Maneuvering Monday – Details, episodes & analysis

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In this book swap conversation, we discuss organizational design and unblocking barriers within companies with Jurriaan Kamer, author of the books 'Unblock' and 'Formula X'. In the context of Unblock and Maneuvering Monday, we explore the importance of leadership, metrics, employee empowerment, and corporate culture, while also sharing insights on writing and publishing books.

Some of the main themes from the conversation are

• Organizations often feel busy yet unproductive due to systemic dysfunctions
• Autonomy in teams must be balanced with alignment to organizational goals
• Leadership teams should function as cohesive units rather than individual silos
• Metrics can distort productivity and lead to unintended consequences
• Effective meetings require clear processes and engagement from all participants
• Corporate culture is shaped by behaviors and decisions, not just stated values
• Engaging employees in conversations about barriers can lead to actionable solutions

Jurriaan shares lots of great, tangible advice and methods for how to navigate when you feel stuck in organizational dysfunctions. If you would like more advice, you can visit his website or check out his services.

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Anne Katrine & Ivanna

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In this episode, we discuss the intersection of gender, finance, and leadership with our guest Rikke Lundsfryd, author of "Meget Mindre" (loosely translated: "Much Less"). The conversation explores the persistent gender gap in pension savings, the societal expectations placed on women, and the importance of financial literacy. Rikke shares insights from her book and personal experiences, emphasizing the need for open conversations about financial equality and the role of women in financial decision-making. The episode also touches on the challenges of publishing and the importance of sustainable investments.

You can buy Rikke's book here, read more on her website, and we absolutely also recommend that you check out her podcast, which deep dives into the different themes of the book.

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In the final part of chapter 5, things start to get real when Marie learns from Willie that Natalie purchased spare parts from Russia for Zebra Apps' physical data center, and that she likely traveled there together with Frank and Andrea. She also learns that every time the engineers create new features for ASLO, they  increase their physical footprint in the data center.

Jenni and Marie explains to Jaque why Zebra Apps is bleeding money, and suggest him to create a better way to charge their customers for the products. They collect feedback from the engineering department, and agree to investigate the options to either migrate away from the data center or keep it and provide hosting services to other companies. But could their product quality challenges be solved by simply talking more to each other? Could it be more about culture - and taking responsibility for the whole product as a team?

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In this commentary episode, we are pleased to talk to Paul Hargreaves, CEO of Cotswold Fayre & Flourish and renowned author of the books Forces For Good and The Fourth Bottom Line about purpose-driven and compassionate leadership.

We wish Zebra Apps had a CEO like Paul. And not just as Chief Executive Officer, but Chief Empowerment Officer, who makes sure that everyone in the organization is working to their full potential.

We discuss how Zebra Apps' customer-led strategy is out of control, and there is an absence of leadership and culture-setting across the whole business. A leader must be present - but how? Paul has several suggestions, including letting go of your individual office - and maybe even your desk! - to ensure that you spend time with your employees. While we do not talk detailed models and frameworks, Frederic Laloux (author of the book 'Reinventing Organizations' and one of the leading figures in the new ways of working movement) is brought up during the conversation.

We learn that people who eat together generally stay together, and the true/literal meaning of the word "company" (from Late Latin companio, "bread fellow," com meaning "with, together" and panis meaning "bread"). We discuss the importance of rigorously reinforcing habits, and being your true self at work, even if it gets messy from time to time. And then we talk a bit about how global conflicts and pandemics impact businesses in ways we could never imagine 5 years ago.

Curious to learn more from Paul? You can find him on LinkedIn or visit his website, where you can also find more information about his books.

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Marie interviews the engineers to map out who work on the different aspects of ASLO. She learns that they belong to two teams, and uses an animal metaphor to convince Jenni to reorganize the engineering department to fix the quality issues, and to start funding the teams in a way that ensures continuous improvement.

Marie meets up with Anne, and learns that she is secretly conspiring with Jason and Jaque to save Zebra Apps. Jaque shares that Zebra App’s financial situation is problematic due to the subscription structure, and that he suspects that Nathalie has been considering selling Zebra to a Russian company - which could explain why she did not want to offer ASLO for free to the children fleeing from Ukraine.

Thank you to Katie Christensen for reading this episode.

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In the first part of chapter 5, we have invited guest expert Michelle Leedy, who is an organization effectiveness, design and transformation business leader, passionate about creating value and positive impact through authentic leadership. Michelle brings more than 20 years experience in consulting and leadership roles across multiple business industries and functions to the table.

As Marie makes a CLM (career limiting move) and decides to join the engineering department to help fix ASLO, she seems to be so caught up in her own orbit that she misses what's going on in the universe that surrounds her. Decisions are made reactively and without much analysis or rationale. We talk about to value of taking a step back and assessing the situation before jumping to conclusions.

We debate whether engaging in scuttlebutt (thanks for teaching us a new word) can be helpful when building trust in a new group or is just problematic. We discuss integral parts of a business operating model, how to know which leaders to listen to, and how to do competency assessments. And finally, Michelle gives her take on whether Erik really has Marie's best interests in mind or if he's simply out for her job.

Concepts and frameworks

• Stakeholder Analysis
• RACI
• SWOT Analysis
• Business Operating Models
• PESTLE Analysis
• 360 Assessments

Would you like to learn more from Michelle? Please do not hesitate to contact her through LinkedIn.

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In this first section of chapter 5, the UX Designer Jason makes a comeback at Zebra Apps. A mysterious meeting is taking place with attendance by the full leadership team and a white-bearded man. And Marie's colleague and employee Erik once again urges her to use her informal power and influence to help the engineers fix their dysfunctions and save Zebra's star product ASLO. Will she accept and join the hooded man-children in the engineering department?

Thank you to Katie Christensen for reading this episode.

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In this special edition episode, we talk to IT Service Management specialist and value stream thinker David Billouz about the fourth chapter of Marie's journey in Zebra Apps.

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In the last commentary episode of chapter 4, we talk to Mary Lemmer, who is not only the founder of the company Improve, but also a keynote speaker, conference session facilitator, longtime entrepreneur, writer/author, and improv comedian.
 
The story episode is full of attempts to solve the team communication and culture problems that have been identified earlier, and to disclose the key lessons from the commentary episode up front: 

1. The way you approach a situation makes a difference
2. You need to acknowledge the root of a problem before you can fix it
3. Sugar will not solve your company's culture problem

We discuss some of the possible reasons to trust a leader besides professional capability, and how cinnamon buns are nothing but #emptyperks, when Zebra Apps' management continuously leave out diabetics like Willie. And frankly, when is sugar really the right solution? We talk about the impact of information hoarding, communication gaps, and imposter syndromes.  The importance of people's tone of voice. And finally, a kind recommendation to everyone listening: "If it feels weird, do it."

Frameworks and models

• Paradox of knowledge
• The Tiny Things Tuesdays ritual, where the team get together to surface tiny things that need to be paid attention to. 
• CliftonStrengths Online Talent Assessment to look at employee's strengths and potential to improve
• Thrive, tested, thanked: A framework for individuals to assess where they thrive, where they feel tested, and how they would like to be thanked.
• Kim Scott's Radical Candor 
• The acceptance principle: Saying “Yes, and” — A principle for improv, business & life | by Mary Lemmer | IMPROVE | Medium

You can learn more about Mary on her website, or about the company Improve on their website. Also, check out Mary's TED Talk: “How improv can improve your leadership and life”.

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Anne Katrine & Ivanna

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Marie and Mark are interviewing for the CFO position, and Marie learns from the employees in the Finance department that they are not wishing for a specialist manager, but a leader to represent them in the management team. Natalie suggests the VP of Sales, Jaque, which disappoints Mark. Jason returns to Zebra Apps, and Paul bakes cinnamon buns for an extended HR breakfast. Joseph makes assumptions about Marie's health, and Erik suggests that Marie takes a break from her job in HR to become a full-time coach in the Engineering department.

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Anne Katrine & Ivanna