Trust Archives - from Gnome to Goliath

People Management 101

Getting into people management as a first-time manager is all about planning, learning, preparation, execution and reflection.

Getting into people management is probably one of the most coveted steps in anyone’s career. It is also the step met with the most anxiety and maybe sometimes fear. Many people usually describe it as hitting a wall. If you get into people management you need to change your whole paradigm. Most of the qualities and skills that made you successful as an individual contributor (IC) will not be entirely applicable in your new situation.

The goal of this article is to give you a framework for the first few weeks after becoming a people manager. It is about what you need to drop and what you need to develop when getting into people management.

How to Uncover Your Core Values

Your core values are an unstoppable force that make you who you are and this article will help you uncover and live by them.

Whether you know explicitly or not, you all have a set of core values that determine almost everything in your life. You are at your best when your actions correspond to your values and your beliefs. But how can you rely on a value that you cannot name? How can you infuse your life with core values that you cannot understand.

This article is based on book I recently read – Brené Brown’s Dare to Lead (link to Goodreads). Core values is not the center topic of the book and I also recommend a lot of other gems in it, but the chapter about core values struck a cord with me and I think I discovered a nuance that Brené did not uncover (or at least did not write about).

Help! My Manager is an Introvert!

A while ago, I shared my approach in dealing with a new manager. This time, I am diving deeper into the subject and sharing the steps I took when I realized that my new manager is an introvert.

You have recently changed your role? Or you have recently changed your employer? Or maybe, you just now realized that your new manager is an introvert. Don’t panic! First, there is nothing wrong in being an introvert. Second, I agree that working with introvert is different mostly because we are so used to these images of flamboyant, extrovert bosses. Third, pure introverts are very rare, so maybe you are wrong. And last but not least, there are approaches you can take if you dive deep into the world of introverts. This article is the logical next step after my article a while ago about approaching a new manager (link here). After working a few months with my managers I started realizing that they are actually introverts. Continue reading if you are interested in my journey and the way I approached thew new situation. Continue reading

How to Build Trust in a Relationship

This year I joined one of the most productive companies in the world. In this article I share what I have learned about building and sustaining trust in such competitive environments. I also extend the take aways to personal relationships.

Trust is the unseen currency of business and life. When you build trust, you get a dividend on all of your actions – past and present. When you lack trust, you pay a tax, no matter how hard you try. The most successful companies obsess over how to build trust and put the customer in the center of their operations.

Building trust starts with building self-trust and continues with building relationship trust. This article provides a few tips on how to build self-trust, but mostly concentrates on how to build trust in a relationship.