Mercer's Weekly Reads

Let it be stated: I love Support Ops. I think there is so much value here for all teams, not just Support. That being said, this was just Part 1 of a totally awesome two-part series on how to create effective team communications. Chase and the gang touched on everything from team structure and how many meetings to have to what you should focus on in your communications, and how to get newcomers up to speed. This is a great listen for all managers new and old.

Managing any team is incredibly difficult, let alone an entirely remote or distributed one. This guide from Work, Etc does a great job at addressing some of the unique challenges that come with managing a remote team. What I appreciated most was that the scope of this guide wasn't limited to just startups or small to medium businesses, and also addressed the distribution occurring at companies like AmEx. There are so many insights that can be gleaned by hearing how companies outside of your sphere handle things.

Matt Mullenweg from Automattic takes us through the Automattic creed and how important it is to their company to stick by their guns. Does your company have a creed or core values? It's not only good for your company and branding, but even on an intensely micro level: for each of your employees. If you provide your company with a direction in which to drive and some framework to make decisions with, you'll likely find a more cohesive and fast-moving team.

With the holiday season coming up, our inboxes will soon be littered with OoOs. I came across this delightful partnership between Westin Hotels and McSweeney's, one of my favorite comedy sites, to provide customers with engaging and funny OoOs. I love that they put the focus on the customer experience, and can't wait to use it next time I'm out of the office.

Imposter syndrome is a hot topic—everyone is writing and reading about it. Heck, I even shared another IS post last week. That being said Julie Zhuo, product design director at Facebook, has some insights on what you can start to lose by falling too deeply into it and how to dig yourself back out.

SPORTS BALL! Amirite? Margot, the new community manager over at Wistia, shares how lessons from football and football season can be brought in and used in your community management strategy. Never would have thought of this combo, but I'm happy Margot did.

Zen Habits is one of the blogs that I subscribe to and read religiously, and when I saw the title of this post I knew that I had to drop everything and read. Coping is so often considered a "negative" thing, but is also so important. Given that my talk next week is so much about being compassionate towards yourself, this has been swirling around my brain for sure. Give yourself what you need, even if it's time to step away and realign your brain.

Will we ever decouple perceived effort and long hours with our rewards system? There is a very real thing that I've noticed in start-ups: an unspoken "who's going to work the longest and burn the most midnight oil" mentality which can be incredibly detrimental for personal and professional growth. This article takes a good look into what you really get out of all those OT hours your working.

Unlike the author of this post, I am not a cat person. I have my husband's cat Kittens who inhabits my space and has taught me some of the nuance of these strange creatures. With that in mind, though, I know enough to say that these 14 lessons are both very true to cats, and very true to humans. Plus, they'll make you smile.