Planners’ Picks — March 31, 2026
Out like a lion it is! Let’s roar into April with some resources on self-awareness, leadership development and retention, and handling stress.
:: Image of the Week
Above the clouds, the sun is shining
This week’s image was taken by Rich Gassen last May on a flight to San Diego with family. Remember this on your next dark day: “Above the clouds, the sun is shining.”
:: Productivity and Innovation
Excel in Excel!
Looking for simple ways to work more efficiently with data?
The free 20 Nano Tips for Maximizing Excel series in LinkedIn Learning delivers quick lessons in seconds. You will learn practical tools and shortcuts, from the Quick Analysis tool to VLOOKUP, that can help you analyze data faster and boost productivity.
Each tip aimed to help you work more efficiently.
Learn more and register at https://ow.ly/ntmU50YxACn
“Solvitur ambulando (It is solved by walking).” – Diogenes the Cynic
How to think differently about procrastination
Playing online games. Sorting my considerable collection of knitting yarn. Reading reviews of gadgets even after I’ve made a purchase. What do these activities have in common? They’re all things I’ve done recently to avoid whatever it is that I’m supposed to be doing. When I’ve been procrastinating, in other words. Given that you’ve chosen to read this article – perhaps as a way to postpone having to get on with something useful – I’m assuming that you, too, struggle with procrastination.
I’m going to show you a different way to think about procrastination, one that will help you to understand your own behaviour better, which in turn will help you be kinder to yourself. The end result will be less self-judgment and greater progress toward what you actually want to achieve.
by Rebecca Roache, philosopher and coach
https://psyche.co/guides/how-to-think-differently-about-procrastination-and-make-progress
How to Keep the Leaders You’ve Invested In
From Wisconsin School of Business Center for Professional & Executive Development:
You spotted their potential early. You gave them stretch assignments, invited them to strategy meetings, maybe even enrolled them in a formal leadership program.
And now, just as they’re beginning to hit their stride—they’re gone.
They were recruited elsewhere. Or burned out. Or felt stalled. Or simply didn’t see a future for themselves at your organization.
Losing a high-potential leader is always painful. But losing one you invested in? That can feel like a gut punch—and a failure of strategy.
If you’re responsible for developing talent in your organization, you already know retention isn’t just about culture and compensation. It’s about alignment, visibility, and continued development.
Here are six frequent drivers of leadership departure and how you can prevent these from derailing employee retention.
https://blog.uwcped.org/how-to-keep-the-leaders-youve-invested-in/?_hsmi=406466927
“Attention is the most basic form of love.” – John Tarrant
:: Mental Health and Self-Care
How to maintain healthy stress levels
Stress gets a bad rap. However, as Mirela Habibovic, an associate professor of psychology at Tilburg University in the Netherlands, explores in this video, even though most of us rarely encounter the dangers these systems largely evolved to evade, it still has a vital and even positive role to play in our everyday lives. Introducing viewers to what she calls the ‘stress spectrum’, Habibovic discusses how temporarily elevated stress levels can help us get motivated, focus on a task and complete it at a higher level. Exploring how both sustained high (burnout) and low (bore-out) stress levels can have negative health consequences, Habibovic provides a helpful guide to leveraging what we know about the stress spectrum to our advantage.
Note: this video is in a foreign language. English subtitles are available by clicking the CC button at the top right of the video player.
https://psyche.co/videos/dont-avoid-stressors-learn-to-navigate-the-stress-spectrum
:: Self-Leadership Development
How to Pick a Career (That Actually Fits You)
This is a post about something I’ve been wanting to write about forever: careers. Society tells us a lot of things about what we should want in a career and what the possibilities are—which is weird because I’m pretty sure society knows very little about any of this. When it comes to careers, society is like your great uncle who traps you at holidays and goes on a 15-minute mostly incoherent unsolicited advice monologue, and you tune out almost the whole time because it’s super clear he has very little idea what he’s talking about and that everything he says is like 45 years outdated. Society is like that great uncle, and conventional wisdom is like his rant. Except in this case, instead of tuning it out, we pay rapt attention to every word, and then we make major career decisions based on what he says. Kind of a weird thing for us to do.
This post isn’t me giving you career advice really—it’s a framework that I think can help you make career decisions that actually reflect who you are, what you want, and what our rapidly changing career landscape looks like today. You’re not a pro at this, but you’re certainly more qualified to figure out what’s best for you than our collective un-self-aware great uncle. For those of you yet to start your career who aren’t sure what you want to do with their lives, or those of you currently in the middle of your career who aren’t sure you’re on the right path, I hope this post can help you press the reset button on your thought process and get some clarity.
– Tim Urban
https://waitbutwhy.com/2018/04/picking-career.html
Tim was featured recently in a TED talk post: in case you missed it and like his style of stick figures and humor, here is that link again: https://www.ted.com/talks/tim_urban_inside_the_mind_of_a_master_procrastinator
Leading Beyond Self-Doubt: A Conversation on Confidence & Growth
On March 18th, members of UW IT Mentoring, IT Leadership Development, and UW Women in IT hosted “Leading Beyond Self-Doubt: A Conversation on Confidence & Growth.” This event featured a panel of participants: Amy Diestler, Amanda Thornton, Ella Tschopik, Elizabeth Simcock, Sabrina Messer, and Prasanta Anumolu. Below are some themes that arose during their discussion.
Key Themes and Personal Reflections
- Doubt as a Sign of Growth: Self-doubt shows up most frequently when an individual is stretching, growing, or stepping into a new role. It can be a natural indicator of self-awareness and a sign that you are moving into a necessary phase of personal development.
- Defining “Invisible Bravery”: Real bravery is not the absence of doubt or fear, but rather the internal experience of doubt or fear — and doing the thing anyway.
- The Winding Journey: While we often celebrate shiny outcomes, success is usually a winding journey built on mistakes and continuous learning. Comparing our internal doubts to the external successes of others can often lead to unnecessary self-criticism.
- The Value of Healthy Doubt: Some self-doubt can be beneficial when it leads to deeper reflection, and a greater sense of care for one’s work.
- Parallels between Individual and Collective Self-Doubt: While we often view self-doubt as a personal struggle, it can also be a collective experience. This is particularly evident during leadership transitions, trying to launch large projects, or when facing rapidly changing technologies like AI, where there may be a shared hesitation to claim authority over a fluid subject.
Actionable Take-aways for Personal Growth
- Reframing Failure: Individual growth involves accepting when you struggle or fail and choosing to learn from it. Reframing a setback as an opportunity for creative thinking can be a significant shift in perspective.
- Practicing Vulnerability: Cultivating self-compassion and the ability to be vulnerable is essential. This includes experimenting with saying “I don’t know” or “I can’t figure this out and need some help,” and seeing what happens.
- Looking to the people you trust: Find a person or have a trusted circle of people where you can show that vulnerability and get out of your own head through their mirroring and encouragement.
- Making Decisions in the Moment: Trust that you did the best you could given the information you had at the time.
- Practicing Kind Self-Talk: If you find it easier to see and call out the success of people around you, experiment with using that voice with yourself.
Actionable Ways to Support Those Around Us
- Support through Specificity: When supporting colleagues or mentees, specific feedback regarding the skills that contributed to a success is more impactful than general praise.
- Simple Gratitude: Never underestimate the power of thanking others for everyday things; it goes a long way in minimizing the self-doubt of those around you.
Continue to embrace the idea that you are more capable and accomplished than your self-doubt might lead you to believe.
Find out more about these groups below:
IT Mentoring – https://it.wisc.edu/it-community/committees-groups/uw-madison-it-connects/it-mentoring-program/
IT Leadership Development – https://it.wisc.edu/it-community/committees-groups/uw-madison-it-connects/information-technology-leadership-development/
UW Women in Information Technology – https://it.wisc.edu/it-community/committees-groups/uw-madison-it-connects/uw-women-in-information-technology/
45 Minutes of Leadership Gold With John Maxwell
In this episode, Ken Coleman sits down with New York Times bestselling author and leadership expert John Maxwell. You’ll learn the secret to instantly become a better communicator, the two habits necessary to succeed in life, and the one trait all great leaders have in common.
John Calvin Maxwell is an American author, speaker, and pastor who has written many books, primarily focusing on leadership. Titles include The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership and The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eL28dKmoffw
:: Communication
Teaching the Next Generation How to Disagree at Work
Incivility on the job is being driven by political and generational differences–but there are colleges trying to train the next generation to work with diversity.
Why would you leave a job? Better pay? More benefits? Those are positive reasons. But surveys have found that as many as a quarter of employees quit jobs because of tensions with coworkers.
https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/teaching_the_next_generation_how_to_disagree_at_work
Heard in a meeting last week:
The progressive stages of knowing —
1) Beginner – “I know nothing”
2) Hazard – “I am an expert”
3) Expert – “I know nothing”
:: Trust, Psychological Safety & Belonging
11 Ways to Earn Respect
Some people believe that because they’re rich, powerful, or famous, they deserve our respect — regardless of their behavior. Actually, nothing could be further from the truth. Respect must be earned. So, how do you earn the respect of others? It’s easy to respect someone who displays the following qualities:
https://www.franksonnenbergonline.com/blog/11-ways-to-earn-respect/
:: CSN’s Book of the Week Recommendation
Runnin’ Down a Dream: How to Thrive in a Career You Actually Love
Life is a use-it-or-lose-it proposition. Shouldn’t you spend it doing something you love? This book will teach you how to find your dream job and avoid a career you’ll regret—from a leading venture capitalist, based on his viral college talk.
“Fantastic. A variety of useful insights and examples that converge into one story that underlies remarkable success in nearly any field: The relentless hunger to learn about the thing you love.”—James Clear, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Atomic Habits
For many young people, the path to success feels like a conveyor belt—onto the next test, the next application, the next college—without ever stopping to ask what do I actually want to do with my life? Parents know the pressure can be overwhelming, yet the system pushes everyone forward anyway.
After college Bill Gurley landed a job at a famous tech company. It should have been a dream come true—but he was surprisingly bored. So, Gurley leapt into the unknown, eventually finding his place in the world of venture capital, the beginning of a remarkable investing career.
It turns out, Gurley’s happy ending is rare. Nearly six in ten people would do things differently if they could start over. This is the trap of “career regret.” So how can we avoid it? What can we learn from people at the top of their fields who love what they do? The culmination of Gurley’s decade-long project to unpack the components of success, Runnin’ Down a Dream identifies six principles to flourish in your chosen career: the antidotes to career regret. From developing “obsessive” curiosity to the art of building strong peer groups, these timeless principles add up to a playbook not just for success, but a purpose-filled life.
Written in Gurley’s straight-talk voice and revealing the captivating stories of industry titans like talent agent Lorrie Bartlett, restaurateur Danny Meyer, and sports executive Sam Hinkie, Runnin’ Down a Dream will inspire a new generation to find their place in the world, while offering a much-needed rebuttal to the idea that hustle and happiness are incompatible.
:: Work Culture & Team Development
How to Lead and Retain High Performers
In this conversation of Coaching for Leaders, Ruth Gotien and Dave Stachowiak discuss how leaders can genuinely connect with (and retain) their top performers. We explore the difference these employees make in organizations and what’s unique about how they approach work and their careers. Ruth then suggests a number of practical steps to engage high performers genuinely to develop them well and benefit the entire organization. Ruth is the author of The Success Factor: Developing the Mindset and Skillset for Peak Business Performance.
https://coachingforleaders.com/podcast/lead-retain-high-performers-ruth-gotian/
Keeping Momentum on Culture Transformation
As we close out the first quarter and recognize Women’s History Month, it’s a natural time to pause and reflect. The past three months likely moved quickly…full calendars, big goals, constant demands. (like, how is it the end of March already?)
But beyond what got done, it’s worth asking: What’s working well? And what might need to shift?
We often measure progress in outcomes and achievements, but the real story of our culture is being written in the in-between moments. We spend so much time planning meetings, setting agendas, and building strategies…
But culture? Culture is built in the moments you don’t schedule.
It’s in the hallway conversations. The quick check-ins. The way someone responds when things don’t go as planned. Those small, seemingly insignificant interactions? They’re shaping your culture every single day.
Culture Is Built in the Moments You Don’t Schedule
Leadership doesn’t only show up in titles or team meetings. It shows up in how you react under pressure, how you listen when someone is struggling, and how you acknowledge effort when no one is watching. A quick “I see you.” A pause before responding. A choice to lead with curiosity instead of control.
These are the moments people remember. And more importantly, they’re the moments people model.
Everyday Influence
You don’t have to be the loudest voice in the room to shape culture. Influence happens in the everyday:
- The tone of your emails
- The energy you bring into a conversation
- The way you treat people when it would be easy not to
Culture isn’t created by what’s written on the wall. It’s created by what’s repeated in behavior. And the truth is, everyone is contributing to it. Every single day.
Reflection Prompt
Take a moment to think about this: Where in your day are you unintentionally shaping culture? And if someone were to mirror your behavior…would it create the kind of environment you want to be part of?
From Cindy Rowe’s weekly newsletter: https://thecindyrowe.com/. Cindy keynoted the UW-Madison Leadership Development Conference in 2025 and focuses on kindness, emotional intelligence, and human-centered leadership to drive impact, connection, and growth.
:: Upcoming Events
Beyond the Timeline: The People in Projects with Nancy Kujak-Ford
Managing projects often means balancing deadlines, deliverables, and resources—but truly successful projects go beyond the basics. This session explores how human dynamics shape project outcomes and introduces T.R.U.S.T. (transparency, reliability, understanding, support, and timeliness) as a practical framework for building stronger team connections. You’ll learn how to establish trust quickly, align perspectives, and make relationship-building a daily practice. We’ll also cover what to do when trust is missing and how to rebuild it. You’ll leave with actionable strategies to make your projects more people-focused, resilient, and successful.
Presented by Nancy Kujak-Ford, a CSN Planner and director of strategy and impact @ the College of Letters and Science
Date: Thursday, April 9, 2026
Time: 10:00-11:00 am
Location: Online via registration link
https://strategicconsulting.wisc.edu/in-scope-managing-projects-at-uw-madison/
Administrative Professionals Conference April 15
The Admin Prof Conference is coming soon! Who should attend? UW–Madison employees, UW System employees, and Madison community members who would like to learn professional skills across a wide variety of valuable topics such as:
- Career management
- Inclusive excellence
- Leadership
- Personal development and workplace skills
- Relationship building and communication
- Well-being
There are several great sessions at this conference; here are a few recommended by the CSN Planners:
The 3 Cs of Working Better Together
Presenter: Lynn Freeman
In the evolving landscape of higher education, you play a pivotal role in fostering organizational effectiveness. This session explores the 3 Cs—collaboration, cooperation, and coordination—as essential competencies for getting things done and contributing to an inclusive, high-performing department culture. Through a brief presentation and interactive dialogue, you will deepen their understanding of how you can use these elements to support your work and your department’s goals.
Learning Outcomes
- Identify and apply the 3 Cs to enhance teamwork and partnerships.
- Develop strategies to improve collaboration in your work.
- Strengthen your own practices that will support transparency and trust, which are required for successful collaboration.
Things Can Only Get Better: Process Improvement and Process Mapping
Presenter: Jim Thompson and Tim Dalby
This session will explore the fundamentals of continuous improvement and process improvement and how they can be combined to bring about lasting changes to existing business processes. Using case studies and examples, we will explore how to create process maps and how to use them to identify areas for improvements and remove the frustrations caused by outdated activities.
Learning Outcomes
- Understand Continuous Improvement, Process Improvement, how they are different and the power that can be unleashed when combined.
- Know the four key process inefficiencies and the eight lean wastes.
- Be able to produce an accurate process map and add data.
- Be able to use a process map to identify process improvements.
Strategies for Creating, Developing & Leading Productive Teams
Presenter: Wendy Johnson, PhD
High-performing teams do not happen by accident, they are the result of intentional leadership, clear expectations, and consistent development. This session is designed for leaders who are responsible for building, developing, or leading teams and want practical strategies to improve performance, engagement, and accountability. Participants will explore the core elements of productive teams, including role clarity, communication norms, trust, accountability, and alignment with organizational goals. The session examines how leadership behaviors directly influence team dynamics and outcomes, and how leaders can adapt their approach to meet the needs of diverse, cross-functional, remote, or hybrid teams. Through guided reflection, real-world examples, and applied exercises, participants will assess their current team effectiveness, identify common barriers to productivity, and learn actionable strategies to strengthen team performance. Emphasis is placed on creating sustainable team practices that support results while fostering collaboration, ownership, and continuous improvement.
Learning Objectives
- Identify the core elements of productive teams and evaluate how leadership behaviors influence trust, engagement, and performance across diverse team environments.
- Apply practical strategies for setting clear expectations, fostering accountability without micromanagement, and strengthening collaboration within in-person, remote, and hybrid teams.
- Develop a personalized leadership action plan that translates key concepts into actionable steps to improve team effectiveness, navigate challenges, and support individual and collective growth within their organizations or communities.
Talking about Retirement Together: Sharing Resources and Wisdom for Employees at all Stages of Work Life
Presenters: Carol Hulland, Mary Czynszak-Lyne, Tonya Messer, Hassan Pasha, Mario Pennella, and Brian Shore
Beginning with introduction to a rich, linkable list of resources created by the UW Retirement Issues Committee (RIC), this session invites participants at all stages of work life to ask questions, and share their experiences and wisdom related to preparing for retirement (and other big transitions) – financially, emotionally and mentally. Feedback from previous sessions notes that information shared has contributed to participants’ well-being and resilience. Examples – employees continue conversations with work colleagues beyond the session; many were inspired to learn more about contributing to university sponsored retirement savings options; many noted that they feel curious and likely to explore resources. This session also outlines a process for initiating and facilitating work group discussions about preparing for retirement.
Learning Outcomes
- Become comfortable with preparing for retirement as an ongoing process throughout the work/life cycle
- Identify individual steps to support personal development and preparation for retirement – taking small steps that contribute to wellness and resilience
- Provide resources for and model a discussion that can be set up within a small work unit to discuss preparation for retirement – inclusive of employees from early to late stage career
Date: April 15, 2026
Time: 8:00-4:30
Location: Union South
TODAY IS THE DEADLINE to register for this event!
https://hr.wisc.edu/administrative-professionals-conference/