But I'm a Professional‪!‬ Nancy Elizabeth

It's time to circle back. We've put a pin in it and we're circling back!

Actually, to be completely honest, your organisation failed to put a pin in it to begin with and that's half the problem. You became a manager one day and everyone moved on with their lives. No training, no development, no new skill set. Eek!

We shall right that wrong on today's episode as we go back to The Basics and talk about four good working habits that will stand you (and your team) in good stead for future challenges.

What are The Basics, you ask? Being composed, kind, clear, and conscientious. Let's get those right, Professionals.

My dearest Managers, would you like to hear the good news or the bad news first?

The bad news is: you're missing a powerful component from your tool kit.

The good news: you've got a tool kit! And you've got me.



Yes, we've been doing Learning a real disservice, I'm afraid. We've limited it to inadequate spaces, left it for someone else to deal with, and not sharpened our skills to make better use of it on our teams. Dear, oh, dear. Let's fix that, shall we?

In this episode, I'll outline common pitfalls we encounter when engaging with the concept of Learning and set you on the path to righteousness. How am I going to do that? With our best friend, evidence-based practice from that light in the professional storm - Organisational Psychology.



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How, exactly, does one make a team work?

It turns out - common assumptions that have been allowed to fester in the ol' organisational spaces aren't exactly super duper. You may be well aware of that if you look at your particular crack squad of slightly less than savvy, motivated personnel and think, "Oh, dear." Never fear, though - help is on the way!

In this episode, I'll outline some common errors we make as managers and why they are less helpful. After that, I'll share some evidence-based solutions to these problems in the shape of real, practical changes you can start making today.



Here are some promised links:

(Lacerenza et al., 2018) Teamwork Development Interventions: Evidence-based approaches for improving teamwork

(Woolley et al., 2010) Evidence for a Collective Intelligence Factor in the Performance of Human Groups

The Recruitment Show - Attract and Retain People with Psychology with Dr Susie Phillips-Baker

Flight of the Conchords - Business Time



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This mini mini series is for the managers out there who are confounded, bemused, and perplexed at the state of affairs within their motley crew.

The basics of solid, non-trend-chasing manager skills is still something we get wrong - despite having a large amount of evidence to help us get it right.

So let's do that in this series - let's get some of the major wrongs right and let science lead the way.



This episode is about resilience and how our language, perceptions, and work design is standing in the way of making it happen. I'll offer you some ways to make small but effective changes to your team so that they can develop and deploy resilience, rather than succumbing to burnout and exhaustion.



Sorry for the background noises. Can someone send me a soundproof recording booth, please? Thanks.



The artist formerly know as Twitter: @butimaprofesh

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Either passively or intentionally, we mere overworked and underpaid mortals consume a fairly consistent feed of extraordinary claims from one day to the next.

"Social media is a great place to connect with others!" - Is it?

"We're reducing our carbon footprint and making real changes around here!" - Oh, are you?

"We need to raise your heating/electric/food bill!" - Do you now? Sorry, you'll have to speak up - I can't hear you over the CEO banking his bonus.



At the risk of upsetting the ghost of Carl Sagan, sometimes extraordinary claims are made without extraordinary evidence to back them up. Other times, extraordinary evidence inexplicably does not seem to beget extraordinary claims - even when well deserved. What are some claims you hear at work and see no evidence to support it?

In this episode, I'll give you some examples of claims that do not match their evidence with a desperate imbalance on one side or the other. I'll also give you some considerations for work that are bizarrely not extraordinary claims.

The citation for the article I quote is:
Julian Decius, Michael Knappstein & Katharina Klug (2023): Which way of
learning benefits your career? The role of different forms of work-related learning for different
types of perceived employability, European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology,
DOI: 10.1080/1359432X.2023.2191846


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What would you say your character strengths are?

Do you have any idea or does that question lead to a lot of blinking, frowning, and random adjectives spewing forth from your unsure self?



Fear not, dear Professional. In today's episode, I'm going to talk you through the very useful work done by some psychologists who were interested in developing a list of good character traits (24 of them, in fact!) that we all possess to varying degrees. I'll tell you how you can learn about your traits, why it's useful to apply in the workspace, and some practical ways you may be able to do so.

We're talking self-reflection, introspection, goal setting, job crafting and much much more. Come along, Professionals - we've got some wellbeing to foster!



Twitter: @butimaprofesh

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Email: butimaprofessional@gmail.com