Koan #21: One Task, Two Guvnors
21 Jun 2021 - What you would do if you received an email from the CEO asking for the summary of a task that you have completed, but has not been signed off by your manager, before your manager is back from leave.
Koan #20: A New Way Of Doing Things
14 Jun 2021 - What you would do if a team you joined two weeks ago seems to be reluctant to accept the changes, but only one person gave feedback that they don’t think the changes are good.
Koan #19: That's Not My Task
07 Jun 2021 - What you would do if one of your direct reports said that they did not have time to complete a task that had been allocated to them, and two other members of the team were also reluctant to take the task on.
Koan #18: Ready... Steady... Delegate!
01 Jun 2021 - How would you choose between a boring task and a challenging task to delegate to your direct report Alice, who recently passed probation.
Koan #17: Learning To Be Alone
24 May 2021 - What you would do if you had been recently promoted and were feeling isolated.
Koan #16: Who Manages The Micromanagers
17 May 2021 - What you would do if, during skip level 1:1s, you found out that a manager, Robert, who reports to you is severely micromanaging their team and uses a stifling leadership style.
Koan #15: Can I Take The Opportunity
10 May 2021 - What you would do if you have been asked to lead a short project in an area you have mentioned that you’d like to develop, but don’t have much capacity.
Koan #14: Overcoming Resistance
04 May 2021 - What would you do if you had inherited a demotivated team, and, to unlock their creative potential, had to overcome resistance to change the way the team operated before.
Koan #13: When You Get The Role They Wanted
26 Apr 2021 - What you would do if you and a peer who you have never got along with very well went for a promotion and you were successful in gaining the position.
Koan #12: Teach Me To Fish
19 Apr 2021 - What would you do if your manager confided to you that they were not happy with your peer’s work, but had not given this feedback to them.
Koan #11: Early Bird And Night Owl
12 Apr 2021 - You notice that for the last month one of your direct reports, who you have worked with for over two years, is always online before you in the morning, and often sends you emails past 7pm.
Koan #10: Successful Probation
05 Apr 2021 - A new manager who was still on probation, seemed to be unsure what their responsibilities were and what their team was doing.
Koan #9: Hearing The Whole Choir
29 Mar 2021 - You were in a meeting during which you felt that only a minority of voices were heard.
Koan #8: Conflict Management
22 Mar 2021 - Your peer manager felt animosity towards your direct report Alex, but did not provide feedback directly to them.
Koan #7: Whose Idea Was It Anyway
15 Mar 2021 - An idea was first ignored when suggested by a woman, and later taken on board when suggested by a man.
Koan #6: Feedback To Manager
08 Mar 2021 - What you would do if your manager dismisses ideas and you noticed this as a pattern.
Koan #5: Excited Leaver
01 Mar 2021 - An excellent team member who is leaving, lost his motivation since giving in his notice. He has been talking about how great his new job is going to be to the point that someone else in the team feels demoralised.
Koan #4: Late And Unprepared
22 Feb 2021 - After offering to mentor someone junior in another team, they turn up late to, and unprepared for, the session.
Koan #3: Unreasonable Workload
15 Feb 2021 - A person in your team was unhappy with a task you allocated to them, and accused you of not understanding their pressures.
Koan #2: Feedback To Underperforming Peer
08 Feb 2021 - You were working on a project with a peer and you notice that they are not completing their tasks on time or to their usual standard.
Koan #1: Reward A Good Scout
01 Feb 2021 - Your direct report, Alex, has done a menial task and took it a step further. Their peers positively openly approve of this behaviour.
Koan #0: A Joke Gone Wrong
04 Jan 2021 - A new member of your team cracked a potentially offensive joke in a Slack channel.