Episode Details

What does it take for groups of people to come together to do extraordinary things? Kevin sits down with Karina Mangu-Ward to discuss the habits that help teams thrive in complex and uncertain environments. Karina explains why exceptional teamwork requires more than a strong strategy, talented individuals, or simply working harder, and introduces three essential areas of focus: organizing for impact, deciding in uncertainty, and designing for learning. They talk about how living team charters keep people aligned as conditions change, how "even overs" clarify difficult tradeoffs between two valuable priorities, and why working in public allows teams to collaborate earlier, learn faster, and avoid wasted effort. Karina also encourages leaders to replace perfectionism with experimentation, create shared language around decision-making, and begin where there is energy rather than waiting for a company-wide mandate.

About Karina Karina Mangu-Ward is the author of the forthcoming book Teams Who Meet the Moment: 9 Practices for Unlocking Performance and Growth in Uncertain Times . She is an organizational expert who has worked with PepsiCo, Planned Parenthood, Chanel and more and is a Partner at August. At August, she's had the privilege of working with some of the largest, most complex organizations in the world to shift their everyday ways of working. Before August, her adventures included conducting research on implicit bias, helping arts organizations behave as creatively behind the scenes as they do on stage, and running social innovation labs. If you buy Karina a coffee, she'd love to tell you how all of these experiences led her to exactly where she is now. Her motto is "get caught trying," which means she'd rather try and screw it up than not try at all. She lives with her partner and kids in Brooklyn, NY. Website: https://www.aug.co/book

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