PLCs - protocols

 Reading for understanding protocols - link

Bad at writing

 "Many people assume they are bad at writing because it is hard. This is like assuming you are bad at weightlifting because the weight is heavy.

Writing is useful because it is hard. It's the effort that goes into writing a clear sentence that leads to better thinking."   James Clear

Hone the People Skills You Need as a Leader

 from Harvard Business Review

Hone the People Skills You Need as a Leader

More than ever, companies need leaders who can harness ingenuity and foster engagement. It’s not enough to be a technical expert or a visionary strategist. You also need to invest in your people skills to empower and enable your employees. These skills take different shapes in three areas: in small groups, across distinct networks (like teams and units), and across your entire organization. Here are the most important skills to develop in each area. In small groups and one-on-one interactions, prioritize listening. Asking good questions, empathizing with, and empowering your employees will allow you to draw wisdom, insight, and creativity from them, solve problems collectively, and foster a sense of psychological safety. Across networks, focus on collaborating and influencing. Agility and innovation depend on cross-functional cooperation and the ability to build and work through informal relationships. Across the organization, concentrate on culture-shaping and aligning. To empower, motivate, and inspire people on a large scale, you need to communicate a compelling direction or purpose and act as a cultural role model in your day-to-day leadership.

Gracefully Deliver a Difficult Decision to Your Team

 from Harvard Business Review daily email

Gracefully Deliver a Difficult Decision to Your Team

It can be difficult to tell your employees about a tough decision that will negatively impact them. Whether you’ve decided to cancel a project or are conducting layoffs, here’s how to deliver tough news in an honest, respectful, and compassionate way. First, don’t bury the lead. When you make the announcement, state the news clearly and at the top of your message. Obscuring or sugarcoating it will only make the experience more difficult for your team. Next, after delivering the news, take a pause. Give your team a moment to digest what you just told them, and don’t ramble to fill the silence or avoid eye contact. Then, take responsibility. You could say something like, “I know this is a lot to take in and comes as a shock to many. I will take a few minutes to explain how we came to this decision. I don’t expect you to agree with our conclusion. But I owe you an explanation of how we got here.” Finally, take time to show empathy, acknowledging the impact of the decision and the emotions people might be feeling. Close with an invitation for both conversation and support.

Show Your Employees That You’re Invested in Their Development

 from HBR

Show Your Employees That You’re Invested in Their Development

When you become a manager, you take on the responsibility of your direct reports’ career development in addition to your own. How can you demonstrate that their growth is a top priority? Start by having career-development conversations with your employees early and often. The dialogue should begin around a year into their tenure. You might send out a prompt in advance of the first conversation, with the goal of better understanding your employee and their aspirations. In the conversation itself, focus on asking questions and listening carefully. Find out what they enjoy working on most, what motivates them, and how they hope to grow. In the follow up, work with them to put together a customized development plan. Then run some small experiments—relatively simple changes to their responsibilities and workweek to point them in the right direction. For example, think about any classes, conferences, or training programs that might match their interests, and encourage them to come to you with ideas of their own. Finally, check in roughly once a month to make sure they’re on track. These conversations can be brief—a quick 15-minute chat is enough to remind your employee that you remain invested in their development.