Focus on these 4 daily habits for leadership success

As diversity, equity and inclusion programs, even within the private sector, come under scrutiny from the federal government, Bernard Coleman, the SVP of People at Swing Education, outlines five ways to integrate DEI programs into your company by using skill-based evaluations for hiring, documenting the value of diverse hiring practices and leveraging data to reach the most extensive available talent pool. "Consider consulting with legal counsel to understand the changing landscape and how it impacts your specific industry and location. This foundation helps shape all other decisions," Coleman advises.

Put it into practice: Leaders who recognize the overall benefits of DEI will find ways to "adapt and evolve their efforts, even in a challenging environment," Coleman writes. "Your employees still exist, and as you work to attract talent and broadly serve different audiences, DEI will be integral to ensuring business continuity."

Daily leadership habits can help managers build good habits and break bad ones, writes Dave Durand, CEO of Leading Giants, in an excerpt from his book "Leading Giants: A Leader's Guide to Maximum Influence." Durand recommends taking action, finding reasons to believe in your mission, breaking tasks down into three main areas and focusing on your primary responsibilities rather than secondary ones.

Put it into practice: The four daily habits can help leaders become giants in their field and recruit others who possess leadership traits. "In my organizations, we recruit the very best people and have discovered they have a common trait: they find reasons to believe in what they want to accomplish and have built their conviction to the degree that they often defy the odds," writes Durand.

Addressing bad behavior from managers and other employees is essential to fixing a toxic workplace, say executives, who emphasize employers must act on feedback and conduct investigations if necessary. "Leaders must first be willing to ask hard questions, like, 'Am I creating a space where my team feels safe to express themselves?'" says Janet Harvey, CEO of inviteCHANGE.

Put it into practice: The best way to address toxicity is to make sure to seek feedback from employees -- and then act on it. "Ask employees in a variety of ways, such as individually with their manager, anonymous tip lines and anonymous upward feedback surveys," Harvey says.

Neurodivergent members of your team need specific feedback so they know what actions to take and why, says author and autism expert Temple Grandin, who relates a story where she criticized a teammate's work without realizing how her words would land, and she says her supervisor's feedback was effective. "He told me exactly what I should do in private. He didn't just say, 'You're rude to colleagues.' That wouldn't have helped," Grandin says.

A giant schnauzer named Monty has made history by becoming the first of his breed to win best in show at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. Monty, from Ocean City, N.J., was chosen over six other group winners, including a whippet named Bourbon and a German shepherd named Mercedes. When not competing, Monty's handler and co-owner, Katie Bernardin, says, "he's our family dog," who has been with Bernardin since he was a puppy.

I have yet to meet anyone who has not worked in a toxic workplace environment at some point in their career. At one of the radio stations I worked at, almost all of my colleagues attended the wedding of one of our co-workers and at the reception, we all gathered in a circle and aired our complaints against the station manager. To a person, we recounted at least half a dozen awful encounters with this man. I called it our "survivor group." All but one of those in the circle that day eventually left the station. That one man is still there today, some 30 years later, as is the station manager.

In another job, many of my colleagues began to jump ship so often that HR called us all in one by one to ask what was going on. We all told the same horror stories about one manager. We all thought that, finally, management would correct the situation. Nothing changed. Eventually, everyone (except that manager's favorites) found new jobs.

Both of these places fell into the trap of looking like they wanted to change their culture but failed to take serious action with predictable results, as Janet Harvey, CEO of inviteCHANGE, notes: "Failing to address these issues could lead to talent attrition and hinder organizational growth. They will not attract the talent required to sustain their business, and they won't retain workers."

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