Planners’ Picks — May 5, 2026
Here we are, in May already. Graduation is at the doorstep, and flowers are in full bloom after the storms we’ve all weathered in April.
Let’s focus on our personal lives a little in this installment — from being more organized to building a better life for yourself, we’re delivering a plethora of resources for you. What tiny shifts can you make?
:: Image of the Week
Honor the struggle because it’s in the struggle where growth happens.
:: Mental Health and Self-Care
You Built a Life. But Did You Build It for You?
Most people don’t question who they are until something forces them to.
A job loss. A health scare. A relationship ending. A promotion that should feel like an arrival but somehow feels hollow. In my work with leaders and teams, these are often the moments people show up. Not because they planned to do this kind of work, but because the version of themselves they had been running on suddenly stopped working.
What I’ve seen, more times than I can count, is that the crisis itself is rarely the real problem. The crisis is just the moment the question finally gets loud enough to hear: whose life am I actually living?
An interesting post and exercise from Ipek Williamson on noticing when you feel most like yourself, and infusing more of those moments into your daily life.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/you-built-life-did-build-ipek-williamson-mwide
“The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are.” — Carl Jung
Why self-care is important, but not enough
Self-care has become a modern obsession. We’re encouraged to optimise our sleep, upgrade our morning routines and carve out more time for mindfulness, exercise and personal growth. None of this is bad advice. Looking after our own wellbeing matters enormously. But there’s something missing in our relentless pursuit of wellness.
When we treat wellbeing just as a personal project, something vital gets lost. The deeper truth – supported by both science and everyday experience – is that lasting happiness comes from combining self-care with caring for others.
Looking after ourselves gives us the capacity to support those around us. And when we help others, we discover a sense of meaning and connection that no amount of self-focused striving can provide. Happiness isn’t just something to pursue by ourselves, it’s something we create together.
https://makelifehappier.substack.com/p/why-self-care-is-important-but-not-51c
“If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.” – Dalai Lama
:: CSN’s Book of the Week Recommendation
Successful Change Communication
This week, we’re featuring Successful Change Communication by Rachel Miller. Rachel’s attention to detail is second to none, and this book is well-researched and beautifully written. It’s filled to the brim with practical strategies and actions you can take, and I love the use of other experts throughout to add diverse and rich insights.
Three key takeaways:
• The breakdown of different categories of change. I think when we hear the phrase ‘change’ or ‘organisational change’ we instantly jump to the big stuff – merger, restructure, redundancy. But as Rachel sets out, change comes in all shapes and sizes – the death of a colleague, a new team member starting, a change in a local policy.
• The laziness of using the term ‘change fatigue’. As Rachel says, “‘Change fatigue’ has been used as a term – or excuse – for years. Are employees tired of change or tired of poorly-managed change?” (p.109).
• I’ve pushed endlessly that people managers are one of the most important communication channels when it comes to change, and this is something Rachel also talks about. However, for big change, in particular, we need to understand the capacity and capability of managers to take on this responsibility, making it as easy and practical as possible. People managers are already pretty overburdened and overwhelmed, so we need to make communicating change easy and practical.
Read this book if:
- You are a comms professional supporting an organisation through change.
- You manage a team going through a change of some kind.
- You are an organisational leader who is serious about change being done well.
- You are a change practitioner, including my lovely colleagues in functions such as HR, OD and organisational psychology.
https://www.allthingsic.com/rachels-books/
:: Self-Leadership Development
In an AI World, EQ Is Your Unfair Advantage
Artificial intelligence is changing work faster than most people are emotionally prepared for. Jobs are being redefined, decision-making is accelerating, and the skills that once made people stand out are becoming easier to automate. In a world where machines can summarize reports, write code, draft marketing plans, analyze data, and mimic expertise in seconds, many people are asking the wrong question.
They ask: What can AI do?
The more important question is: What can only emotionally intelligent humans do?
That answer will define who succeeds in the next decade. Travis Bradberry tells more in this article.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/ai-world-eq-your-unfair-advantage-travis-bradberry-qqm6f
Pressure is a Privilege
This from Douglas Conant’s recent newsletter:
Pressure is often viewed as a negative force in our lives. Understandably so: It can be an enormous cause of stress, forcing us outside the confines of the familiar. Yet I have found that each challenge also presents a series of urgent questions that help me to meet life and leadership with the zest they both demand.
In each tough situation, I ask myself:
· Do I engage in the face of this specific pressure? What are the benefits if I do?
· Do I have the capacity to respond to the stressors involved?
· Do I have the fortitude to give it my all, knowing I might fall short?
Responding to pressure in this way is like a game of truth or dare where each round is both truth and dare. And yet, the only way through it—the only way to really win—is to take an honest self-assessment, and then, whenever possible, respond to each of these questions with a resounding ‘YES.’
And while there may be times that it’s appropriate to say ‘no,’ I find that more often than not, I’m invigorated by the prospect of a “pressure test.” Life tends to expand when we meet challenges with a can-do spirit.
Over the last 50 years, I have come to view the inevitable pressures of leadership as a golden opportunity to do some of my best work when it matters most.
It is in those moments where the odds are stacked against me and my colleagues, when the heat is palpable and the stakes are high, that I delight in rising to the challenge. It is here that we can lift our contribution profile, lead by example, and thrive in the face of adversity. And if we falter, we can still take pride in the fact that we gave it our all. As Teddy Roosevelt said, if we fail, at least we fail while “daring greatly,” which is a better fate than joining the ranks of “those cold and timid souls who neither know victory or defeat.”
Ultimately, you can’t win if you don’t play. And if you want to win in life and leadership, you can’t always play it safe. Pressure is a privilege. You must step into the arena and do your darndest to come out on top. Here are three reasons why.
1. Pressure makes us better
They say, “necessity is the mother of invention.” I would also say that pressure is the mother of performance. This holds true across disciplines, whether you’re a tennis player, a Fortune 500 executive, a painter, or a parent.
We can be the most exceptional contributor on a ‘normal’ day. But when things get dicey, we’re forced to apply all the knowledge and ingenuity we can muster. And, if we’ve prepared properly through training, practice, and earnest effort, we can rely on that preparation to be agile and creative in the moment, which makes us better in the long-term.
Meeting our growth edge from time to time is necessary. You may have heard the aphorism, “Life begins at the edge of your comfort zone.” Pressure naturally pushes us out of that comfort zone and invites us to grow.
We may feel our throats tighten and our nerves heighten when we faced with the sudden opportunity to pitch a dream client, or when a new, time-sensitive project falls into our lap. But that sensation of nervous energy can also be harnessed as excitement. What a gift that we can use our unique skills, insights, and convictions to move through a novel situation creatively. These pressurized conditions also sharpen our skills for the next challenge and improve how we lead in the spaces between. And if we do falter, as all leaders sometimes do, we’ll still be better for it.
One caveat: If your work environment leaves you wondering why things always feel like an unrelenting pressure cooker, that can prove unsustainable and counterproductive over time. Ultimately, you must try to cultivate an environment where there are only intermittent periods of high pressure, not near-constant fires to put out. In this case, whether you have the power to lead the organization differently, or feel called to move into a different environment entirely, is up to you.
Personally, I’ve almost always been able to mitigate the pressures of my work situation and I believe you can too.
Continue Reading “3 Important Reasons Why Pressure Is a Privilege”
“Without struggle, no progress and no result. Every breaking of habit produces a change in the machine.” – George Gurdjieff
:: Culture
The Power of Mattering
In this episode of Magic in the Room, Luke Freeman, Hannah Bratterud, and Chris Province dive into the concept of “mattering,” inspired by Zach Mercurio’s work, and explore why it is a foundational driver of engagement, performance, and culture in organizations. They challenge leaders to move beyond assuming people matter to actively ensuring individuals feel that they matter by being valued and by contributing value to a shared purpose. The conversation highlights how mattering differs from belonging, why it cannot be replaced by perks or efficiency, and how leadership behaviors like attention, recognition, and presence directly shape whether people feel seen, heard, and understood. Through examples ranging from workplace dynamics to broader societal trends like social disconnection, they argue that disengagement, conflict, and even poor performance are symptoms of a mattering deficit. Ultimately, they position mattering not as a soft concept, but as a measurable, actionable leadership responsibility that underpins trust, resilience, and long-term success.
https://magicintheroom.libsyn.com/199-the-power-of-mattering
:: Productivity and Innovation
Keep Things Organized: The Habit That Makes Collaboration Feel Effortless
It’s not just what you deliver—it’s how easy it is to work with you. You might be doing excellent work. But if no one can find it… If file names are cryptic, folders are a mess, and links are scattered, collaboration slows down, no matter how brilliant the ideas are. That’s why you practice the Keep Things Organized habit.
Because making your work easy to navigate makes it easier to use. And that turns individual effort into shared progress.
Sometimes, it sounds like: “Here’s where you can find this—let me know how I can make things easier.” When you practice Keep Things Organized, you’re not just creating for yourself—you’re creating for the team.
You’re thinking a step ahead:
“What will they need to use this? Find this? Build on this without me?”
You keep files, notes, and systems findable, shareable, and named like a human. You lower the friction in how people work with you. It’s not about being a perfectionist—it’s about being accessible. See Karin Hurt’s video and more on being more organized here:
“Habit is a cable; we weave a thread of it each day, and at last we cannot break it.” – Horace Mann
:: Trust, Psychological Safety & Belonging
Psychological Safety Playbook for Changemakers
Thank you to Karolin Helbig and Minette Norman for leading us through a powerful conversation based on the concepts in their new book, The Psychological Safety Playbook for Changemakers.
One of the key takeaways from the conversation is that everyone can be a changemaker, and small steps are all it takes! These small steps can lead to big shifts in the psychological safety of your workplace culture.
If you were not able to join live, or if you’d like to share the webinar with others, you can view the recording here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajpSrfsvjWQ
:: TED Talks
Why our workforce needs leaders who’ve walked through fire
We often celebrate polished success stories. Linear careers, steady progress, visible achievement. But what if the leaders our workforce most needs are not those who have avoided adversity, but those who have endured it? In this courageous and deeply resonant talk, Neda draws from her own professional and lived experience to explore a powerful truth: the very experiences that test us are often the ones that qualify us to lead. Neda Sahebelm is an Organisational Psychologist and Senior Ops Leader who’s helped multiple organisations scale successfully. She grew up in California, but has called London – specifically Richmond – home for over a decade.
Her career spans from the likes of FOX and National Geographic, to the UK’s first EdTech unicorn, Multiverse. Neda’s a vocal proponent for healthy, happy and high-performing workplaces. She now runs her own venture, keshty, to help purpose-driven startups achieve the same.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoYClrnjBqM
:: Work Culture & Team Development
How to Take Appropriate Risks When You Don’t Have All the Answers
You already know this, even if you wish it were otherwise: you will never have all the information you need to make the perfect decision. If certainty were required, half your calendar would be labeled “Wait for More Data.”
And yet, here you are—mid-project, stalled by one fuzzy decision. Not because it’s dangerous. Because it’s uncomfortable. When you take appropriate risks, you stop waiting for certainty and start using judgment. You move work forward with the information you have—not the information you’re hoping will show up five minutes after the deadline.
This week’s Let’s Grow Leaders newsletter gives us the answers.
https://letsgrowleaders.com/2026/04/20/how-to-take-appropriate-risks/
:: Upcoming Events
Enhance Your Supervision and Management Series in June
The Enhance Your Supervision and Management (EYSM) series offers timely topics to help supervisors improve their impact. It equips leaders with the skills, knowledge, and strategies to confidently lead and inspire their teams beyond the Principles of Supervision and Management (PSM) program.
The summer series focuses on performance management skills. These courses are highly interactive, including small breakout rooms. Participants will work together to explore techniques, share best practices, and foster a collaborative environment that supports thriving leadership.
EYSM topics will evolve with each future offering of the series. You are welcome to attend one, some, or all of the courses in the series. It is not a sequential curriculum or associated with a certificate. EYSM is limited to participants who are people managers and will be held virtually on Zoom. To show interest in registering for a class topic, complete the respective Google form.
June 2026 Sessions:
- EYSM: Managing Performance on Purpose June 2, 9 – 11 a.m.
- EYSM: Documenting Performance June 9, 9 – 11 a.m.
- EYSM: Coaching Employees for Retention June 16, 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.
- EYSM: Having Career Conversations: A Supervisor’s Guide to Performance and Development June 23, 9 – 11 a.m.
Tiny Shifts – with Elisha Goldstein
Join psychologist Dr Elisha Goldstein and the Action for Happiness team to learn how small shifts can reduce stress and help you feel calmer, clearer, and more connected.
Feeling overwhelmed by the pace of life? In a fast-paced and chaotic world, many of us are left feeling stressed, reactive and stuck in unhelpful patterns. But what if meaningful change didn’t require a complete life overhaul – just small, intentional shifts in the moment?
At this special event, psychologist and mindfulness teacher Dr Elisha Goldstein will share insights from his new book Tiny Shifts: How Emotional Health Transforms Stress, Relationships, and Longevity. Drawing on neuroscience and decades of clinical experience, Elisha will reveal how our emotional health quietly shapes everything – from how we handle stress to the quality of our relationships and even our long-term wellbeing.
You’ll learn how to break free from the overwhelm loop, interrupt reactive patterns, and build greater emotional resilience using simple, practical tools you can apply in everyday life. Through small, repeatable practices – what Elisha calls ‘Tiny Shifts’ – it’s possible to move from stress and reactivity to calm, clarity and connection, one moment at a time.
Whether you’re feeling stretched thin or simply want a more grounded and balanced way to navigate life, this session will offer a powerful and refreshing perspective on what it really means to live well.
Date: Wednesday, May 13
Time: 1:00-:00 pm CDT
Online via Zoom (register to get link)
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/tiny-shifts-with-elisha-goldstein-tickets-1986632168294?aff=oddtdtcreator