Author: dawn-kuczwara

Using Professional “Safe Words” to Defuse the Time Bomb on Your Team

By

Get Shift Done: Management


Most leaders manage to get through their entire careers without needing to deal with a highly talented team member who’s also highly volatile. But some of us aren’t that lucky.

I had an incredibly able and high potential team member who was passionate about her work and her area of expertise. Unfortunately, she was too passionate. She would get keyed up in discussions with anyone, at any level — people who were on her team, leaders of other teams, me, even the president of the company.

Read More

It’s Time For Standardized Job Titles (At Least Internally)

By

Get Shift Done: Management


Over the past couple of decades, many companies began using job titles that were…a little unusual. From the Chief People Person to the Digital Marketing Magician, Wizard of Light Bulb Moments, and Director of Fundom, it’s become hard to understand what people actually do.

On the upside, this is fun, especially for startups that want to break free and stand out. One the downside, the meaning of titles, especially those with no counterpart outside of their organization, have become opaque and confusing.

Read More

The Risky Business of Innovation

By

Get Shift Done: Management

Failure is only one of the risks that innovators face

Businesses have always pushed for innovation, but traditionally most of the focus was on improving existing products. In recent years however, that’s changed as more companies have launch “radical” innovation projects — ones that leap outside the box. The result? Failure is no longer the greatest risk of innovation.


The Big Failure In The Room

In 2015 I collaborated with some of my management peers to propose an “lab” of sorts within our organization. Due to the high chance of failure, company leadership was reluctant to commit resources to the project. In response, we developed a system of checks and balances to ensure the project had the highest chance of success.

Read More

Your Boss is Wrong? Here’s How to Tell Them Without Getting Fired

By

Get Shift Done: Management

Your boss is going to make a mistake at some point. And you might be the lucky one who notices. The question is, what should you do about it, and how do you handle it?


First, it’s important to make sure you’re raising appropriate concerns at the proper time and in a productive way. Happily, there are some basic dos and don’ts you can follow to guide you through this potentially sticky situation.

Let’s Start With How

Read More

Shut Up and Listen and Other Lessons on How to Manage Introverts

By

Get Shift Done: Management


When you manage knowledge workers — especially developers and other IT staff — you encounter a lot of introverts. They like to work on their own, prefer quiet and solitude, and enjoy digging into problems.

While some of these folks learn to push past their discomfort, as a rule introverts don’t speak up in meetings, nor do they jump at a chance to present or lead collaboration sessions. They’re often overlooked in favor of more extroverted employees — and that’s risky business.

Read More

Culture Club: Interviewing for Cultural Fit

By

Get Shift Done: Management

Image source: WOCinTech Chat on Flickr

Over the years, my really good teams have by and large been pretty strange. Not in a bad way, but in a way where every person on the team was an individual, and yet worked together as a single unit.

Each team had a unique culture, and the last thing I wanted to do was bring in a new person that would throw that dynamic out the window.

Read More

How to Use Trello’s Powerful Search to Find Just About Anything

By

Get Shift Done: Tips and Tricks

Trello is such a powerful way to keep your projects organized, but it can also get a little unwieldy. With Trello’s powerful search features and operators you can quickly find boards and cards, see what’s assigned to you (and others) and even get a quick glance at what’s due, when.

Using Search to Find a Board or Card

That little search box at the top of your Trello window is a powerful thing. Start by clicking in the search box.


Read More

Don’t Be a SP*Mmer: How To Upload Your Suppression List to MailChimp

By

Get Shift Done: Tips and Tricks

If you’re just getting started with MailChimp, you probably have some email addresses that you shouldn’t send to any longer — those that have unsubscribed previously, bounced or reported your list as spam.

Due to the CAN-SPAM laws, you’ll want to make sure you get those off your subscriber list before you send another email out. The good news is, MailChimp has a way for you to add these addresses, quickly, to a suppression list that will essentially remove them from your list.

First, let’s prep the list. Add your email addresses to an Excel file as shown below. Next, we want to export this file as a CSV, so click on the File menu.

Read More

How To Add 2 Factor Authentication to Protect Your Xero Account

By

Get Shift Done: Tips and Tricks

A huge bee in everyone’s bonnet right now is IT security. And as you’re accessing your company’s financials with Xero, you’ll want to make sure your account is as secure as can be. Adding two factor authentication (or as Xero calls it, two step authentication) to your account will help you do just that.

A quick word on two-factor: While nothing can guarantee your account’s safety, two factor authentication will get you pretty close. Two-factor in security means you have to have 2 things to get access — usually something you know, and something you have. For many apps it’s something you know — a password — and something you have — an authenticator app on your mobile.

Start by logging into Xero. In the upper right hand corner you’ll see your name. Click on that.

Read More

Annual Reviews Are Stupid

By

Get Shift Done: Management


There was a time in my career where I had 12 direct reports — 12 people whose careers I was responsible for, 12 people whom I needed to be available to for questions, guidance and assistance.

And 12 annual reviews to write.

Read More