We’re dealing with the madness this March: from forced change and uncertainty, to boosting creativity, PP has you covered. We’ll also look over our shoulder at the negatives of micromanaging and see what soft skills will complement your technical proficiency.
:: Image of the Week
Do you recall how it felt to be micromanaged in a previous role? Are you giving your team the autonomy and flexibility to be curious and explore options while performing in their roles? Some of our best work emerges when we are challenged and allowed the space to grow in our roles. Make sure you’re nurturing this in your team as well as yourself.
:: CSN’s Book of the Week Recommendation
The Top 5 Soft Skills Leaders Must Have by Melvin Scales, Jr.
If you’re looking for an insightful glimpse into leadership, whether you’re already established or perhaps an aspiring leader, check out Melvin J. Scales, and his recent book.
The Top 5 Soft Skills Leaders Must Have” is a compelling guide for aspiring leaders in today’s dynamic organizational landscapes. The book emphasizes the critical importance of soft skills alongside technical proficiency, comprehensively exploring five key attributes essential for effective leadership. Scales navigates readers through business ethics, workplace civility, teamwork, resilience, and emotional intelligence. Each chapter delineates the significance of these soft skills and offers actionable strategies for their cultivation and application in real-world scenarios. Whether you’re a seasoned executive, an aspiring entrepreneur, or a fresh graduate embarking on a professional journey, “The Top 5 Soft Skills Leaders Must Have” provides invaluable insights and guidance for achieving excellence in leadership.
“Who you are is more important than any role you play, rule you break, or responsibility you have.” – Nancy Kalsow
:: Gratitude and Recognition
Handwriting Rewires Your Brain
There’s something almost magical about putting pen to paper. In a world dominated by digital everything—where we type more than we write, where our thumbs are faster than our thoughts—handwriting a journal may seem quaint, even outdated. But science suggests otherwise.
Writing by hand isn’t just a nostalgic throwback to a simpler time; it’s a powerful cognitive tool. When you engage in the act of physically writing, you’re doing more than just recording your thoughts—handwriting actually rewires your brain, deepens your emotional intelligence, and even improves your cognitive abilities.
Handwriting engages more areas of the brain than typing. The slower process of handwriting makes gratitude feel more intentional. Studies show that slowing down emotional expression allows the brain to process feelings more deeply. Writing by hand also increases activity in the amygdala, the brain’s emotional processing center, leading to a stronger emotional connection with the message.
So pick up a pen and send a hand-written thank you note to your team member or peer today! Read more about the cognitive side of handwriting at https://www.melissahughes.rocks/post/brain-benefits-of-handwriting?cid=9d357a21-8c12-4875-9aae-89d0deaed78c
:: Change Management
While in Transformation, the Result Isn’t Clear
A theme of Gregg Potter’s last three months is transformation. He is in yet another big change.
“I’m eager to see what this looks like in the rear view mirror but right now, I can’t see it. If we opened up a cocoon before the butterfly appeared, there would be a mess and ultimately the butterfly would die. As a child, when my mom baked, we were told to not look in the oven because the cake would fall. That’s the difficulty in transformation, isn’t it? We don’t get to see the result until it’s done. We have to keep moving forward and trust that the outcome is where we are meant to be.”
Read Gregg’s recent weekly Thursday Thoughts email on transformation and see what he thinks on this topic.
“Transformation allows space to create new systems to serve everyone. This feels daunting. However, we’re here for this one life. How else would you want to spend it? ‘Changing the future of humanity’ has a better ring to it than any other alternative.”
Full newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/e49d7269f21d/the-business-of-hope-action-th-17991860?e=0395b5e0dd
“It had long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things.” – Leonardo Da Vinci
Change Preparedness
As a UW-Madison employee, the Professional Development group from LTD provide you with resources for navigating through the changes you may experience as an individual. When experiencing a change, focus on what you can influence and what you can control.
Learn more about the Circle of Control and some self-service resources for getting started in understanding how to be more prepared for change in your personal and work life.
https://hr.wisc.edu/professional-development/change-preparedness/#circle-of-control
:: Creativity
How a Playful Mindset Can Boost Creativity on Your Team
Integrating play into corporate culture is crucial for fostering creativity and innovation. Both research and experiments in organizations show that playful environments encourage free-flowing ideas and positive work atmospheres, leading to original solutions and a more engaged workforce. Play unlocks creative potential, shifting the brain from a busy, overworked state to a more relaxed and imaginative one. To integrate a more playful mindset on their teams, leaders can use three strategies: 1) introducing short, playful activities, 2) designing physical spaces to encourage play, and 3) incorporating playfulness strategically.
“We don’t want to empower the victim mindset. We want to empower the problem-solving mindset.” – Amy Edmondson
:: Mental Health and Self-Care
The Art of Doing Less
Our brain is a habit machine. It’s constantly being influenced by forces around us. But we can also take more responsibility for our own brains by cultivating healthy habits of mind. It’s up to us to decide what we want to teach our brains. We can let our brains be influenced by forces that we don’t control, or we can take more responsibility and actually teach our brains to be healthier and more balanced.
We receive countless messages every day telling us that every moment that we’re not getting something done is a moment wasted. The world finds millions of ways to tell us that our only hope is to work harder, do more, and be better than we are right now. Read Cortland Dahl’s article on another way to live, where we are “enough.”
Key points
- Distraction has reached epidemic levels, with important implications for our physical and mental well-being.
- Learning to shift from “doing” to “being” is a critically important skill in this age of distraction.
- Mindfulness is a practice that puts us in touch with a source of inner calm and effortless presence.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-contemplative-scientist/202502/the-art-of-doing-less
Stop Stress Eating and Crush Those Crazy Cravings
Work is a grind. Your schedule is insane. You’re getting married. You’re getting divorced. It’s post-election. Pick your poison.
Despite our best efforts, stress is inevitable — something many of us have simply learned to tolerate. Frequently the source of stress is rooted in change—a big move, a new project, a wedding, etc. But it can also stem from environmental factors like a toxic workplace or a difficult relationship.
See what Melissa Hughes has to say about how stress pushes us to bad decisions on eating, which in turn makes us feel worse in the long run. She spells out 3 Brainy Secrets to Conquer Food Cravings in her article.
“Let me tell you the secret that has led me to my goal. My strength lies solely in my tenacity.” —Louis Pasteur
:: Work Culture & Team Development
Leading Through Low Morale: How to Stay Strong When Everything Feels Uncertain
You love your work. You’ve dedicated so many years to serving your people, the mission, and making a difference. But now, everything’s changed. Day after day, you face a new set of decisions that make little sense. If anything, they seem to oppose the very work you’ve committed your life to. Your team is suffering. To say they have low morale is an understatement.
How do you lead in these times of chaos and uncertainty when nothing makes sense? See this timely article from the Let’s Grow Leaders crew on finding your strength and reconnecting to purpose in challenging times.
:: Self-Leadership Development
The Age of De-Bossification
We have entered an age of de-bossification. In many industries, particularly “White-collar” ones, the era of “bosses” is in decline. Less of a clamoring for boss like traits of controlling, managing, measuring, allocating, evaluating and checking in. There is a rise in the need for leaders and their traits of being guides, coaches, mentors, role-models, creators, pioneers and builders. This shift has been driven by changing demographics, the spread of technology, the rise of unbundled and distributed work, new behavior expectations, and a re-definition of what “work” is including the rise of fractionalized and free-agent talent who work for themselves or at multiple jobs and are expected to comprise most of the workforce in the US by the end of the decade.
Here are four core traits and how we can all build them.
:: Communication
Think You’re a Great Listener? Let’s See If That’s Actually True…
Most people think they’re great listeners. But real listening isn’t just passively hearing words, it’s about:
• Understanding what’s said and unsaid
• Staying fully present (not mentally drafting your response)
• Responding with curiosity and intention
So, how well do you think you’d score on a Listening Report Card? This post is meant to be a self-audit, a real check-in on your listening habits so you can identify areas to improve.
“If you want what you’re saying heard, then take your time and say it so that the listener will actually hear it.” – Dr. Maya Angelou
:: Upcoming Events
Enhance Your Supervision and Management with EYSM
In today’s dynamic workplace, effective supervision is crucial. The Enhance Your Supervision and Management (EYSM) series offers timely topics to enhance supervisors’ impact. It equips leaders with the skills, knowledge, and strategies to confidently lead and inspire their teams beyond the Principles of Supervision and Management (PSM) program.
These courses are highly interactive, including small breakout rooms. Participants will work together to explore techniques, share best practices, and foster a collaborative environment to thrive as leaders.
EYSM topics will evolve with each offering of the series. You are welcome to attend one, some, or all of the courses in the series. It is not a sequential curriculum or associated with a certificate. EYSM is limited to participants who are people managers and will be held virtually on Zoom. To show interest in registering for a class topic, complete that respective Google form.
Spring 2025:
- EYSM: Leading Through ChangeApril 16, 9 to 11:30 a.m.
- EYSM: Leading with EmpathyApril 23, 9 to 10:30 a.m.
- EYSM: Building Trust at WorkApril 30, 9 to 10:30 a.m.
- EYSM: Coaching Employees for RetentionMay 7, 9 a.m. to noon
- EYSM: Documenting PerformanceMay 14, 9 to 10:30 a.m.
- EYSM: Navigating Difficult ConversationsMay 21, 9 to 11 a.m.
- EYSM: Resilient LeadershipMay 28, 9 to 10:30 a.m.