How Work Was Invented A Century Ago and Why That Still Limits You Today

Published on December 15, 2020 – 13 minutes read

The past century, work changed profoundly, but we still work according to the same principles that were thought out for assembly lines a hundred years ago. That doesn't work.

From presentations I gave at Philips, Hyper Island and Frankwatching, I decided to write a series of articles on why our way of organising work and running organisations need to change – right now. This is part two.

The article became a bit longer than I expected, so grab a cup of coffee, maybe a hot chocolate, sit down and enjoy reading this.

Why Work Is Like a Broken Leg, and We’re Hoping Band-Aid Will Fix It

Published on October 14, 2020 – 7 minutes read

Covid-19. Seven months in, and the past truly feels like another life. Nowadays, every time I see people shaking hands in a movie, or see a large group of people in a picture, I automatically think: “That’s pre-Covid!”

The pandemic took us all by surprise, and suddenly a lot of things had to change overnight. Work was one of them. And to be honest, lately I see a lot of companies and its people struggle with keeping up their productivity.

Right now, working together is tough. But to all those who want to go back to the old normal, or a slightly adjusted normal, it’s worth remembering that our old way of organising work and running organisations, wasn’t working for us either.

Giving & Receiving Feedback Is Difficult – Here's How to Do It Right

Published on Januray 15, 2020 – 8 minutes read

Sweaty palms, weak knees, and heavy arms. This is how I felt a couple of years ago when I received or had to give honest feedback. Do you recognize this?

Feedback is essential for a healthy organisational culture, and to work effectively with others. Being afraid of feedback creates a culture of dodging it, until it’s inevitable. Then you drop all your remarks at once, and the feedback becomes a bomb; Once dropped, it leaves a mess. At least, that’s what I see happens in a lot of teams and organisations.

What if you could see feedback as a present? Because after all, feedback is a present — not a bomb.

A Quick Guide to Asking Better Questions

Published on December 16, 2019 – 9 minutes read

Today, I think the ability to ask good questions is hugely underrated. Asking good questions is essential to help others, to learn from them, understand a problem to come up with the right solution, or to understand why someone is behaving the way they do.

Since I started working as a Process Designer & Facilitator I have had, and listened to, tons of conversations, ranging from ones between team members and interviews with new clients, to day-to-day conversations with my mom.

But during these deeper conversations, I’ve experienced and heard the difference between the answers of an average question and a well-defined question asked at the right moment. This made me ask myself: what makes a good question?

Why Psychological Safety Is Essential For Your Team’s Success

Published on June 5, 2018 – 7 minutes read

What makes an effective team? By doing more than 200 interviews and researching over 180 teams, Google did extensive research to answer this question.

As turned out, “Who is on a team matters less than how team members interact and structure their work”, or how they work together.

Google identified psychological safety as the key characteristic of effective teams. What is it, why is it so crucial, and more important, how can you create psychological safety in your team?