I gravely misunderstood the Growth Mindset. Here’s what I learned.

a man and a girl wearing capes playing heroes

Carol S. Dweck’s work, ‘Mindset,’ is seminal. It is one of these must-read non-fiction books, up there with The Seven Habits, and Thinking Fast and Slow. Until recently, I did not read the book: the web is full of infographics explaining the Growth Mindset. After reading the book, however, I discovered that I had a … Read more

Teamwork tip 4: Build a robust foundation to handle raw and honest feedback

Excelling through great feedback

Google ‘feedback method’ and google will come up with countless ‘systems’ for giving feedback. Any of these systems quickly becomes awkward and forced when you try it. There is no bullet-proof algorithm for giving feedback. In this article, I’m sharing the essential part of great feedback: a robust foundation for self-confidence. Take, for instance, the … Read more

What if Star Wars Rebels were organized with Scrum? – a Rebel Scrum Guide

Scrum in terms of Star Wars

Ever wondered how to apply Scrum outside of software development? Ever doubted the applicability of Scrum in the real world? This article is a Scrum Guide in Star Wars style. I’ll show how the real-world heroes from Star Wars organized their struggles against the Empire with Scrum. They already knew how to Scrum a long … Read more

What I learned by coaching FLL kids part 1: how to build a fresh team in 6 steps

How to get to know each other with The Teammate Quiz

How do you make a high performing team from 8 individuals? You start by getting to know each other. But what works well in practice? This is the first in a series of articles. In this series, I’m sharing my experience of building a brand new team of eight unruly 7th graders. The team goal … Read more

8 teamwork insights from an ice skating champion – summary of the book ‘Effect’

ice skating champion - effect

‘Effect’ is a book about effective teamwork. The title refers to the strange fact that your conscious actions don’t always have the effect you desire on other people. The book is written by ice skater J.O. Koss and psychologist B.M. Ihlen. They wrote down their team coaching insights after winning several olympic gold medals. Their … Read more