Blog posts full of inspiration - Read more on Bloch&Østergaard

Blog posts filled with inspiration

On this page you’ll find our collective thoughts and reflection on various topics within the future of leadership, change management, organizational development, transformation and modern people leadership.

In our work of creating organizations where people want to show up we focus on four things: Research, Inspire, Enable and Drive. On this page you’ll find the result of our research, and hopefully it will inspire and enable you to drive the changes you wish for. Read more about our approach and who we are.

We have also made this page filled with our recommendations of books, podcasts and articles for you to dive into. It’s a collection of content that we find inspiring, enabling and sometimes a bit provocative within future of work.

Check out our list of books and other inspiration we like

How to read and understand an ONA

Two easy ways to measure employee well-being

Measure employee well-being with just 3 questions, and make make the dialogue an integrated part of the team's everyday life. What to do in between the annual employee satisfaction survey? Here are my suggestions on two relatively simple methods to measure team temperature and well-being.

What is an Organizational Network Analysis?

An Organizational Network Analysis, an ONA, is an X-ray of your organization. With this tool, you can see how people work together, who that has become a bottle neck or how much collaboration is going on across units.

How to lead an ecosystem

The term “ecosystem” keeps popping up in the sphere of descriptors for New Ways of Working. “The Power of Ecosystems” was even the theme of the Global Peter Drucker Conference 2019 – and I can clearly see why that word and pattern is emerging: In a networked business world, we need to understand the dynamics of our teams and the interactions between them. This has a superb analogy to the nature of ecosystems.

Special: Global Peter Drucker Forum 2019

Attending Global Peter Drucker Forum always sparks a lot of ideas and thoughts. It’s food for the brain! This year was no exception. Even though there weren’t as many “fire speeches” as last year, the talks did give insight on the power of different ecosystems as well as challenges, risks, problems and how you as a leader should lead your ecosystems to achieve greatness – and why.

Can a Game of Poker be a Conversation Creator?

What can a set of business oriented card games bring to the table for the organization? Read this article on how we use Business Value Poker.

Why you as a Change Management team need to change too

If organizations should succeed in staying relevant, it also implies that the Change Management team need to be up to date at all times.

Delegating tasks and decisions to multiple hands

Distributed Leadership is a fundamental part of modern leadership. But how do you delegate tasks and decisions, and why is it important to manage expectations when you delegate?

leadership development programs

The not-so-obvious reason why long development programs are great

Longer leadership development programs are rewarding for two not-so-obvious reasons: Reflection and psychological safety.

When is a speedboat not a speedboat anymore and how to scale?

You must know how big or small the impact of your speedboat will be before you scale it. Are you changing ways of working?

VUCA

We’re living in a VUCA world and so what?

Maybe you’ve heard it before; ‘we’re living in a VUCA world’. But what does VUCA actually mean, and why are we using it to describe the world we live in?

Four things we see right now in future of work

We've made a status on Future of Work highlighting four things we see right now: Pace of change, digitalization, way of organize and the millennial mindset.

The concept of Ship-It days still stands

As we all know success has many fathers, and the term ship-it days are no exception. At Bloch&Østergaard we call it: Ship-It Weekend.

learning moments

It can be very beneficial to make mistakes – you’ll end up having learning moments

Are your organization ready to create growth with learning moments in the organization? Here are six take outs on how to celebrate mistakes.

Your team is your power

Every individual gives a contribution to achieve a collective goal, but how to lead towards a shared purpose in teamwork?

Can you keep your safe space safe?

It’s hard work to create a safe space for your team. It is equally hard to maintain and nurture this safe space when first created.

Your feedback should be mutual, useful and regular

If you want engaged employees, you should be engaged in them – and regular feedback is a way to be engaged in your employees.

This is why you should choose your own boss

The reasons to actually choose your own boss and mentor is clear: It gives you, as an employee, the CHOICE to choose from whom you can learn the most.

change improv

4 things you learn about change management with improv-theater

In this article you can read about four things you can learn about change management from improv-theater in a constant changing world.

This happens when you get to know your colleagues mind patterns

When you start embracing differences instead of convincing others that you’re right, your team will start being more productive, because the collaboration will go smoother.

Be able to drive internal change often and fast

When organizations have the ability to adapt and drive internal change fast and often, they have a change capability as organizational core.

How to pull change instead of pushing through

We need to look at the difference between pushing and pulling. Push sounds a lot like command-and-control, while pull sounds more engaging.

This is how my mentor makes sure I’m engaged in the organization’s purpose

Read this blog about how to create motivation through milestones and goals with compressing vision and purpose to avoid disengagement.

How to create a safe space for your teal dot in an orange machine

Most organizations are running like machines. They are effective. They are optimized. They run perfectly in a stable world where they can keep doing what they do best. But that's not always enough.

When only parts of the organization go agile

The development team was already using Scrum as agile practice, but the rest of the organization didn’t know the first thing about agile practices.

modern teal organizations in dubai

Building teal organizations in Dubai?

What happens when you insist on a modern, flat, teal organization in Dubai? Pingala has done it, successfully. Their culture is their product.

Promote AI as a youngster

Why you should promote AI, as a youngster

Three keys to use technology as a tool to empower yourself instead of fearing losing your job, according to a youngster.

Why having an age friendly workplace is crucial to your business

8 ways to become an age friendly workplace

How can organizations create an age diverse workplace, where younger and older generations thrive and learn from each other?

Special: Global Peter Drucker Forum 2018 – Day 2

Special: Global Peter Drucker Forum 2018 // Day 2

Get our take-homes from day 2, about capabilities, risks and uncertainty, mistakes, strategic choices - and being hungry and foolish!

istributed leadership, when youngsters lead youngisters

Distributed leadership – when youngsters lead youngsters

Leadership is all about people first, leading human to human. Navigating as a youngster can be difficult, with older leaders who don’t necessarily put people first or lead with distributed or situational leadership in mind.

Special: Global Peter Drucker Forum 2018 – Day 1

Special: Global Peter Drucker Forum 2018 // Day 1

What did we learn at the Global Peter Drucker Forum 2018? Get our take-homes from day 1 here - about humanism, questions, and less bureaucracy.

How to lead across generations

How to lead across generations

What defines generational behavior? How has technology has impacted generations? Here are three things to focus on when leading agross generations.

How to understand Intergenerational Leadership – an overview of the four generations

Leading a team has just become a bit more challenging with now four – soon five – generations on the workplace. So how do you motivate every generation?

How our own speedboat ‘Hacktober’ became a success and what we learned

How our own speedboat ‘Hacktober’ became a success and what we learned

How do you use the hypothesis approach to arranging and driving a 24 hour hackathon? And how do you use modern change management techniques to make it work?

When should you be a mentor or a coach?

When should you be a mentor or a coach?

The modern leader is both a coach and a mentor. This implies an element of delegation. How do you approach that? How do you shift between the roles?

Roboboss – to bot or not to bot? // Part two

Roboboss – to bot or not to bot? // Part 2

Roboboss? What are the politicians and research? What is high-tech and high-touch, and why must need to split management and leadership?

worldblu 2018

Special: The WorldBlu Freedom at Work Experience 2018

Two intense days in San Diego with the WorldBlu tribe have come to an end. And what an experience! Here are our take-homes!

Roboboss – to bot or not to bot? // Part one

Roboboss – to bot or not to bot? // Part 1

The speed of technology is not to be neglected. But how should leaders deal with it? Are we at a point where we are ready to talk about a roboboss?

Use coaching dialogues as an integrated part of your leadership

Having coaching dialogues with employees is an integrated part of the modern leadership. It makes it easier for the employees to be heard.

How Internal Communication delivers business value in the future

How Internal Communication delivers business value in the future

Internal Communication is not about producing news anymore. Younger people expect to engage with executives on social media and expect more authenticity.

A year with a robot as my HR coach

In 2017 we wanted to explore the use of software robots in leadership. Could such automation and artificial intelligence help me as a leader? The answer was ‘yes’, but not in the way that I expected.

staying relevant in the future of work by reframing you blue ocean

Staying relevant in the Future of Work by re-framing your Blue Ocean

Staying relevant - both to employees and to customers - in the modern business world is a strategic challenge with new aspects to it.

should innovation start from the top or the bottom

Should innovation start from the top or from the bottom?

Should innovation be driven top-down or bottom-up? The old, classic answer: Both. But why, and how do you do that? What are the roles of both parties?

What are innovation speedboats

What are innovation speedboats – and how do you scale them to your need?

What is an innovation speedboat really? How do you scale it to your need. Read about the five elements, that must be in place.

Peter Drucker special

Special: Second day of Global Peter Drucker Forum 2017

A blogpost on the secong day of Global Peter Drucker Forum 2017. You can read what we enjoyed and heard later in this special blogpost.

peter drucker special

SPECIAL: FIRST DAY OF GLOBAL PETER DRUCKER FORUM 2017

This is a blog special about what we heard, learned and was inspired by at the Global Peter Drucker Forum 2017.

Map your Innovation Spectrum and transform your business

Map your Innovation Spectrum and transform your business

A blog post on how to map your innovation. There are two ways to look at innovation: As a burning necessity, driven by external factors or a burning desire.

I Have Hired a Robot – His Name is Leo

Leo is a software robot, who automates one of the jobs as a leader: Investigating the happiness and well-being of your employees.

five traits of leader

5 Traits of Transformative Leaders

Here are the 5 traits of the leaders who transform themselves; traits that ensure that they actually transform, and that it can be measured.

Missing link

A missing link in purpose-driven leadership: Feedback loops

Have you taken the time to ask your customers, if you create value? Have you asked your employees, if you create value? If not, you are missing the link.

Life-hack: How not to get stress

Life-hack: How not to get stress

This is part of an article in 5 parts, taking you through the physics of stress, and how to prevent it. Start reading here.

Photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash

Photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash

The stress hormones: Cortisol

The most important hormones when it comes to stress are - as you perhaps already know - Adrenaline and Cortisol. Read more about it here.

adrenaline

The stress hormones: Adrenaline

Adrenaline kicks can give dizziness lightheaded-ness and vision changes, and basically it is a strain on the body. Learn about what too much adrenaline does

A bit of brain science to set the scene

A bit of brain science to set the scene

Hippocampus and Amygdala are two smaller areas in your brain, with a great deal of influence onto who we are, and how we cope with pressure, fear and stress

Worldblu 2016

About time – The WorldBlu Summit // Part 2

At the WorldBlu summit last week we had the privilege to listen to some very inspirational speakers, many of them - and the overall concept of WorldBlu

Worldblu Summit 2016

The WorldBlu Summit 2016 // Part 1

The Worldblu Summit 2016. Why would I chose a murmuration as the header image for this blog post? Read on and learn.

What creates stress at work?

What creates stress at work?

Read here what creates work-related stress - and how to deal with it.

Roboboss - hell or help?

Roboboss – hell or help?

So the robo-boss is coming. The name "robo-boss" alone sets the tone of a bad, controlling, surveying, 1984 George Orwell-esque manager.

How transparent should I be?

How Transparent Should I Be?

Transparency is perceived as fake without feedback, involvement, and dialogue. Here's a guide to transparency.

The thing about purpose

The thing about purpose

Understand the purpose of why your organization does what it does. Getting WHY we are doing the stuff we do has a remarkable impact on employee engagement.

What is the new role of the manager?

What is the new role of the manager?

Understand the new role of the manager. This article tells you about what the managers new role consists and how to handle these elements.

Eight things that replace performance review

Eight things that replace performance review

Performance reviews do not work, but what to do instead? Here are 8 elements of Performance Leadership, that replaces the annual reviews.

Dear Manager, performance reviews do not work

Dear Manager, performance reviews do not work

Performance reviews do not work. In best case it is useless, but in most cases it downright demotivates your employees.

An easy way to measure employee happiness

An easy way to measure employee happiness

Weekly ‘happiness measurements’ are actually quite easy to run, easy to manage and the reporting takes very little of both you and your employees time.

Why relations beat skills in teamwork

Why relations beat skills in teamwork

Teams build on relations do work faster, smarter, and delivers higher quality – and why? Because the team members understand each other more easily.

What is your organizations Kevin Bacon Number?

What is your organizations Kevin Bacon Number?

Kevin Bacon Number to discuss the networking strengths/weaknesses of your organization regarding formal and informal communication and resilience.

What I have learned about leadership from being in a band

What I have learned about leadership from being in a band

Being in a band has many similarities to being part of a team in an organisation - so here goes: What I've learned as a leader from being in a band.

neurochemistry for leaders

Neurochemistry for leaders

There are four elements of chemistry, that you need to know the effect of as leader.

when employees praise each other good stuff happens

When employees praise each other in public, good stuff happens!

During the last eight months we've encouraged employees to use the 'praise' function on Yammer to give a thumbs-up to colleagues who deserved it.

Motivation theory Daniel Pink

Motivation theory in real life – with Daniel Pink’s “Drive” and Kolind/Bøtter’s “UNBOSS”

This article describes how I use Daniel Pink's Drive and Kolind/Bøtter's UNBOSS in my work as a people manager