Planners’ Picks — February 17, 2026
We’re on the coattails of a weekend celebrating love. Our Planners LOVE this community and want you all to hear that leading with heart is the best formula to create human workplaces. We’re also pushing for better communication, maintaining your composure, and finding some clarity with the resources we share this week.
:: Image of the Week
Speaker Cindy Rowe (from last year’s Learning and Management Development Conference) reminds us that kindness wins. Keep pouring!
:: Self-Leadership Development
Love-ish: Leading with Heart and Creating Human Workplaces
“Love is energy that uplifts and connects. We need this energy everywhere.” – Renee Smith
In this deeply moving conversation, Wil Johnson reconnects with Renee Smith, a researcher, writer, and advocate for love-centered leadership who has dedicated the last decade to transforming workplaces from spaces of fear into environments of connection and belonging. Their relationship spans nearly 20 years, from Wil’s days as ASB president at UW-Tacoma to their current collaboration in making work—and the world—more loving and human.
Renee shares the powerful origin story of her life’s work: a conversation with a leader who said the most important job was to “eliminate fear from the workplace.” This sparked her realization that when fear decreases, something must take its place—and that something is love. She defines love as “the energy that uplifts and connects,” and explains how this energy belongs in every aspect of our lives, from interactions with strangers to the structures and systems of our organizations.
The conversation moves through vulnerable territory, exploring the burden of perfectionism, the concept of “shitty first drafts,” and the challenges of showing up authentically in spaces where we may not feel safe. Renee shares a raw, real-time story about her 15-year-old grandson living with her family after housing loss, and how even at her own dinner table, the need for connection and being seen is visceral and undeniable.
https://share.transistor.fm/s/bc67c071
“Be the reason someone believes in the goodness of people.” – Karen Salawohn
Resources for Leadership Growth
A new online hub from Leadership and Talent Development, “Grow as a Leader,” highlights resources for employees who wish to develop their leadership potential, regardless of their current positions at UW–Madison. Both current and aspiring leaders will find courses and workshops, seminars, conferences, coaching and consultation opportunities, and communities of practice — most of which are offered free to charge to UW employees. Professional development opportunities that support leadership development are provided for individuals, supervisors/managers, faculty, organizational leaders, and student leaders. Please share out with your team!
https://hr.wisc.edu/professional-development/grow-as-a-leader/
:: CSN’s Book of the Week Recommendation
Permission to Feel – Marc Brackett
Permission to Feel introduces the RULER framework for emotional skills development. Brackett explains how ignoring or suppressing emotions leads to stress, burnout, and disconnection, especially in schools and workplaces. The book combines research, personal stories, and practical tools to help individuals and organizations create emotionally healthy environments.
This book combines rigor, science, passion, and inspiration in equal parts. Too many people are suffering; they are ashamed of their feelings and emotionally unskilled, but they don’t have to be. Marc Brackett’s life mission is to reverse this course, and this book can show you how. Every leader should explore the topics Marc brings forth!
:: Communication
The Three Pillars of Communication
Effective communication starts with presence. Strong presence builds trust. A lack of presence erodes it. But what is presence, really? In this Knowable audio course, Ximena Vengoechea, author of Listen Like You Mean It: Reclaiming the Lost Art of True Connection, teaches you to become a more confident, trustworthy, and successful communicator by unlocking the three key skills of conversational presence: self-awareness, trust, and patience. Ximena shows you how to take control of your emotions through the process known as “labeling,” regulate your physical self by running a “body scan,” avoid distractions caused by unnecessary detail-orientation, and build greater rapport with others by saying less.
“Nearly everything is really interesting if you go into it deeply enough.” – Matt Haig, The Life Impossible
How to Maintain Your Composure
There are deeply ingrained physiological reasons why people tend not to be their best selves during arguments. When we detect conflict, our nervous systems trigger an instant reaction – a heightened state of anxiety, diminished impulse control, and a tightening of the neck and shoulders – making no distinction between social and genuine danger. Worse still, we tend to mirror the emotions of those we are engaging with, often amplifying anger and aggression.
However, as the US psychiatrist and educator Tracey Marks explains in this video, there are research-backed methods for disrupting these automatic responses and breaking the cycle. These begin with understanding how such reactions operate. Through her presentation, Marks deftly connects the physiological and the psychological, creating an actionable framework for having more productive disagreements.
https://psyche.co/videos/why-you-lose-your-cool-during-arguments-and-how-to-reclaim-it
:: Change Management
From Goals to Growth: Navigating Change
Change almost always happens, even when we have the best intentions of sticking to a plan. You may have heard of these quotes before … “the only constant is change,” or “the more things change, the more they stay the same.”
Sayings like these can make it feel as though change is something that simply happens to us, outside of our control. Research shows that people don’t mind change. However, what they tend to struggle with are sudden, unexpected changes. Some sudden changes can be positive, like winning the lottery or a snow day off of school or work.
More often, though, the sudden changes we experience are difficult: a car accident, an unplanned job change, or the loss of a loved one. For many people, change causes anxiety and stress because it creates a sense of lost control.
Read more from Christy Williams of Sophia Partners on this topic, including a link to her radio interview.
“A simple way to practice it’s all invented is to ask yourself this question: What assumption am I making, That I’m not aware I’m making, That gives me what I see? And when you have an answer to that question, ask yourself this one: What might I now invent, That I haven’t yet invented, That would give me other choices?“ – Ben Zander, The Art of Possibility
Dan Heath’s Reset Strategy: How to Change What’s Not Working
Changing our work patterns can feel daunting. We’re held back by the comfort of familiar routines and overwhelmed by the constant demands of urgent tasks and workplace conflicts, leaving us with little energy to explore new approaches. But what if there were a blueprint for getting unstuck? In his new book, Reset: How To Change What’s Not Working, Dan Heath shares a proven framework for driving meaningful change.
Today, Dan and Ryan discuss trusting your instincts in creative decision-making, knowing when to reset versus rebuild, and applying upstream thinking to prevent downstream consequences.
https://dailystoic.com/dan-heaths-reset-strategy-how-to-change-whats-not-working/
:: Work Culture & Team Development
Stop Recurring Conflict from Becoming Your Team’s Favorite Tradition
It’s not your imagination. Some conflicts don’t just happen—they linger. They resurface. They evolve just enough to look different, but underneath? Same fight, different day. If you’re feeling like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day—repeating the same conversation, argument, or tension with a colleague, a boss, or your team—this article is for you.
This isn’t about how to prevent conflict. This is about what to do when you’re already in it—again. See this article from Let’s Grow Leaders on halting recurring conflict with your team members.
“There are no free throws in life, even when you get fouled.” – Deborah Miller Palmore
:: Productivity and Innovation
7 Ways to Stay Productive When You’re Stressed
When you’re going through a stressful situation or tough time, it can be hard to focus on your work.
“Our work responsibilities, by comparison, may feel less important, even if they’re not,” says Alicia H. Clark, a psychologist in Washington D.C. and author of the book “Hack Your Anxiety: How to Make Anxiety Work for You in Life, Love, and All That You Do.”
But the reality is that even when our personal lives may be in turmoil, we still need to get stuff done—and do it well. So how can you remain productive when stress at home strikes? These seven actionable strategies can help.
https://www.mymeq.com/pxg?hash=b1fa8ceaeb083380cbb6acc2bcadc864#/cup-of-calm-post/18364
:: Mental Health and Self-Care
When Things Feel Hard
Humin (Formerly Healthy Minds Innovations) has a playlist for when things feel hard. In moments like these—when the world feels heavy and uncertain—we want to pause and acknowledge what you may be experiencing.
Ongoing events in our communities and around the world can stir fear, grief, anger, and exhaustion, often all at once. At our core, Humin’s work is about cultivating wellbeing and relieving suffering, especially during times of heightened stress and uncertainty.
While we can’t control everything happening around us, we can support one another in how we meet these moments. With that intention, we’re sharing a new curated Healthy Minds Program app playlist: When Things Feel Hard. Don’t have the app already? Go here: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/healthy-minds-program/id1326310617
“There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so.” – William Shakespeare
:: Upcoming Events
Clarity Is Kind: What Leaders Owe Their Teams
A Conversation on Leadership, Mission, and Meaningful Work
What does it look like when leadership truly serves the people doing the work?
In this month’s Servant Leadership Community of Practice, we’ll explore the idea that clarity is not just a management skill—it’s an act of kindness. Building on last month’s rich conversation focused on Brene’ Brown’s “Lock-in and lock-through power,” we’ll reflect on another chapter of Strong Ground that challenges us to ask, “Are we a team, or just a group of people working side by side?”
Sue Gaard and Tracy Mrochek will facilitate the conversations. Together, we’ll explore how leaders create the conditions for people to do their best work by setting clear context, naming what matters, and thinking ahead about impact. We’ll introduce a practical, plain‑language framework (the “5 Cs”) that helps leaders think more clearly about decisions, delegation, and direction—without losing sight of purpose or people.
This 90‑minute session will include reflection, small‑group dialogue, and shared learning across sectors and roles. We invite you to join us for a thoughtful conversation about how mission clarity, thoughtful decision‑making, and servant leadership come together in everyday practice.
All are welcome. No prior expertise required—just curiosity and a willingness to reflect.
Pre-work materials and an agenda for the session can be found at https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1HtRpF0VNpDOFou9mYBz8SOHZIrPuHlTd?usp=sharing
Date: February 20, 2026
Time: 8:30-10:00 am CST
Location: Zoom (link below)
https://uwmadison.zoom.us/j/98706734791?pwd=dCEcAnzZX28ZmUDRz9aa3h0hra6hz3.1
Meeting ID: 987 0673 4791
Passcode: 156691
Leadership Improv with CSN
We’re doing it again! Through a variety of fun, engaging activities, Amanda and Jason from IT Connects 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; we just ask that you bring your willingness to be curious and open to trying new things.
Date: Thursday, March 19, 2026
Time: 2:00-3:15 pm
Location: 1210 W. Dayton St. (DoIT), Room 3139