Use this method to create "magic" in conversations

Company culture is similar to how the body's vagus nerve regulates our physiological and emotional responses, so leaders can create psychological safety with techniques such as active listening, empowerment, recognition and providing growth opportunities, write Randy Brazie and Geoffrey Vanderpal, the cofounders of NeuroConsulting Group LLC. Leaders must also be aware of danger signs such as micromanagement, poor communication and a culture of blame that can undermine safety and loyalty.

Put it into practice: Increase psychological safety for your teams by giving them recognition and autonomy to make them feel valued and trusted, write Brazie and Vanderpal. "Additionally, by demonstrating empathy and attunement to the emotional cues of their team members, leaders can foster a sense of connection and support, promoting resilience and well-being."

Create positive outcomes to office conversations with the "magic wand of destiny" to intentionally create a safe space, by asking questions to understand the situation and allowing others to come up with solutions before offering ours, writes leadership coach and trainer Kathy Stoddard Torrey. "Whenever possible, we want to allow people to do things their way because it's motivating and empowering," Stoddard Torrey concludes.

Put it into practice: Being curious and asking good questions can help your direct reports come to their own best conclusions, which will ultimately be the outcome you want from the conversation, Stoddard Torrey writes, which takes no magic at all. "Wave around the 'magic wand of destiny' and resist the urge to lobby for your ideas."

Coaching your direct reports can build rapport, retention and results, writes Jason Evanish, CEO of Get Lighthouse, who offers five skills managers must learn to do it well, including asking thoughtful questions, listening deeply, offering constructive feedback and tailoring your approach to each team member. "An inflexible, generic coaching method simply won't resonate or drive real impact," Evanish notes.

Put it into practice: When you hone your emotional intelligence, all the other steps, such as asking insightful questions, deep listening, good feedback and a tailored approach, will have a much more profound impact, Evanish writes. "At its core, emotional intelligence is the ability to recognize, understand, and manage emotions - both your own and those of others."

Mergers can work, but they take work. It's good to see that 55% of you have had decent (or better) experiences with mergers and acquisitions. And in this case, that's 73% of you who have been through an acquisition when excluding those who haven't had to deal with this particular challenge.

Acquisitions can create a lot of turmoil and they require a significant amount of effort to make them work. This includes substantial integration preparation well in advance of the deal being completed.

As a leader, the most important thing you can do during an acquisition is communicate with your team. Do not commit to being transparent because that's not a promise you'll be able to keep. Much of the work of an acquisition needs to remain confidential until specific points in time. Instead, commit to being candid and sharing what you know as soon as you're able to share it. The more you can alleviate people's fears during the acquisition process, the more they can focus on their work of making the acquisition a success.

-- Mike Figliuolo is managing director of thoughtLEADERS, which includes TITAN -- the firm's e-learning platform. Previously, he worked at McKinsey & Co., Capital One and Scotts Miracle-Gro. He is a West Point graduate and author of three leadership books: "One Piece of Paper," "Lead Inside the Box" and "The Elegant Pitch."

Cory Munchbach, CEO of BlueConic, never aspired to be a CEO but focused on looking for positions where she could grow, and says she's encountered many obstacles as a woman moving through the ranks. "At the end of the day, CEOs -- whoever they are -- should be measured against what they bring to the table and the sort of organizations they ultimately create. That's what I'm focused on doing," Munchbach says.

This past weekend, there were many kids named Liam, Noah, Olivia or Emma celebrating Mother's Day since those are four of the top baby names from 2023, according to data from the Social Security Administration. Most of the names on both lists remained the same, just switching positions, but a newcomer to the boy's list was Mateo, coming in at number 6, perhaps a homage to soccer stars Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, who both have sons named Mateo.

I know what it feels like to live under a fearsome boss. In at least two jobs in my past, there's been a sense of dread among staff when the boss approached. One was a micromanager, and the other was mean, and no one could live up to their expectations.

Micromanaging and punitive responses, such as publicly shaming an employee (which has also happened to me), are among the warning signs of an unsafe company culture, according to Randy Brazie and Geoffrey Vanderpal. Under these types of regimes, teams are less innovative and undoubtedly less loyal.

In those places with tyrannical and shaming bosses, those who had better prospects elsewhere followed them, including me. If you want loyalty in your team, look over Brazie and Vanderpal's list of what makes for a psychologically safe company culture and start incorporating recognition, listening and transparency into your methods.

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