Tessa Cooper
Director of People & Culture at FutureLearn. Believe that by changing the way companies operate, and how we interact at work, we will also change society for the better. I tweet here @tessacooper5
Activity
-
Tessa Cooper made a comment
We had a slight jump in turnover rate at the start of the year partly due to general trends in when people look for new jobs but also when we looked at exit interviews we also found a common theme was around career progression. As a small company this can sometimes be hard to provide to everyone but we are now starting to look at succession planning,...
-
I used to have this view of HR - that their judgement was clouded by need to follow process & policy at all costs. But as my career moved closer and closer towards the People function I started to see how important it is to be able to use guiding principles and adapt your judgement as needed based on the situation at hand. Unfortunately as a society we create...
-
Tessa Cooper made a comment
I think in both scenarios the HR teams have been overly focussed on short term cost savings (e.g. recruiting someone quickly / saving money in short term though out sourcing) without considering the potential longer term costs of their actions and whether their decisions align to the company's values or desired culture. I think if they had a clearer...
-
Tessa Cooper made a comment
Hi, I've just been promoted to Director of People & Culture here at FutureLearn from the role of Organisational Development lead. My role is to make sure our people & culture initiatives support and align to the overall company strategy - my background is actually in Product Management and I have extensive experience in how to build effective teams that work...
-
Tessa Cooper made a comment
In my new team we are trialling using OKRs - objectives and key results. This enables us to be really clear about what change we expect to see from certain things, measure if it's been effective and importantly remind ourselves and others of why we are doing stuff.
I also find that before any change takes place it's important to workshop the actual...
-
Tessa Cooper made a comment
This is basically what I do as a job - I help people to work more effectively together. And I often find the most important part of that is making sure they can empathize with one another and be open with one another. A personal favourite exercise to do with a new team is to get them to collaboratively imagine they were the best or the worst team ever and...
-
Tessa Cooper made a comment
I prototype all the time in my role because it's all about people and processes. I don't want to design new processes immediately because you can often get them wrong and I also think a lot of change in a rapidly growing organisation can often happen best with a change in mindset and behaviour rather than introducing endless processes. So instead I identify...
-
Tessa Cooper made a comment
In my job as organisational development lead I'm always having to work with others to reframe problems. It's been a huge help coming from a product development background because I use a lot of the techniques we used to design and build our products to help people and teams to work more effectively and enjoyably together. I think of the people I support as...
-
Tessa Cooper replied to Oli Mansell
Having said that I also think there are times when stepping away from a situation mentally or physically is unhelpful. I think there are times when resilience comes from being able to face challenges head on and grow from it. For instance a difficult conversation at work - you may actually become more resilient if you can find a way to navigate it effectively...
-
Tessa Cooper replied to Oli Mansell
I'd definitely agree that anxiety and stress are contagious. I think anything that you can do to step away from a situation that is not healthy for you is part of ecological resilience too - stepping away from the world of smartphones for an hour a day like you suggest, taking 5 minutes breather from an intense/stressful conversation at work right up to the...
-
I like this list. I think a lot of these things such as healthy habits, building relationships and meditation are all things that once developed offer you a continuum in times of change/chaos - developing this consistency can be a huge support when you go through rough times.
In terms of always learning I find self-reflection really helps here but it's...
-
Tessa Cooper made a comment
Yes, but I don't think 'trusting your instinct' is simply a light bulb moment - I think it's about understanding that your brain has assessed a situation at a mile a minute based on past experience, desires, facts and feelings - sometimes you can't see the stream of this thinking but it happens in order to inform your actions and most of the time can be...
-
Tessa Cooper made a comment
This is an important thing I've learnt over the last few years. I've found that when I feel good and am in a stable place if I invest time then to build up my support networks, develop my ability to self-reflect and understand my behaviours, and make the most of opportunities that arise I have a higher capability to respond to hard times or times of crisis in...
-
Tessa Cooper made a comment
I think there is an odd dichotomy about the phrase 'vulnerable but invincible'. In my mind I'd actually view it as 'vulnerable and understands they are not invincible, but comfortable with that.' For me invincible suggests no faults or no recognition of faults - it portrays an incredible amount of confidence that is actually unhealthy for a human being....
-
Tessa Cooper made a comment
Two things that help
* The opportunity to talk about it with others - getting a different perspective usually puts things into perspective
* Tackling something small to change my mindset - breaking down the problem and realising I can affect changeTwo things that don't help
* When it's been left too long without a conversation about it - difficult to... -
Hi Lucy. Great point. Yes I agree empathy definitely involves more than just imagining or thinking about how others are feeling. It requires a great deal of listening, in order to first understand where that person is coming from. And I think also checking and rechecking your understanding of the situation. I do this a lot of the teams I coach. Getting them to...
-
Tessa Cooper made a comment
I think my strongest is empathy. I've was raised to always consider and understand other people's perspectives and this is a huge part of my job now. It's amazing how few people do this on a day to day basis. My mind is often completely overflowing with imagining how others must be feeling or what they must be thinking - whether it's someone struggling with...
-
I love your final point! I wish everyone had this outlook. I wonder how much culture contributes to how much you feel responsibility to provide positive contributions to the world! I feel like some cultures (my own included) can be much more selfish than others.
-
Tessa Cooper made a comment
1. I can see what he is describing in all types of culture - not just those defined by what nationality you are. Misperception is rife in our societies and in particular in the workplace - people don't seem to have the time or inclination to understand something from someone elses perspective. One common example could be introverted developers who use few...
-
Tessa Cooper made a comment
It sounds like originally the woman would nod and make eye contact with Mahle too? And that her shouting occurred a few days later? Did something happen between the time when Mahle first nodded at this woman and when the woman started shouting at her?
In all honesty I would probably be too upset/scared/embarrassed to approach the woman to discuss why she...
-
Tessa Cooper replied to Alison Hiscocks
I love this too. It reminds me of that often used image to illustrate Equality vs Equity vs removing systematic barriers https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/489273946999783856/. It also reminds me of something I read by Charles Taylor about Cultural competency over tolerance http://drcharlestaylor.com/CulturalCompetency.pdf - where he talks about correcting for...
-
Tessa Cooper made a comment
I'm a strong believer that everyone benefits if people spend time reflecting on their personalities and how this impacts their approach to work & situations. A good exercise I've done with teams I've worked with is ask everyone to complete this personality test https://www.16personalities.com/personality-types - reflect on what it says about their work habits...
-
Tessa Cooper made a comment
I have used inspirational appeals through talking about visions of the future and showing them that change is possible.
I have used consultation by asking for peoples opinion and experiences of things I am trying to improve
And beyond consultation, in order to improve those things and ensure everyone has a shared understanding I have collaborated with...
-
Tessa Cooper replied to Tessa Cooper
Finally I have also led by talking to senior management, giving them feedback on where they are not understood by the rest of the company, pointing out how they could think about things differently and encouraging them to communicate more effectively to the company. So I guess I see this as 'leading by proxy' - I have influenced the leaders.
-
Tessa Cooper made a comment
I was made Organisational Development Lead partly due to the power and influence I had developed within the company. I was seen by senior management as someone who could get to know anyone and develop a deep understanding of what motivates them. I've been doing my new role for a few weeks now and as a leader I can definitley see I try to do similar things to...
-
Tessa Cooper made a comment
Our creative director is a leader and a manager. She manages the design team day to day to ensure they are working effectively with their product teams ans other designers. She also plans for any changes in staff, like if someone was to go on parental leave and ensures the team are organised effectively. But she is also a leader because she sets a vision for...
-
Tessa Cooper made a comment
1. I don't think the concept of leadership has become to broad to be useful in the workplace but I do think that if an organisation or team is to be led effectively it must be led by different people, in different ways at different times. And by that I do not mean that it must have multiple different CEOs or that it must have a large Management team. What I...
-
Tessa Cooper made a comment
This is a great exercise. Interestingly the way i described the leaders I chose was very similar! I mentioned the way they adapted their approaches, the way they empathised with people and the way the empowered others to do things! These are all things I aspire towards myself so it very clearly says something about me.
-
Tessa Cooper made a comment
1. My mum! She would always adapt her parenting approaches to bring out the best in her 3 children (and many foster children). She massively encouraged me to spend time developing my 'soft' skills and showed me how important they were if you want to be able to influence people - she is someone that is brilliant at empathising with a whole range of different...
-
Tessa Cooper replied to Holly Smith
I was wondering about this too as early on in the course it seemed to recommend that you continue offering breastmilk before feeding them food. I just found this article though which suggests it is led by the child - the different stages are useful to know I feel. http://www.babycentre.co.uk/a3272/how-should-i-stop-breastfeeding
-
Tessa Cooper made a comment
My partner and I have recently started eating more vegetarian meals and plan to offer our child the same as whatever we eat (without the added salt etc of course!)
I think it will be important to repeatedly offer something to my child in the future even if they didnt like it the first time. I never used to like olives or anchovies for instance but would try... -
Tessa Cooper made a comment
My baby is 3 months old and we may start her on solids a little earlier than 6 months (probably when she can sit up) because she loves to feed! She gulps down any type of medicine she's had - she just loves tasting things I think! She has also always been happy to take a bottle even though she has been breastfed from the start. I think she mighy miss...
-
Tessa Cooper made a comment
There is the obvious factor that most cultures are still male-oriented. A friend was shocked when I said that not everywhere in london has a baby changing facility - but most buildings will have been designed and built by men!
If we want more women to breastfeed this kind of thing needs to be taken into consideration when designing public spaces and work...
-
Honest friends are really important to help get throigh the pain you experience. I remember going to a coffee shop in the first week and breastfeeding in public but being in agony. I kept grimacing and saying 'ow' and I got really upset that I had never seen a woman in pain while breastfeeding before. And my partner had to keep holding the blanket over me...
-
2/2 Without this support from my partner I wouldve given up in the first few weeks but Im so pleased I made it through that period because now it is just so natural and convenient.
In addition to support from my partner I think it is also really important to try expressing so that your partner or other family members can help with feeding occassionally. My...
-
I actually expected not to be able to breastfeed for very long as my mum had to chatted to me about how difficult she found it and the pain she had experienced so I assumed I'd have a similar experience and bought formula ahead of the birth just in case.
However I went along to the antenatal breastfeeding session with my partner and it taught me lots about...
-
Tessa Cooper replied to Tessa Cooper
Thanks jane. Have just got some freezer bags to start building up a supply for when Im back at work
-
Tessa Cooper made a comment
When I was pregnant I actually wasnt to worried about breastfeeding. My mum struggled with breastfeeding with all of her children and only managed a week or so, so I fully expected to have a similar experience. However I went along to the antenatal breastfeeding class and I think it helped prepare me and my partner for the potential challenges and he really...
-
Tessa Cooper replied to Kelly Sims
Oh god, the milk squirting can be embarrassing. I was out in a pub the other day and manage to nearly spray her - she was more impressed than anything but it was still slightly embarrassing!
-
When I was pregnant the main advice was usually about what not to eat or drink such as caffeine. I rarely heard or saw much about what you should eat for the development of your baby but Ive been a healthy eater all my life and enjoy a varied diet so I alway assumed what I ate was probably beneficial to the baby.
Im currently breastfeeding and again the...
-
Tessa Cooper made a comment
I personally think that the difference between what people might class as 'digital native' and digital immigrant is not the type of technology that they adopt, or the speed that they understand how to use it, but the speed at which they find the new technology, use it and then move on. Younger people tend to pick up on the latest piece of technology much...
-
Tessa Cooper made a comment
Education has needed to change for a long time, way before that need to change became driven by technology. The great thing that technology can bring to education is exploration, allowing students to not simply hear about stuff from a teacher but to experiment with it and experience it for themselves, hopefully giving them.a heightened understanding of the...
-
Tessa Cooper replied to ben h
I'd forgotten about Friends Reunited @rebecca! Interesting example to consider. Think it's important to understand why certain social media has less longevity in terms of how people view what that platform does & how it fits in with their daily lives.
-
There is an interesting difference in opinions in terms of whether the internet, and social media in particular, drives more or less anonymity. I think the way that groups that may have been ostricized or experienced prejudice in other physical social settings in the past can now identify with one another online and create a shared space to talk openly about...
-
Tessa Cooper made a comment
I use one account on twitter @tesscooper5 for a whole host of stuff:
- News aggregation
- Following certain activities in sectors I'm interested in (education/music/technology etc)
- Promoting myself & what I do
- Sharing things that might be of interest to particular people
- Connecting with people who are interested in similar things to me
- And... -
Tessa Cooper made a comment
The thing I like about this approach is that it doesn't use generalised stats! All too often broad sweeping stats are used to measure intricate details of peoples' lives and it doesn't always tell us the whole picture - for instance scientists & politicians might look at fertility rate of countries and compare one to another but this doesn't give the intricate...
-
@Maryalice - interesting point about assumptions we make based on peoples likes & dislikes - I often 'favourite'/'star' stuff on twitter to remind me to read it later but then worry that people will interpret this as me liking or agreeing with something when that's not necessarily the case. I wrote something about the human desire to hide some of the stuff you...
-
Tessa Cooper replied to Sridivya Mukpalkar
I think that what social media does is emphasises certain aspects of those human interactions. And the choices we make about our interactions with other humans - such as who we choose to interact with and what aspects of our identity we choose to highlight.
-
I'd agree. And in addition to your point that that having the knowledge transfer happen at home frees up time for the tutor to spend time assessing the learning rather than imparting knowledge, there is another long-term bonus in this approach in that learners get into the habit of extending their knowledge outside of the classroom. It's a good way to embed...
-
Tessa Cooper made a comment
Hello! I'm a product manager at FutureLearn for our Partner Experience team and I'm taking this course a) to learn more about blended learning and how FutureLearn fit into that b) to make sure I know what using our platform is like for learning c) to hopefully contribute from the perspective of someone working in Edtech.
-
Tessa Cooper made a comment
The political circumstances surrounding food insecurity is an interesting issue. I recently read Paul McMahon's "Feeding Frenzy" http://www.amazon.co.uk/Feeding-Frenzy-The-Politics-Food/dp/1781250359 which talks about how different societies' needs are played off against one another through politics. For instance the USA is one of the biggest food produces and...
-
In the UK I think social mobility has decreased in many ways. For example there is an expectation now that as a minimum young people should have university degrees to give them a good chance of securing a job - however more and more people are unable to afford this route, or are not encouraged to go down this route because of their upbringing - so there is a...
-
Tessa Cooper replied to Deborah Pedersen
Deborah, just posted a similar comment about the fact that although my foster siblings have access to similar education that I had, due to their instability and postive impact from parents it makes it difficult to "rise in the ranks"(even with good education). I wrote a piece a while ago about how we need to provide secure environments for children in care...
-
Tessa Cooper made a comment
Social mobility can only happen when someone has the opportunity to grow and learn in a combination of aspects in their lives, not just through education. Many believe that equal access to good education is the answer for upward social mobility, but I don't believe this can impact people's futures on it's own. I come from a family that fosters children from...
-
Tessa Cooper made a comment
Hello! I'm Tess - I previously worked at FutureLearn and attempted to complete this course - made it to week 3 so before so hoping to get to the end this time. @ me on twitter if you fancy starting a study group @tessacooper5
-
It's interesting that the acronym of his project is CEDE... considering the meaning of cede in the english language is to give up control or power... giving up control and power of our own emotions and experiences to technology?
However I agree with Didem - it's up to us to decide how to use technology - which is why we all have a responsibility to be aware...
-
In addition to search results, there are lots of data sources that would be useful for predicting human behaviour. The government are working on an open data project at the moment to open up their data sources to the public to use and correlate with other data http://data.gov.uk/
-
One thing that might be interesting for the government to investigate is the correlation of searches for things like mortgages, or credit cards, or loans against the financial status of the country and individuals. If there was a correlation then this could be used to predict the financial stability of the country.
You could also do the same for other...
-
Woops - posted this in the wrong discussion - more relevant to the next discussion.
-
Tessa Cooper made a comment
One thing that might be interesting to investigate is the correlation of searches for things like mortgages, or credit cards, or loans against the financial status of the country and individuals. If there was a correlation then this could be used to predict the financial stability of the country.
You could also do the same for other markets. For instance...
-
Tessa Cooper made a comment
One example of conflict and violence in the UK could perhaps be the london riots back in 2011. It was initiated by a protest against the killing of a local resident Mark Duggan and spiralled into violent riots. Although the initial cause of conflict seemed to be the community protesting against to the police brutality in connection to Mark Duggan's death, many...
-
Tessa Cooper made a comment
Hello - I'm Tess, a product manager at comic relief. I've always been hugely interested in how religion affects societies and cultures and have been considering for a few years now whether to do a degree in something like sociology or anthropology having never been to university before. I also previously worked for the Guardian and I've always been concerned...
-
Tessa Cooper made a comment
Hi Everyone
I work at FutureLearn as a Product Manager and am taking this course to be able to better analyse data to help us make good decisions about what features to introduce to improve the learner experience :-) A bit meta I know!
Looking forward to the course!
-
Yes i used slides in the end
-
That's what I was wondering too - I'm hoping we can use slides just to deflect embarrassment occassionally :-)
-
Ooo sounds good - I'm taking the shakespeare course in september so will be a good intro to that :-)
-
Yes - it's a very controversial movement - just to clarify I plan to do a presentation on why feminism is important :-)
-
Tessa Cooper made a comment
There's been a lot of social media activity this week around a group call 'Women Against Feminism'. I'd like to do a talk on what feminism means to me, what it means in modern day society & why it's still important for everyone.
Hopefully it won't be too controversial - but it's a topic I feel passionate about and also a challenging thing to present on due...
-
Tessa Cooper made a comment
The most striking thing for me was just how many times he engaged the audience or asked them to think about something. Key points around this technique:
* Before he's even introduced the aim of his talk he asks 3 questions after his train metaphor 'why me? why now? why here?' Which gets the the audience eager to hear what happened next & to get them to...
-
Tessa Cooper replied to Jane Hinnrichs
I just shared with someone else that in my previous job a boss had a catchphrase: 'No numbers without narrative'. He was adamant that we would never give data to a client without presenting it and ensuring there was a story we were trying to tell - otherwise they would just come out with their own conclusions.
-
Tessa Cooper replied to Katie Wood
I agree about taking people on a journey. Lots of TED talks do this well, and so do lots of other talks that I've seen at conferences about people's experiences. However, even when a presentation isn't about something captivating or emotional I think it's still important to tell a story. I used to work at the Guardian in a job where I had to share lots of data...
-
Tessa Cooper made a comment
I'm here for two things:
Firstly to learn how to confidently present to (and persuade!) others
Secondly, as a new product manager at FutureLearn I want to ensure I'm continuously experiencing the platform from a learners perspective & learning from that :-)
-
Tessa Cooper made a comment
Really enjoyed this step - makes it really easy to create lovely art using snippets from other images! https://www.flickr.com/photos/125388084@N06/14364970778/in/pool-2615752@N24
-
Tessa Cooper replied to Tessa Cooper
Hi Jerome
Yes I absolutely agree with you - it's been incredibly insightful taking part in this course whilst also starting my new role at Futurelearn as it gives me an opportunity to view the platform from a user's perspective (I have to admit that I'm actually lagging a bit behind on the course at the moment and have appreciated your additional...
-
Tessa Cooper made a comment
Here's mine https://www.flickr.com/photos/125388084@N06/14225759168/in/pool-2615752@N24 It's supposed to be an animated gif but doesn't seem to work on flikr?
-
Tessa Cooper made a comment
Hi, I'm Tess. Starting my first day as product manager at Futurelearn today so keen to take lots of the courses to get myself immersed in the user experience of the courses. Have some knowledge of programming and very excited about this course :-)
-
Tessa Cooper made a comment
An example of alternative pressures that might force enemies to cooperate is trade. China has been known to regularly stop or reduce exporting of rice to North Korea
-
Tessa Cooper made a comment
Gender identity is important to me - as is my relational identity in terms of being part of my family, being a girlfriend and a friend to others. Nationality is less important, same goes for work apart from the relational identity with coworkers.
-
Tessa Cooper made a comment
I realised that I almost categorised a lot of 'collective traits' as my individual self - such as being a woman - this was also my first response. I also almost classed being part of the cooper family as a 'collective' - I guess because I see my family as a 'clan' or 'group'. Generally what I wrote about who I was also things I'm proud of such as my gender,...
