October is the month for Leaders at UW-Madison with the Employee Resource Fair, the Leadership and Management Development Conference, and much more in store.
How do you innovate to stimulate growth? What do you regret? How do you delegate to your peers? These questions and others are answered in our collection of resources this week. We hope you find value within!
:: Image of the Week
As we come up on the Employee Resource Fair next week, we are reminded to treat our employees like they matter.
:: Self-Leadership Development
The only comparison worth making…
“Don’t compare your first chapter to someone else’s tenth chapter.”
Because: Comparison is poison. It shifts focus away from your progress. It turns inspiration into frustration.
So instead of comparing…
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/costas-k-gian_ad-activity-7361019380983390208-1H2F
“How you treat yourself is how you are inviting the world to treat you.” – Andrea Sanchez
BLUEPRINT Leadership Summit Recordings Available for Replay
Another BLUEPRINT Leadership Summit is in the books.
If you missed these informative sessions, no worries; we’ve reprised them all again for your convenience below (fast forward to roughly minute 6:30 to skip intros and housekeeping). From Dan Pink’s “Power of Regret” topic, Richard Edelman on the topic “Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Trust,” or Margaret Rogers sharing about “Nurturing Cultures of Excellence,” there’s something for everyone in these five recordings.
VIDEO REPLAYS
- Video – Daniel Pink (Mon. 9/15/25)
- Video – Richard Edelman (Tue. 9/16/25)
- Video – Sandi Peterson (Wed. 9/17/25)
- Video – Margaret Rogers (Thu. 9/18/25)
- Video – Melinda Vail-Goodnight (Fri. 9/19/24)
:: Productivity and Innovation
How Mastercard’s Innovation Culture Fuels Growth
In 2023, Mastercard Inc. grew by 12.6% and earned US$25.7 billion in revenue—something Chief People Officer Michael Fraccaro attributes in part to the company’s culture of innovation.
“Innovation is one of the standards we have within our cultural statements about how we create value,” he says. “It’s very much inherent in what we do as an organization.”
That culture of innovation helped Mastercard rank as one of the World’s Most Admired Companies (WMAC) in 2024. The top growth strategies of these prestigious organizations—developing new products and services, enhancing customer experiences, and improving existing products or services—all rely on a healthy dose of innovation.
Want to turbocharge innovation at your company to improve growth? Fraccaro shares his innovation tips.
“And now that you don’t have to be perfect, you can be good.” – John Steinbeck
:: Managing Up
Be Your Boss’s Boss: How to Effectively Manage Up
Odds are you’re working with a boss (founder, manager, senior leader) who has too much on their plate. This means that you, your work, and your career often take a back seat to the thousand other things on their plate. It also means that many of the “leftovers” from their plate get dumped onto you, overwhelming you as well.
They aren’t doing this on purpose, but you still need to get their attention and explain what you need so things can change. The way to do this is by “managing up”-actively planning to influence their actions rather than just letting them happen to you without your input.
Here is how you can do that in a way that allows you to have more control over your work, create a strong relationship with your manager, and give your career momentum when no one is doing that for you (they almost never will!).
“Do the right thing. Always.” – Ted Coiné
:: LinkedIn Learning
Nano Tips for Delegating to Peers with Melody Wilding
In this course Melody Wilding teaches you how to delegate to peers, cross-functional partners, and dotted line team members. Discover how to assign work when you don’t have formal authority, create buy-in and accountability, and address missed deadlines and poor work quality.
:: Work Culture & Team Development
Four Reasons Why Teams Aren’t Connecting
U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy has put out a call to action for companies to make fostering social connections a strategic priority. As he stated in a past interview, “A more connected workforce is more likely to enjoy greater fulfillment and engagement while being more protected against illness, disability, and burnout.”
When we don’t have social connectedness, the result is loneliness, exhaustion, burnout and turnover. Loneliness alone can be as damaging to our physical health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. The ROI of connected teams is undeniable, as teams are more productive and engaged when they are connected, collaborate well, and care for each other.
So why are we not finding this connection in our post-pandemic world? Here are four common reasons from author and speaker Jen Marr.
On Leadership and Culture
Companies and organizations that thrive excel in two areas: Leadership and Culture. They are both key and closely intertwined.
Leadership can be distilled down to this:
- Leaders acknowledge, face and communicate reality.
- People follow people and not titles since titles are bestowed while leadership is earned.
- The six characteristics of great leaders are capability, integrity, empathy, vulnerability, courage and inspiration.
Culture is about people. Yes, it requires leaders to set, correct and support the culture but it is how they treat people and how people feel about themselves, their company and their colleagues that is the fabric of culture.
Read the entire article on leadership and culture from author Rishad Tobaccowala here:
https://rishad.substack.com/p/on-leadership-and-culture
:: CSN’s Book of the Week Recommendation
Five Dysfunctions of a Team
After her first two weeks observing the problems at DecisionTech, Kathryn Petersen, its new CEO, had more than a few moments when she wondered if she should have taken the job. But Kathryn knew there was little chance she would have turned it down. After all, retirement had made her antsy, and nothing excited her more than a challenge. What she could not have known when she accepted the job, however, was just how dysfunctional her team was, and how team members would challenge her in ways that no one ever had before.
For twenty years, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team has been engaging audiences with a page-turning, realistic fable that follows the travails of Kathryn Petersen, DecisionTech’s CEO, as she faces the ultimate leadership crisis. She must unite a team in such disarray that it threatens to derail the entire company.
Equal parts leadership fable and business handbook, this definitive source on teamwork by Patrick Lencioni reveals the five behavioral tendencies that go to the heart of why even the best teams struggle. He offers a powerful model and step-by-step guide for overcoming those dysfunctions and getting every one rowing in the same direction.
Today, the lessons in The Five Dysfunctions of a Team are more relevant than ever. This special anniversary edition celebrates one of the best-selling business books of all time with a new foreword from the author that reflects on its legacy and lessons.
“If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking.” – Haruki Murakami
:: Mental Health and Self-Care
Can Awe Awaken the Environmental Activist in Us?
Research suggests that feeling awe in nature can nudge people toward caring about and protecting the natural world. Awe seems to increase our sense of connection to nature. In fact, a large-scale analysis of many studies concludes that there’s a robust relationship between our connection to nature and our engagement in environmental protection.
So why not add awe in nature to your repertoire? By letting yourself feel wonder and a sense of being a small part of a vaster and grander natural world, you can enjoy the benefits that awe provides while also becoming part of the concerted movement to help save our planet.
Full article here: https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/can_awe_awaken_the_environmental_activist_in_us
“The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.”– Dolly Parton
Vibrant Yoga’s Stress-Less Workplace Toolkit
The folks at Vibrant Yoga created a toolkit to give you the opportunity to create a supportive environment and a culture of wellness with your team. Prioritize well-being and mindfulness with their stretches and tips within!
https://uwmadison.box.com/s/l9ckmjooy97vfjjqu0gnh73hdlbwc9bu
:: Upcoming Events
Leadership and Management Development Conference Deadline for Registration is TODAY
Today is your last chance to register for the LMD Conference. CSN is always involved in the leadership conferences on campus, and this year, we continue to lead and share our knowledge with our peers. Two planning committee members have sessions:
Leading from Who You Are: Positionality, Power, and Possibility
Presenters: [CSN Planner] Nancy Kujak-Ford, MS, and Trevor McCray, PhD
Leadership isn’t just about what we do—it’s about who we are, how we show up, and how we impact others. In higher education, where tradition often shapes leadership expectations, it’s easy to fall into patterns that prioritize control, conformity, or “professionalism” over authenticity, growth, and inclusion.
This session invites academic staff leaders to pause and reflect:
- How does your identity shape your leadership?
- How might your leadership unintentionally limit others—or yourself?
- And how can you evolve your leadership to meet the needs of today’s diverse teams and communities?
Using Kim Scott’s Radical Respect as a foundation, we’ll explore how fear, power dynamics, and vulnerability show up in our leadership—and how we can shift from performative leadership to liberatory leadership.
This session is for leaders who are ready to:
- Reflect on how their positionality influences their leadership
- Embrace discomfort as part of growth
- Practice “yes, and” thinking to create more inclusive environments
- Reimagine leadership as a shared, evolving practice—not a fixed identity
Through real talk, small group dialogue, and practical tools, you’ll leave with a deeper understanding of yourself as a leader—and new ways to lead with courage, clarity, and connection.
Learning Objectives:
- Reflect on how their own positionality and lived experiences shape their leadership style and impact.
- Apply the concept of radical respect to evolve their leadership toward more inclusive and liberatory practices.
- Engage in collaborative dialogue to explore new leadership approaches that foster authenticity, trust, and growth.
Audience: Emerging Leader, Advanced Leader
9:45-11:00 am
Role Transitions – Task to Task Management
Presenter: [CSN Planner] Rachel Filipiak, MHA, and Liana Nash, MBA
Career transitions can be challenging—especially the shift from a task-oriented role to one focused on leading teams, managing projects, and driving outcomes. This informative session, co-led by a seasoned manager and a new leader currently navigating this transition, explores the real-world challenges, common pitfalls, and key skills required to succeed in a management role. Through shared experiences, practical insights, and open discussion, participants will gain actionable strategies, best practices, and a deeper understanding of what it takes to thrive in this pivotal career shift.
Learning Objectives:
- Understanding the shift in role and responsibility – Define a definition of “successful” role change
- Identify core competencies of effective managers – New skill muscles need to be developed in a new role, and new responsibilities expected of you by the team need to be established
- Identify potential strategies to address common challenges in a role transition – Letting go of control and balancing priorities
Audience: Emerging Leader, Advanced Leader
3:00-4:15 pm
CSN will be there!
CSN will also have a booth at this event to chat with you personally! Stop by to say hello and tell us what you love about Campus Supervisors Network.
Wednesday, October 22, 2025
8:30 am – 4:15 pm
Union South
Find session summaries and registration link here: https://hr.wisc.edu/leadership-and-management-development-conference/sessions/
Employee Benefits and Resource Fair
Date: Tuesday, October 14, 2025
Time: 9 a.m.–3 p.m.
Location: Varsity Hall, Union South
All UW–Madison employees are welcome to attend. No pre-registration is required, and no leave needs to be taken to attend. Please notify your supervisor if you wish to attend during your regular working hours.
- Learn about Benefits Open Enrollment
- Discover resources for UW employees
CSN will have a booth here, and we’re also presenting at 2:00 pm in Varsity Hall—Grow, Lead, Succeed: Resources for Personal and Team Development.
https://hr.wisc.edu/benefits/employee-resource-fair/
How to Strategically Plan Your Collaborations
Presented by Whitney Sweeney, scientist, School of Medicine and Public Health
As teams grow more complex, effective collaboration becomes both more essential and more challenging. Variables such as communication, authorship, and project management can often lead to conflict. So how can teams work together to set clear expectations and enhance productivity?
In this session, you’ll learn collaboration best practices, walk through the planning process, and receive tools to support complex projects. You’ll hear insights and examples from the Institute for Clinical and Translational Research Team Science Core, along with key concepts from the Science of Team Science. The session will conclude with an open discussion on tailoring collaboration to meet the unique needs of all team members.
Date: October 17, 2025
Time: 10:00–11:00 a.m.
Location: Online
Preparing for Retirement: Can we Talk? Sharing Resources and Wisdom – Better Together
The UW Retirement Issues Committee (RIC) has developed a rich set of resources for planning financially, mentally, and emotionally for big transitions – like retirement. This session begins with an introduction to the resources and provides time for discussion – asking questions and sharing experiences. Our goal is to encourage participants to set up conversations within their own work units, advocating for and preparing for life transitions, encouraging small steps over time that support well-being and resilience. Carol Hulland of the RIC will present this topic.
Learning Outcomes:
- Gain confidence in retirement planning
- Invest in yourself – now and for the long-term
- Encourage small steps, taken regularly, to prepare for transitions
- Become familiar with the Employee Trust Fund (ETF) resources
Disclaimer: We are not financial services professionals. Information provided in this presentation and during the discussion reflects our combined experiences and input from UW employees, retirees, and UW leaders.
Date: October 28, 2025
Time: 2:30-3:30 pm
Location: Online via Zoom link
Register here: https://go.wisc.edu/96jyji