Planners’ Picks — December 23, 2025
Here’s a short but sweet gift for you—this week’s Planners’ Picks! We’re going with a heavy stocking full of self-leadership and work culture in this edition. We hope you have a great holiday season full of happiness, connection, and gratitude.
:: Image of the Week
:: Self-Leadership Development
The New Year Reset: How to build a better January before it starts
Most professionals approach the New Year in the same way every year: they make ambitious resolutions on January 1st, ride the motivation wave for two weeks, and then watch their momentum collapse by February. After coaching hundreds of executives through year-end transitions, I’ve discovered that the leaders who thrive in January do something fundamentally different: they treat the final weeks of December as their strategic advantage.
The Core Values Quiz
Robert Glazer has a new book out, called The Compass Within. He’s always been talking about your core values as the compass that guides all of your decisions. This free, one-minute quiz is a diagnostic of the impact core values play in your life and leadership. So far, what I’ve learned from the quiz is a clear majority of people do not have clarity or alignment on their values. Do you? Take the quiz to find out!
https://quiz.tryinteract.com/?ck_subscriber_id=707612271#/680ab0a7b3f63e001511c77a
“Every day is a new deal. Keep workin’ and maybe sump’n’ll turn up.” – Harvey Peak
Life Advice That Sounds Good But Will Destroy You
In this video Author Dan Pink shares 5 pieces of advice that we’ve all heard… but have the potential to ruin you! Check out his advice, which will help you move forward.
The Hardest Person You’ll Ever Lead Is Yourself
From Sarah Hines: “Leading myself has been the most relentless and revealing leadership journey I’ve ever been on. It isn’t about goals or KPIs or performance reviews. It is about facing my own patterns, the ones that quietly run the show when I am too tired or too afraid to be intentional. It is about noticing when I default to overcompensating, when I hide behind busyness, or when I let fear set the pace for my decisions.”
Read her whole article here: https://www.bizcatalyst360.com/self-leadership-the-hardest-person-youll-ever-lead-is-yourself/
“In a gentle way, you can shake the world.” – Mahatma Gandhi
High Performance Through Caring with Cornell Thomas
Cornell Thomas is an incredible speaker, facilitator, and all-around human being who has written about six books. One of his books is called Extraordinary: The Distance Between Good and Great. Listen to him and Garry Turner in this conversation about caring leadership with your teams.
“And if you learn how to lead, you realize it’s like this ongoing thing in leadership and the best leaders continue to learn. The worst leaders know it already and that’s what you know as a toxic environment. You can’t tell them anything. I’ve declined people that have asked for executive coaching because I’ve told them to their face, “you know it already, you don’t need me.” – Cornell Thomas
https://inbusinessofhealthymasculinity.substack.com/p/high-performance-through-caring-with
:: Work Culture & Team Development
Make your matrixed team easier to lead, one conversation at a time
You’re leading a matrixed team, and it feels like no one’s really in charge—but everyone wants to be. Priorities conflict. Meetings drag. People say things like “we need alignment” but leave without making a decision.
And somehow, you’re supposed to lead through this. It’s tricky. Matrix organizations are built for speed and flexibility—but without the right conversations, they can grind people down.
The good news? Even without formal authority, you can change the game using four focus areas: Connection, Clarity, Curiosity, and Commitment—along with some language that can help you get there.
“Clients do not come first. Employees come first. If you take care of your employees, they will take care of the clients.” – Richard Branson
Boredom is worse for you than stress
At work, most leaders worry about stress. Deadlines, overload, burnout — these are familiar dangers. But there’s another risk that often flies under the radar, and according to research, may be even more damaging: boredom.
We tend to take stress seriously because it presents noticeable symptoms: exhaustion, anxiety, absenteeism. Boredom is more subtle. It doesn’t broadcast that there is a issue — it silently saps energy and engagement.
People don’t tend to quit in a fit of boredom, but as the research shows, over time monotony can chip away at engagement and commitment. Longer term, if employees are under-challenged or feel there’s nothing meaningful to strive for, their skills and capacity go unused — which is wasteful for individuals and organizations.
https://fridaypulse.com/insights/boredom-is-worse-than-stress
:: CSN’s Book of the Week Recommendation
Lifting Up: The Transformative Power of Supportive Leadership
Lifting Up: The Transformative Power of Supportive Leadership is not your average leadership framework; rather, it’s the essential human foundation that makes all leadership work. This book reveals how to strengthen relationships, navigate tough conversations, and create a culture where people can reach their potential through the relational support that brings trust, energy, and adaptability.
The result? Healthy, innovative, and loyal teams.
Packed with real stories, cutting-edge research, and practical strategies, this book goes beyond theory to give you a playbook for leading with impact. Whether you’re an executive, teacher, lawyer, or coach, Lifting Up shows you how to build something extraordinary—together.
If you’re ready to future-proof your organization and lead with confidence in this new era, this is your starting line.
Jen Marr is the Founder of Inspiring Comfort, LLC and is passionate about furthering the science of human care through the skill of comfort. To her, strangers are just friends she hasn’t met yet. This natural gift has led Jen to a vocation of crisis response, healing and comfort, which has impacted the lives of thousands of people across the United States.
:: LinkedIn Learning
How to Set Goals When Everything Feels Like a Priority
Sometimes it can feel like you’re working on everyone else’s to-do list instead of your own. How can you make space for accomplishing the goals that are important to you? Join best-selling business author and consultant Dorie Clark as she shares practical advice on how to prioritize effectively so that you can get meaningful things done.
Gather techniques that you can leverage to get clarity on what to prioritize, as well as how to take action when you find yourself unsure of your next steps. Dorie explores key frameworks, including the Eisenhower matrix and the Pareto principle, that can help you become more effective. Along the way, she shares how to find the motivation to get yourself going, maintain your momentum, and make it all the way to your goal. By the end of this course, you’ll be equipped with essential skills to set goals effectively in a rapidly changing work environment.
Learning objectives
- Explain why setting goals is challenging and how to set appropriate goals to become more effective at work and in life.
- Identify how to get clear on your values, which helps in making choices and setting goals that align with who you are.
- Articulate frameworks that can help guide decision-making around your goals, enabling you to frame choices more accurately and make better decisions.
- Implement techniques to protect time and focus on your priorities.
Break down long-term objectives into actionable steps to avoid feeling overwhelmed.
:: Mental Health and Self-Care
The Surprising Health Boost of Feeling Happy With Someone Else
Science has found that a happier life is a healthier life. When people experience more positive emotion, they tend to enjoy better cardiovascular, endocrine, and immune function and even a longer life.
But a new study suggests that experiencing positive feelings with others may be even more powerful for our health. In this research, this kind of “positive emotional resonance” or “shared positivity” within couples had benefits beyond what their personal happiness could provide.
“Sharing in positive emotions with your relationship partner is really meaningful,” says the lead author of the study, Tomiko Yoneda of the University of California, Davis. “Even those small moments of joy or social connection can have a supportive effect on your physiology and, basically, support better health as we age.”
Read more at the Greater Good Magazine link below.
“It’s a funny thing about life, once you begin to take note of the things you are grateful for, you begin to lose sight of the things that you lack.” — Germany Kent
:: Upcoming Events
CSN’s Bite-Size Book Club—Let’s Talk: Make Effective Feedback Your Superpower
“Communications are much clearer if you recognize that there are three kinds of feedback: appreciation, coaching, and evaluation.” ― Therese Huston
CSN is facilitating the next Bite-Size Book Club in January! “Let’s Talk: Make Effective Feedback Your Superpower” by Therese Huston offers an insightful exploration into mastering the art of feedback, an essential tool in any leader or manager’s toolkit. Drawing from extensive research and real-world examples, Huston unravels the nuances of feedback, emphasizing its pivotal role in enhancing team dynamics and fostering a culture of growth. The book delves into differentiating between appreciation, coaching, and evaluation, providing a comprehensive understanding that elevates feedback beyond mere compliments or criticisms.
Designed for those seeking to transform their feedback skills into a powerful asset, this guide illuminates how feedback can serve as a bridge to deeper professional connections and personal development. Huston highlights the importance of holding the person over the problem, thereby fostering a supportive environment where individuals feel valued and motivated. Readers will find practical advice on handling feedback conversations with empathy and care, coupled with strategies that minimize defensiveness and build trust.
CSN’s Bite-Size Book Club will explore Huston’s ideas on feedback as a large group and later we’ll look at examples she provides in more detail—you’ll be able to join a small-group breakout session on the topic of appreciation, coaching, or evaluation styles of feedback during our time together.
Regular feedback, when delivered skillfully, can turn average performers into the hardest workers and stars into superstars. First, find out what kind of feedback an employee wants most: appreciation, coaching, or evaluation. If they crave one, they’ll be more receptive once their need has been satisfied. Then Huston lays out counterintuitive strategies for delivering each type of feedback successfully, including:
- Start by saying your good intentions out loud: it may feel unnecessary, but it makes all the difference.
- Side with the person, not the problem: a bad habit or behavior is probably less entrenched than you think.
- Give reports a chance to correct inaccurate feedback: they want an opportunity to talk more than they want you to be a good talker.
As an attendee of this session, CSN will provide to you a summary of the whole book and provide select portions of this book to focus on in more detail. We recommend you obtain a copy of the book and read it in its entirety (though not necessary to participate).
Date: January 14, 2026
Time: 2:00-3:30 pm CST
Location: Zoom Link
Register Here: https://go.wisc.edu/ixuk5l
CSN presents Leadership Improv
Through a variety of fun, engaging activities, Amanda and Jason will demonstrate how improvisational comedy skills can help supervisors work through difficult situations with staff and peers, as well as practice leadership skills in a light-hearted and low-risk environment.
No comedy or improv skills necessary; just bring your willingness to be curious and a little silly with your peers. We’ll meet in person for this session. Please register below to participate!
Date: January 6, 2026
Time: 2:00-3:15 pm
Location: DoIT Offices, 1210 W. Dayton Street, Room 3139
More information on Leadership Improv can be found at https://it.wisc.edu/it-community/committees-groups/uw-madison-it-connects/leadership-improv/