In this episode, we pull back the curtain on the six categories of invisible work and show you how to spot them in your own calendar. You’ll learn why these unseen activities matter, how uneven loads create burnout risks, and a simple four-step scan to surface where your energy is really going.

References:

1) Sensemaking in Organizations: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/818257.Sensemaking_in_Organizations

2) Will AI Fix Work? Work Trend Index: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/worklab/work-trend-index/will-ai-fix-work

3) Are You Taking on Too Many Non-Promotable Tasks? https://hbr.org/2022/04/are-you-taking-on-too-many-non-promotable-tasks

4) Being Glue: https://www.noidea.dog/glue

5) Noise: A Flaw in Human Judgment: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55339408-noise

6) Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/63934894-creativity-inc-the-expanded-edition

Music Credit: Switch It Up, performed by Silent Partner, from the YouTube Studio Audio Library.

In this episode, we dive into the hidden side of leadership, the work that never makes it to dashboards or OKRs but holds organisations together. From Karl Weick’s sensemaking to Linda Babcock’s research on non-promotable tasks, from Tanya Reilly’s “Being Glue” in engineering teams to Paul O’Neill’s safety-first turnaround at Alcoa, we explore how invisible work shapes trust, efficiency, and performance.

References:

1) Sensemaking in Organizations: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/818257.Sensemaking_in_Organizations

2) Will AI Fix Work? Work Trend Index: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/worklab/work-trend-index/will-ai-fix-work

3) Are You Taking on Too Many Non-Promotable Tasks? https://hbr.org/2022/04/are-you-taking-on-too-many-non-promotable-tasks

4) Being Glue: https://www.noidea.dog/glue

5) Alcoa’s Core Values in Practice: Paul O’Neill’s Safety Focus: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=26838

Music Credit: Switch It Up, performed by Silent Partner, from the YouTube Studio Audio Library.

In this weekly wrap-up episode, we stitch adaptability into a practical toolkit. From Monday’s distinction between flexibility, agility, and adaptability, to Tuesday’s litmus test, to Wednesday’s SLICE experimentation engine, Thursday’s levers of decision velocity and resource mobility, and Friday’s simple rules. You’ll walk away with a one-page adaptability playbook that helps you sense shifts, run disciplined experiments, move faster, free up resources, and guide decisions with clarity.

References:

1) Dynamic capabilities and strategic management: https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1097-0266(199708)18:7<509::AID-SMJ882>3.0.CO;2-Z

2) Dynamic capabilities as (workable) management systems theory: https://doi.org/10.1017/jmo.2017.75

3) Trustworthy online controlled experiments: A practical guide to A/B testing: https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/trustworthy-online-controlled-experiments/

4) Simple Rules: How to thrive in a complex world: https://www.hmhbooks.com/shop/books/Simple-Rules/9780544705203

5) Heuristic decision making: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-120709-145346

Music Credit: Switch It Up, performed by Silent Partner, from the YouTube Studio Audio Library