Let’s play a game: think of all the things you could do today. Now think of all the things you can actually get done in one day, and move forward with those expectations. After that exercise, we’ll explore other well-being options, create some psychological safety at work, and act on our intentions in this wintry Planners’ Picks edition. Plop down by the fire and enjoy!
:: Image of the Week
Don’t Try To Do It All At Once
A good reminder for your 2025 goals: Don’t try to do things all at once. Focus on what you can do today.
Trying to land a job?
Finish a big project?
Achieve a certain goal?
Taking small steps is the best way to get giant leaps. Check out this post from Reno Perry on 6 ways to make progress. Image credit: Ash Lamb
“There is only one success—to be able to spend your life in your own way.” — Christopher Morley
:: Mental Health and Self-Care
Extension’s Health and Well-Being Institute Website Launch
The Health and Well-Being Institute has launched a new website to connect community leaders and Wisconsin residents with resources, programs, and success stories that advance health and well-being across Wisconsin. Explore tools for building healthier communities and learn more about our impact.Visit the website: go.wisc.edu/7zzvqh
Are We Too Busy to Enjoy Life?
Research shows that humans tend to do whatever it takes to keep busy, even if the activity feels meaningless to them. Dr Brené Brown from the University of Houston describes being “crazy busy” as a numbing strategy we use to avoid facing the truth of our lives.
We are scared of idleness because stopping would mean having to really consider what we want out of life and what we currently have. Sometimes, the gap feels so wide, we’d rather stay on the hamster wheel.
Read this article from Anne-Laure Le Cunff, author of Tiny Experiments, to see what we can do to allow some joy in our day-to-day lives.
It’s time to replace the old linear model of success with a circular model of growth, in which goals are discovered, pursued, and adapted—not in a vacuum, but in conversation with the larger world.
Tiny Experiments offers not just practical tools to make sure your most vital work gets done, but a guide to reawakening your curiosity and drive in a noisy, busy, disaffected world, so that you can discover and pursue your most authentic ambitions while making a meaningful contribution.
https://nesslabs.com/too-busy-to-enjoy-life?mc_cid=49feb35e6a&mc_eid=64ed34cb6e
“Even if you don’t have all the things you want, be grateful for the things you don’t have that you don’t want.” – Bob Dylan
:: CSN’s Book of the Week Recommendation
The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth
If you are interested in learning more about psychological safety from an expert, then I highly recommend you check out Amy Edmonson’s book, The Fearless Organization.
The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth offers practical guidance for teams and organizations who are serious about success in the modern economy. With so much riding on innovation, creativity, and spark, it is essential to attract and retain quality talent—but what good does this talent do if no one is able to speak their mind? The traditional culture of “fitting in” and “going along” spells doom in the knowledge economy. Success requires a continuous influx of new ideas, new challenges, and critical thought, and the interpersonal climate must not suppress, silence, ridicule or intimidate. Not every idea is good, and yes there are stupid questions, and yes dissent can slow things down, but talking through these things is an essential part of the creative process. People must be allowed to voice half-finished thoughts, ask questions from left field, and brainstorm out loud; it creates a culture in which a minor flub or momentary lapse is no big deal, and where actual mistakes are owned and corrected, and where the next left-field idea could be the next big thing.
This book explores this culture of psychological safety, and provides a blueprint for bringing it to life. The road is sometimes bumpy, but succinct and informative scenario-based explanations provide a clear path forward to constant learning and healthy innovation.
- Explore the link between psychological safety and high performance
- Create a culture where it’s “safe” to express ideas, ask questions, and admit mistakes
- Nurture the level of engagement and candor required in today’s knowledge economy
- Follow a step-by-step framework for establishing psychological safety in your team or organization
Shed the “yes-men” approach and step into real performance. Fertilize creativity, clarify goals, achieve accountability, redefine leadership, and much more. The Fearless Organization helps you bring about this most critical transformation.
Visit the book website here.
“Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.” – Neale Donald Walsch
:: Remote and Hybrid Work
Icebreaker Activity: Making Caring Conversations Easier
“If you had a one-word mantra to describe your approach to this year, what would that be?”
At a time when so many people crave compassion and meaningful relationships, this simple team icebreaker opens the door to deeper trust. Whenever we use compassionate conversation starters in a leadership development program or an executive retreat, you can feel an instant shift in the energy of the room. One reason this activity works so well is that each member of your team gets to choose the icebreaking prompt THEY want.
No one is put on the spot. Everyone chooses what they want the team to know about them. Find many suggestions on questions to get people talking and sharing with the group in this post from Let’s Grow Leaders.
:: Self-Leadership Development
The Power of Combining Intention and Action
In a world that’s constantly changing, achieving success isn’t just about having good intentions or working hard—it’s about combining these two powerful forces. Intention and action are like two sides of the same coin: each has value on its own, but together, they can be transformational. Today, let’s explore how you can harness the power of intention and action to create momentum, drive change, and achieve your leadership and personal goals.
See Kevin Eikenberry’s post on this topic, which builds on the ideas from his book, Flexible Leadership: Navigate Uncertainty and Lead with Confidence.
https://kevineikenberry.com/video/the-power-of-intention-and-action-remarkable-tv/
“Fortune always favors the brave, and never helps a man who does not help himself.” – P.T. Barnum
:: Productivity and Innovation
Is Mindful Productivity Right For You?
Mindful productivity isn’t about hustling from dawn till dusk or checking off 100 tasks just to collapse at the end of the day. It’s about knowing what you want to accomplish and working with intention toward those accomplishments — all while paying attention to what you’re doing and how you’re doing it. It’s staying focused on your goals and not being overwhelmed.
Mindful productivity is about focusing on what matters so you can crush your work goals and have a life outside of them.
See this CNN article from Upasna Gautam about how this simple practice has helped her move the needle on productivity by scheduling time intentionally, dropping multitasking, and setting tomorrow’s priorities the night before.
https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/03/health/productivity-tips-wellness
:: Change Management
The ADKAR change management framework
The ADKAR change management framework is designed to help implement effective change within an organisation. It is particularly useful when considering the people and engagement aspects of implementing change.
See this resource on how to implement the ADKAR model in your specific change management initiative.
https://mutomorro.com/adkar-model/
:: Burnout
How Limits Make You Limitless with Dr. Ben Hardy
From Greg McKeown’s website:
“To reach our highest potential, we must continue to evolve in life. We must identify what or who we want to become, what we must give up to achieve this new goal, and remove nonessential items from our life, so there is space to grow.”
Have you ever felt like you can make a greater contribution to your work, your family, or society, but you’ve run out of space in your life? Or maybe you’ve noticed that the busier you get, the less time you have for personal growth? Feeling like you have untapped potential is an epidemic in today’s fast-paced culture. That’s why I invited my friend and author of the new book 10x Is Easier Than 2x, Dr. Benjamin Hardy to join us in this episode. In this conversation, we discuss the power of developing inflection points in your life, why creating tipping points in your life will help you grow, and how these points will help you contribute more to the causes and people in your life that matter most. By the end of this episode, you’ll know how you can reach more of your goals without burning out.
“The obstacle is the path.”– Zen Proverb
:: TED Talks
The Subversive Power of Servant Leadership | Ian Fuhr | TEDxJohannesburg
Ian Fuhr’s life journey has been a series of entrepreneurial ventures, each started in new and unfamiliar industries. The most important lesson he has learnt, he says, is the power of servant leadership—the counter-intuitive idea that the purpose of work is not to make money, but rather, to serve. In this talk, delivered at TEDxJohannesburg 2015, Ian takes us on a hilarious tour of his ventures. He stops at key moments that mark important epiphanies. Each revelation demanding that he make choices that have elegantly combined into a leadership philosophy that could only have come out of the unique soup of socio-political conditions that is South Africa. That philosophy is a useful recipe for anyone who wants to succeed as a leader at a time when the world desperately needs to design for greater accountability, diversity, and creativity. In business and in society.
Ian Fuhr has a history of unexpected start-ups. Driven by the excitement of building new brands in unfamiliar industries, his modus operandi involves staking out an industry and then upsetting the status quo by challenging the prevailing wisdom. An unlikely CEO of the Sorbet chain of beauty salons, he believes in the subversive idea that in life and in business, service comes before self-interest. After nearly 40 years as a serial entrepreneur, Ian recently published Get That Feeling, a book that tells the story of his epic and maverick journey, so far.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKrTEEHID50
UW-Madison has a servant leader group that meets monthly! We’re getting together this Friday to discuss Meg Wheatley’s book Restoring Sanity. Contact Rich Gassen for details.
:: Upcoming Events
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