New Ways of Working #6
Hello 👋 Welcome to the sixth edition of the New Ways of Working newsletter. As always, the purpose is:
To help you to explore new ways of working.
In this edition I’m sharing with you: a fantastic new book that I’m thoroughly enjoying; a new ways of working themed reading group; a wonderful tool to help you to get started; and a cultural virus test to help you uncover the infectious behaviours that get in the way of great teamwork. Here goes:
Book 📖
If only there was a book that serves as an easy reference guide for our leadership journey as we explore new ways of working... Well, now there is! Lead Together offers wisdom from the best thinkers and doers in this space on topics including leadership, power, purpose, psychological safety, decision-making, feedback, transparency, and many more. It’s out tomorrow, though I received a copy early and it’s hard to put down!
“Just the table of contents is a treat! Every chapter is well structured, directly applicable and peppered with interesting examples. If I were out there trying to build a different kind of organization, I would take this book on my journey and go back to it all the time.”- Fredrick Laloux, author of Reinventing Organizations.
Reading Group 📚
With new books coming thick and fast, I’ve started a new ways of working reading group to help us keep up. The first one took place this morning and it was lovely. We check-in quickly, share what we are reading, read together in silence for 50 minutes and then share in a circle what stood out from our reading. Join us for the next one 🤗
Tool 🔧
I was excited to come across New Work, a super interesting collaboration between a change coach and a psychologist who have been busy developing New Work Equipment. This includes a self-assessment on the trends found in new ways of working. Give it a go to identify what would help your team. It’s a great first step to begin your journey!
The Cultural Virus Test 🦠
Cultural Virus are the infectious behaviours that get in the way of great teamwork. Frequently subconscious, they’re hard to spot and even harder to talk about; but their impact is huge. The cure? Change begins with awareness.
The Cultural Virus Test is a free self-diagnostic tool to help leaders identify the Cultural Viruses that are present in their teams. Take the test to receive: your results, a personalised report, the collated results of the research, plus tools and content. This looks like a really awesome piece of work and I’m pretty excited to see the results 🙌
If you found this useful and haven’t already then do subscribe, and please share 🙏
Until next time, you can find me here.
About Mark Eddleston
I’m a new ways of working consultant, coach, and facilitator. For years I’ve been practising progressive ways of working whilst synthesising the mountain of information out there.
I came across new ways of working in New Zealand in 2015 after spending a decade in traditional workplaces. It was the first time I found consistent fulfilment in work. This experience was with a law firm and community organisation that features on the distinguished Corporate Rebels ‘bucket list’. Once you taste this way of working, it’s impossible to go back. I’ve now been a member of staff in three organisations that embraced progressive leadership, so come with plenty of lived experience.
I’m also co-founder of Reinventing Work, a decentralised global movement for people interested in more human-centred, purposeful and self-organised ways of working. So far we’ve gathered in 25 cities across five continents, including in Bristol (where it began) London, Berlin, Melbourne, Montreal and New York. I’ve delivered online sessions to hundreds, spoken about new ways of working at The University of Oxford, and facilitated at Meaning Fringe. I’ve also appeared on the wonderful Leadermorphosis podcast and the University of the West of England’s MSc Occupational Psychology programme discussing the future of work.
My services: https://www.marco.work.