When what you don't know can harm your leadership

Falling asleep at the wheel because she was tired and burned out from work led Ella Washington, the founder and CEO of Ellavate Solutions, to further explore the unwritten rules of company cultures that can lead to exhaustion and missed opportunities for success. To battle the "if you know, you know" culture, Washington recommends having conversations around biases, office norms and power dynamics that may unfairly privilege some team members over others.

Put it into practice: Leaders must have the courage to be transparent and speak up when they see patterns of unwritten rules giving some team members an advantage over colleagues, Washington writes. "The more directly you address unspoken conversations around things like bias and burnout, the more your team will feel safe to tell you when they are struggling and need extra support."

The Great Resignation exposed the shortcomings of promoting employees to managerial roles without proper training, writes Hinda Mitchell, the founder of Inspire PR Group, who suggests that companies provide continuous leadership and communication training and ensure managers are well-informed to act as effective communicators. "Managers should be well positioned to manage expectations -- and to articulate the 'what's in it for me' for their team members," Mitchell notes.

Put it into practice: Employees want to hear company news through their immediate supervisors instead of receiving a memo from the C-suite, Mitchell notes. "That means managers and supervisors are a powerful internal communications tool -- when leveraged and resourced correctly."

Whether you're giving a presentation or starting a difficult conversation, skillfully managing the first 30 to 60 seconds is critical to a successful outcome, says Ryan Fields-Spack, the first responder wellness lead of FirstNet, Built With AT&T. Fields-Spack recommends daily meditation, mindful breathing exercises and mentally rehearsing scenarios beforehand to reduce anxiety and enhance performance.

Put it into practice: Take time before a stressful situation to practice what you can do in those crucial 30 to 60 seconds, such as how you'll bring up the topic or what you may need to say if you face objections or obstacles, Fields-Spack recommends. "If you can get through that first fog moment of the nervousness, you can continue and move forward."

Procrastination due to lack of clarity, fear of failure or perfectionism can lead to unnecessary stress and a loss of trust among your direct reports, writes speaker and executive coach Mary Kelly, who recommends prioritizing tasks, delegating what you can, practicing self-accountability and using a "5-minute rule" where you work on a task for five minutes to get going. "When a leader overcomes procrastination, they demonstrate discipline, focus, and determination to their team," Kelly notes.

Cute food is moving beyond cupcakes and sugar cookies, challenging formality and tradition in professional kitchens and crossing into savory dishes that include half-moons of thinly sliced beets stuffed with caramelized onions and beet cream, as well as tamago sushi in the shape of a bee. "Going back 10, 12 years, when I was a line cook, it certainly would never have crossed my mind to say out loud to my superior, 'Oh, wow, that dish is so cute,'" says chef Jeremy Salamon, noting that his team at Agi's Counter in New York often describes plates as "cute" or "fabulous."

It was singer and songwriter Tom Petty who wisely observed, "The waiting is the hardest part." With all due respect to Tom, I think it's often "the starting" that's the hardest part. I am someone who puts the "pro" in procrastination. I have all sorts of tricks to distract myself from accomplishing the tasks I need to get done.

Mary Kelly's advice to prioritize tasks, set clear goals, delegate when you can and hold yourself responsible are great steps to overcome procrastination. The most helpful for me, though, is the "5-minute rule." Often, if I can just get started on a task, the momentum will take me all the way to the finish line.

Ryan Fields-Spack's advice on getting through the first 30 to 60 seconds of something that has you on edge -- be it a difficult conversation or a presentation -- is similar. If you can get yourself set up in those crucial moments, the rest of the situation is likely to unfold smoothly. Rehearse those opening moments, if possible. Give yourself several plans of action depending on the other person's reaction or the reaction from your boss or audience. Whatever you do, don't go into those moments winging it.

Whether you're procrastinating on a task or nervously anticipating an upcoming event, the beginning is often the hardest part. Once you get past the starting gate, though, you should find the momentum -- and the courage -- you need to finish successfully.

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