Leading people and teams specialization
https://www.coursera.org/specializations/leading-teams
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)
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