Is your team at cross-purposes? 3 ways to close the gap

When Niecy Nash-Betts recently won an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie, her speech, in which she thanked others, then boldly thanked herself for believing in herself, offered a road map for a powerful speech, writes Sherri Kolade. Nash-Betts also tapped potent emotion in her remarks and connected with the audience through her passion for using her craft to uphold the worth of minorities.

Put it into practice: It's common for award winners to thank those who helped them along the way, but Nash-Betts boldly gave herself a shout-out for believing her hard work would pay off. "If you don't self-promote, your contributions will probably not be visible nor recognized, which will limit your ability to get a promotion, a raise, or important projects that will help you advance in your career," said Harvard Extension School Business Strategy Instructor Areen Shahbari.

John Kerry, who has served as a senator, a US Secretary of State, and most recently, the US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, says good leaders surround themselves with people with different viewpoints to see issues from every angle. "I want people who are going to offer creative, exciting, thoughtful approaches to big challenges, and then when I've made the decision, be ready to go out and be a team player and help implement it," Kerry says.

I would have sworn that I remembered Looney Tunes' Yosemite Sam saying, "What in tarnation?" but Mental Floss staff writer Ellen Gutoskey did the research and found that the rootin' tootin' character never said it in the classic version of the cartoon, finding his first utterance of it in a 1992 cartoon. Tarnation is apparently a blend of "darnation" and "tarnal" and "is basically just a gentler version of damnation," Gutoskey writes, noting that our shared false Saturday morning memories of Yosemite Sam using the word springs from something called the Mandela effect.

I learned new things from today's brief, namely that my Saturday morning memories are a lie! Yosemite Sam didn't say, "What in tarnation!" until I was way past Saturday morning cartoon age, and now I don't know what to do with myself.

The Mandela effect is fascinating. Coined in 2009 by blogger Fiona Broome, it describes a shared false memory, beginning with the belief that Nelson Mandela had died in a South African prison in the 1980s when he was very much alive and did not pass until 2013. Some other shared false memories include believing that Darth Vader says, "Luke, I am your father" in "Star Wars" from 1977 (He really says, "No, I am your father."), and that the Berenstein Bears were really the Berenstain Bears.

Now, I'm questioning everything! Next, someone's going to tell me that Jimi Hendrix didn't sing, "'scuse me while I kiss this guy."

If this newsletter helps you, please tell your colleagues, friends or anyone who can benefit. Forward them this email, or send this link.

What topics do you see in your daily work that I should know about? Do you have praise? Criticism? Drop me a note. And don't forget to send me photos of your pets, your office and where you spend your time off.