22 Nov 2023 • 3 min read

The people-first reading list [November edition]

Bettina Specht

This month, we enjoyed reading about authenticity in the workplace, how to overcome shyness in a remote workplace, and what you can do to make performance reviews *actually* useful.

Here are just a few great pieces of content from the People-First community (and beyond) that I absolutely loved reading over the last few weeks—and I thought you might enjoy them, too.

Bringing our whole selves to work

Do your team members feel safe to be their authentic selves at work? Or are they putting on a professional façade? The good folks at Cliniko share why they believe that fostering a culture of authenticity is the key to building a great workplace—and a successful business.

Overcoming shyness in remote teams

Speaking about authenticity—Stella Inabo from the team at Float would describe herself as moderately shy: "I am comfortable speaking in 1:1s, but if I have to speak before a group of people or send a message to a Slack channel (most of which are public and open to a team of 40+ people), I immediately freeze up."

We know that feeling, Stella!

But how do you gain the confidence to speak up, express opinions, or raise objections in writing—a skill that's so crucial in a remote, async team? In this blog post, Stella shares her advice on leveraging the unique aspects of working in an async remote team to overcome shyness and confidently thrive at work. (And no, it doesn't require transforming introverts into extroverts, or changing who you are!)

Performance reviews: Still uncool, but finally useful

I am in the middle of performance review season, and if you are too, you should give this post from Raw Signal a read.

Most reviews are all about reflection, they say. Reflection is good, but to make a performance actually great and useful, you'll have to move beyond reflections. You'll want to take your wins & fails, the happies & sads from the past year, and turn them into implications.

Conducting your personal SWOT analysis

Are you thinking about trying to change your career path? Or do you want to take stock of where you’re at? Then it might be time for a personal SWOT analysis. The great people at Parabol tell you how to go about it and also have a template for you.

Spooky truths of knowledge management

Did any trick or treaters come to your door this year? Elisa Reggiardo from Slite dives into ten truths that keep knowledge managers up at night—and how to navigate them successfully.