Here we are in a new year, with all of its possibilities. Let’s take action, build trust, and give credit where it’s due this week. We’ll also respond to that rude comment you just heard. All this and more in our first installment of Planners’ Picks for 2025!
:: Image of the Week
Your New Year’s Question
“Don’t do a New Year’s resolution. Do a New Year’s question.” – Warren Berger
In a recent conversation on The Greg McKeown Podcast, Warren Berger, author of A More Beautiful Question, shared why asking a question is far more effective than making a resolution.
Resolutions are fixed and fragile—they often feel like rules to follow and can collapse at the first setback. A question, on the other hand, is dynamic and engaging. It invites curiosity, sparks creativity, and encourages you to explore solutions. For example, instead of resolving to “spend more time with family,” you might ask, “How can I create more meaningful connections with my family this year?” This approach keeps you open to discovering new ways forward rather than feeling constrained by rigid expectations.
This year, instead of setting a resolution, try setting a question. What’s the one thing you’re curious about improving, exploring, or creating in 2025?
Write it down. Share it. And let it guide your year.
:: CSN’s Book of the Week Recommendation
The Speed of Trust: The One Thing that Changes Everything
From Stephen R. Covey’s eldest son comes a revolutionary new path towards productivity and satisfaction. Trust, says Stephen M.R. Covey, is the very basis of the new global economy, and he shows how trust—and the speed at which it is established with clients, employees and constituents—is the essential ingredient for any high–performance, successful organization.
For business leaders and public figures in any arena, The Speed of Trust offers an unprecedented and eminently practical look at exactly how trust functions in our every transaction and relationship—from the most personal to the broadest, most indirect interaction—and how to establish trust immediately so that you and your organization can forego the time–killing, bureaucratic check–and–balance processes so often deployed in lieu of actual trust.
“Trust is the glue of life. It’s the most essential ingredient in effective communication. It’s the foundational principle that holds all relationships.” – Stephen R. Covey
:: Trust, Psychological Safety & Belonging
Building Self-Trust in Leadership: Shifting from “What Could Go Wrong?” to “What’s the Best That Could Happen?
Let’s be real—many leaders silently struggle with trusting themselves, even if they appear confident on the outside. Imposter syndrome, self-doubt, and the pressure to make the “right” decisions often creep in, leaving even the most skilled leaders second-guessing. The funny thing is, it’s usually our own minds that are holding us back.
When you’re in a leadership role, it’s easy to fall into the “what could go wrong?” mindset. Maybe you start anticipating every possible failure, each roadblock, or how you could somehow mess things up. But what if, instead, you started asking yourself, “What’s the best that could happen?” That shift in mindset is a game-changer, moving from doubt to possibility, from fear to confidence.
:: Mental Health and Self-Care
For a Happier New Year, Focus on Your Loved Ones
Experts share how shifting from self-focused goals to thinking about others can have a positive impact on the year ahead.
“A change is afoot. More and more people are realizing that our broken understanding of happiness—Old Happy—is creating misery for themselves and others. I feel more optimistic than ever that, together, we will be able to build the happier world that we want to see; in fact, you are building it right now, with the choices that you are making to honor your authenticity, forge meaningful connections, seek out opportunities to serve, and act with compassion. The ripple effects of these choices are reaching far and wide. It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. Let’s keep going.” – Stephanie Harrison, author of The New Happy.
“Yesterday is but a dream, tomorrow is but a vision. But today well lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness and every tomorrow a vision of hope. Look well, therefore, to this day. “ – Sanskrit Proverb
:: Creativity
Collective Creativity Within a Team
The Jasper Blueprint Podcast – An Interview with Bessi Graham and Amy Climer will ask the question: “What if teams could tap into their collective creativity and lead innovation – not just sporadically, but consistently?” Amy is a speaker, trainer, and coach focusing on creativity and innovation. Amy is also host of The Deliberate Creative™ Podcast where she shares practical advice and strategies to help leaders build innovative teams.
https://www.linkedin.com/events/7259344608130682880/theater/
:: Self-Leadership Development
The ‘inside out’ leadership journey: How personal growth creates the path to success
Four McKinsey senior partners show why leaders must connect with themselves first before they can inspire and empower their organizations.
Sooner or later, every leader encounters a moment when they realize that success has as much to do with leading themselves as it does with leading others. At that crucial moment, they switch from the traditional leader they thought they should be to one who adopts a human leadership approach. They start learning and growing to meet the demands of their position and to fulfill their boldest aspirations for their organization, their teams, and themselves.
This shift to a more open form of leadership is happening because circumstances demand it. Today’s leaders must master complex issues such as digital transformation, inflation, disrupted global supply chains, scarce talent, a lack of diversity, cybersecurity, and climate change, as well as an awakened search for purpose among employees. This means that no one person, no matter how brilliant or capable, has the experience, knowledge, or temperament to tackle all these challenges alone.
“Do the right thing. Always.” – Ted Coiné
:: Work Culture & Team Development
Give Credit Where It’s Due: Elevating the Team While Leading the Way
This is a topic of great impact and support for the team and those around you as a leader. When asked what is one of the key points a leader can make it is about recognizing the work of others and not about self-promotion, you already have the title, so stop making it about you as the leader. I cannot say it enough, It is not about you; it is about those around you and how you support them.
Leadership is more than guiding a team toward success; it is about inspiring a culture where everyone feels valued. It is about building a foundation of trust, inspiration, and collective strength. A solid principle in this process is giving credit where it’s due.
Read this interesting article from Randall Doizaki.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/give-credit-where-its-due-elevating-team-while-leading-doizaki-zjubc/
How to Respond to a Rude Comment at Work
Most people have experienced incivility at work — anything from a rude customer or snippy boss to ambiguously curt emails from otherwise friendly colleagues. To handle these situations, address your own emotions first and ask yourself why you’re feeling offended. Then weigh the pros and cons of calling the person on their rudeness. Finally, use language that deflects the blame from the other person and focuses on the behavior’s effect on you and that helps to establish shared norms
https://hbr.org/2022/11/how-to-respond-to-a-rude-comment-at-work
“The worst time to make a decision is when you are in it.” – Annie Duke
:: Diversity and Inclusion
How to De-Bias Your People Decisions
Rachel Carrell posted on LinkedIn about eight common implicit biases and their effects. From the halo effect to visibility bias, we all have these going on without our knowledge. Take a look at her post and the examples shown to see where you might be able to improve in your thinking and actions.
:: Take Five*
*Note: CSN occasionally adds “Take Five” articles to take you off the beaten path. Articles are about local or regional areas of interest, but not necessarily focused on leadership development. The intent is for you to take a break from being a leader and relax for a moment!
Sifting and winnowing: The tumultuous story of three little words
Farmers know all about sifting and winnowing.
First you sift by loosening the chaff — the seed heads and straw — from the edible grain. Then you winnow, removing the loosened chaff from the grain, often by throwing it in the air. The heaviest grain falls to the earth, waiting to be consumed.
Sifting and winnowing has a special meaning at UW–Madison. Perhaps you’ve seen the plaque at the entrance of Bascom Hall:
“Whatever may be the limitations which trammel inquiry elsewhere, we believe that the great state University of Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found.”
Those words were first shared on Sept. 18, 1894, by the UW Board of Regents in defense of a professor named Richard Ely. But why? How did an agricultural phrase come to symbolize academic freedom? What follows is the truth, sifted and winnowed from the archives, as featured back in 2019 on its 125th anniversary.
https://news.wisc.edu/sifting-and-winnowing-turns-125/
:: Upcoming Events
Student Supervisor Community of Practice: Inclusive Student Employment Practices
Date: Thursday, January 16, 2025
Time: 10-11:30 a.m.
Location: Online
Join fellow supervisors to discuss topics around student supervision. Come ready with best practices and questions for the group. This month’s topic is Inclusive Student Employment Practices. All full-time staff who supervise student employees are welcome!
Visit https://today.wisc.edu/events/view/199318 for more information and to register.
Maximizing Potential: Skill and Knowledge Development at the Midpoint Performance Cycle
Date: February 11, 2025
Time: 2:00-3:00 pm
Location: Online via Zoom (link to be shared after registration)
This workshop equips managers with tools and strategies to assess, support, and track their team members’ skill and knowledge development at the midpoint of their performance cycle. Participants will engage in discussions, interactive activities, and planning exercises to ensure the effective use of professional and career development resources at UW-Madison.
Outcomes:
- Managers will be able to identify strengths and development needs through effective conversations.
- Managers will know how to utilize the professional and career learning resources to support their team members.
- Managers will have a concrete plan for following up on employee development progress.
For more information on the KS Hub, visit https://hr.wisc.edu/professional-development/learning-resources/
Register Here: https://go.wisc.edu/18p3gy