Autonomous AI agents can increase productivity to free your teams up to solve problems and innovate, but they also come with risks, including errors and compliance issues, writes Tom Barnett, a partner and chief data officer for Jackson Lewis. Start using AI agents by deploying them in clusters with high-performing employees working alongside them to monitor progress, tackle problems and provide feedback, writes Mahesh Raja, the chief growth officer at Ness Digital Engineering.

Put it into practice: Executive teams should begin the process now of evaluating autonomous AI agents, how they want to use them and which departments may benefit the most, writes Raja. "Successful integration will need a close understanding of operational systems and understanding of the high-impact data sources that will set AI agents up to deliver value in rapid time."

Leaders can fall into the trap of a "Singular Story," where they focus on a single viewpoint and dismiss others, writes Alaina Love, the CEO of Purpose Linked Consulting, which can stifle creativity and collaboration within teams. Love offers strategies to overcome this, such as recognizing defensiveness, fostering curiosity and practicing multiple ways to interpret feedback to see different points of view.

Put it into practice: You know you're trapped in a singular story if you get defensive when others offer their insights, you aren't curious about the perspective of others or your team grows silent the more you insist on your narrative, Love writes. A team that challenges you, Love writes, respects "you enough to tell you if they think you're headed in the wrong direction or they have new information that could influence the decisions the team makes."

Effective feedback can help your team excel, but as Bernard Coleman, VP of people at Swing Education, writes, you could fit the archetype of "The Vague Vanisher" if your feedback is too generic, "The Time Traveler" if the input is not timely or "The Assumption Maker" if comments are based on what others have said. You can make feedback your superpower by making it specific, timely and based on behaviors you've personally observed, Coleman writes.

Put it into practice: Other bad feedback archetypes include "The Drive-By" who gives harsh criticism with no follow-up, "The Personality Attacker" who traffics in personal insults and "The Public Punisher" who dresses down team members in front of others, Coleman writes. "Leaders who fall into these traps not only hinder growth but also erode trust and morale."

Leave them alone. Seventy-two percent of you try to leave people alone when they're on vacation and another 17% send messages but don't expect replies. For the 10% of you bothering people on vacation, stop. Few of us work in industries where there are true crises requiring replies when someone has chosen to take vacation. You're likely frustrating them and spoiling their time away that they earned as part of their compensation. Plan better or be more patient.

If you get annoyed when work colleagues reach out to you when you're on vacation, be sure to set a good example when you're back in the office and don't bother your team members and colleagues during their time off. Everyone is better off when we respect boundaries and give people time to recharge away from work.

-- 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."

The Apple TV+ hit show "Severance" depicts "divided" people, which is what intrigued Patricia Arquette enough to join the cast as Harmony Cobel, a senior manager at Lumon. Arquette says the show reflects the divisions within society and insecurities that keep people from fulfilling their potential. "I think people struggle with the inner critic all the time, and it really can hold you back. Probably it's the main thing that does hold you back," Arquette says.

Scientists have demystified the safety of tomatoes, which belong to the nightshade family known for toxic compounds. A new study reveals that a genetic mechanism involving the protein DML2 reduces toxic steroidal glycoalkaloids during tomato ripening. This process, known as demethylation, breaks down these compounds into less harmful substances, according to a study in Science Advances.

I have encountered just about every lousy feedback archetype Bernard Coleman outlines in his article. I've had my work criticized in front of my entire team by a "Public Punisher" who broadcasted his insult over the public address system that everyone used to communicate. I've encountered the "Feedback Sandwich Gone Wrong," where my boss was apparently trying to use a feedback technique but gave me insincere praise while delivering harsh feedback. I've also encountered the "Personality Attacker" who insulted me as a person instead of critiquing my work or behavior.

I suspect we've all encountered bosses who were terrible at giving feedback. Coleman, though, presents these archetypes not so we'll harken back to bad managers but to help us examine our feedback techniques and honestly evaluate whether we've ever embodied these archetypes. If we're honest, we'll see ourselves in a few of them.

I know I'm guilty of being the "Time Traveler" and not giving feedback in a timely manner or the "Assumption Maker" when I've approached someone after hearing about a problem from someone else.

All of these archetypes undermine trust in your leadership, so it's a good idea to take time to evaluate your feedback style to prevent your team from, like me, writing about how it affected them years later. You don't want your team members to remember you like that.

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