# Leading people and teams specialization

I really liked this course, which consisted of four modules plus a capstone assessment. Some of the formatting on the assessments didn't quite work right, and a lot of the topics would be better covered by text than videos, but it gave sensible and to-the-point advice on a wide range of topics.

Main criticisms:

* A lot of the content was based on research that has already failed to replicate or is likely to do so in future. In a couple of cases, I think outright fraud has been discovered, but in most cases it's just implausible effect sizes from studies with tiny samples.
* Charts were often poorly labelled or failed to follow best practices.
* Citations weren't always as detailed as they should be.

Having said that, I would recommend it to anyone, whether in a leadership role or not. It's possible that a book would be a better format for some of this content, but videos have their advantages too.

Some takeaways:

* Focus on the things that produce the most value
* People are motivated by seeing the end product of their work — what is the impact on the customer?
* Carefully consider the level of challenge in goals
  * Challenging goals only work if people accept them
  * Challenging goals can work well for people/teams with a learning orientation, but can hurt those with a performance orientation
* Specific learning goals (learn how to solve this problem in this way) can reduce creativity, harming both performance and learning
* Developmental experiences (those with a suitable level of challenge and novelty) are important for development
* Most learning happens on the job, but you should consider how to structure the job to increase this learning
* Remember that other people may have different values or goals to you, so it's important to listen to them
* It can be beneficial to separate evaluation from development feedback so that the former doesn't distract from the latter
* Keep running notes on performance throughout the year
* Negative feedback
  * Should be given as soon as possible
  * Should focus on behaviours, not personality
  * Should be followed by positive reinforcement when behaviours improve
  * And often isn't as effective as positive reinforcement in general
* When recruiting, consider what brand you're projecting; why should people want to work for you?
* Onboarding is often done poorly and should be prioritized
* Maintain relationships across functional boundaries
* Larger teams tend to be more innovative, with performance peaking at around 5-10 people with diverse functional backgrounds
* The optimal team structure can vary based on things like whether the environment is dynamic or predictable
* People mostly talk about common information, so try to shift discussions towards unique information
* While relationship conflict is harmful, task conflict is often beneficial
* Rather than compromising, consider what other issues can be brought into play to find something that works for everyone
* Training as a team improves transactive memory (knowing who knows what)

<table data-view="cards"><thead><tr><th></th><th></th><th></th><th data-hidden data-card-target data-type="content-ref"></th><th data-hidden data-card-cover data-type="files"></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>Inspiring and motivating individuals</strong></td><td></td><td></td><td><a href="/pages/QfcGapHRYjAniTpT89kj">/pages/QfcGapHRYjAniTpT89kj</a></td><td><a href="/files/UHF7zjwcq36zmrwja3ub">/files/UHF7zjwcq36zmrwja3ub</a></td></tr><tr><td><strong>Managing talent</strong></td><td></td><td></td><td><a href="/pages/e8vTQNXhR34FeQgLJ8FW">/pages/e8vTQNXhR34FeQgLJ8FW</a></td><td><a href="/files/vxs1ER5I8VkIA0IaOqfo">/files/vxs1ER5I8VkIA0IaOqfo</a></td></tr><tr><td><strong>Influencing people</strong></td><td></td><td></td><td><a href="/pages/5ijjwxoPUGJ0f8Acohu7">/pages/5ijjwxoPUGJ0f8Acohu7</a></td><td><a href="/files/WqTZslyWgLz3XWQj63oY">/files/WqTZslyWgLz3XWQj63oY</a></td></tr><tr><td><strong>Leading teams</strong></td><td></td><td></td><td><a href="/pages/FBs6YRjRo2b7kQsfk21L">/pages/FBs6YRjRo2b7kQsfk21L</a></td><td><a href="/files/SdPaDKIKifbvNn0jWHM0">/files/SdPaDKIKifbvNn0jWHM0</a></td></tr></tbody></table>


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