These short-term actions bring long-term goals closer

Long-term goals take time to accomplish, but taking small steps today and creating something visual like an inspiration board or a list of things you've already achieved in pursuit of the goal can give you the motivation to keep going, writes Kelly Gregorio of Advantage Capital Fund. "When obstacles and unexpected hurdles get in your way, pull your list out and reassess how far you've already come from number one," Gregorio notes.

Put it into practice: Get perspective on your current successes by revisiting past failures to plumb new wisdom from them, read up on your favorite leader to gain insight into their success and struggle and give yourself a break now and then, Gregorio recommends. "You will accomplish your goals, but not if you get burnout along the way."

Building a great business team has a lot in common with how musicians build great bands, says executive consultant S. Chris Edmonds, who recounts how he built his own band by being clear on purpose, values and expected behaviors and coaching those who didn't measure up. For those who resisted coaching, Edmonds says, "We didn't get mad at them -- we simply agreed that this was not the right fit for them. We lovingly set those folks free."

Put it into practice: Keep your company's values, purpose and measurable behaviors top of mind when you're forming your teams, Edmonds advises. "If you want a vibrant, uncompromising work culture, you should be equally diligent about defining your ideal culture and then aligning players, plans, decisions and actions to that ideal."

Handling bad manager feedback requires a strategic approach to maintaining professionalism and career growth, writes Radical Candor's Kim Scott, who recommends documenting problematic interactions, seeking solidarity with peers and having open discussions with their managers. "While management training gaps often lead to poor feedback delivery, you can still take control of workplace communications and create positive outcomes," Scott notes.

Put it into practice: Scott offers a road map on how to handle bad managerial feedback by asking for their advice, complimenting them on what you can and letting them know that their feedback may not have landed as they intended and that you're willing to talk further with them. "If they brush you off, you may have to say it again, more directly."

After leaving corporate human resources work to found her own company, Career Candor, Brittany Wilson says she discovered that the true meaning of success was "living a life that aligns with your personal values," and she encounters this view a lot in younger leaders who see their older colleagues have all the trappings of success, but "they see they aren't happy, they don't have more time, and they don't have freedom. Young leaders are learning from this and paving the way for new definitions of success."

An initiative to use hempcrete, a mold-resistant and eco-friendly sustainable building material, is gaining attention in South Carolina as a potential solution for affordable housing. "It's not just a bunch of crazy hippies trying to do something with hemp, but that was the perception for a while," says Tim Callahan, founder of Alembic Studio and Callahan Designs in Asheville, N.C., who notes that in the long run, the material could lower utility bills and result in fewer maintenance costs from leaks, mold and rot.

Like S. Chris Edmonds, I am a musician with years of experience trying to put together great bands. In my late teens and early 20s, I was in a punk band with three other young women and one man. We were pretty good, as punk bands go, and played gigs in Athens, Ga., just after R.E.M. and the B-52s rose to fame through that music scene.

Our first iteration of the band, though, was not as successful. We had a fantastic drummer, but the thing was, he never could repeat the same thing twice. He'd do a great fill or section, and we'd say, "That was fantastic, do that again!" He would look like a deer in the headlights and could never duplicate what he did.

We convened in the bathroom of our practice space without him one night and took a vote. He was given the boot. Our next drummer was steady, and she was able to create extraordinary and replicable drum parts for all of our songs.

It wasn't easy setting our first drummer free, but after we did, our band got so much better when we found the right drummer. This is how leaders must approach their team building, looking not for the flashy player who can't seem to repeat their successful moves but for those solid players who can keep a steady beat and repeat good moves.

It's never easy letting someone go from your team, but as Edmonds notes, you have to define "your ideal culture and then align players, plans, decisions and actions to that ideal."

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