Andrea Otto-Davidson’s Post

Another meeting? Or could this have been an email. As August comes to an end and Christmas - I mean September - coming soon, it’s a good time to think about changes that improve work. In a recent workshop I hosted on Communication and Collaboration, I asked participants what they’d like to change at work from September onwards. The answers were both surprising and insightful. The 2 hour online workshop was part of a 9 months Tech & Biz program for over 70 employees from Santander organised by ISDI. A good opportunity to appreciate the work from Ioana Badea and Robin Weninger for managing the programme with many inspiring lecturers and students. Thank you. These type of sessions are always a highlight for me as they tackle real challenges and offer practical solutions. 🗓️ One topic that came up in my workshop from my participants was the sheer number of meetings on everyone’s calendar—many of which felt like a waste of time. This is where good communication and collaboration really come into play, even though they can be tricky to master. Declining a meeting can be tough, especially with office politics or tight deadlines. But if you’re unsure about an invite, here are a few friendly tips: 🕐 Check the Purpose: Don’t hesitate to ask the organiser for the meeting’s agenda or goal. This will help you figure out if you really need to be there. 🕑 Assess Your Role: Think about whether your input is vital. If not, it’s okay to politely decline or suggest just joining for part of the meeting. 🕒 Offer Alternatives: If the meeting isn’t crucial for you, propose other options like getting a summary afterward or sharing your thoughts via email. — If you’re the one sending out the invites, here’s how to make sure the meeting is worth everyone’s time: 🕐Set a Clear Goal: Know what you want to accomplish and share it with the team. This keeps things on track and makes the meeting more effective. 🕑Invite the Right People: Only include those who really need to be there. This way, you respect everyone’s time and make the meeting run smoother. 🕒 Include an Agenda: Add a brief agenda to your invite so everyone knows what to expect and how to prepare. After all, you don’t want anyone leaving the meeting thinking, “This could have been an email or message via chat.” 📅📧 Btw, I love the Google calendar feature that estimated the meeting costs.💰 Do you have any tips for managing meetings? If your meeting schedule is already in good shape, what else would you like to change for yourself September onwards? _________ That bit about me: I am Andrea. A German living in the UK. I help teams launch and manage impactful projects and share regular stories and tips here and via People Partner Plan. I also host workshops around team communication & #collaboration leadership. And if you are the creative type, I can also run a colourful session and introduce you and your team to the method and materials of #LEGOSeriousPlay.

After watching the Olympic swimmers, I started searching for known athletes with ADHD. During the broadcast, the commentator mentioned that two athletes from Germany, Angelina Köhler and Lukas Märtens, took the wrong bus and almost missed their qualifying event. He explained that both have ADHD, and situations like this are common for them. Rather than mocking them or viewing it negatively, he highlighted how their ADHD allows them to channel their focus and excel in the water, making them some of the best swimmers competing at the Olympic Games. Another well-known ADHD swimmer is Michael Phelps. There are still many misconceptions about people with ADHD and other forms of neurodiversity, such as OCD and dyslexia. In German, the acronym for ADHD is ADHS, where "D" stands for "Disorder," which can be misleading. Prof. Amanda Kirby MBBS MRCGP PhD FCGI's has a famous visual and research that illustrates best that neurodiversity is not a disorder. I hope more organisations recognise that everyone is unique and can support individuals in finding roles that align with their strengths. This week, I had three insightful conversations about LEGO Serious Play and neurodiversity, which have motivated me to work on new workshops and projects. Stay tuned for more announcements. Thank you, Deborah Denyer, Divya Venkatesh, and AMC Newton FRSA, for your time and inspiration. Image: © Sven Hoppe/dpa #OlympicGames #Paris2024 #NeurodiversityMatters #ADHDAwareness #InclusiveWorkplace #LEGOSeriousPlay

How can we better respect and value each other's time? In my search for a new project and position, I’ve noticed: Not everyone values time. Over the past few weeks, I've had a few instances where meetings and calls were cancelled at the last minute. While I understand life’s unpredictability—believe me, my last month has been a whirlwind and I had to cancel and postpone a few workshops and meetings. However, I always made the effort to send a quick message to reschedule or explain. This simple act of acknowledging someone’s time can make a world of difference. Whether you’re a recruiter or an applicant, a customer, a partner or a supplier, please remember this: every meeting, every task, is someone’s precious time. Let's honour that. 🕛🕐🕑 And just to add: I value a NO more than a MAYBE or a YES when the person is actually not interested. There’s a nice story from Wolfgang Joop, a German fashion designer, who cancelled a podcast interview short notice. The podcast host, Matze Hielscher, was initially upset but later grateful that Joop postponed. The story is much longer to finally get a new date in the diary. However, Matze was happy and got 100% of Joop being present and not just 50% and half-interested podcast guest. By valuing each other’s time and being honest, we build trust and respect. Time is too precious. 📸 Image created with AI Bing Image Creator because I simply love LEGO, sharing and creations. My prompt for this one: "Show a picture of two people in different locations having a video meeting. Lego Style". #OpenToWork #CareerTransition #JobSearchObservations

What Do Successful Teams Have in Common? I'm preparing a workshop with Global Institute of Leadership & Technology for over 70 participants from a large financial institution to explore this question and the topic of collaboration and communication. One of my favourite resources and images is from “The Collaboration Book” by Mikael Krogerus and Roman Tschäppeler. There are many frameworks, methods, and studies on this topic, but only a few teams and organisations truly get it right. People and communication are complex. Some of you are experts or have your own experience. If you could give one example for a successful team, what would it be? #Teamwork #Collaboration #SuccessfulTeams #Workshop

My new OKRs are ready! Or in other words: I am back for new opportunities! 🚀 After an intense and unpredictable year, I’m excited to announce that I’m back with renewed energy and ready to take on new projects and roles. Over the past 12 months, my work had to take a back seat as I prioritised caring for a close family member in palliative care. Running my own business gave me the flexibility to manage and eventually reduce my workload during this challenging time, and I’m incredibly grateful to my wonderful project colleagues and clients and their understanding and support, especially over the last few months - you know who you are. Now, with the start of July, I’ve decided it’s time to get back to work full time - either as a contractor or employee. Special thanks to Alyssa, Saskia and Katrin for the support and nudge to use July as my ‘jump back in month’ with a new set of OKRs (Objectives and Key Results). **Here is one of my objectives for the next quarter: "Find a new full time role (or minimum 20 hours per week) that leverages my experience and skills.” I used a new template and did an online refresher course from Alexandru Bleau. He runs a great OKR introduction course where he explains the topics really well and highlights the reasons why OKR are becoming more and more important for teams and organisations recently. I’ll share the link to the resources and templates I use in the comments as it might help you or your team too. And if you can help with my OKR - please highlight, comment and recommend roles, people or organisations who are looking for an experienced project launch and partner specialist with a passion for LEGO, like me. Thank you! 📸 Image caption: A laptop showing Andrea Otto-Davidson’s Linkedin profile. In front is a LEGO Serious Play model showing Spiderman in a Stormtrooper Outfit walking up a staircase. The LEGO model is placed on top of a bag printed with the sentence: Take time to make your soul happy. Thanks Leanne Ford for helping with the recommendation for the image caption. #CareerOpportunities #JobSearch #ProfessionalGrowth #OKR #NewBeginnings

How important is leadership collaboration to you? I had a meeting with Miles Hanson to discuss my 360 collaboration feedback from a leadership collaboration programme with him and his team at The Collaboration Company. Review and feedback sessions can be challenging because it can be very personal and sometimes triggering. Spoiler: After the meeting with Miles, I felt super energised and so motivated that I have booked a course for a new topic and my next personal upskilling in 2024. Here’s what made this leadership collaboration programme stand out: 1. **Part of a larger program:**     - It was part of a larger program with one main workshop called Ideathon.     2. **Diverse Participation:**    - Twelve people from different companies, backgrounds, and skillsets came together for a day to collaborate and share ideas. 3. **Support for a Charity:**    - The goal was to support a chosen charity with their mission by brainstorming, evaluating, and pitching ideas by the end of the day. 4. **Pre-Session Briefing:**    - All participants received a short briefing and mission prior to the ideathon. 5. **Comprehensive Feedback:**    - Before the session, every participant completed an online self-assessment and 360 feedback from colleagues, managers, and peers. 6. **Well-Prepared Workshop:**    - The workshop itself was very well-prepared with highly skilled facilitators to ensure the session met its objective: finding a solution to help the charity tackle a challenge. 7. **Post-Session Review:**    - After the ideathon, the team from The Collaboration Company reviewed each participant to share constructive feedback and observations in a written summary. 8. **Optional 1:1 Feedback Session:**    - Every participant had the option for a one-on-one feedback session to review the results and learnings. As a participant and a fan of collaboration, creativity, and improv methods and tools, I can honestly say this was one of the best workshops and holistic program experiences I have seen. It made a significant impact on me, the team, and most importantly, the charity. I’m already looking forward to the next session with the other #ideathon participants (3 months later) and seeing how the Buttle UK team has turned some of our ideas into reality. Thanks to Helen Norris for introducing me to Pete McDonald and The Collaboration Company. Thanks Katharina Krentz, Alyssa Jade McDonald-Baertl, Rebecca Niebler, Cherry Ward, Leanne Ford, Katrin Grunwald, and Helen Rivero for your support and spending time for the 360 feedback. The pictures and screenshots provide only a small glimpse. Can you guess what my next personal upskilling course will be? Here’s a clue: it starts with “i.” #TeamCollaboration #360Feedback #PersonalGrowth

// Death, Bereavement, and Work // Death and grief affect us all in different ways, including at work, whether sudden or anticipated. This week after I finished a business meeting, I found myself reading through a magazine from the hospice where my sister spent her last day. She recently died at the age of 45 after a courageous battle with cancer. She was also a dedicated and passionate Human Resource Specialist. Throughout her life, both personally and professionally, people and employees were always her top priority. Her dedication to supporting and caring for others was enormous. Of course I would rave about her because she was my big sister and I noticed even more how incredible she was by the amount of wonderful and meaningful messages we received. One recurring question for us during this time was: How can employers better support people with cancer, their relatives, and friends? My sister worked as long as she could but had to reduce her hours due to numerous doctor appointments, therapies, and the toll of her illness. Many of her friends, not just family, took time off to be with her, emphasising the importance of TIME in such situations. For most of my sister's friends the weeks before she passed away have been extremely challenging with effects on everyone's time and energy levels. Many partners had to jump in and manage household chores and childcare at short notice. And a lot of times employers are not aware of the situation or don’t know how to support, often out of uncertainty. Here are some relevant statistics: A survey by Sue Ryder found that 62% of UK employees experienced bereavement in five years, and 42% felt their work performance was affected by grief. In my experience with large organisations, proactive awareness and support for bereavement, compassionate leave, and related activities are rare. As a self-employed individual, I face my own set of challenges and advantages—enough for another conversation and post. Here are some resources I've found helpful and hope others might find useful for their organisations: 1️⃣ Macmillan Cancer Support - Advice for supporting someone with cancer / Supporting your staff: https://lnkd.in/eqiZRKhM 2️⃣ Sue Ryder - Resources for Grief Support: https://lnkd.in/e7YvRKBe Death is a difficult topic, but it's a part of life and, consequently, part of working life. The next stage for us is the time after the funeral, a phase many in my network have already experienced. While everyone’s story and grief are different, feel free to share your tips. And I really hope more employers will proactively address this issue and make it a bit easier to prepare their employees and their managers for times of grief. #griefmanagement #grief #death #workplace #appreciation #kindofbacktoworkpostafterloss #time 📷 From Etsy - which I looked up before my sister passed away: https://lnkd.in/ek2Rkt-i

Completed this new course today: AI and project management. #NeverStopLearning.

“I work at a happy place,” was my answer when a client asked me from where I was joining our online meeting. Given recent personal events, it was a nice thing to realise. Earlier this year, I joined Patch. A new coworking space. It’s different compared to other offices and coworking places I know. Btw, this isn’t an advertisement; it’s a genuine shoutout. The Patch is a 30-minute bike ride from home, which gives me a good reason to leave the house and combine it with one of my favourite ways to commute. Cycling. It was introduced to me by Fleur Iannazzo, MSc CFA ACC inviting me to a networking event. And Fleur, btw, just published her new book - congrats again! Now we can call each other coworking buddies which is making the time there more valuable. And The Patch has a few other perks that I love: _ Monthly events like flower workshops, walk-in sessions for business planning, and many more. _ A podcast studio (hello bucket list, anyone interested?). _ Monthly Members' networking lunch. _ A small garden space. _ You can bring your dog. _ Many collaboration offers for members like the Library of things. _ Members are welcome to bring a guest, suggest, or host sessions (Lego workshop coming soon). _ And I’m sure I missed a lot of perks that I haven’t discovered yet. The main thing I noticed: Clare Mroz, Abbie Carter and the team are super kind, remember my name and make me feel welcome. Every time I am there, I leave with new inspirations. Sometimes it’s as simple as that to create a happy place. What is important for you to have a happy workplace? #HappyWorkplace #Coworking #WorkLifeBalance #Collaboration #People