Are you settled in with Workday yet? The collaboration I’ve seen with our team is impressive – peers helping peers navigate the tools they need to be successful. Remember, play is the highest form of research; use it while learning this new tool.
Also, I would be Ju-lying if I said this wasn’t a great issue of PP; check out the mental health posts, find your life’s purpose, and get 1% better with our resources. Oh — last call for raffle prize submissions too! https://forms.gle/abzi7ekG5TpbcxPJ6. Thanks to all who have contributed so far!
:: Image of the Week
:: Mental Health and Self-Care
Listen to the Replay of “Man Enough to Feel: Mental Health, Empathy, and Breaking Barriers” with Trevor Noah
Listen in with Lyra Health for a special rebroadcast of a powerful conversation from Breakthrough, their annual mental health conference. In this thought-provoking fireside chat, Trevor Noah, comedian, bestselling author, and former host of The Daily Show, shares his personal journey with ADHD and depression with Chris Jackson. He explores how he turned challenges into strengths, using empathy and humor to make mental health topics more approachable and relatable.
You’ll gain insights on reducing stigma, supporting men’s mental health, and fostering more open conversations in and beyond the workplace. This session invites you to rethink mental health narratives and celebrate the diverse ways we think, feel, and thrive.
https://get.lyrahealth.com/webinar-on-demand-trevor-noah-replay.html
“I think a hero is an ordinary individual who finds strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.” — Christopher Reeve
Why Prioritizing Mental Health Isn’t Selfish—It’s Survival: The Kindness Extremist with Shola Richards
In this powerful podcast, Shola Richards opens up about a heartbreaking conversation that sparked an essential reminder: your mental health is not optional—it’s non-negotiable.
What you’ll learn in this episode:
- Why caring for your mental health is an act of strength, not selfishness
- The concept of tough love self-care and how to apply it daily
- How to build a personal “support crew” for emotional resilience
- Three core boundary types to protect your time, energy, and peace
- Shola’s personal stories of burnout, breakthroughs, and bold change
Whether you’re currently struggling, supporting someone who is, or simply ready to take your mental wellness more seriously, this episode offers practical guidance and real-world encouragement to help you move forward. Because the only way we can change the world for the better is if we are mentally well enough to do so!
Take Action: Each section comes with a practical challenge you can start this week to invest in your own mental wellness. Pick one and start today—your future self will thank you.
:: Work Culture & Team Development
How to Think Strategically About Your Teams
How can you lead a team to achieve their goals? When we ask leaders this question, the answers often focus on specific tactics: clear communication, listening, delegation, and the ability to inspire. These skills are undoubtedly essential but how can you lead a team effectively if you only see them as a collection of individuals?
Exceptional leaders understand the need to go beyond the basics. They know it’s not just about managing people—it’s about thinking strategically and viewing the team as a cohesive whole. This means considering the team’s dynamics, strengths, and challenges and aligning their collective efforts with a larger vision. Leading a team strategically transforms a group of individuals into a unified force, capable of achieving more together than they ever could alone.
Read this post from Professional Speaker and Coach Darcy Luoma for her three ideas on leading a team strategically.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-think-strategically-your-teams-darcy-luoma–8yk5e/
“By the standards of the rest of the world, we overtrust. So far it has worked very well for us.” – Charlie Munger
:: Change Management
How to Lead Organizational Change
Michael Bungay Stanier is best known for The Coaching Habit, the best-selling coaching book of the century and recognized as a classic. He was a Rhodes Scholar, and was recently awarded the coaching prize by Thinkers50. He’s now the host of the new Change Signal podcast.
On this episode of Coaching for Leaders, Michael shares how we can all get better at organizational change. Here are a few of the key points:
- If you’re doing change right, it’s going to be messy.
- Before you remove a fence, figure out why it’s there.
- Take inspiration from Emily Dickinson: “Tell all the truth but tell it slant.”
- Beware giving lip service to the emotional realities of change and then moving forward without really addressing them.
- Strategy is a living conversation. Run experiments. Fire bullets before cannonballs.
- Motivation is a critical factor in change. It is better to be less efficient and have people with you than to force compliance with a “perfect” plan.
Check it out at https://coachingforleaders.com/podcast/lead-organizational-change-michael-bungay-stanier/
“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” — Socrates
:: Productivity and Innovation
How To Find Your Life’s Purpose
In this video, Dan Pink shares seven questions that are way better than “What’s my passion?” when it comes to finding purpose.
That question? It’s vague, self-centered, and honestly, not that helpful. Instead, Dan will walk you through practical, brutally honest prompts—grounded in research and real-life experience—that can help you figure out what actually drives you.
Explore things like:
– What made you weird as a kid
– When you feel most in flow
– What your 90-year-old self might regret
If you’re feeling lost or unsure about what to do next in life… This might be the clarity you’ve been looking for. Watch it. Pause it. Reflect on it. And if it helps you, send it to someone else who needs it too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEQL2ZRDRVM
:: Kindness in Leadership
Kindness Is Everywhere (If You’re Looking for It)
Cindy Rowe talks about kindness a lot in her world, and this episode of her Kindness Advantage podcast is a gem: she pairs with Sarah Browning from the UK and they share stories about how kindness is imperative to be able to lead yourself and others on our daily journeys. Kindness allows us to fill our cup first so we’re prepared to help others, and businesses that have kind cultures have easier times with difficult conversations due to the trust in the work environment.
Check out their interesting talk at https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/cindy-dimke/episodes/Kindness-Is-Everywhere-If-Youre-Looking-for-It-with-guest-Sarah-Browning-e34kjh6
“Lighthouses don’t go running all over an island looking for boats to save; they just stand there shining.” – Anne Lamott
:: Communication
How to Reduce Conflict Without Saying a Word
What if the key to better conversations—especially in conflict—isn’t persuasion, but presence?
Researcher Guy Itzchakov reveals how high-quality listening can reduce polarization, soften extreme views, and create space for real understanding. No debating, no convincing—just listening with attention, curiosity, and care.
You don’t have to agree. But you do have to listen well. When we commit to serving the other in our interactions, they feel the difference. It can diffuse so much negativity and misunderstanding. Our presence delivers that result.
Curiosity is a superpower we all possess. Activating it is the key.
https://psyche.co/ideas/why-listening-well-can-make-disagreements-less-damaging?mc_cid=9f85bbaa4a
:: CSN’s Book of the Week Recommendation
Influence Elevated: Maximizing Your Connection
IN-PERSON, HYBRID OR REMOTE, elevate your influence so people will look to you for leadership.
You have more opportunities to impact your team, your employees and your clients. If you don’t intentionally elevate your influence above the noise of today’s work world, you and your message will be lost among the distractions. Packed with compelling research and strategies, Influence Elevated: Maximizing Your Connections Monday to Monday® equips you to skyrocket your influence higher than ever.
Check out this book from Stacey Hanke, a well-known leadership speaker. Her wealth of experience, research and expertise makes Stacey the sought-after authority on influential communication strategies. Captivating insights guide sales professionals, executives and leaders to cut through the noise that leads to distractions.
https://staceyhankeinc.com/product/influence-elevated-maximizing-your-connections/
“Presence is the root of everything.” – Kirk in a Zoom call
:: Self-Leadership Development
1% Better Every Day – Driving Change: How One Leader is Shifting the Narrative
On the episode of On the Front Line: The Safety, Learning & Operations Podcast, Dr. Gina Anderson speaks to Jerry Curl. Jerry shares insights from his 45-year career, emphasizing compassionate leadership and the importance of recognizing truck drivers as heroes.
He discusses his personal health journey, his mission to improve drivers’ well-being, and the value of positive influence. The episode highlights the power of empathy, personal growth, and the drive to create positive change.
While you may not be leading a fleet of truck drivers in your role, there are many nuggets within this short conversation worth listening to.
https://podcast.learningwithgina.com/podcast
“It’s no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then.” – Alice in Wonderland
Growing Your Network of Influence
We’ve all heard the slogan, “if you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” We may believe that alone we can achieve everything we need in our lives and careers. Still, we should think again.
However suitable and sound we are, it still takes more. Here is another slogan we may want to pay attention to, “teamwork” is the fuel that allows common people to achieve uncommon results.”
When we achieve something great, despite putting in significant individual effort, we will likely still have others to thank for helping to contribute to our success.
Investing in those around us is the most significant commitment anyone can make in their work. When I say “us,” I’m talking about those people directly within our sphere of influence:
* the people we report to,
* those that report to us, and
* those peers we work most closely with.
These are the people with whom our success ultimately resides, our teams, and those key relationships we hold. Because of this, they require our full attention.
Read this archived post from Monte Pedersen on growing your network of influence.
Gain the Skills of Professional Coaching
Coaching skills allow supervisors to guide, support, and empower their team members to improve performance and achieve goals. You can learn these valuable coaching skills and more through the UW Certified Professional Coach program.
Our cohort model allows learners to build relationships with peers and to use class time for practice and experiential learning. Our curriculum is grounded in the ICF core competencies and graduates are prepared to apply for the Associate Certified Coach (ACC) and/or Professional Certified Coach (PCC) credentials through the ICF.
To celebrate its 13th year, we are offering a summer rate for individuals interested in joining our next virtual cohort starting in late August! The summer rate for UW employees is $10,691 (instead of $12,990).
Learn more about our UWCPC program and apply by July 25th!
https://continuingstudies.wisc.edu/certified-professional-coach/#Ataglance
:: Upcoming Events
Finding Your Third Space
July 2025 Madison Area Servant Leadership Meetup
Many people believe our democracy is threatened. Why are we so deeply divided on some issues? It seems that mutual trust has all but disappeared. Richard Kyte, author of “Finding Your Third Place,” argues convincingly that we’ve lost too many places to socialize and develop trusting friendships. With home as First Place, and work as Second Place, a Third Place is a place of gathering: a community center, a social club, Habitat for Humanity, etc. A Third Place is neutral ground in an accessible and ordinary place where people can meet as equals; where participants consider it a “home away from home” – a place to play where trust can develop and be sustained. Through mutual trust, Third Places allow people to collaborate, build consensus on issues, and find solutions.
Over the past 30 years, Kyte notes that Third Places have disappeared. Technology, social media, passive entertainment (e.g., streaming movies), and even zoning diminished our interest in and availability of Third Places. As social animals, “We thrive only when we create conditions for the cultivation of friendships.” Friendships grow through listening, empathy, healing, awareness, and stewardship – relevant Servant Leadership characteristics in this context.
Kyte adds, “What if the reason for rising anxiety [like mine and that of others] is not that things are getting worse, but that we are getting worse at thinking about things in constructive ways?” As issues arise, Third Places can provide a platform where people think about concerns in constructive ways.
What are your thoughts? What is your experience with Third Places? What became possible because of your engagement with others at a Third Place? What Third Place do you wish you and your community had? Visit the Servant Leader website for a downloadable worksheet on this topic at https://slcop.sites.wisc.edu/calendar-of-events/.
July 18, 2025
8:30-10:00 am CST
July Zoom Link
Meeting ID: 987 0673 4791
Passcode: 156691
Network With Your Peers. Listen to Inspirational Speakers. Win Prizes!
We’re less than a month from our special event featuring a livestreamed visit with international speaker Rachel Druckenmiller!
“UNMUTE Yourself equips supervisors to break free from self-silencing and lead with greater courage, influence, and authenticity. Rachel Druckenmiller shares her powerful V.O.I.C.E. Method and practical strategies to help you show up, step up, and say YES!”
Join us for Rachel, and stay for networking with your peers on campus, and to look back at some of the successes CSN has enjoyed in the past decade!
We’ll serve light refreshments and snacks, and have exclusive raffle prizes and giveaways for attendees. Don’t miss this chance to celebrate your leadership network’s anniversary!
Date: August 4, 2025
Time: 2:00 – 3:30 pm
Location: DeLuca Forum, WID
Register here: https://go.wisc.edu/63wy44