. Frei and Anne Moriss. It’s a relatively quick read that discusses moving fast is not necessarily bad- in fact, delaying or moving slowly can be to an organization’s detriment. But that doesn’t mean you need to move like a tech bro and bulldoze your people. I found the book to be clear, actionable and a solid framework- especially in our current climate.

• How to Get Past a Candidate’s Canned Stories- I feel like improving our interview’s ability to really get to know people is part science and part art. I found this LinkedIn article on how to get passed the “canned” story in a genuine and conversational way to be helpful.

• Avoiding the Workplace Mediocrity Trap- We already know that high performers tend to get lower quality feedback (which hurts their growth and greater retention efforts). But this article notes that teams with high rates of envy- especially if maintaining the status quo is more valued by peers- can lead to ostracizing higher performing individuals. “When high performing employees- good soldiers- are excluded or undervalued by their peers, their motivation can shift from driving success to undermining it. If proactive employees are ostracized by their coworkers, organizations will pay a heavy toll,” notes Cong. Whew. I’ve definitely remembered a few folks who would scoff when I challenged how we did something. While my instinct was either to retreat inwards or leave, I can see how this story could play out. It’s also a good reminder to question why your previously high performer is frustrated