Leadership Insights Blog by Peter Alkema

The Stages of Team Development and How to Navigate Them

Mar 25, 2024 | 0 Comments

Every team undergoes stages of development, and understanding these stages is crucial for guiding your team towards success. Are you ready to become a skilled manager who can guide teams to success at every stage of development? Enroll in our New Manager Masterclass course and gain a deep understanding of the four stages of team …

The Stages of Team Development and How to Navigate Them Read More »

May 6 2015

Milestone countdowns actually work; here's why

T-40, 39, 38 isn’t just for NASA, use it on your projects and get to 3, 2, 1… success! I can still remember the go-live date: 17th June 2006. The project was a large ERP implementation across HR, Finance, Procurement and Property, our team was 100+ business and IT people delivering to 3000 users spread across numerous …

Milestone countdowns actually work; here's why Read More »

Read More

May 1 2015

Communicate better; your team needs it

Authentic leadership requires effective ways of engaging people, here are some practical suggestions. A regular newsletter will cut down on email volumes if you and your management team are disciplined about compiling information about what’s happening. If your team know they get a batch of short updates in a visually appealing format every second Friday they will …

Communicate better; your team needs it Read More »

Read More

Apr 25 2015

IT should spend more time on the road with sales

I recently joined my sales colleagues on some client visits – here’s why I plan to do this a lot more. If you are building software for the external customers of your company then you shouldn’t only rely on secondary feedback from the people who visit them. IT teams supporting internal systems have easy access to their customers – they …

IT should spend more time on the road with sales Read More »

Read More

Apr 17 2015

Bias for thoughtful action

This powerful concept arose in a recent leadership meeting, but what does it mean? We are often told there are 2 kinds of people in this world; those that make things happen and those that watch things happen. I’ve always tried to be in the former category but my leadership journey is teaching me it’s …

Bias for thoughtful action Read More »

Read More

Mar 22 2015

Make action lists work for you

I’ve used a simple method for most of my career; here it is. While I actively use the latest technology to make my life easier and actually do the work that is expected of me, I’m certainly not paperless when it comes to taking notes in meetings and managing my actions. Confession: In this modern …

Make action lists work for you Read More »

Read More

Mar 4 2015

Your people on the move – what's your move?

Everyone leaves at some point. How do you lead through the change? Rule #1: Never try and hold on to good people who have simply decided to make a career change within the company. They will feel restricted, demotivated and eventually leave anyway. Get over your feelings, look them in the eye and genuinely wish …

Your people on the move – what's your move? Read More »

Read More

Mar 1 2015

Never pass up an opportunity to keep your mouth shut

This great quote by Robert Newton Peck is a constant reminder: less is truly more. We are all guilty; while appearing to listen to the other person we are actually just thinking of our own reply. Do we truly participate in meaningful dialogue any more – verbal communication has become a ritual, a necessity to …

Never pass up an opportunity to keep your mouth shut Read More »

Read More

Feb 25 2015

Don't Send That Email

Either pick up the phone, apply the 24 hour rule or do something differently. When I learnt to drive I remember being told, “if you hesitate, stop” and this is true in the jam packed highway of corporate email. Millions of largely inconsequential written messages flood all of our inboxes every day but surprisingly few …

Don't Send That Email Read More »

Read More

Feb 23 2015

"A journey of a thousand miles…

…begins with one step,” and you must lead teams so they are willing to take it. This famous Chinese proverb (Lao-tzu, The Way of Lao-tzu) is a powerful antidote to the analysis paralysis mindset that strangles many large projects. Actually doing something rather than meeting and talking about it often seems like a novel idea …

"A journey of a thousand miles… Read More »

Read More

Feb 17 2015

Big scary goal ahead? Burn your boats

Sometimes an ambitious goal requires you to cut off your own escape routes. During the Spanish conquest of Mexico in 1519, the naval commander had his men destroy their boats when they landed on the enemy beach. This war tactic has been used many times but it meant the soldiers had to conquer the land …

Big scary goal ahead? Burn your boats Read More »

Read More

Feb 14 2015

Software customer: Let's go for a test drive!

Regularly demonstrate working software to customers; it builds engagement and increases trust. Nothing beats a good test drive before buying a new car; it’s difficult to get excited about the leather seats or the smooth gear change by reading the manual. Likewise software needs a tactile experience by the customer who is paying for it; …

Software customer: Let's go for a test drive! Read More »

Read More

Feb 9 2015

Deliverable reviews; The X-Factor of Programme Management

Drive design quality by having team members present their work. It’s initially a bit uncomfortable but once it becomes like a heartbeat in your programme you will wonder how you ever achieved real design quality without it. During a large scale design phase of a waterfall programme it can get very difficult to track all …

Deliverable reviews; The X-Factor of Programme Management Read More »

Read More
Scroll to Top