Want a better workplace? Watch your language

As a leader, you may often face the dilemma of when to "break glass" -- intervene in established processes to address urgent issues -- knowing that timely intervention can seize opportunities and mitigate threats while excessive intervention can undermine organizational culture and employee initiative, writes executive coach Ed Batista. To strike the right balance, Batista advises learning about your tendency toward one side of the spectrum or the other, getting hold of your emotions and soliciting feedback before breaking the glass.

Put it into practice: One way to become more effective at knowing when to break glass is to learn from past experiences, Batista notes. "Your task is to ensure that the accuracy of your intuitive judgments improve over time, resulting in fewer false positives -- when you broke glass and the costs outweighed the benefits -- as well as fewer false negatives -- when you failed to break glass but should have."

Explicitly biased language such as gendered, ableist and idiomatic expressions can harm company culture and employee morale, Creativity Partners President Christopher Bell writes, noting that addressing these issues can create a more inclusive environment, boosting productivity and profitability. "Start small: update your style guide, educate your team and encourage open communication," Bell recommends.

Put it into practice: Unconsciously toxic language can include phrases we say every day including "blind spot," "you guys" or referring to something as "crazy," Bell notes. "But if we root out this toxic terminology and pay attention to practical solutions, we can build truly inclusive environments where every employee has a chance to bring their best selves to work."

Effective crisis management is crucial as information spreads rapidly, and leaders should develop strategic and adaptable plans, writes Monique Farmer with Avant Solutions. Prepare for other trends in the new year by offering growth opportunities to retain talent, enlisting a trend-spotting team to stay ahead of the latest in communication strategies and working out an AI policy that covers risks and benefits for workflows and communications, Farmer recommends.

Put it into practice: Start building your crisis team now and include personnel from legal, communications and leadership and begin developing scenarios so the response can be rapid, Farmer advises. "Remember, a well-prepared crisis response plan isn't static -- it evolves with the times and keeps pace with new threats and opportunities."

Unrealistic expectations and family commitments can tax your mental health and that of those around you this holiday season, writes political scientist Danny de Gracia, who recommends watching out for those around you, being kind and asking others if they need help. "Make it a point to tell someone you value their life, and show you value it by backing them up in a meaningful way," de Garcia advises.

When executive coach LaRae Quy was an FBI agent, she perfected several methods that increased cooperation from others, such as sharing personal stories and mirroring positivity. "While the chances of crossing paths with a foreign spy are minimal, you will encounter bosses, clients and family members from whom you will need to elicit cooperation if you want to move forward in business and life," Quy writes.

Pamela Hayden, whose 35-year career as a voice performer on "The Simpsons" included characters like Milhouse Van Houten and Jimbo Jones, has announced plans to retire. Hayden's final episode of the long-running show will be "Treehouse of Horror Presents: Simpsons Wicked This Way Comes" on Nov. 24.

When I was leading the small spiritual community I founded in 2010, there were moments when we had to decide whether to "break glass" or not. The most significant moment where we had no choice but to "break glass" was when the pandemic began in 2020.

With everyone ordered into lockdown in March of that year, we had to act fast to start streaming our Sunday gatherings. I had some idea of how to do it, but none of us had exactly the skills that we needed. We began a simple livestream on Facebook, thinking we'd only have to do it for a couple of weeks.

When it became clear the lockdowns would last a while, I began to climb the steep learning curve to more sophisticated forms of streaming, complete with multiple cameras and professional audio. That came to pass because a former member who had those skills was willing to come back and help us.

With that pivot, we made it through the pandemic. It would have helped for us to have had a crisis plan in place, but who could have predicted the pandemic and how long the lockdowns lasted?

This is why, as Ed Batista notes, leaders must always be thinking ahead to what might happen and be able to discern when is the best time to "break glass" and intervene in what can become a crisis.

As a leader, I had to make some quick decisions and marshal our board and volunteers to help put everything in place and operate the livestream. We learned a lot in that process and were able to successfully spot more "break glass" moments in the ensuing years.

As Batista notes: "Any given decision to break glass or not will be an intuitive one, made on the basis of imperfect information and dependent on subtle cues, both internal and environmental."

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