Leaders want to reduce "bad friction" that frustrates employees or customers, but organizational psychologist Bob Sutton recommends creating some "good friction" that improves processes and products by taking time to sort helpful ideas from harmful ones. Good friction is needed in the form of being intentional when forming a team, taking time to make solid decisions even when pressed for time and being deliberate about collaboration during creative work, Sutton says.

Put it into practice: As a leader, you can become a "friction fixer" by seeking out ways to become a trustee of your team's time, Sutton says. "A friction fixer is someone who is obsessed and focused on making the right things easier and the wrong things harder."

Thinking differently is a powerful tool for leaders who want to drive growth and innovation, writes Naphtali Hoff. Adopting a growth mindset, challenging assumptions, seeking out diverse views and embracing failure as a learning opportunity are key strategies to cultivate this mindset, Hoff writes.

Put it into practice: Use a "random word" exercise to practice divergent thinking, Hoff advises, by listing ways that word "could relate to your problem, forcing your brain to make unusual connections." Also, set aside time to think more deeply and be persistent in developing your thinking, celebrating even small wins along the way, Hoff adds.

When you recognize a team member for a job well done, make that recognition meaningful by clearly spelling out what they did and why it mattered, make it personal for them and find out how they appreciate being appreciated, writes Karin Hurt. "Some people love public praise, while others prefer a private acknowledgment," Hurt writes.

Put it into practice: Create a culture of recognition by celebrating your team regularly, Hurt writes. Some powerful phrases to say include: "Let's make it a habit to celebrate progress as well as results" and "I commit to sharing what I see and appreciate about your work regularly."

Not mixing things up. Most of you (72%) report that your organization rarely reorganizes. There's something to be said for stability. While some industries are rapidly changing and require new organizations to meet new challenges, most industries require a more measured approach.

If you're considering a reorganization, clearly define the rationale and desired outcome before making any changes. Hasty reorgs can break processes, frustrate team members, partners and customers, and often fail to deliver the expected results because all the downsides were not properly accounted for.

That said, if you've decided to change, make the change quickly after you've completed your detailed planning. People get confused and frustrated by continuous small changes and spend more time worrying about the next small change instead of throwing themselves headlong into the big one.

-- 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."

Julia Cameron, the best-selling author of 58 books, including "The Artist's Way," says the "Morning Pages" practice she invites her readers to do is a powerful way to open up to guidance from a higher source that creates a sense of openness to realizing what next steps we need to take in life or business. "I use guidance often. And when I do, I am asking to hear what path to take next. And I have found over time that the path, and the suggestion, is fruitful," Cameron says.

Researchers from several US institutions have demonstrated that work flow music, crafted to boost work performance, effectively enhances focus and mood, leading to improved task execution. The study, detailed in PLOS One, involved 196 participants who completed tasks while exposed to different audio conditions, and the work flow music improved reaction times and performance, suggesting that its rhythmic and tonal qualities help maintain focus on tasks by minimizing distractions.

A few years ago, I threw myself into doing daily "Morning Pages," as recommended by writer Julia Cameron. This entails writing out by hand three pages of free-flowing thoughts, without stopping your hand. It's a stream-of-consciousness free-for-all. If you don't know what to write, then write, "I don't know what to write" until some other thought comes.

I was doing this practice while I was seeking guidance for a larger issue in my life. After about a week, I almost gave up since nothing seemed to be happening. In that second and third week, however, new ideas began to flow freely. I came up with some very original things to do within my spiritual community at the time and found better ways to improve my own life.

This is what a daily practice of either free-writing or journaling can do for you as a leader. This kind of writing can help clear your mind of clutter so you can make better decisions. It can help you create new visions, strategies and solutions to both business and personal challenges. This kind of writing enables you to get in touch with your feelings, revealing triggers to work on and patterns of thinking that are no longer serving you.

This exercise also helps you stay connected to your values and strengthens your ability to communicate with those around you. It also can alleviate stress and make you more resilient in challenging times.

All this from spending a few minutes each morning (or evening) simply writing down whatever thoughts occur to you. Within the gibberish and stray thoughts can come life-changing ideas.

Why did I stop? Well, as everyone knows, life gets in the way of even our best intentions. Writing, however, in any form that you choose, is, as Cameron notes, one of the best ways to receive a higher form of guidance. You don't have to be spiritual to believe this. That guidance, or knowledge, is already within us. Writing is just a way to clear away the clutter and get to the root of our inner wisdom.

I invite you to try it out for a few weeks. Give it a chance to take root, because real insight takes time to emerge. Let me know how it goes. I plan to get back into the practice as well.

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