Loss, whether personal or professional, is inevitable for members of your team, but their grief often goes unaddressed in the workplace, writes author and certified coach Tess Brigham, who urges leaders to cultivate the emotional intelligence and maturity it takes to be present for those who are hurting. "This kind of emotional maturity is what allows leaders to stay calm in a crisis, show up for difficult conversations, and model what it looks like to move through change with integrity," Brigham writes.

Put it into practice: Helping others through times of grief offers lessons for leaders, including how to listen to others without trying to fix things, how to show up authentically in uncertain times and how to regulate emotions, Brigham writes. "These are the foundation of effective, human-centered leadership."

Creating a culture-first company where your teams look forward to working each day involves setting clear expectations upfront, introducing changes in increments, offering shared learning experiences and creating accountability methods, writes Thiru Thangarathinam, the founder and CEO of KeenStack. "A culture-first company is a business that is built around people and, therefore, built to succeed, Thangarathinam notes.

Put it into practice: No culture-building exercises will work unless the leadership team is on board and modeling the behavior and values they want to see, writes Thangarathinam. "As the CEO (or leader with another title), your job is to champion your company culture."

The "trust fall" exercise that's popular with team-building events can make you believe trust happens dramatically, but author and leadership expert Mike Robbins writes that trust is formed over time when you do what you say you will, take ownership of mistakes and offer empathy to your team. "This might sound simple, but consistency builds trust," Robbins writes.

Put it into practice: Being authentic and willing to have "sweaty-palmed conversations" with your team members is another way to build trust over time, Robbins notes. "That means being willing to say the uncomfortable thing, not to tear someone down, but to build the relationship up."

Research involving nearly 15,000 people found that exercise within four hours of bedtime can negatively affect sleep, expanding the previously established window of two hours. The study, published in Nature Communications, highlighted that intense evening workouts can delay sleep onset and reduce overall sleep, with increased heart rates persisting throughout the night.

Crocodile ancestors, known as crocodylomorphs, survived two major mass extinctions over 230 million years by being highly adaptable in their diets and habitats, according to a study in Palaeontology. Researchers analyzed fossilized teeth and skulls to reconstruct the dietary ecology of these ancient creatures, finding that their ability to eat a wide range of food sources was crucial for their survival.

Sustainability professionals face a critical decision to either raise their standards or risk being used to justify harmful corporate and political actions, writes Dave Waldron, co-founder of Synapse Strategies. Waldron emphasizes that sustainability experts must enhance their knowledge, competence, ethics and accountability in order to gain public trust. "If the profession is to become credible and trusted, elevating these four core professional qualities is necessary," writes Waldron.

In my first job in higher education public relations after leaving a long journalism career, I had a boss who was notorious for being emotionally tone-deaf. Your feelings about anything truly did not matter to her and she had little patience for anyone expressing emotions in the office, especially sadness.

When a coworker's husband died, we all gathered around to support her, helping her as best we could to cope with the loss. She took some bereavement time, but when she came back to work, she was still emotional, as anyone would be. Well, anyone but this boss, apparently.

My coworker was in the breakroom one morning, sitting at a table, crying. Our boss walked in and saw her. Instead of comforting her or giving her space to grieve, our boss just looked at her and said impatiently, "Aren't you over this yet?"

As author and certified coach Tess Brigham writes, this is not how to handle expressions of grief in the office. "Teams don't need perfect leaders. They need leaders who are real, who acknowledge the human experience, and who model resilience not as a performance, but as a process."

Those who have suffered a loss need their leaders to acknowledge their pain, give them some grace, find ways to support them and understand that everyone processes loss differently. Most importantly, there is no timeline for grief. Even years after a loss, it can still pop up and overtake us.

Leaders who can hold space for team members who are grieving -- without judgment -- build cultures of empathy that last well beyond the moment of loss.

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