Month: February 2026

leadership dot #4871: break

February 18, 2026February 17, 2026by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

For several days this week, temperatures were at near-record highs. I enjoyed walking my dogs without a coat, basking in the 63-degree sunshine. In February! It was glorious.

And now, winter has resumed its rightful dominance of our weather, but it seems harder to tolerate. Would I have been more accepting if it had remained cold until spring was truly here?

We often get into routines or habits that just become part of the norm. We don’t consciously think about them — until the routine is broken. Working 5 days/week in the office wasn’t questioned for generations until COVID made work-from-home an option, and now a one-day WFH reprieve makes the other commutes harder. Having a long weekend often makes us pine for a 4-day work week rather than revel in the extra day off. Paying the neighbor kid to mow the lawn one weekend makes the task harder to do yourself the next week.

If you find your circumstances temporarily changing, don’t diminish the present by comparing it to what lies ahead. Let the momentary break be a blessing, not a curse.

leadership dot #4870: dread

February 17, 2026February 16, 2026by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

I just dread doing my taxes every year. I’m very organized, so I have all the records and receipts, but there is something about taxes that makes me loathe the process.

This year, I vowed to get it finished early to avoid having to dread it for an extra month or two. My motto was to just do it and get it off my plate, rather than thinking about how much I hate it, so yesterday I started.

And what do you know, I finished it yesterday, too.

Once I got into it, everything was there, and it was just a matter of making a few piles and a few calculations, and I was done. Saved from two extra months of guilt every time I saw it on my to-do list.

It’s not just taxes that are like this. Most projects are less arduous than the mental build-up and energy it takes to avoid them. If you have something you are putting off, merely commit to starting. Chances are good that once you get into it, the finish line will be closer than you imagined.

leadership dot #4869: care

February 16, 2026February 13, 2026by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

During the recent big snowstorm that hit the South, at least one store showed how to care for its employees.

My friend, who works for Home Depot in Virginia, recounted how, as she was leaving, her manager called her into the office to check that she had everything she needed in preparation for the storm. Then, once the storm hit, she received a text from Home Depot Disaster Support. It said they were checking on all associates in impacted areas. During and after the storm, they would periodically send welfare check texts, and everyone was asked to respond. If no one did, Home Depot would notify police and EMS in the area.

Of course, the store was busy with everyone stocking up on ice melt, shovels, generators, propane, etc. So, to care for those working, each store has a credit card for disaster relief, which the manager used to purchase pizza for employees for lunch and dinner shifts. The human resources manager made breakfast and crockpots full of soup.

Home Depot is a major corporation, but in this instance, it demonstrated how to act like a family business. In advance, it also established systems and processes to handle disasters or other extenuating circumstances. What would your employees say about how you handled a similar event?

Thanks, Joan!

leadership dot #4868: youth

February 15, 2026February 13, 2026by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

Organizations often try to build brand loyalty at an early age. Colleges host summer camps for middle schoolers. Orchestras have youth programs. Churches have vacation Bible schools.

Aldi is actively pursuing the younger crowd with a line of Aldi-branded toys. Items include an Aldi semitruck, a cash register, a Fisher-Price Little People play set, and my favorite: a mini-shopping cart with the signature quarter holder. It’s a great way to reinforce the Aldi name and build that initial affinity.

What is your organization doing to cultivate awareness with your next generation of clients? It’s never too soon to start.

leadership dot #4867: puppygrams

February 14, 2026February 13, 2026by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

It’s hard for people to resist cooing over a puppy — let alone an entire litter of them. That’s one of the Valentine’s Day options where people can make a (hefty) donation and have a 20-minute snugglefest in their office or organization. There are also options for “a couple o’ pups” or even one puppy to make an individual visit. Sign me up!

The “Puppygrams” are a fundraiser for One Tail at a Time (in Chicago), a nonprofit pet rescue organization. It’s a perfect fit for their organization — in addition to securing donations, the service helps them raise awareness and perhaps even spur an adoption or two. And they have the pups, so no financial outlay is required beyond gas for the visits.

There is also a tongue-in-cheek option to donate $10 for those who want to have an anti-Valentine. One Tail writes: “Times are tough. We might as well turn those less-than-lovey feelings into something meaningful. We’ll write the name of whoever or whatever is giving you the ick these days on a bag of dog poop or in a cat litter box. It’s a small, silly act with a big impact for rescue pets.” Again, a no-cost fundraiser for them.

Take a lesson from One Tail and craft a fundraiser that actually raises funds, rather than pre-spending the proceeds to raise the money. Happy Valentine’s Day!

Thanks, Meg!

leadership dot #4866: residual

February 13, 2026February 12, 2026by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

After it snows, if you don’t shovel quickly and thoroughly, a slippery layer may form on the sidewalks. If that happens, some people put out salt pellets to melt the ice. While a little bit usually gets the job done, one house on my block went crazy with the salt. Weeks after the last snow, it still covers the sidewalk, degrading the concrete and serving as a nemesis to dogs’ paws.

They took the easy way out by letting the chemicals do the work instead of doing it themselves.

The same pattern occurs in organizations when people only consider the short-term ease instead of the long-term consequences. It’s faster to shove all the papers in a drawer, but it makes it harder to find them later. It’s quicker to do something yourself the first time, but then the other person never learns the process, and you have to do it forever. You can let AI do your writing, but you may pay the price on the back end if you don’t fact-check or edit.

Don’t make the front end the easy part of the process. Do the work initially and benefit from a positive residual effect.

leadership dot #4865: thought process

February 12, 2026February 11, 2026by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

I remember when I was in math class, and the teacher always demanded that we show our work. The same was true in English class, when we had to provide outlines and first drafts along with our final paper.

While it didn’t make any sense at the time, I now believe it was meant to establish a pattern of explaining our thought process. It’s something often forgotten in today’s hectic workplace, but would help immensely with understanding the “why” behind decisions or assignments. If supervisors “showed their work” to employees, staff could learn the critical thinking that led to the decision and have a better grasp of what they were ultimately trying to achieve. Saying “do this” without context can leave it open to misinterpretation or confusion.

There’s a difference between 6×2 and 3×4, even though both result in a product of 12. Sometimes, seeing those previous steps can make a difference. Get in the habit of showing at least some of your work as a way to help others more closely align with your desired outcome.

leadership dot #4864: group work

February 11, 2026February 11, 2026by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

In the classes I teach, there is always a component of group work. My students are working adults, often also parents with young children, and the idea of coordinating with other busy classmates can be daunting. It’s hard enough for them to find time to do the work, let alone align schedules with someone else before they can dig in.

Nevertheless, I make them do it anyway because it’s such a valuable skill in the workplace. It always seems “easier” to do the project without input from other departments or customers. We use the excuse of being “too busy” to seek input or feedback. People don’t make the time to develop relationships, so collaboration is harder, and the cycle continues.

Brené Brown talks about the shift from “knowledge hoarding” to “knowledge sharing,” and this process begins in classroom group work. When pairs or teams of students must cooperate and develop a combined project, it is in everyone’s best interest to work together. I hope those skills help them become knowledge sharers in their jobs as they realize working together made the final product better and added perspectives that would have otherwise been missed.

If you don’t have a teacher or boss who forces group work on you, take the initiative to create some yourself. Reach out to a colleague or external voice and start a dialogue about how your work can benefit from their experience. It may require a bit more time, but the outcome will be worth it.

leadership dot #4863: drummer

February 10, 2026February 9, 2026by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

I’m a regular attendee at the local college’s band concerts and find myself mesmerized by the drummer. While not because of the drum music itself, the drummer is always so animated and passionate that he draws me in and becomes the focus of my attention.

I happened to run into this student in another setting and immediately recognized him. I shared a few words of praise and let him know that I always noticed his enthusiasm. He was so appreciative of my comments and of someone recognizing his devotion. Even though it was a two-sentence exchange, it meant something to him. We have seen each other in other settings, and there is a nod of recognition each time, reinforcing that he has a fan.

So much of our output goes unacknowledged by others. He plays his heart out on stage without applause solely for him. I write dots with little to no feedback. It’s assumed that people will handle projects at work as part of their responsibilities, with no commentary provided.

If you have occasion to provide an unsolicited, genuine piece of praise or compliment, please do so. You can’t beat it as a morale-booster.

leadership dot #4862: burdened

February 9, 2026February 6, 2026by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

While at a restaurant, the lady at the next table was having a monologue with her friend, airing all her grievances about her daughter-in-law. I’m not sure when she ate, because she seemed to talk nonstop, recounting slights and omissions that had occurred over several months. I did not hear her say one thing the DIL did right.

It reminded me of some employees who seem to hang on to every piece of negative feedback, ignoring any praise they received, or of people who receive evaluations after a workshop or class and only remember the responses that sting.

The depreciating comments play on a loop in their head, like the restaurant lady whose every sentence started with “so…,” “then…,” or “anyway…” as she strung together unrelated events to craft evidence that fit her narrative.

Negative comments are like rocks in a wagon that people pull around behind them. The load becomes so heavy that they focus only on that — glossing over any positive occurrences as the wagon tramples them. If you find yourself loading up rocks that you revisit over and over, it’s time to unburden yourself from the wagon and enjoy your lunch.