The hottest Organizational Behavior Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
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Top Business Topics

TBM 362: How (And Why) We Help

The Beautiful Mess • 370 implied HN points • 14 Jun 25
💼 Business Consulting Change Management Leadership Organizational Behavior Workplace culture
  1. Consulting can either follow a set plan or focus on helping people discover their own solutions. It's important to understand the difference and choose the right approach.
  2. It's normal to feel torn between sticking to the usual ways of doing things and wanting to create real change. Recognizing this struggle is the first step to addressing it.
  3. Being aware of how we show up in our work is crucial. It helps us connect better with others and can lead to more meaningful change.

TBM 359: Process Person

The Beautiful Mess • 727 implied HN points • 23 May 25
💼 Business Product Management Team Dynamics Organizational Behavior Leadership
  1. Bad processes often come from a lack of experience or understanding. It's important to be flexible and learn from feedback to improve them.
  2. Not every process works for everyone. What's easy for one team can be too much for another, so finding a balance is key.
  3. Leadership sometimes asks for complicated processes without thinking about what's really needed. It's better to focus on making things simpler and more effective.

What Eight Years Of Being Stuck Taught Me About Career Paths

Diary of an Engineering Manager • 259 implied HN points • 22 Aug 24
💼 Business Career development Work-life balance Skills Training Organizational Behavior Job Market
  1. Career growth can be messy and non-linear, much like cooked spaghetti. Just because you're not moving up quickly doesn't mean you're failing.
  2. Promotions often come with extra responsibilities and sacrifices. It's important to reflect on whether you're ready for those changes before chasing a title.
  3. Your career will have phases, with ups and downs. It's okay to experience stagnation; it's part of building resilience for the long run.

TBM 330: (Un)common Sense Playbook

The Beautiful Mess • 1163 implied HN points • 29 Dec 24
💼 Business Management Leadership Team Dynamics Work Culture Organizational Behavior
  1. Getting to know your team is really important. When managers understand their team members, it helps everyone work better together.
  2. Clear communication about goals and priorities helps keep the team focused. It’s better to do a few things really well than to try and do too much at once.
  3. Sometimes, the environment can hold back good management practices. Creating a supportive atmosphere makes it easier for common sense leadership to succeed.

TBM 321: "Reducing Complexity"

The Beautiful Mess • 1480 implied HN points • 14 Nov 24
💼 Business Management Leadership Productivity Work Culture Organizational Behavior
  1. Product work is naturally complex because it involves many changing factors and teamwork among different groups. This complexity isn't bad; it's just part of making meaningful products.
  2. A company operates as a complex system influenced by habits, processes, and people. This can lead to mismanagement and stress when priorities clash and workloads become heavy.
  3. Leaders should not try to simplify the work itself but instead create an environment where teams can handle their complexity efficiently. Reducing friction and improving communication can help people do better work together.
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Why are corporations cutting managers?

In My Tribe • 698 implied HN points • 02 Jan 25
💼 Business Management Corporate Structure Organizational Behavior Employment Trends
  1. Many companies are reducing their number of middle managers to trim costs and cut bureaucracy. This means fewer people are overseeing employees, which can simplify decision-making.
  2. Firms are focusing on their core business and letting go of complex managerial structures that don’t add immediate value. They might be cutting back on certain initiatives to streamline operations.
  3. Cost-cutting has become a priority for many senior executives, especially when revenue growth slows. This focus on reducing expenses can lead to a significant reshaping of company structures.

Meditations on Founder Mode

The Engineering Leader • 79 implied HN points • 08 Sep 24
💼 Business Leadership Management Entrepreneurship Organizational Behavior Strategy
  1. Founder Mode allows leaders to be more hands-on and in touch with their company. This helps them make quick decisions that align with their original vision.
  2. While Founder Mode can be effective in early stages, it doesn't scale well in larger companies because one person can't manage everything.
  3. Great leaders know when to switch between being hands-on and delegating tasks. This flexibility is key to adapting to a company's growth and changing needs.

How to handle an IT escape room

Bad Software Advice • 82 implied HN points • 06 Jan 25
🕹 Technology IT Management Software Development Organizational Behavior Problem Solving Workplace culture
  1. Working in IT can feel like being in an escape room, where you face unexpected challenges and obstacles every day.
  2. There is often tension between teams, like developers and IT, due to their different goals and priorities.
  3. To solve problems, it's important to be creative and strategic, whether by asking for help or figuring out other ways to get the job done.

TBM 337: Pirates and Garbage Cans

The Beautiful Mess • 343 implied HN points • 02 Feb 25
💼 Business Leadership Conflict resolution Organizational Behavior Decision-making Team Dynamics
  1. Conflict in companies often stays unresolved because people are afraid to ask for help. This fear can make it look like admitting problems is a weakness.
  2. The Garbage Can model shows that decision-making is messy and often relies on chance rather than a clear process. Conflicts may get ignored until something urgent happens.
  3. Unlike businesses, pirate ships had systems in place for resolving conflicts because surviving together was crucial. Businesses can postpone resolving conflicts without facing immediate consequences, which can lead to bigger problems later.

Culture as a Driver of Success (or Failure)

peoplefirstengineering • 14 implied HN points • 06 Feb 25
🎭️ Culture Work Culture Organizational Behavior Team Dynamics Leadership
  1. Workplace culture is complex and hard to define, but it affects how we feel and perform at work. Everyone experiences it differently based on their individual stories.
  2. Culture is built through the interactions of team members and can change over time. It’s not something that can be easily controlled or fixed with a simple solution.
  3. Everyone at work plays a role in shaping the culture. By being aware of our behaviors and choices, we can create a positive environment together.

TBM 322: Work Shape Mix

The Beautiful Mess • 647 implied HN points • 20 Nov 24
💼 Business Project management Organizational Behavior Team Dynamics Product Development Strategic Planning
  1. Companies often deal with three types of work: large projects, independent product work, and new zero-to-one efforts. Each type requires different management and has its own risks.
  2. As a company grows, it shifts from doing new projects to having more complex ones. It’s important to balance these types of work to avoid chaos and inefficiency.
  3. Recognizing when to formalize new processes is crucial. Waiting too long could lead to bigger problems, so it’s key to find a balance between addressing issues and letting some friction stay.

TBM 326: Adhocracies and Bureaucracies

The Beautiful Mess • 489 implied HN points • 06 Dec 24
💼 Business Organizational Behavior Corporate culture Leadership Management Practices Process Improvement
  1. Rapid-growth tech companies often start as adhocracies where everyone works quickly and independently. But as they grow, they can develop unspoken rules that make things complicated.
  2. Larger companies tend to have strict bureaucracies with many rules that can slow everything down. When they try to change, they often need to untangle these rules and make things simpler.
  3. Leaders often try to eliminate bureaucracy, but this can lead to even more hidden rules. It’s important for teams to talk openly about processes to solve problems effectively.

Getting it Right vs. Getting Ahead

In My Tribe • 379 implied HN points • 05 Dec 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Leadership Decision-making Academia Policy Organizational Behavior
  1. In a meeting, people can either aim to show they were on the winning side or focus on what will lead to the best long-term results. These two priorities often clash, especially in organizations.
  2. In academia, flattering important figures may help someone advance, even if it doesn't contribute to real knowledge. This can lead to challenges for those who prioritize truth over personal gain.
  3. It's common for workers to try to guess what their managers want rather than providing honest opinions. This can result in a culture where the truth is overlooked for the sake of advancement.

Putting the I in Team

In My Tribe • 364 implied HN points • 02 Dec 24
💼 Business Management Workplace Teamwork Employee Relations Organizational Behavior
  1. Teamwork relies on everyone doing their part. If some people don't contribute, it can hurt the whole team's chances of success.
  2. Hiring people who are responsible and committed can help encourage teamwork. When employees feel connected to their mission or colleagues, they're less likely to slack off.
  3. Measuring how well employees cooperate can improve teamwork. Giving clear examples of what good teamwork looks like can help everyone understand how to contribute.

TBM 318: Why Orgs Become Too Tall

The Beautiful Mess • 449 implied HN points • 31 Oct 24
💼 Business Management Organizational Behavior Leadership Corporate Structure Business strategy
  1. Organizations can become too tall when they grow too big, leading to excessive layers of management. This often happens when companies cannot adjust their team sizes effectively as they deal with market challenges.
  2. Narrow spans of control make it hard for managers to handle large teams, resulting in more layers. This could be due to inexperienced managers needing more guidance or a culture that prefers smaller teams.
  3. A lack of trust and delegation can make organizations taller. When managers feel they need to oversee everything, it creates more layers instead of empowering teams to work independently.

Solving employee loneliness is the first step to better teams

Make Work Better • 114 implied HN points • 30 Oct 24
💼 Business Workplace culture Employee engagement Leadership Organizational Behavior Remote work
  1. Employee loneliness is common at work, with many workers lacking real friends in their workplace. This loneliness can impact team dynamics and overall job satisfaction.
  2. Simply working in a team or attending the office more days doesn’t automatically reduce loneliness. Real connections need to be actively fostered during work hours.
  3. Companies can improve employee connection by allowing time for social interactions, like team lunches or casual meetings. These small initiatives can significantly reduce feelings of loneliness among coworkers.

Teleocracy & Prestige

Becoming Noble • 757 implied HN points • 30 Jun 23
💼 Business Organizational Behavior Entrepreneurship Business strategy
  1. Organizations like big tech companies have a unique capability to help young men reach their full professional potential through exposure to elite performers and a culture of audacious projects.
  2. To attract young elite talent and transform them, alternative structures need to offer opportunities for prestige, independence, wealth, and growth, emphasizing mission, service, transformation, and recognition.
  3. Building attractive spaces for elite talent involves strategic embedding of factors like perceived external prestige (PEP) in organizations by leveraging unique strengths, to compete with elite liberal institutions.

Breaking the wall between teams

Leading Developers • 100 implied HN points • 22 Oct 24
💼 Business Organizational Behavior Knowledge Management Team Collaboration Employee engagement
  1. Encourage horizontal communication between teams to break down knowledge silos. This can be done through initiatives like Engineering Guilds where team members can share ideas and strategies.
  2. Develop a strong documentation culture to reduce redundancy and ensure important information is easily accessible. Using standardized formats can make documentation simpler and more effective.
  3. Focus on improving onboarding experiences by providing new employees with guides and introductions to other teams. This helps build connections and ensures they have the resources they need from the start.

How Agile Are You Really?

Rethinking Software • 299 implied HN points • 11 Oct 24
🕹 Technology Software Development Agile Methodology Project management Organizational Behavior
  1. Agile should give more decision-making power to developers instead of keeping it all with managers. When developers can make choices, they can respond better to challenges in their work.
  2. Developers should connect directly with customers instead of relying on a middle person, like a product owner. This helps them understand what users want and build better products.
  3. Releasing work often and early is important for getting feedback. Instead of waiting for fixed time frames, developers should share updates when they're ready to adjust based on customer input.

Founder Mode: Elevating Individual Contributors

Rethinking Software • 249 implied HN points • 21 Oct 24
💼 Business Management Leadership Work Culture Entrepreneurship Organizational Behavior
  1. Founder mode empowers individual contributors by reducing management interference. It allows them to work freely, focusing on their tasks without being micromanaged.
  2. Good founders support and trust their teams instead of controlling them. They believe in hiring smart people and letting them decide how to do their jobs.
  3. Too many managers can create a bloated, inefficient system. Founder mode prevents this by maintaining a lean structure where everyone can contribute effectively.

Fighting over Crumbs

Rethinking Software • 99 implied HN points • 30 Dec 24
🕹 Technology Software Development Project management Team Dynamics Organizational Behavior Code Review
  1. Many programmers feel like they have no control over their work, which can lead to unhealthy competition for the little power that exists. Instead of fighting for crumbs, they should focus on shared decision-making.
  2. Behaviors like land grabbing and excessive code reviews show that programmers crave autonomy but don't know how to get it responsibly. They need to find better ways to collaborate and share power, rather than hoarding it.
  3. Team leads and committees often create more bureaucracy and slow things down. Programmers should work more as peers, trust each other, and let go of the need for strict control to improve their work environment.

TBM 319: Surfing Inertia and Pendulum Swings

The Beautiful Mess • 158 implied HN points • 03 Nov 24
💼 Business Organizational Behavior Leadership Agility Change Management Strategy
  1. Companies struggle with finding the right balance between team independence and overall coordination. Too much focus on one can harm the other.
  2. Inertia can make it hard for companies to adapt, leading to bigger problems in the future if they're not addressed. Leaders should recognize this and take action.
  3. Being open to change and adjusting how teams work can help organizations respond better to challenges. Setting the right incentives also supports a flexible mindset.

An end to firefighting

The Uncertainty Mindset (soon to become tbd) • 79 implied HN points • 08 May 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Policy Making Public Sector Crisis Management Organizational Behavior
  1. Regular management practices often assume stability, which makes teams weak when unexpected events happen. Instead of relying on these outdated methods, teams should prepare for unpredictability.
  2. To stop 'firefighting', organizations need to adjust their staffing expectations and allow roles to evolve as needed. This helps teams stay adaptable in changing situations.
  3. It's important to make experimentation a part of policymaking. By training teams to test ideas effectively, they can respond better to new challenges and avoid being stuck in old ways.

TBM 229: Winnable and Unwinnable Games (Part 3)

The Beautiful Mess • 1110 implied HN points • 07 Jul 23
💼 Business Management Decision-making Leadership Problem Solving Organizational Behavior
  1. Hierarchy creates a chain of communication in which information gets oversimplified as it moves up, leading to an unwinnable game
  2. Passing information up the chain results in details being shaped and possibly distorted based on audience and perceived urgency
  3. The ideal conditions for a 'good game' are challenged in scenarios where goals become unclear, feedback loops are long, and motivations are dwindled

The Manager’s Iceberg

The Engineering Leader • 159 implied HN points • 25 Feb 24
💼 Business Management Leadership Human Resources Organizational Behavior Team Dynamics
  1. Managers do a lot of work behind the scenes that often goes unnoticed. This includes tasks like coaching, resolving conflicts, and setting goals that are crucial for team success.
  2. Being a manager means putting the team's needs first and supporting them to succeed. It can be tough because their work might not get immediate recognition.
  3. It's important to be patient with your manager and understand they have many responsibilities. Asking how you can help them can strengthen your working relationship.

The Employee’s Dilemma

peoplefirstengineering • 7 implied HN points • 08 Jan 25
💼 Business Workplace culture Employee Relations Game Theory Organizational Behavior Human Resources
  1. When employees feel supported by their company, they're more motivated to do great work. But if the company doesn't keep its promises, employees might just do the bare minimum.
  2. This situation can lead to what's called the 'Employee's Dilemma,' where both the worker and the employer end up not trusting each other, creating a sad work environment.
  3. To break this cycle of unhappiness, companies need to build trust and show they care. If they do, it can improve the workplace for everyone.

Bits, Bytes, and Bylaws: Timeless Computing Laws (Part-1)

Wisdom over Waves • 159 implied HN points • 14 Dec 23
🕹 Technology Software Development Time management Organizational Behavior
  1. Hyrum's Law emphasizes that with a large number of users, system behaviors will be relied upon, regardless of what was promised.
  2. Hofstadter's Law points out that tasks often take longer than expected, even with buffers, so it's beneficial to shorten estimation cycles for better planning.
  3. Parkinson's Law highlights how work expands to fill the time available, showing the importance of constraints for creativity and efficiency.

Founder DNA

The Leadership Lab • 196 implied HN points • 09 Mar 23
💼 Business Leadership Organizational Behavior Team Dynamics Personal Growth Feedback
  1. Every aspect of your team's culture reflects your strengths, blind spots, and dysfunctional behaviors as a leader.
  2. Founder DNA influences how teams adopt a leader's habits and behavioral patterns, leading to organizational dysfunction.
  3. Team culture stems directly from a leader's psychological and relational patterns, affecting how employees interact and behave within the organization.

The Sheer Stupidity of Sweating the Small Stuff

The Radar • 59 implied HN points • 07 Mar 24
💼 Business Management Leadership Organizational Behavior Resources Corporate culture
  1. Broken windows theory highlights the impact of respecting the environment on criminal behavior, where fixing small issues can prevent larger violations.
  2. Sweating the small stuff in management can lead to top-heaviness, allowing unproductive managers to justify their positions by focusing on trivial matters.
  3. Overemphasizing minor issues can distract from addressing real problems and lead to ineffective management, ignoring actual priorities and resource allocation.

The "good" experiment

The Uncertainty Mindset (soon to become tbd) • 159 implied HN points • 06 Sep 23
💼 Business Management Strategy Innovation Empiricism Organizational Behavior
  1. When facing uncertainty, it's better to run small and cheap experiments instead of committing to a big strategy. This keeps you flexible.
  2. A good experiment must have a clear hypothesis, provide useful insights whether it fails or succeeds, and be designed to be sneaky so organizations don’t resist it.
  3. Experimenting helps you learn and get clarity when things are unclear. It's a practical way to tackle problems without getting stuck.

Being in the details

The Engineering Manager • 11 implied HN points • 30 Nov 24
💼 Business Management Leadership Organizational Behavior Efficiency Team Dynamics
  1. Being involved in the details of your organization is crucial. It helps you make better decisions and keeps you accountable for your team's work.
  2. Good management means delegating responsibility but also staying accountable. You need to know what your team is doing and the progress of important projects.
  3. It's possible to be detail-oriented without micromanaging. Techniques like direct reports, regular deep dives, and collaborative work can help you stay engaged.

Help others make better decisions

Ruben Ugarte's Growth Needle™ • 59 implied HN points • 12 Dec 23
💼 Business Leadership Decision-making Management Organizational Behavior Stakeholder engagement
  1. Encourage your team to write down their decision-making process. This helps clarify steps and improves alignment.
  2. Identify key stakeholders in decisions. Knowing who matters most can streamline communication and decision-making.
  3. Look for ways to improve the decision-making process. Discussing it openly can reveal areas of improvement to help the team work better.

Compensation is Communication

The Radar • 19 implied HN points • 19 Apr 24
💼 Business Management Organizational Behavior Corporate culture Human Resources Career development
  1. Compensation is a clear signal from an employer to an employee, offering insights into future viability with the company and helping individuals frame expectations and make decisions.
  2. Organizational cultures often hide true intentions behind layers of confusing messaging, especially regarding compensation, which may not necessarily reflect individual performance but rather the company's desire for retention.
  3. Understanding the true meaning behind raises can empower individuals to make informed decisions about their future within a company, recognizing signals of either retention or potential exit based on financial health and performance evaluations.

How to speed up your group decisions

Ruben Ugarte's Growth Needle™ • 19 implied HN points • 12 Mar 24
💼 Business Management Decision-making Organizational Behavior Remote work Productivity
  1. Group decisions can take a long time, especially with remote work. It's important to find ways to make these decisions quicker.
  2. Using decision maps can help clarify the decision-making process. They can guide groups through their choices more efficiently.
  3. Understanding how long decisions take in your organization can highlight where improvements are needed. This awareness can help teams speed things up.

How empty spaces in your calendar lead to better decisions

Ruben Ugarte's Growth Needle™ • 39 implied HN points • 21 Nov 23
💼 Business Leadership Decision-making Emotional Intelligence Productivity Organizational Behavior
  1. Building emotional competence helps leaders make better decisions. It's important for leaders to understand their emotions and those of others.
  2. Having empty spaces in your schedule allows for better brainstorming and connecting ideas. It gives your brain time to think and create.
  3. The idea of 'blocks of time' can limit decision-making in companies. Companies should be more flexible instead of strictly scheduling everything.

Corporate culture starts at the top

Klement on Investing • 2 implied HN points • 16 Dec 24
💼 Business Corporate culture Leadership Management Employee Relations Organizational Behavior
  1. Leadership sets the culture of a company. If managers are good, employees will stay, but bad managers drive people away.
  2. High employee turnover often means poor corporate culture. People leave bad work environments, showing how they really feel about their jobs.
  3. Companies with staggered boards tend to have worse cultures. This setup allows old board members to stay, making it hard for shareholders to demand changes.

Fools and Horses

The Radar • 19 implied HN points • 01 Feb 24
💼 Business Workforce management Corporate culture Leadership Organizational Behavior
  1. Pushing a team too hard can lead to negative consequences despite short-term gains. Just like overworking horses can lead to their breaking, overworking employees can lead to burnout and reduced efficiency.
  2. Managers should not ignore ethical concerns in pursuit of business results. It's important to prioritize employee well-being over just achieving immediate goals.
  3. Systemic issues like work overload cannot be solved by individual efforts alone. Companies must address root causes and provide adequate resources to prevent burnout and maintain a healthy work environment.