5 crucial steps leaders can take before their vacation

Your team needs the wisdom of age, innovation of youth | practice (split each time) | 5 crucial steps leaders can take before their vacation

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January 19, 2024

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Leading the Way

Your team needs the wisdom of age, innovation of youth

(pixelfit/Getty Images)

Older leaders can gain new perspectives, keep their company relevant and improve succession planning by deliberately adding younger leaders to their teams, writes Bill Adams, founder and CEO of Leadership Circle. "In many instances, knowledge of the world trumps experience in the office, and the more perspectives included in a company's leadership, the more likely it is to offer a valuable conversation in its industry," Adams writes.

Full Story: Fast Company (tiered subscription model) (1/18)

Put it into practice: Younger workers favor company cultures that value work-life balance and offer physical and psychological safety, which older leaders may not have encountered at the start of their careers, writes Adams. "By bringing more millennials in the C-suite, older leaders would be reminded to take care of themselves and avoid burnout."

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Smarter Communication

5 crucial steps leaders can take before their vacation

(Pixabay)

Leaders can make their own vacation time go smoother by communicating early with their teams about their absence, providing clear, easy-to-access documentation on processes and empowering the team to make decisions, writes Komal Somani, CHRO & whole time director at ESDS Software Solution Ltd. "Guiding individuals on managing both routine tasks and unforeseen challenges cultivates a collaborative workspace," Somani writes.

Full Story: People Matters (India) (1/16)

Put it into practice: Use your vacation time to emphasize the importance of every team member taking time off to relax and recharge, Somani notes. "Employees supported in taking breaks often return with increased creativity, productivity, and job satisfaction, shaping a positive and inclusive workplace culture."

Inclusive language is a muscle that needs training

Many leaders are reluctant to talk about social issues or diversity, inclusion and equity matters because they are afraid of saying the wrong thing, write diversity experts Heather Cairns-Lee and Alexander Fleischmann, who recommend creating a culture that assumes positive intent when people try to use the right language and instituting metrics and checklists to raise awareness. "In developing an inclusive culture, organizations should view inclusive leadership and communication as trainable skills. Like muscles, these skills require nurturing, with mistakes serving as valuable learning opportunities," they write.

Full Story: IMD (1/16)

Put it into practice: Communicating through diverse images is essential for a company's image, Cairns-Lee and Fleischmann write, which means it's crucial to depict diverse leaders exercising authority, not just as part of the photograph. "Organizations can also create their own approved image libraries that fit with their brand standards to support their work on inclusive communication."

	Supporting pet ownership = happier employees Attracting, retaining and engaging quality employees of all generations are three leading challenges that companies face in today's employment landscape. Luckily, supporting pet-owning employees improves their work experience—and positively affects these key metrics for employers. Find out more.

Smarter Strategy

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Smarter Living

Get your mind and body right each Friday

Tips on adding more healthful whole foods to your diet

To add more healthful whole foods to your diet, take small steps starting with how you buy and prepare your food, says UK-based registered nutritionist Rob Hobson, who offers three whole foods recipes and healthful eating tips. Batch cooking at home is one way to incorporate more whole foods into your dietary pattern, Hobson says, and suggests "everyone has a time of day when they're more likely to reach for a [ultra processed food], so use that as your initial focus area."

Full Story: Cosmopolitan (1/15)

Daily Diversion

What's in a wag of the tail?

(Pixabay)

Tail-wagging is different in dogs than in other tailed animals and probably started in ancient dogs as a means of communication, but as humans selected dogs for docile traits, tail-wagging became a common trait, according to a review published in Biology Letters. Dogs may wag their tail on one side of the body or the other depending on whether it wants to approach or withdraw from something, and the beats per minute and tail carriage can signal that a dog is happy or ready to attack, researchers say.

Full Story: Science (tiered subscription model) (1/16)

SmartBreak: Question of the Day

John F. Kennedy wasn't hatless, but in fact was the last president to wear a hat at an inauguration. What kind?

About The Editor

Candace Chellew

Chellew

Yesterday, you may have noticed a rather substantial glitch in the brief, especially if you tried to read LaRae Quy's piece on building resiliency. The link to the story was broken for most of the morning as SmartBrief rolled out its new website in celebration of our 25th anniversary.

It was a lesson on resiliency for us as a team. When the problem became apparent, everyone came together behind the scenes to fix it. I was locked out of the new system, so another team member had to log in and repost the story while others worked together to correct other errors that naturally occur when such a big project is rolled out for the first time.

As a team, we were a lot like the gumbo-limbo tree Quy writes about -- allowing whatever wasn't needed at the moment (like anger, frustration, or recrimination) to fall away so we could work together for the larger purpose of serving our readers and clients. We kept a positive mindset, knowing that, in time, we could work out the kinks ... together.

I appreciate your patience with us and enjoy the new website. Your feedback is always welcome!

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