Hi,

I never liked malted milk balls. Apparently, in 2024, I like malted milk balls. A lot. That is all…

And, now to the important stuff: I have a question for you. Do you consider yourself a compassionate leader? If yes, tell me why and if no, please tell me why not. I’m working on some cool initiatives and it occurred to me to ask you, so please take a moment to respond. Please fill out this super short survey before January 19th. Much appreciated! 😊

Okay, so here are mind expansion goodies I’ve got for you this week to help refuel you as you lead your teams:

• This article from The New York Times by Adam Grant talks about compassion fatigue. He’s talking about it in our personal lives more so than business but the crossover is clear and I found the research behind his statements led me down curious paths. So, of course, I’m sharing with you.
• Stanford University is integrating the study of ethics and the study of disruptive design. Why? To put business on a better path. Read the details in FastCompany.

Do Good Spotlight
🌟 10,000 Degrees 🌟

I’ve shared 10,000 Degrees before, so why do you see them getting the shout out again? It’s because they work so very hard to help students from low-income backgrounds to not only get into college, but to succeed throughout their college years so they can potentiate and graduate to go on to help their communities—and the world. I love the intention and the results. Want to feel good today? Learn more about 10,000 Degrees.

• Neurodivergence is being recognized among employees—and leaders. As we advance, we are learning how to work in new ways and make room for all different kinds of thinkers. In this podcast from Chief, you’ll listen in as neurodiversity advocate Margaux Joffe talks with Chief co-founder Lindsay Kaplan about being diagnosed in adulthood with ADHD and the benefits of embracing differences. Love it!
• By now you’ve heard about Wayfair CEO Niraj Shah telling his people he expects them to work longer and to blend home and work life more–that these are the requirements of success. I disagree. Productivity is a requirement for success—there are more ways than driving people to give up more of their personal time to get it. How about adding flexibility, hiring more people, and doing the things compassionate leaders do to help their people to be optimally productive? Jo Constantz brings weight to my points in this Bloomberg article (starting at the header “Wellbeing and Productivity”). Heads up: old school isn’t going to have a resurgence— new leaders are rising and they understand overworking people is not a sustainable pathway to the win.

• One more piece to share this week. I was Adi Klevit’s guest on her podcast all about business process building, documentation, and implementation. No, don’t skim over this, it’s actually cool! We talked about the ups and downs of different styles of management and communication and how they affect SOPs. I had a great time and she is a marvelous interviewer. So if you have some drive time or a 30-minute walk coming up, give us a listen. Better still, if you have concerns about how procedures are developed and crystallized into best practices at your company, reach out to Adi to see how her team can help yours. If you’d rather me introduce you, let me know, happy to do that too.

Told ja’, short issue. Hope you got value, please remember to fill out the compassionate leader survey to tell me your take on “compassionate leadership” before Friday, January 19. I’m looking forward to hearing from you and will share what I synthesize from everyone’s inputs.

Next issue publishes on 1/18/24. In the meantime, stay strong, stay focused, and keep vibing in the high-frequency zone!

Niki