At Work with The Ready

Explore the evolving nature of authority in remote work as teams strive for adaptability. Discover how self-awareness and clear policies can help define boundaries during transitions. The Waterline Framework guides decision-making by balancing freedom and structure, promoting a healthy governance process. Emphasizing collective authority, leaders are encouraged to empower teams and foster open communication, enabling employees to own their roles and navigate uncertainty successfully.

Dive into the transformative power of purpose in today's chaotic work environment. The hosts share how trust and adaptability assist leaders in fostering connection. They explore crafting authentic purpose statements that resonate with team identity. Insights on navigating uncertainty reveal how organizations can align missions with immediate needs while keeping an eye on long-term goals. Emphasis is placed on the importance of flexibility and real-time strategy adjustments amid unforeseen challenges, making it clear that adaptability is key.

In a world turned upside down, the hosts delve into the essentials of adapting to remote work. They highlight the importance of trust and flexibility, alongside humorous anecdotes about working from home. Leaders are urged to reshape expectations for better team dynamics, while the balance between control and chaos is explored. The discussion also focuses on building anti-fragile organizations, promoting autonomy and resilience in the face of ongoing challenges. Engage with this insightful journey into thriving amid uncertainty!

The one-on-one meeting, often between a manager and their "direct report" is among the most common and popular meetings in existence. But it may also be the most harmful.In this episode of Brave New Work, Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans debate and discuss the best and worst ways to hold this meeting. Later, they're joined by the author of The Coaching Habit, Michael Bungay Stanier, to figure out how to show up to one-on-ones as a coach rather than a boss.Learn more about Michael and his work on LinkedIn and his website.Learn more about Box of Crayons on their website and on Youtube.Resources mentioned: The Ready's Tension and Practice Deck "Radical candor": Episode 13 with Kim Scott "Dunbar's number" "First 90 days of self-management": Episode 11 with Doug Seacrist "Rockefeller Habits": Mastering the Rockefeller Habits by Verne Harnish The Practice of Adaptive Leadership by Ronald Heifetz Immunity to Change by Robert Kegan and Lisa Lahey Our book is available now at bravenewwork.comWe want to hear from you. Send your thoughts and feedback to podcast@theready.comLooking for some help with your own transformation? Visit theready.com

It's been many years since the release of Frederic Laloux's groundbreaking book Reinventing Organizations. In some ways the world is different—more ready, more radical—and in other ways, not much has changed. More adaptive and soulful ways of working are still fringe. The way forward isn't clear.In this episode of Brave New Work, Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans speak with Frederic about where we stand, where we're heading, and why this moment feels like the last gasp of authoritarianism, extractive capitalism, and all the other -isms.Learn more about Frederic and Reinventing Organizations at his website and his Youtube video series.Mentioned resources: Ken Wilber, specifically stages of development, orange and teal organizations, and Spiral Dynamics The work of Parker Palmer Brave New Work by Aaron Dignan (if you haven't read it yet, now's your chance!) Brian Robertson's theory of "evolutionary purpose" Ricardo Semler, CEO of Semco and author/speaker Taylorism Douglas McGregor, management professor and author of The Human Side of Enterprise Our book is available now at bravenewwork.comWe want to hear from you. Send your thoughts and feedback to podcast@theready.comLooking for some help with your own transformation? Visit theready.com

Explore how the pandemic has reshaped organizational design, pushing institutions to embrace remote work and adaptability. The hosts share personal stories and insights on proactive strategies for future challenges. Decision-making under crisis reveals the need for collaboration and critical analysis. Scenario planning is highlighted as essential for navigating uncertainty, emphasizing core values. The discussion also addresses the balance between rigorous standards and flexibility, advocating for a culture of trust during remote work.

Our job is to keep the organization safe, right? And in order to do that we need to predict the future, see around corners, and avoid unnecessary risk. We need to be able to list all the ways the idea we're considering can go wrong. Or... do we? In this episode, Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans talk about a concept The Ready calls "future tension," which is what happens when we let our worries about the future hijack the present. Later, they’re joined by Thomas Thomison, founding partner of Encode.org, who takes us deep into the origins of the concept and teaches us how to overcome it.Learn more about Thomas on LinkedIn.Learn more about Thomas' work at Encode.org, HolacracyOne, and PowerShift Capital.Resources mentioned:David Allen and "Getting Things Done"Our book is available now at bravenewwork.comWe want to hear from you. Send your thoughts and feedback to podcast@theready.comLooking for some help with your own transformation? Visit theready.com

The most common question we hear is, "What can I do if I'm not the one in charge?" So many of us—including leaders and managers—want to eradicate bureaucracy. But, we're not the head honcho.In this episode on Brave New Work, Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans talk about the simple moves anyone can make to start moving toward a better way of working. Because we have a lot more authority than we think we do. And the power we don't have can be enlisted.Later, they're joined by Sarah Devereaux from Google, who shares what she's learned about sparking change after more than fourteen years inside Google.Learn more about Sarah on LinkedIn.Mentioned Resources:Episode 8 of Brave New Work feat. David MarquetOur book is available now at bravenewwork.comWe want to hear from you. Send your guest ideas and feedback to podcast@theready.comLooking for some help with your own transformation? Visit theready.com

The Ready has a habit of disrupting the established way of doing things, but we've never really looked at our hiring process... until now. In the last few months, we've radically overhauled the way we making hiring decisions by asking questions like, "Can we design a process that reduces bias and homogeny? Can we design a process that focuses on what we want rather than what we don't?"In this episode of Brave New Work, Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans talk about the inner workings of The Ready's new system, the rationale behind it, and what early results are telling us about the work ahead to make it better. Later, they're joined by Kate Glazebrook, cofounder of Applied, who deepens our understanding of the biases and cognitive gymnastics inherent in hiring, while making us feel a little better about our struggles thus far. If you make hiring decisions, this one is a must.Learn more about Kate on LinkedIn and Twitter.Learn more about Be Applied and their approach at their website.Mentioned Resources: Blink by Malcolm Gladwell Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman Iris Bohnet, author of What Works: Gender Equality by Design Our book is available now at bravenewwork.comWe want to hear from you. Send your guest ideas and feedback to podcast@theready.comLooking for some help with your own transformation? Visit theready.com

Are you open to some feedback? Gulp. That one word is enough to send most of us packing. Why? Because we've endured far too many "conversations" that were infrequent, impersonal, critical, and one-sided. But, is it possible to do feedback right? In this episode of Brave New Work, Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans talk about three different waves of feedback at work, and why it's so critical to question our assumptions and reinvent this pervasive practice. Later, they’re joined by Kim Scott, author of Radical Candor, who teaches us how to balance caring personally and challenging directly.Learn more about Kim on her website, LinkedIn or Twitter.Learn More about Kim's book, Radical Candor, on the web and on Youtube.Resources mentioned: "Ego and identity" - Episode 5 of our podcast! 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership by Jim Dethmer, Diana Chapman and Kaley Warner Klemp Lie 5: People Need Feedback by Marcus Buckingham The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz Our book is available now at bravenewwork.comWe want to hear from you. Send your thoughts and feedback to podcast@theready.comLooking for some help with your own transformation? Visit theready.com