Together in business

Last week on the 25th of March was world retrospective day. So, in this episode I reflect on the past year, what I learnt and how challenges made me grow and pivot. In a true retrospective fashion, START believing in yourself, speaking up, looking in the right direction and going after what you want, STOP sabotaging yourself or settling for something that you know is not enough or not what you want, CONTINUE the aforementioned actions until they become second nature and you apply them to everything in life, because life moves forward and you have to keep up.

Scrum and agile principles can be used for improving teamwork in a variety of environments. I currently work in academia, coordinating a team that does lab work to generate next-generation sequencing, and needs to coordinate with the dry lab team analyzing the data, as well as the various stakeholders in management and other teams across Europe that produce paired, complementary data using other lab methods. I can see a lot of parallels with the roles in scrum, and I implement most of the scrum events (and other agile principles) to the way we work. The key is to pick and choose what works for a specific team and type of work, and apply it in a way that works for said team and tasks.

With so much noise around us, sometimes it's good to slow down and think about what is really important, what we want, why, and on what terms. What is success? Lots of money? One million strangers following you? Making a difference in someone's life even if it never makes it to social media? This week's episode is an invitation for reflection on what is important to you (which may not be what is important to me or your friends, family, and colleagues, and that is OK). Also, I changed the podcast format! Engagement will still be there in the form of comments, and I do encourage you to share your views, but each topic will be covered in one episode rather than an introduction followed by a longer episode.

It's engagement week, so I would like to hear about your experiences and views on: “Feedforward”. Everyone has, one way or another, provided and received feedback. And you might have experienced that it doesn’t always go as intended, as people get defensive when feedback is not given in a way they can embrace. So, how about shifting the focus from the past to the future? From the provider to the receiver? From prescription to guidance? This is called feedforward. It’s about fixing a problem or making a change in the future, not in the past. Instead of telling people what to do, we ask questions and work with them so that they come up with the solution. It’s a collaborative process. Some things I would like to know from you: Are you familiar with feedforward? Do you practice it? Are you mostly the one providing or receiving it? I’m super interested in knowing how, and some examples of results or even just the process, from the experience of both the receiver as well as the provider. Is feedforward not yet a part of your life, but you would like to embrace it? What are your main challenges or questions about it? To take engagement even further than written comments, I decided to extend the dialogue to Clubhouse as well. Every Monday at 6pm CET, I will be hosting a room called Together in Business biweekly (ana.r.verissimo). If you are available, you are most welcome to drop in and join the conversation. #BeCreative. #BeEfficient. #BeKind. Have a fantastic week!

The first follower is an underrated type of leadership, with a crucial role in starting a movement. In this shorter episode, I share some ideas on how to become a good (or a better) first follower. For a more extended view on the theory, you can listen to the longer episode instead. No matter where you are at, you can always either make it a habit, with goals and actions for yourself, or start small and gradually show support in more public ways as you become more confident. The important thing is that you do make a start, and tell those people with great ideas that you support them and believe in them. Then, great things will follow!

The first follower is an underrated type of leadership, with a crucial role in starting a movement. In this episode, you can learn a bit about the theory and how to become a good or a better first follower. No matter where you are at, you can always either make it a habit, with goals and actions for yourself, or start small and gradually show support in more public ways as you become more confident. The important thing is that you do make a start, and tell those people with great ideas that you support them and believe in them. Then, great things will follow!

Engagement week between full episodes! The first follower can be as important for success as the person who had the idea and took the first step. Head over to this week's post on my LinkedIn and leave your thoughts about the topic!

Hello, world! This first episode is an introduction to what the podcast is about, and how I intend to make it a bit interactive on LinkedIn, so that I can incorporate your views as well. In a nutshell, it’s about ways people can be creative, productive and, especially, well… just nice to each other at work. It’s that simple… right? Feel free to comment on LinkedIn to let mw know what you think of the idea, and next week when I post the topic for the next episode, be sure to chip in !