all resources & insightsAt ConantLeadership, we’re committed to lifelong learning and continuous improvement. In service to your leadership growth, each month we curate the Leadership That Works Newsletter, a digest of timely resources from around the web. We prepare this resource in order to:
- Share actionable advice from top leadership luminaries
- Celebrate a range of viewpoints (inclusion is not an endorsement)
- Contextualize workplace trends through a leadership lens
- Illuminate cultural recalibrations in the world of work
- Support your personal development in life, leadership, and beyond
In this month’s Leadership That Works Newsletter: Beware the ‘broken feedback’ loop; vulnerability is a strength; think in centuries, not quarters; ‘edit’ your life at your career midpoint; the importance of ‘self-concept,’ and more.
As always, we’re sharing the content from our Leadership That Works newsletter here on our blog in case you’re not subscribed to our mailing list. If you find these links enriching, you can sign up to receive our newsletter right here.
Beware the ‘Broken Feedback Loop’
1. Status: “Recognize and value everyone’s input, even if their ideas aren’t the final choice. This shows respect and reinforces their importance to the team.”
2. Certainty: “Clearly communicate the reasons behind decisions. Transparency builds trust and reduces anxiety.”
3. Autonomy: “Involve team members in decision-making whenever possible, giving them a voice and sense of control.”
4. Relatedness: “Foster open communication and collaboration to build strong team connections and a sense of belonging.”
5. Fairness: “Maintain transparent and inclusive decision-making processes, demonstrating a commitment to equity.”
Get the full story here.
Former Cognizant CEO: ‘Vulnerability’ Is a Strength
1. Be less ‘directive’ to create a high-performance culture. “We wanted to create an environment where they [employees] could do their best work and we would get the hell out of the way. We spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to empower people . . . people closest to the client made decisions on the client’s behalf.”
2. Use two sets of ‘guardrails’ to guide performance. One guardrail is “a set of values, or a code that we operated by and everyone understood. These were the things we stood for as an organization . . . our ‘cultural value drivers’—transparency, passion, empowerment, collaboration, integrity, and customer focus.” The second guardrail was specific metrics: “Everyone had four core metrics by which they operated: a customer satisfaction metric, an employee satisfaction metric, a revenue metric, and a profitability metric. The idea was to balance these four and optimize them in the context of our broader values.”
3. Leaders don’t have to choose between vulnerability and strength. “In the context of leadership, vulnerability means allowing yourself to be open-minded about different ideas and accepting different perspectives. You have to believe you’re not the smartest person in the room. If you exhibit these behaviors, and you do so genuinely, they are a great source of strength. I never thought of strength and vulnerability as a trade-off. I wanted the smartest people around me when making a decision.”
4. Develop self-awareness of ‘blind spots’ and ‘comfort zones.’ “It’s good to be constantly aware of your blind spots and your comfort zones. The faster the world moves, the more blind spots you tend to have and the more likely you are to fall back to comfort zones.” To hold up a mirror, D’Souza cultivated “a network of disinterested third parties that I could call upon for advice. . . at those moments of truth, having someone you can call on to give an independent view is invaluable.”
Get the full story here.
Think In Centuries, Not Quarters
“Humans are really bad at long-term thinking,” writes Joan Westenberg in this piece on “the art of long-term thinking in a short-sighted world.” She says humans’ preference for short-term wins over creating enduring value “isn’t exactly news— behavioral economists have been pointing this out for decades,” but laments that it creates “weird blind spots in our civilization,” e.g., building houses to last only 50 years versus structures that can last centuries, or creating “programming languages that will be obsolete in a decade.” Westenberg says “it’s like we’re playing chess while deliberately refusing to think more than two moves ahead.” Instead of just accepting short-term thinking as a sad but immoveable fact of humanity, she suggests a mindset shift: “Imagine if we started asking ‘what would this look like in 100 years?’ as often as we ask ‘What would this look like next quarter?'” Maybe we can shift the collective ethos through the “simple decision to try to build things that last.” To put a bow on it, Westenberg writes, “We’re living in a world that’s increasingly optimized for quarterly reports and daily news cycles. But the really big wins — the ones that reshape civilization — almost always come from thinking in decades or centuries.” Get the full story here.
How to ‘Edit’ Your Life at Your Career Midpoint
“Reaching middle age—which often coincides with the midpoint of your career—can be a moment when your achievements, ambitions, and reality collide,” writes Rebecca Knight in this Harvard Business Review piece on how to ‘edit’ your priorities as you reach milestones in your work and life. While the first half of life is often about “accumulating” experiences and accolades, the second half can be about paring down to the essence of what’s most important to your well-being and fulfillment. Knight says “embarking on this ‘editing’ process might seem overwhelming,” but making space for reflection usually proves worthwhile. Drawing on the expertise of two career coaches, Chip Conley, and Ebony Joyce, Knight shares six questions to ask “as you take stock of your career in midlife.”
1. What will I regret not having done or learned 10 years from now?
2. How do I tap into my purpose?
3. What mastery or gift have I developed that I can offer to the world?
4. What do I want my days to look like?
5. What trade-offs am I willing to make—or no longer willing to make?
6. What’s getting better about my life?
Get the full story, and tips for applying your reflection, here.
**For more on this, explore the patented prompts for reflection in The Blueprint workbook, which contains a series of exercises designed to help you lead with more joy, fulfillment, and impact.
‘Self-Concept’ Is the Linchpin in Good Behavior
Our Founder, Doug Conant, often tells leaders, “you can’t have the courage of your convictions if you don’t know what your convictions are.” Now, a body of research covered in this Kellogg Insight piece by Emily Ayshford, further backs up the connection between a strong sense of self and principled behavior: “Grappling with your ‘self-concept’—that is, the thoughts and beliefs you use to define who you are—might seem like a deep, philosophical exercise,” but can actually “impact your daily life in tangible ways.” Studies show “people who do not have a clearly defined self-concept” tend to be unhappier overall compared to people who are deeply anchored in self-knowledge. And new research shows that “having an unclear self-concept” can lead to bad behavior, while having a strong sense of self can contribute to “prosocial behaviors like charitable giving,” and the connection holds true across cultures.
The good news is that “people can strengthen their self-concept,” and thereby make better choices that lead to improved overall wellbeing. Leaders can facilitate a stronger sense of self among constituents by actively encouraging self-reflection: “Knowing oneself can be difficult—especially during times of upheaval. But interventions in schools and workplaces that help people reflect on their values, goals, and meaning in their work could help,” and ultimately lead to more cooperation and “less unethical behavior.” Get the full story here.
**For more on improving your “self-concept,” explore our LinkedIn Learning course, “Finding Your Leadership Purpose with Doug Conant,” which guides learners through step-by-step exercises for uncovering their convictions.
Keep Your Brain Sharp in 2025
A leader’s mind is an essential tool. As a new year rolls along, how prepared are you to keep your brain sharp and nimble for the next eleven months (and beyond)? In this article, two New York Times journalists who cover the human brain have compiled ten ways to keep your mind healthy this year. While some of the advice will feel familiar e.g., recommendations to get enough sleep and make sure to move your body, there are several counterintuitive nuggets that can help leaders bring their best to the inevitable challenges ahead. I’ve summarized a few standout tips below.
Try a ‘friction audit.’ “Identify the things that create obstacles and add complications or stress to your everyday and try to trim them away. To get started, ask: Am I repeating certain patterns that are unhelpful? Are there things I do regularly that I don’t enjoy?”
Learn to accept ‘good enough.’ “If you often feel as though you never quite measure up, then it might be time to accept what’s ‘good enough.’ Experts suggest letting go of that nagging feeling that you could or should have done more. Instead, give yourself credit for what you accomplish each day.”
Stay cool. “Summer may feel like a long way off, but keep in mind that when temperatures do rise, heat can dramatically affect the brain. Studies show that hot days impair our cognition and make us more aggressive, irritable and impulsive . . . take the heat seriously and prioritize staying cool and hydrated.”
Don’t isolate. “Feeling lonely and isolated can harm our mental health, and it may change our brains, too. In fact, there’s a growing body of research showing a link between loneliness and Alzheimer’s disease.” To stay connected, “reach out to a friend or family member—even a short phone call can have a powerful benefit. If you want to make new friends, joining a club or support group is a good place to start.”
Get the full story, and all ten tips for brain health, here.
A Guide to Asking Better Questions
“When it comes down to it, the key to asking better questions is simple: Ask a well-crafted, open-ended question rather than a closed-ended one,” writes David Grossman in this deep-dive on how to craft better questions to get better results. Grossman says open-ended questions are more conducive to collaboration and deep understanding because they “give respondents the chance to provide more detailed and expansive answers in their own words,” whereas closed-ended questions, which “often require a simple ‘yes/no’ response,” curtail exploration and cut dialogue short. To practice the skill, he references a framework from Hal Gregersen, another expert in communication. Gregersen says the best questions share these five traits:
- They reframe the problem
- They intrigue the imagination
- They invite others’ perspectives
- They open up space for different answers
- They are nonaggressive, not posed to embarrass, humiliate, or assert power over the other person
In addition to Gregersen’s advice, Grossman offers four additional tips to keep in mind when posing open-ended questions:
- Be Genuinely Curious: Your tone and body language should communicate authentic interest
- Listen Actively: Give employees space to fully express their thoughts without interruption
- Follow Up with Deeper Exploration: Use employee responses as a springboard for more meaningful dialogue
- Create a Non-Judgmental Environment: Ensure employees feel safe sharing candid feedback
Get the full story, including multiple examples of good open-ended questions, here.
**For more on fostering better dialogue, explore our post on ten powerful ways to give thanks with your leadership.
The 70% Rule
In this smart edition of The Imperfectionist, Oliver Burkeman urges people across job functions and disciplines to free themselves of the yoke of perfectionism by adhering to “the 70% rule.” The principle of the rule is simple: “If you’re roughly 70% happy with a piece of writing you’ve produced, you should publish it. If you’re 70% satisfied with a product you’ve created, launch it. If you’re 70% sure a decision is the right one, implement it. And if you’re 70% confident you’ve got what it takes to do something that might make a positive difference to the increasingly alarming era we seem to inhabit? Go ahead and do that thing. (Please!)”
Burkeman adds that “there’s more power to this rule than meets the eye.” The 70% rule is more than just a means to a future less riddled with perfectionistic inertia, it is “also the way to cultivate a particular kind of sane, action-focused, peaceful-but-energized approach to life.” And, says Burkeman, it builds courage: “Moving forward at 70% takes more guts, more strength of character, than holding out for 100%, because it entails moving forward amid uncertainty, anxiety, and the disagreeable feeling that comes with putting less-than-perfect work into the world . . . and each time you do it, you’re building the capacity to do more of it in the future.” Every time you apply the rule, “you’re not only bringing something into concrete reality, you’re also expanding your ability to act in the presence of feelings of displeasure, worry and uncertainty, so that you can take more actions” moving forward. He concludes with a crisp call-to-action: “If you think you might have something to contribute, don’t you have some kind of duty to move forward at 70%, instead of depriving us of your contribution thanks to your finicky and frankly rather self-indulgent insistence on perfection?” Get the full story here.
**For more on this, get your free chapter of The Blueprint: 6 Practical Steps to Lift Your Leadership to New Heights, which offers the motto “Forget Perfection” as its central rallying cry.
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Insights & Resources from ConantLeadership
Limited Series—EQ Answers to AI Questions
In this special limited series, ConantLeadership Founder & CEO, Doug Conant, provides thoughtful, human answers to pressing leadership questions that are generated with the help of AI.
The third and latest question in the series is: “How can you promote self-reflection and growth in your team?” Read Doug’s EQ answer in the most recent edition here.
Then explore the second edition to get Doug’s battle-tested advice for driving change in a complex world.
And read the first edition to find actionable tips for making people feel valued in the digital age.
ConantLeadership Is a Top 100 Leadership Blog
ConantLeadership makes the top 50, at number 32, on this new list of the Top 100 Leadership Blogs compiled by FeedSpot.
10 Powerful Ways to Give Thanks with Your Leadership
In this seasonal reflection from our Founder Doug Conant, now updated with fresh insights, we offer ten practical ways to show people they are valued all year long.
2 Leading CEOs on How to Build Highly Engaged Teams
In this blog recap of their recent conversation at our Blueprint Leadership Summit, explore Jim Donald and Doug Conant’s insights about how to build better teams in the 21st century.
32 Quotes about the Power of Habits
We first published this roundup of quotes about the power of habits in 2018, and it has since become one of our most popular resources, so we’ve updated this piece as an “encore” with 5 new bonus quotes from The Blueprint.
2024’s Best Lessons to Carry into 2025
While our regular newsletter was on hiatus last month, instead we compiled this roundup of all the newsletters from the past year, chock-full of leadership insights to buoy you in 2025. Look for a bonus quote and note from Doug Conant at the end.
About the Author: Amy Federman is ConantLeadership’s Director of Content and Editor in Chief, and co-author with Doug Conant of the WSJ bestseller, The Blueprint.
(Header photo by Nastia Petruk on Unsplash)
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