4 steps for teams to envision and reach their goals

Once upon a time, leaders believed in public service | 4 steps for teams to envision and reach their goals | Believe it or not, time to think beyond COVID-19 Created for {EMAIL} | [Web Version]( September 29, 2020 CONNECT WITH SMARTBRIEF  [LinkedIn]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [SmartBrief on Leadership]( [SmartBrief on Leadership]( Innovative Ideas. Ahead of the Curve. [SIGN UP]( ⋅ [SHARE](  [] Leading Edge [] [Once upon a time, leaders believed in public service]( The Platonic ideal of public service was long shared by American elites as a way to give back what they felt they owed to the country, write John Micklethwait of Bloomberg and Adrian Wooldridge of The Economist. That tradition declined in the past 50 to 60 years, and today's business titans "believe that their fortunes are the product of nothing but their own innate genius," they write. Full Story: [The Wall Street Journal (tiered subscription model)]( (9/18) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] [4 steps for teams to envision and reach their goals]( Gabriele Oettingen's concept of "mental contrasting" can be applied to setting and achieving goals in a four-step process: clarifying your wish, outlining the desired outcome, identifying obstacles and planning how you'll overcome them, writes Alaina Love. "Best of all, investing just five minutes of daily uninterrupted quiet time to practice the WOOP steps can up your game significantly," she writes. Full Story: [SmartBrief/Leadership]( (9/28) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] Strategic Management [] [Believe it or not, time to think beyond COVID-19]( Reach back to your company's 2019 performance trajectory and start planning for a return to normal economic conditions for 2022, argues this McKinsey analysis. The coronavirus remains a threat, of course, but excess deaths are down, and the economic and operational upheaval caused by the pandemic is relatively well-understood, the authors write. Full Story: [McKinsey]( (9/25) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] [Study: Commitment to all stakeholders falls short]( A [study]( of the 181 companies whose leaders committed to the Business Roundtable's statement on stakeholder value shows most have fallen short in their pledges. The report calls for greater emphasis on corporate purpose, and Kathy Miller Perkins offers three areas in which companies must define and instill purpose. Full Story: [Forbes]( (9/23), [Fast Company online]( (9/22) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( Register today for Workhuman Live Online Be there as we unveil a new vision for the world of work. Don't miss [Workhuman Live Online, October 22]( a unique, all-digital event where we'll share stories of companies thriving today, and a roadmap to a more human way to work. #WHLive2020 ADVERTISEMENT: [] Smarter Communication [] [Video apologies require technique as well as sincerity]( Apologizing for a mistake is hard enough, but doing it in an online forum brings its own challenges, write Bruce Hennes and Nora Jacobs, who recommend that leaders write a script, practice it and ensure that lighting and other factors are perfect. "If you can't memorize your apology and deliver it without stumbling, consider attaching notes to your desktop screen (without blocking your camera) containing key phrases to prompt you through your delivery," they write. Full Story: [Hennes Communications]( (9/26) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( The Future of the Employee Experience [Get the most up-to-date version of the Employee Experience Model]( with the latest research from the Brandon Hall Group and O.C. Tanner. Together they show the steady evolution of the employee experience and outline where your organization's focus should be to see success in the coming years. ADVERTISEMENT: SmartBrief Originals Sponsored content brought to you by SmartBrief - [How to run an effective virtual meeting: Stop blaming Zoom!]( [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( - [Why the path to student success is different for Gen Z]( [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( - [The many roles of big data in HR]( [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( - [5 ways teachers can connect with students during COVID-19]( [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( - [Future of Blockchain: From Curiosity to Global Currency]( [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [] Innovation & Creativity A weekly spotlight on making the next big thing happen [] [Creativity starts with small actions]( CEOs can improve their creativity in simple ways, including regular reading, having a diverse team and putting breaks on their calendar, writes Design Pickle CEO Russ Perry. "Set aside daily reading time, but don't worry about choosing a particular genre," he writes. Full Story: [Chief Executive online]( (9/25) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] SmartPulse [] How much of a difference do you see between the roles of being a manager and being a director? There's a world of difference. They're completely separate types of roles. 48.84% There's some difference between them, but not a lot. 36.45% Pretty much no difference -- a director is a glorified manager. 14.71% [] The role is what you make it. If you're not seeing a big difference between managers and directors, someone is falling short of making that director role everything it could be. Moving to director is where you make the shift to getting things done through others. The other big shift is moving from having the right answers to asking the right questions. Directors need to see beyond the horizon and ask about the things no one (including themselves) is thinking about yet. Pushing the thinking beyond today's pressing needs is how new opportunities and threats are identified. So if you're managing directors, force them out of their comfort zone of delivering on daily tasks (the purview of managers) and get them leading through others and thinking differently. If you are a director, ask how you can delegate daily management work to team members and push your thinking. If you work for a director, ask what operational work you can take off their plate to enable them to step into these new spaces. -- 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."]( [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] POLL QUESTION: When someone misses a deadline they set, how do you handle it? [Vote]( [I hold them just as accountable as if I had set it.]( [Vote]( [I let it slide a bit because they're learning to self-manage.]( [Vote]( [I blow it off -- it was their deadline to set, and it's theirs to manage.]( [] In Their Own Words [] [The Miami Heat culture is decades in the making]( The Miami Heat culture is decades in the making Jimmy Butler (Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) The Miami Heat have returned to the NBA Finals with their brand of professionalism and intense culture that's not for everyone but has engendered decades of loyalty, including from team President Pat Riley and longtime coach Erik Spoelstra. The team looks for players who have "built grit inside you that you're willing to go through extreme circumstances to get where you're trying to go," says 17-year veteran Udonis Haslem. Full Story: [ESPN]( (9/27) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] Daily Diversion [] [Manual shows how to operate the world's oldest computer]( A German-language operating manual has been discovered for the Zuse Z4, a computer built in 1945 that's considered the oldest surviving device of its kind. The room-sized machine was used during the early 1950s to make calculations of rocket trajectories, aircraft wings and other military operations, writes Herbert Bruderer. Full Story: [Communications of the ACM]( (9/21) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( Press Releases Sponsored Content [Marsh & McLennan Names New Executive Committee Members]( [Post a Press Release]( Sharing SmartBrief on Leadership with your network keeps the quality of content high and these newsletters free. SmartBrief will donate $10 per new reader to organizations fighting for climate reform, women's rights, global health initiatives and more. [SHARE]( Or copy and share your personalized link: smartbrief.com/leadership/?referrerId=japnABMSAp [] [] Be scared. You can't help that. But don't be afraid. William Faulkner, writer, Nobel Prize winner [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email](   SmartBrief publishes more than 200 free industry newsletters - [Browse our portfolio]( [Sign Up]( | [Update Profile]( | [Advertise with SmartBrief]( [Unsubscribe]( | [Privacy policy]( CONTACT US: [FEEDBACK](mailto:leadership@smartbrief.com) | [ADVERTISE](mailto:lengel@smartbrief.com) SmartBrief, Inc.®, 555 11th ST NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20004