The summer is upon us if we work on the academic side of the university — a chance to reflect on the past and adjust as we move forward. Also, those of us with younger children are still working on finishing up a school year and transition. Where are you on this journey? What are you looking forward to in the coming months?
*Note: Don’t fret if you can’t get through these resources! Choose one or two that interest you if you’re short on time.
:: Image of the Week
What year are you currently in?
:: Promoting Innovation
Out of the Comfort Zone – What Does ‘Exploring’ Look Like?
Exploration is the pathway to innovation. Exploration often takes a back seat to immediate demands. And yet, it’s pretty hard to make progress, personally and professionally, if we don’t make time for it.
Tune in to hear Dr. Wanda Wallace and Whitney Johnson dive into the power of exploration. The conversation itself is, in itself, an exploration—and a delightful one at that. Whitney Johnson is the CEO and Co-Founder of Disruption Advisors, a world-class leadership development company that helps organizations operationalize a growth mindset in their leaders and teams.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIaywez1jYQ
“Since 95% of us are imitators and only 5% are initiators, people are persuaded more by the actions of others than any proof we can offer.” – Robert Cialdini
:: Productivity
4 Types of Attention You Need To Know About
Feeling distracted? There might be a scientific explanation. By studying how challenging a task is and how engaged you are in that task, researchers have developed 4 attention quadrants. Discover how understanding these types of attention can help you avoid distraction and focus on the task at hand. Please draw your attention to this Fast Company article on this topic.
https://www.fastcompany.com/90830273/feeling-distracted-4-types-attention
:: Communication
Master the Art and Science of 1:1 Meetings
Dr. Steven G. Rogelberg’s new book, Glad We Met: The Art and Science of 1:1 Meetings came out in January and is already receiving tremendous praise including a SHRM Top 12 Workplace books recognition. He was the inaugural winner of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) Humanitarian Award and just finished his term as President of SIOP, the largest professional organization in the world for organizational psychology. Check him out in this podcast episode with Matt Poepsel, PhD, on 1:1 meetings.
Top 3 Takeaways
- Make the time. 1:1 meetings are too often an afterthought. This is a miss since these meetings offer a unique opportunity to boost employee performance and commitment while helping the manager exercise their personal values.
- Open the door. While the manager should own the meeting cadence, the direct report should be allowed to own the meeting agenda. You can get a status update whenever you like, but the 1:1 offers a unique opportunity for a direct report to have their needs met.
- Get it in writing. When you document your discussion notes and action items, you’re doing more than practicing good meeting hygiene. You’re demonstrating to your direct report that you sincerely care about their perspective and welfare.
https://www.mattpoepsel.com/podcasts/lead-the-people/episodes/2148581509
Steven’s book: https://www.stevenrogelberg.com/11-meetings-1
Are you Practicing Humble Inquiry in Your Conversations?
There are times when we know an answer 100% and feel compelled to share it with others, even when they aren’t asking for the information. Most of the time, though, we don’t know the entire situation we encounter and would benefit from asking instead of telling. This is the concept of humble inquiry (a book was written about it which we will share later). Those entrenched in opinion without the ability to be open to other ideas or perspectives commonly fail or falter; being curious and open to ideas will almost always benefit you as a decision-maker or leader. Read an example of this in the Escape Adulthood newsletter by artist and author Jason Kotecki:
https://escapeadulthood.com/blog/2024-04-14/the-ogres-in-maine.html
Seth Godin also wrote about the concept of inquiry in his daily blog post which coincides with this topic well: https://seths.blog/2024/04/the-grid-of-inquiry/
“Creativity is the encounter of the intensely conscious human being with his or her world.” – Rollo May; The Courage to Create
:: Mental Health and Self-Care
Happiness Break: A Walking Meditation with Dan Harris of 10% Happier
Trouble sitting still? Learn to practice meditating by simply walking in this practice guided by 10% Happier host Dan Harris. Try this short method to center yourself when things are not going well or you are nervous.
:: Work Culture & Team Development
Unlock Your Potential with Career Counseling
Note to Supervisors: We encourage you to nurture UW-Madison employees on their personal development journey. This resource is intended for you AND the team in your care. Please share!
Unsure about your next professional move? Are you and/or your employees looking for guidance in their career path? Do you want assistance with having career conversations? The Employee Career Counseling team is here to help all of you navigate the winding road to success. Our career counselors are dedicated to helping you along your career journey.
Career counseling is a personalized guidance service available to all UW–Madison employees that helps individuals explore, plan, and manage their career paths to achieve professional success and satisfaction. Our personalized approach focuses on your unique skills, interests, and aspirations. Whether you’re new to UW or a seasoned professional looking for a change, our counselors will provide the guidance you need to excel in your chosen field.
We have a multitude of resources on our webpage for a DIY career planning approach, additional career resources, and more information. To schedule a confidential one-on-one appointment, contact employeecareercounseling@wisc.edu or (608) 265-2257.
“Whatever seed you are, bloom.” – Atticus
Building The Team You Can Depend On
In the face of talent shortages, companies must invest in their workforce and focus on retention to prepare future leaders. Here is how training and development programs can prepare top talent, enhance recruitment efforts, and drive growth. Check out this comprehensive tool from Vistage on ways to build the team of your dreams.
https://perspectives.vistage.com/summer-2023/build-the-team-you-can-depend-on
:: CSN’s Book of the Week Recommendation
The Pause Principle: Step Back to Lead Forward
The Pause Principle: Step Back to Lead Forward posits that pausing to gain fresh perspective and transcend immediacies is the key to leadership excellence in today’s complex, dynamic world. An antidote to our addiction to speed and transaction, pause is a conscious, intentional process of stepping back to reflect and deliberate, and then lead forward with greater clarity and impact. Rather than merely doing more, we must learn to pause and do things differently to grow, achieve, and innovate. In the book, Cashman provides the reader with real tools and practices to make pause a pragmatic practice of deep, reflective inquiry for focused problem-solving and for engendering creative insights. All of these practices lead to purposeful change and contribution, an essential part of a leader’s everyday life.
“In our fast-paced, achieve-more-now culture, the loss of pause potential is epidemic,” writes Cashman. “If leaders today do not step back, to stop the momentum, to gain perspective, to transcend the immediacies of life, and to accelerate their leadership, we will continue to crash economically, personally, and collectively.”
Cashman’s work centers around one simple truth: fast thinking is the domain of management transaction, while slow thinking is the leadership domain of strategic, innovative transformation. He believes every leader is on a journey from being a transaction-focused manager to an authentic leader who inspires real change. At the core of this transformation is the ability to pause. But for most, slowing down to drive performance is counter to instinct, especially when they have been rewarded for speed and action. But stepping forward to act, particularly in complex situations, without first stepping back for information, clarity, and connection to what is most important can be disastrous.
By learning when, why, and how to step back, leaders will gain their innate power to go to higher levels. Pause powers purposeful performance. With The Pause Principle, management speed and transactions can become leadership significance and transformation.
We live and lead in an increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous world. But paradoxically, author Kevin Cashman contends that leaders today must not merely act more quickly but pause more deeply. He details a catalytic process to guide you to step back to lead forward in three critical growth areas: personal leadership, the development of others, and the fostering of cultures of innovation. You and your organization will learn to move from management speed and transaction to leadership significance and transformation.