26th April 2021.
Dear leaders,
I trust you had a good week and ready for the week ahead.
Some of the most popular leaders letters are me sharing my way of work and the frameworks I use.
So here is a select series of my operational ways of work:
Split out your browsers, inboxes and messages
One for work
Home for another.
Helps you prioritise, maintain and apply prioritisation.
Take and keep notes but have a system
I am a huge note taker and keeping a record, especially of micro-moments, select one way of taking notes, often in person pen and pad works best, type up (or scan and copy text),
Categorise and link to other notes. Think of the 1:2:1’s, the department notes you have to keep and actions you have given and the ideas you have on an ongoing basis.
These are all-important to take notes, check-in on progress and revisit.Revisit the Decision documents, companies typically only work when 'centralised knowledge' is kept, updated and shared.
No pointless or boring meeting rules
Meetings always have an owner - clearly called out and run by said owner
No attendees leave a well organised intentional meeting - be intentional and explain why they should attend and what their role is in this meeting and moving forward
Always have a no leaving rule (no leaving early or no leaving because you were invited to a bad or unorganised) - roll this out company-wide so it sticks
Meeting feedback is a gift - offer an open document for feedback. Many businesses can operate with silent start meetings, meaning they have centralised documents and share their thoughts and feedback and then discuss with one chair who updates and then the notes are reviewed and discussed.
Statuses Work
Have work statuses. The ones that typically work for my clients:
Available ✅
Away ❌
In a meeting 👥
At lunch 🥪
Deep work aka Do Not disturb 🤫
Ensure everyone understands what to use and when. This is not checking up on colleagues, this is to help understand how to support colleagues time and energy
Even if the most senior management team members or the HiPPO contacts you, follow the statuses to manage expectations.
Clear Internal Comms
IM channels for quick updates, not long threads
Stories style video updates work, even think about replacing in-person standup (Work in progress meetings definitely can be replaced and shortened)
Documents for more in-depth deliberate conversations
One dedicated project management tool (Notion, Monday or confluence all work well)
Email for external comms and important internal updates
Good luck rolling these out, happily hit reply if you have any questions around these points.
I offer consultancy to optimise and grow businesses blending people and tools together, happily get in touch.
Thanks and have a good week,
Danny Denhard
PS: If you are looking for a professional management coach, get in touch I coach managers of all levels from new managers to C-Suite executives.
PPS: I highly recommend you the 5 inspiring leadership tips from David Marquet -