Plus: As policies shift, companies must provide stability
March 13, 2025
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Leading the Way
How thinking of a water hose can cool down your anger
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When anger arises in the workplace (either yours or a team member's), picturing it as an emotion that flows like water through a hose can help you gauge where to direct it and how strong of a stream is necessary, write Laura Rees, an associate professor at Oregon State University and Ray Friedman, a professor at Vanderbilt University. Help others -- or have others help you -- make sure your anger is focused on the correct issue and manage its intensity by "thinking carefully about the cost-benefit trade-offs of expressing your anger," they write.
Full Story: The Conversation (3/6) 
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Put it into practice: Skillfully managing anger means improving your emotional intelligence and knowing how to defuse a situation or how to keep yourself from going off the deep end, write Rees and Friedman. "Manage factors that tend to wrest control of the hose away from you, including becoming defensive, feeling shame or even suffering from a lack of sleep," they write.
SmartBrief on Leadership
As policies shift, companies must provide stability
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As shifting government priorities create an unstable environment for workers, it's up to company leaders to step in and provide advocacy and a sense of security for their workforce, writes Christie Smith, the founder of The Humanity Studio. Smith offers four strategies, including clearly defining corporate values, strengthening protections for employees and making social responsibility a core operational priority.
Full Story: SmartBrief/Leadership (3/12) 
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Put it into practice: Companies should start by deciding which issues align with their long-term goals and creating a strategy for corporate advocacy. "Companies that proactively define their values will not only be able to navigate controversy with confidence -- they’ll earn the loyalty of employees and customers alike," Smith writes.
Smarter Communication
Make sure to act on employee feedback and create meaningful change without rushing into responding, writes Alana Corey, a culture coach at Great Place To Work. "Encourage leaders to take time to absorb and process employee feedback before responding," Corey writes, adding that taking time to process feedback can "avoid reactive decision-making."
Full Story: Great Place to Work (3/10) 
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Put it into practice: Listening sessions are one way to ensure employees feel heard after surveys are collected. "These sessions reinforce that employee voices matter and provide crucial insights that survey data alone can’t capture," Corey writes.
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Daily Diversion
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Eleven of the 15 dogs on Iditarod musher Justin Olnes' starting team came from shelters or rescue organizations. Olnes and his wife operate ReRun Kennel, which promotes dog mushing and providing homes for dogs in need. Dogs that don't have an aptitude for long-distance racing may race shorter distances or help socialize other dogs the couple fosters.
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Researchers at the University of Surrey have developed a perovskite solar cell that lasts 1,530 hours by embedding aluminum oxide nanoparticles to prevent iodine leakage, a major flaw of perovskites. This advancement could make solar energy more accessible and cost-effective by offering a lightweight, flexible alternative to silicon-based technology.
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About The Editor
Candace Chellew
Candace Chellew
Chellew (Photo credit: Lester Boykin)
As someone who struggled for years with anger management, I love the analogy from professors Laura Rees and Ray Friedman that anger can be visualized as a water hose. That's because anger is an energy, and as with any form of energy, what we can control is its path and strength.

I found the writings of Buddhist authors Pema Chodron and Thich Nhat Hanh to be helpful on my journey to harnessing the energy of anger. Chodron taught me how to recognize the "hook" of anger -- those first few seconds when you can begin to feel that energy crawl up your neck. By becoming aware of how the first stirrings of anger feel in your body, you have a better chance of harnessing the energy before it takes you over.

In that moment, we can choose the path and strength of our anger. We know from experience that by letting our anger flow at its full strength and spray uncontrollably, we usually end up in a bad place. Our anger may harm relationships or cause us to harm ourselves or objects around us.

Chodron says that once we know where our anger takes us, we can choose whether or not to go on that journey once again. By learning to control the path and strength of our anger, we can choose to use it more constructively, as Rees and Friedman point out.

From Thich Nhat Hanh, I learned to look deeply at the source of anger -- was it because of a misunderstanding, an unmet need or something that triggered a past wound? I also found value in his teaching to recognize the suffering of the other person. That doesn't mean I will tolerate the harm they may try to do to me, but knowing their actions come from suffering helps me to respond wisely instead of reactively.

Both Chodron and Hanh taught me that anger itself isn't bad. Instead, it's energy that we can control through mindfulness. When we do that, we can transform that energy into strength, clarity and compassionate action. In this way, our anger can become a force for healing instead of destruction.

If this newsletter helps you, please tell your colleagues, friends or anyone who can benefit. Forward them this email, or send this link.

What topics do you see in your daily work that I should know about? Do you have any feedback you'd like to share? Drop me a note. And while you're at it, please send me photos of your pets, your office and where you spend your time off so we can share them.
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Keep your head up, keep your shoulders back, keep your self-respect, be nice, be smart. And remember that there are practically no 'overnight' successes.
Lucille Ball,
actor, comedian, producer, studio executive
March is Women's History Month
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