Planners’ Picks — February 24, 2026
Have you found your V.O.I.C.E. yet? Are you unbecoming those parts of your past that no longer serve you? What’s the weather forecast around your desk? See these topics and much more below.
We are now in the Year of the Fire Horse, a cycle that appears only once every 60 years, last seen in 1966. The Fire Horse has long been associated with unstoppable momentum, bold transformation, and catalytic change. It does not wait for permission; it moves forward with purpose. This year is not for hesitation; it is for progress.
DPPS printed Chinese calendars for University Staff shared governance commemorating the Year of the Horse — you can download a PDF of that file.
:: Image of the Week
:: Self-Leadership Development
The VOICE Method: A Roadmap from Doubt to Confidence
Why do so many capable people hold themselves back?
For Rachel Druckenmiller, the answer became a roadmap for moving from doubt and fear to confidence and courage, from stagnation to momentum, from stuckness to aliveness.
In the past year she has asked nearly 5,000 people this question: How are you currently silencing, doubting or holding yourself back that you’d like to overcome?
Three reasons come up more than anything else:
Fear: fear of failure, judgment, rejection, not being good enough, looking stupid, being wrong. “I don’t want to be a burden, so even though I think I deserve it, I’m not going to ask for it.”
Self-doubt: “Am I really good enough? Do I have enough proof to demonstrate I can do this? What if they find out this is all a sham and I’m a total fraud?”
Perfectionism: “If I can’t do it perfectly, I’m not going to do it at all.”
Check out Rachel’s V.O.I.C.E. Method of becoming more unmuted and confident, something she first told folks at UW-Madison back in August at our 10-year anniversary event when she gave an inspirational talk to a room full of lifelong learners!
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/voice-method-roadmap-from-doubt-confidence-rachel-druckenmiller-ndcee
“The truest form of intelligence is designing the life you want to live.” – Graham Weaver
10 Tiny Habits of Great Leaders
Dr. Chris Mullen shared an infographic on how great leaders stand out, including staying curious, listening more, and protecting the energy of the team. See all ten tiny habits here:
“Real integrity is doing the right thing, knowing that nobody’s going to know whether you did it or not.” – Oprah Winfrey
How to Say No Without Guilt
Have you ever said yes to a colleague’s request only to feel regret and resentment later? You might ask, “Why do I do this to myself?!” Science suggests that human beings are naturally inclined to say yes. However, saying no can actually improve your relationships and reputation. In this audio-only course, Dr. Vanessa Patrick shares why we struggle to say no–while providing guilt-free approaches for declining requests.
Dr. Vanessa Patrick is an associate dean at the University of Houston and author of The Power of Saying No: The New Science of How to Say No that Puts you in Charge of your Life.
Learn the three competencies of empowered refusal, and discover how to set rules to protect your priorities–and decipher which requests deserve exceptions. Plus, find out how to make refusing even easier with time and technology buffers
:: Work Culture & Team Development
How to Help Team Members Find the Right Work, with Patrick Lencioni
Many of us have heard the invitation from Jim Collin’s book Good to Great to get the right people on the bus. But once the right people are on the bus, how to do you find the right seat for each person? On this episode of Coaching for Leaders, author Patrick Lencioni discusses with Dave Stachowiak how to utilize the Working Genius model to find the right work for the right team members.
Key Points:
- When addressing burnout, the type of work someone does is more significant than the volume of work.
- Three stages of work are present for almost every team: ideation, activation, and implementation.
- A cup of coffee in an excellent thermos can stay hot an entire day — that’s true of us when we’re aligned with our working geniuses.
- Finding the right work for a team member is far easier than finding the right person culturally. Before you look elsewhere, be sure they are in the right seat.
- To fill gaps in your team’s geniuses, you can hire, borrow, or find people where competence will suffice for now. Resist the temptation to immediately jump to hiring.
https://coachingforleaders.com/podcast/find-the-right-work-patrick-lencioni/
“When momentum is on your side, people focus on your strengths and forgive your weaknesses. When the momentum stops, they scrutinize the whole thing.” – Packy McCormick
Why Good Intentions Aren’t Enough: How Teams Really Thrive
Many leaders want the same thing: teams that perform at a high level feel good to be part of.
As a leader, you set intentions around culture, well-being, collaboration, and engagement. You talk about creating happier, healthier ways of working. And yet, despite the best intentions, real change often proves hard to sustain. That’s because happy, high-performing teams don’t change through intention alone. They change through habit.
Read this article from Friday Pulse on the Measure-Meet-Repeat habit.
https://fridaypulse.com/insights/why-good-intentions-arent-enough
Leaders Bring the Weather
Leaders bring the weather, and whether we like it or not, it’s true. Your mood sets the tone. Your reactions shape the room. Your energy becomes the culture.
See what Mel Robbins has to say about this here: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/soniamcdonald_leadership-emotionalintelligence-culture-activity-7411145170609463300-EYRs
:: Purpose
Your Purpose Isn’t Something to Find, It’s Something You Form
‘Woe to him who saw no more sense in his life, no aim, no purpose, and therefore no point in carrying on. He was soon lost.’ – Viktor Frankl
From author Ross White:
In my work as a clinical psychologist, I have supported numerous people who described feeling listless, apathetic, and lost in life. These clients often say they lack a guiding light to direct their efforts. ‘I’m searching for my North Star,’ one recently said. ‘Finding purpose in life’ is a commonly cited reason for seeking support. But years of clinical experience have taught me that trying to ‘find’ purpose can become part of the problem rather than the solution.
Purpose is already present. ‘Forming’ purpose engenders a spirit of abundance rather than scarcity. You can work with what is already there, rather than searching for something that is not.
https://psyche.co/ideas/your-purpose-isnt-something-to-find-its-something-you-form
“I avoid looking forward or backward, and try to keep looking upward.” – Charlotte Bronte
:: CSN’s Book of the Week Recommendation
Thinking, Fast and Slow
Kahneman explains our two thinking systems: System 1 (fast, intuitive, bias-prone) and System 2 (slow, analytical, but effortful and often lazy).
Through decades of research, he shows how anchoring, loss aversion, overconfidence, availability bias, and framing effects quietly sabotage decisions in strategy, investing, hiring, negotiations, and leadership.
If you want to catch your own mental shortcuts and make sharper, more deliberate choices under pressure, read this. It’s humbling, evidence-based, and directly applicable to high-stakes work. Strongly recommend.
:: Mental Health and Self-Care
Our Brains on Poetry
Learn how poetry can help your brain handle stress, process feelings, and spark insight in this short “The Science of Happiness” podcast.
https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/podcasts/item/our_brains_on_poetry
:: Upcoming Events
New LTD Series: Supervision and Management Mastermind Exchange
Do you wish you could share challenges with a committed group of colleagues and brainstorm solutions? Managing and supervising are such important jobs, and it can be lonely sometimes. Here is an opportunity to build a space to discuss real situations in a structured way.
You can expect a peer-supported collaborative environment that will be highly interactive, including small group activities and discussions. Participants will share challenges and work together to problem-solve, share perspectives, brainstorm, innovate, and network.
This is a committed group for a short time. Attendance and participation are required for each session. If this pilot series is successful, more will be offered in the future.
Sessions: Five total that are held every other Thursday
Dates: March 12, March 26, April 9, April 23, and May 7
Time: 9 – 9:50 a.m.
Location: 21 N. Park St. Rm 5045 (in person)
Ready to sign up? Complete the interest form by March 5th. Note: To access the interest form, you must be logged into Google with your campus NetID.
Please email ltdsupervisordevelopment@ohr.wisc.edu with any questions.
Mastering the Transition from Technical Expert to Leader
Leading brings new challenges that require more than technical expertise. This course helps participants understand the differences between managing and leading, while building practical skills in communication, delegation, and performance management. Through interactive modules, you’ll learn how to influence others, run productive meetings, and develop a leadership presence that drives results.
Course Outline:
Your role as a manager and leader, delegation, and prioritization
Communication, meeting management, leadership styles, and team motivation
Influencing others, executive presence, and powerful presentations
Business skills, performance management, employee development, and bringing it all back together
Dates: April 8 – 9, 2026
Time: 8:00 am-4:30 pm
Location: Pyle Center, Madison, WI
Learn more and enroll! (Fee for this course)
https://interpro.wisc.edu/courses/mastering-the-transition-from-technical-expert-to-leader/