How to transform fear into "unfear"

How action plans can help grow your leadership skills | Read more from Weaving Influence authors on SmartBrief on Leadership | How a commitment to fun helps Columbia Sportswear Created for {EMAIL} | [{NAME}]( at [{NAME}]( [For more relevant content - Update Your Profile]( | [Web Version]( December 17, 2021 CONNECT WITH SMARTBRIEF  [LinkedIn]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [SmartBrief on Leadership]( [SmartBrief on Leadership]( Innovative Ideas. Ahead of the Curve. [SIGN UP]( ⋅ [SHARE](  [] Leading Edge [] [How action plans can help grow your leadership skills]( Action plans can help with long-term leadership development by encouraging better habits and self-reflection on what you do well and where you need improvement, write John Parker Stewart and Daniel Stewart. "Leaders who experience the greatest success are not those who achieve a single stunning breakthrough but rather those who strive to improve just a little bit each day," they write. Full Story: [SmartBrief/Leadership]( (12/16) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] [Read more]( from Weaving Influence authors on SmartBrief on Leadership Better employee benefits 78% of employees say they're more likely to stay at a job due to the benefits.1 But you don't necessarily need to spend, spend, spend to keep them happy. [Read our eBook]( to learn how to keep staff on your side. 1. Willis Towers Watson, 2018 Employer/Employee Satisfaction Survey, Aug 2018 ADVERTISEMENT: [] Strategic Management [] [How a commitment to fun helps Columbia Sportswear]( Columbia Sportswear has quietly built a trusted brand while reaching new audiences and weathering supply chain problems under CEO Tim Boyle, who operates with a goal of "making stuff to have fun." "I've spent a significant amount of time personally with logistics providers to understand what we need to do better to be a preferred shipper," Boyle says. Full Story: [Forbes (tiered subscription model)]( (12/16) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( Are you tired of biased news stories? 1M+ daily readers escape the opinions reported by traditional media outlets by subscribing to The 1440 Daily Digest. 1440 (procured and written by a scientist) scours 100+ new sources and delivers a just-the-facts news briefing to your inbox daily. [Learn more!]( ADVERTISEMENT: [] Smarter Communication [] [How to transform fear into "unfear"]( Fear can't be eliminated, but you can recognize it, and then "use that fear to make more creative and effective choices in your life rather than falling back into ineffective habitual patterns," says Mark Minukas. The goal is to create a different narrative than the one we default to when fear arises, says Gaurav Bhatnagar, co-author with Minukas of a book on the subject. Full Story: [Skip Prichard Leadership Insights]( (12/16) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] [Are you saying too much?]( Too much talking can be harmful for leaders' credibility, not to mention the risk of saying something stupid, writes Dan Rockwell. "Thinking your own thoughts might be enlightening but learning usually begins with listening," Rockwell writes. Full Story: [Leadership Freak]( (12/16) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email](   Featured Content Sponsored Content from Ricoh Americas Corporation [Here’s how to improve your company communications]( The urgency of streamlining company communications accelerated when the pandemic started and many businesses are still scrambling to find the best ways to engage employees as a result. [Read the blog post]( to learn tangible ways to make your company communications more engaging. [] Smarter Living Get your mind and body right each Friday [] [How wonder can help us with life's challenges]( A sense of wonder can help anyone become more curious and connected to the world around them, writes Jeffrey Davis, the CEO of Tracking Wonder Consultancy. "If we pursue our own curiosities, instead of a fixed passion, a beautiful thing can happen; our minds are more likely to find novel ways to resolve challenges, and we could be more likely to find fulfillment on our life journeys," Davis writes. Full Story: [Next Big Idea Club Magazine]( (12/16) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] In Their Own Words [] [Why DEI is a business problem that CEOs can address]( Conversations are helpful to improve a company's diversity, equity and inclusion, but there are regular business tools that can help create the organizational change required, says Joan Williams, the director of the Center for WorkLife Law at the University of California Hastings College of Law. "What you need to do as a CEO and as a company is to use this 40 years of research on exactly how bias plays out on the ground, to go back in your business systems, and to begin to correct for these various biases," Williams says. Full Story: [McKinsey]( (12/16) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] [Why finance is interested in decarbonization]( [Why finance is interested in decarbonization]( Sustainable finance is a burgeoning field that is also complex from technical and regulatory standpoints. This interview with Kenneth E. Bentsen, Jr., CEO of two financial industry groups, discusses how the industry and markets are confronting the complexities of climate finance. Full Story: [Modern Money SmartPod]( (12/16) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] Daily Diversion [] [Ominous clouds, crocodiles take top photo prizes]( A farmhouse surrounded by dark, ominous storm clouds emitting a single bolt of lightning has won the top prize in the 360 Degree Photo Awards. Other winners include a black-and-white photo of a crocodile and an ethereal image of a waterfall. Full Story: [New Atlas]( (12/9) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] Editor's Note [] [SmartBrief on Leadership's most-read blog posts of 2021]( Each year, I round up the most popular blog posts of the year and see what lessons we can learn. This year, it's slightly different: There's the top 10 most visited posts overall, but also the top 10 posts clicked on by you -- the readers of this newsletter. Take a look, and please check out any posts you missed! Full Story: [SmartBrief/Leadership]( (12/16) [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( [] About The Editor [] James daSilva James daSilva Hi, it's your SmartBrief on Leadership editor! Thank you for reading and subscribing. This month marks 10 years since I took over editing this newsletter. The goal remains the same: To help people on the lifelong journey of becoming smarter at work and better at leading others. I'm moving tomorrow and only about 85% done, and then I'm on vacation for two weeks. I'll see y'all in 2022. In the meantime, Paula Kiger will again be editing in my absence. If you follow @SBLeaders on Twitter, you already know her, as she's been running that account for a couple of years. Consider sharing this newsletter as a (free!) holiday give. Forward this email or [send this link](. [LinkedIn]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Email]( Sharing SmartBrief on Leadership with your network keeps the quality of content high and these newsletters free. 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