We’re in the home stretch for those on the academic side of the campus. Let’s finish strong by building trust, working through the messy middle, and busting some myths in our resources today.
*Note: Don’t fret if you can’t get through these resources! If you’re short on time, maybe choose one or two that are of interest to you to pursue.
:: Image of the Week
Everything works better when we give it a chance to recharge well before the end of the power. This means you too!
:: Work Culture & Team Development
How to Build a People-First Culture
If someone were to survey the people you work with, what would they say about you when asked this question: Does (insert your name here) value the people they work with? How do you know?”
Now you might say, “Sure I value the people I work with.” But how can they tell?
Steve Browne is Dr. Joey’s guest on this episode of the Work Positive podcast. He’s known as one who sees and shows the value of people. He’s a storyteller who brings life to work. By day, he’s the Chief People Officer for LaRosa’s, a restaurant chain in Ohio and Indiana with 11 locations. By night, he’s the author of HR Unleashed!!, HR Rising!!, and HR on Purpose!! If you’ve been to a SHRM meeting lately, you know Steve Browne!
Steve and Dr. Joey Faucette talk about how to show you value people and the hallmark characteristics of companies that do on this episode of the Work Positive podcast. Some of these qualities are:
- open communication, respect, and guest care are more than talked about and instead actively practiced daily.
- coaching employees and focusing on their strengths, which develops consistency in the company’s culture.
- treating employees with respect and dignity which creates a positive work culture.
https://www.workpositive.today/steve-browne
“To find out what one is fitted to do, and to secure an opportunity to do it, is the key to happiness.” —John Dewey
:: Trust, Psychological Safety & Belonging
Begin with Trust
Trust is the basis for almost everything we do. It’s the foundation on which our laws and contracts are built. It’s the reason we’re willing to exchange our hard-earned paychecks for goods and services, to pledge our lives to another person in marriage, and to cast a ballot for someone who will represent our interests. It’s also the input that makes it possible for leaders to create the conditions for employees to fully realize their own capacity and power.
So how do you build up stores of this essential leadership capital? By focusing, the authors argue, on the three core drivers of trust: authenticity, logic, and empathy. People tend to trust you when they think they are interacting with the real you (authenticity), when they have faith in your judgment and competence (logic), and when they believe that you care about them (empathy). When trust is lost, it can almost always be traced back to a breakdown in one of these three drivers.
This article explains how leaders can identify their weaknesses and strengths on these three dimensions and offers advice on how all three can be developed in the service of a truly empowering leadership style.
https://hbr.org/2020/05/begin-with-trust
:: Change Management
The Secret to Creativity and Innovation
Susan David, Ph.D. talks about the messy middle in this newsletter post. She states that it’s in the messy middle that our growth and our creativity are at their peak, allowing our best ideas to come to life.
“Working through the messy middle is like scouting uncharted terrain. You don’t have a map yet, but you do have a compass—your values and your goals. Knowing who you are and who you want to be will help you stay oriented, even when you aren’t sure quite where your path will take you.”
Do you agree?
https://www.susandavid.com/newsletter/the-secret-to-creativity-and-innovation/
“Innovation is seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what nobody has thought.” –Dr. Albert Szent- Györgyi
:: CSN’s Book of the Week Recommendation
The Power of Habit — Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business
In The Power of Habit, award-winning New York Times business reporter Charles Duhigg takes us to the thrilling edge of scientific discoveries that explain why habits exist and how they can be changed. With penetrating intelligence and an ability to distill vast amounts of information into engrossing narratives, Duhigg brings to life a whole new understanding of human nature and its potential for transformation.
Along the way, we learn why some people and companies struggle to change, despite years of trying, while others seem to remake themselves overnight. We visit laboratories where neuroscientists explore how habits work and where, exactly, they reside in our brains. We discover how the right habits were crucial to the success of Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, and civil-rights hero Martin Luther King, Jr. We go inside Procter & Gamble, Target superstores, Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church, NFL locker rooms, and the nation’s largest hospitals and see how implementing so-called keystone habits can earn billions and mean the difference between failure and success, life and death.
At its core, The Power of Habit contains an exhilarating argument: The key to exercising regularly, losing weight, raising exceptional children, becoming more productive, building revolutionary companies and social movements, and achieving success is understanding how habits work.
Habits aren’t destiny. As Charles Duhigg shows, by harnessing this new science, we can transform our businesses, our communities, and our lives.
https://www.charlesduhigg.com/the-power-of-habit/
“You don’t need to worry about progressing slowly. You need to worry about climbing the wrong mountain.” – James Clear
:: Self-Leadership Development
Essentialism For New Leaders
Transitioning from an individual contributor to a leader isn’t just a change in responsibilities—it’s a profound shift in how you manage not only your work but also your mindset. Concepts from the book Essentialism can ease that transition.
Where will eliminating the non-essential take you on your leadership journey?
- Clarify Priorities: What matters most? Daily, identify the top tasks that will most impact your team’s goals. Focus your energy here and delegate or postpone the rest.
- Simplify Decision-Making: Develop the habit of asking, “Is this the most valuable use of my time and resources?”, “Does this align with our core goals?” If not, it’s likely not a priority. This will help you avoid decision fatigue and keep your team focused.
- Delegate Effectively: List out tasks that others can handle and delegate them clearly, including what success looks like. This frees you to focus on projects that only you can work on.
- Prevent Burnout: Block off downtime in your calendar just as you would important meetings. Promote a culture where rest and recovery are viewed as essential to sustained performance.
- Focus on Impact: Regularly review your team’s processes and outputs to ensure they are contributing to your strategic vision. Cut out processes that consume resources without adding value.
From the book Essentialism by Greg McKeown.
You Are More Powerful Than You Imagine
“We have a much greater power to instigate change than we might think. The only real question is how much are we willing to pay to produce the change we desire? “Payment” is usually due in terms of time, effort and risk… not in monetary form. For years, I thought I grasped the full truth of his lesson. I was wrong. The rules we can change go much deeper than I ever imagined. They include things I once considered to be immutable facts, far beyond our control. There are no rules beyond your ability to change them. None. The only question is how much effort you are willing to expend.”
Read a story from ghostwriter Bruce Kasanoff on how powerful each of us is in changing our circumstances. What within your environment are you waiting for someone else to change? Do you actually have some control to make it better?
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/you-more-powerful-than-imagine-bruce-kasanoff-ve8ac
Busting Myths About Women in the Workplace
Professional women’s progress can feel painfully slow. At this point, what’s really holding women back?
For years, women have been fighting for faster career advancement and more equitable representation at work. On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, McKinsey senior partners Alexis Krivkovich and Lareina Yee talk with global editorial director Lucia Rahilly about the 2023 Women in the Workplace report—and specifically, our newest research on where progress is happening, where it’s not, and what leaders need to do differently to accelerate the pace of change.
:: Upcoming Events
Navigating Conflict and Polarizing Global Events: Considerations for Leaders
Tomorrow’s insightful session at Anima Café is titled “Navigating Conflict and Polarizing Global Events: Considerations for Leaders,” hosted by Anima Co-founder Shakil Choudhury.
Date: Wednesday, April 24, 2024
Time: 11:00 a.m.– 12:00 p.m.
This session will explore factors for organizational leaders to consider when real-world events explode into the workplace, whether it’s Israel-Palestine, the murder of George Floyd or the climate crisis. How and when do you decide to lean into an issue, and when do you not? How do leaders balance competing factors, including the psychological safety of employees, organizational values and missions, finances, and the needs of stakeholders? While there are never any easy answers, this discussion will help identify key questions and issues their teams need to map out when responding to external crises and global events.
Secure your spot now by registering for the session.
https://animaleadership.com/community/cafe/
The Ripple Effect of Your Frontline Leaders:
How They Can Accelerate Your Organizational Success
Date: Thursday, April 25, 2024
Time: 12:00-1:00 p.m.
When you toss a pebble in a pond, outward ripples result. Make that pebble a stone, and the ripples are larger, stronger, and extend further. If the ripples are the results of your organization, your frontline leaders are stones, not pebbles.
Everyone will say that frontline leaders are important to the success of their organizations. But most don’t know just how true that is.
If you want your organization to be more effective, productive, and resilient you need to think more about how you engage, support, and invest in your Frontline leaders.
Join Kevin Eikenberry, a leading authority on leadership and leadership development for this informative, engaging, interactive, and thought-provoking webinar to better understand the leverage your frontline leaders have on nearly all aspects of organizational success. More importantly, you will leave with an action plan for how you can create more of the results you desire.
If you are looking to jumpstart the development of your leaders, or are stymied by your past efforts, this will be worth your time.
By the end of this engaging and dynamic session, you will be able to:
- Describe the underlying reasons why frontline leaders are such a leverage point for organizational success.
- How to create a learning culture for your frontline leaders
- Identify approaches to developing frontline leaders – and determine the best for your situations
- Build an action plan to improve the skills and results of your frontline leaders
The future is bright for organizations with prepared, skilled, and confident frontline leaders. Join us to think about and build a plan for helping your frontline leaders drive our organizational success. Facilitated by Kevin Eikenberry, author of the book Long Distance Leader (a former CSN book club feature).
https://keg.infusionsoft.app/app/form/ripple-effect-webinar
Two CSN Planners Speaking at Admin Prof Conference
Are you attending the Administrative Professionals Conference this week? If so, we highly recommend the following sessions:
- Carol Hulland with Tom Broman, Mary Czynszak-Lyne, Sherry Holcomb, Hassan Pasha, Mario Pennella, & Brian Shore —
Retirement Planning as Part of Your Whole Work/Life Cycle Wellness – Small Steps, Big Rewards
9:45 a.m. – 10:45 a.m.
- Shelly Vils Havel —
Esteemed Confidence: Learn about healthy self-esteem and assertiveness skills for growth and achieving success in both our personal and professional lives
11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
There are many other great sessions planned as well, including a session on Leadership Improv, Communicating using Plain Language, and Navigating Change.
(Note: the registration deadline has passed, so if you’re not already registered it’s too late.)