Empowering Leaders, Illuminating Paths, Driving Change
Volume 2, Issue 1 | April 2025
Hi Friend,
Welcome to the Illumination Brief, I’m glad you’re here!
As this is our second issue – I thought it would be helpful to ground readers in how it is laid out.
What to Expect in Every Issue
The backbone of The Illumination Brief: Insight. Intention. Impact.
Insight: You’ll get curated resources my clients have found useful—typically a few articles, videos, and/or podcasts. At least one resource is directly tied to the issue’s Intention section.
Intention: Purpose grounds everything I do so there’s often an unsaid why behind the work requests I receive. To change or grow a behavior, skill, or habit, we must be intentional in how/where/when we practice. This section highlights a practice or skill my clients want to build, often with links to support tools.
Impact: This section highlights how my clients have achieved impact and how you can, too, by working with The Plager Group.
Insight, Intention, Impact
Insight
This section highlights thought-provoking content that has been gathered to inspire and inform readers. Whether it’s an article, podcast episode, or a book recommendation, this portion serves as a gateway to fresh perspectives and deeper learning. Explore the below links for more inspiration:
Ethan Mollick is one of the MUST FOLLOW experts when it comes to understanding the intersection of AI and the future of work. His insightful research highlights how the combination of AI and teamwork leads to higher-quality results, with AI acting not just as a tool, but as a valuable teammate. For anyone interested in the transformative potential of AI in enhancing collaboration and productivity, Mollick’s work is essential reading.
Probably not a surprise for my readers – I am a devotee of Chip and Dan Heath. Their work helped inspire many change leaders. I am pleased to share Dan’s excerpt from his book Reset: How to Change What’s Not Working.This is a great example of using real-time-customer-data to transform the experience of football fans. Not running an NFL team? No worries – the lessons here are transferable to just about any organization, in any sector.
The Secrets of Great Teamwork
This 2016 HBR article by Martine Haas and Mark Mortensen overlays one of the original team models (by the late Richard Hackman) to more contemporary teams. Useful for senior leaders who are seeking a way to look at their teams and see how/where they can tweak design or engagement to get better results.
This brief podcast by Happiness expert, Yale Professor Laurie Santos, covers the difference between a gratitude practice and toxic positivity, tips to practice mindfulness with a gratitude list, and how acknowledging the blessings in life, even in the worst of times, can make us happier.
The Neuroscience of Gratitude and Effects on the Brain
There’s real science behind gratitude, and it has a profound impact on your brain. From lowering stress to enhancing happiness, practicing gratitude can truly transform your life. This article dives into research-backed findings, offers some fun facts, and includes exercises to try. It’s perfect for anyone curious about the power of gratitude.
Have a resource that resonates with you? Send it my way! Whether it makes it into the Brief or my LinkedIn posts, I’ll share it with my network.
Intention
GRATITUDE
If you’ve known me for a while – it will not surprise you that I spend time with my clients and my network on all things gratitude. There is no way to put it other than… I am a #GratitudeFan. So much so that I have a section on my website devoted to all things gratitude. Below is an adaptation of one of my original website posts on gratitude. It is followed by an opportunity to build your gratitude muscles.
Gratitude – The Human Super Power
The first time I learned how gratitude could neutralize the negative effects from cortisol in our bloodstreams, and quickly reduce the stress we experienced in the moment – I wanted to dig deeper. The more I read about gratitude, the more I realized how POWERFUL this practice could be. Research has shown that when you build a gratitude habit, you improve your mental and physical wellbeing. Still not sure whether you want to invest in your own gratitude practice? Read on for further information on just some of the ways in which practicing gratitude improves your overall wellbeing.
- Reduces stress: Gratitude has been found to reduce stress levels by promoting positive emotions, improving coping strategies, and increasing resilience.
- Increases optimism: Practicing gratitude can increase optimism and positive thinking, which can help to counteract the negative effects of stress and reduce cortisol levels.
- Lowers cortisol levels: Studies have found that expressing gratitude can lead to lower levels of cortisol in the body. This is thought to be because gratitude promotes positive emotions, which in turn can reduce the stress response and lower cortisol levels. (Read my Science of Gratitude blog for more details on the powerful counter-effects of gratitude on cortisol.)
- Improves sleep: Gratitude has been found to improve sleep quality, which is important for overall health and well-being. Better sleep can also help to reduce stress and cortisol levels.
- Enhances happiness and life satisfaction: Expressing gratitude has been consistently linked to increased levels of happiness and life satisfaction. When we actively acknowledge and appreciate the blessings, big or small, we experience a greater sense of fulfillment and contentment.
Gratitude Experiments – Building a Gratitude Practice
The following experiments provide you with different ways in which to practice gratitude. Peruse the following. Hopefully one of them resonates with you. If not – perhaps they serve as fodder for your own experiment. Whatever experiment you tee up – aim to anchor your practice to a specific part of your day or to a specific location.
Option A | Identify a TIME OF DAY where you TRANSITION between one mode of life and another. For example – putting down your morning cup of coffee in front of your computer and beginning your work day. Or, closing down your computer at the end of your work day and transitioning to ‘outside of work’. Before you start work, or before you end work, ask yourself one of the below gratitude prompts. Be sure to sit with the questions and your responses for at least one minute and minimize distractions before returning to the task at hand.
Option B | Select a PLACE in your home. My friend Cranla has a ‘gratitude chair’. It is a beautiful chair in her home. It is comfortable to sit in, it is beautiful to look at. And yet, she is very intentional about when she sits in the chair. When she needs to feel grounded in gratitude – she sits in the chair, takes several deep breaths, gets settled in her body, and follows her own gratitude prompts. She does not leave the chair until she has sat long enough to take in the feelings of gratitude.
Option C | Use a VISUAL anchor. Find an image that brings you joy and take a photo of it on your phone. It could be a photo of a memory for which you were grateful. Or, it could simply be an image that makes you exhale or feel a sense of peace. You can experiment by setting yourself specific times during the day where you take out your phone and look at the image. After taking in the image, consider asking yourself one of the below gratitude prompts.
Gratitude prompts | Consider asking and answering one of these questions: What are three good things that happened to me today/yesterday/this week? What is one thing in my life I’m grateful for? Who is someone that made a difference for me recently? What did they do, and how did that make you feel? What is one thing you love about your home? What is one thing you appreciate about one of your close friends? [Not feeling any of these prompts? Create some of your own!]
You may notice that none of these options take much time. You may choose to experiment with one option for a week, or try mixing it up across the options. Aim to practice an option at least 3x/week. Reflect at the end of the week on the effort required to do the experiment, and the impact of your gratitude practice on your stress levels and your well-being. How did you feel after your moment of gratitude? How long did your feeling of gratitude last? The ideas shared here are meant to build your gratitude ‘muscles’. So, when work and life throw you a speed bump, you are more easily able to overcome it due to your ability to shift into a mode of gratitude.
Save these graphics HERE and start your own gratitude practice!
Impact
This edition of The Illumination Brief’s IMPACT section is all about supporting Leadership and Executive teams.
Unlocking Senior Teams | A Hands-On Workshop for CHROs and Senior HR Leaders
10 HR executives from sectors such as CPG, Data Centers, Engineering, Insurance, and Tech joined Debbie on February 26 for our hands-on workshop. 100% found the workshop valuable – not only for the tools and skills gained, but for the intimate size and HR executive community connections. 100% highly recommended it for other HR executives.
“What you shared with us was so useful. I’ve already shared with my team and I am thinking about how to leverage throughout our organization.”
“Your workshop was fantastic.”
“I was able to put so much of your tools into practice.”
– Unlocking Senior Teams Workshop Participants
Join us! We will run the workshop again in early Fall 2025. If you’re interested in joining us for the 3.5 hr virtual workshop – send an email with the subject line “Unlocking Teams Workshop”. We will add you to our waitlist and you will also get an advanced registration opportunity prior to the workshop going live.
Team Coaching Assessment – A SPECIAL OFFER for The Illumination Brief Readers!
When working an intact senior team – there is power in starting with team specific data. It can be challenging to find a tool that is easy to understand and use to take action. Additionally, I know how often the executive team leader needs an opportunity for him/herself to become familiar with the tool, the approach I use, and to also be ready to look at their role with the team, and the health of the whole team. I sought out ways in which to do just that, and was prepared to create my own. I was pleased to find Team Coaching International (TCI)’s Team Diagnostic™. Their model – grounded in research – is targeted on specific actions and capabilities and behaviors that effective teams need for sustained results. TCI also provides a Team Leader View assessment.
This assessment provides the executive leader an opportunity to reflect on his/her team, to think about the range of experiences among the team on key behaviors that impact productivity and cohesion. Prior executives who have taken this assessment with me shared:
- “This was incredibly helpful. It forced me to think about my team differently.”
- “TCI’s approach makes sense. [And] based on our follow up 1:1 time, helped me really look at my team’s strengths and challenges.”
- “Due to our debrief and coaching, I’m asking different questions, I am showing up differently. I can already see changes in how some of my team members are engaging.”
SPECIAL OFFER: The Plager Group typically provides a Team Leader with the assessment, the 90-minute assessment debrief, and two 1:1 executive coaching sessions for $1750. Through May 30, The Illumination Brief readers can access this package for $1450. Reach out to The Plager Group to request further information and/or to place an order. (NOTE: The assessment and debrief does not need to take place by May 30, but orders do need to be placed by then.)
Thank you for diving in and reading this second issue of The Illumination Brief. Please drop a line to share any feedback. It helps me grow, ensures I’m adding value, and provides me with ideas for future editions.
Warmly, Debbie
Founder & CEO
The Plager Group
www.theplagergroup.com
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