Goal SetTing
by James Clear
Atomic Habits clearly explains how tiny behaviors shape long-term success, both personally and professionally. It’s a powerful reminder that sustainable growth comes from designing systems that support who you want to become.
by Charles Duhigg
I recommend The Power of Habit because it builds awareness around the patterns driving our choices. When we understand how habits are formed, we gain the ability to intentionally reshape them instead of relying on willpower alone.
Huberman Lab Podcast
This episode translates neuroscience into usable tools for pursuing meaningful goals. It’s especially helpful for anyone who wants to understand why certain goal strategies work—and how to apply them intentionally.
The Mel Robbins Podcast with Charles Duhigg
This episode is a practical playbook for sustainable behavior change, especially during seasons of burnout or low motivation. The habits are intentionally small, making progress feel possible instead of overwhelming.
CLIFTONSTRENGTHS
Set Goals Using Your Strengths
This article from Gallup highlights how aligning your goals with your CliftonStrengths makes goal-setting more energizing and effective. It walks through a practical, step-by-step approach—clarifying desired outcomes, anticipating challenges, and building accountability—so your goals feel both achievable and personally meaningful.
Individual Strengths Video Descriptions
Highly recommend. If you want a description of each Strength, these 1ish minute videos are quick to watch and give plenty of information about each of the 34 Strengths.
by Jim Clifton & Jim Harter
It’s the Manager makes a bold (and research-backed) case that managers matter more than any policy, perk, or strategy. Using Gallup’s massive data set, it shows how great managers act like coaches—developing people through strengths, meaningful conversations, and trust—rather than just overseeing work.
The CliftonStrengths® Podcast is all about celebrating your unique combination of strengths by diving into each of the 34 CliftonStrengths themes and exploring how they show up at work and in life. Strengths experts break down practical tips, real examples, and creative ways to use your talents in teamwork, leadership, and everyday challenges—so you can show up with more energy, confidence, and purpose.
LEADERSHIP
Crucial Conversations is like a survival kit for the tough talks we all dodge, those moments when opinions differ, stakes are high, and emotions run hot. It teaches you how to stay calm, speak honestly, and listen so well that even the hardest conversations turn into better understanding instead of blowups.
by Michael Bungay Stanier
The Coaching Habit teaches a practical approach to leadership by encouraging leaders to say less and ask more, using seven essential questions to foster deeper conversations and spark insight in others.
The book shows how developing a regular coaching habit rooted in curiosity and active listening can empower teams, reduce dependence on leaders, and improve workplace communication and problem-solving.
SCARF Model of Social Threat & Reward
by BiteSize Learning
The SCARF model, developed by David Rock, helps leaders recognize what drives defensiveness or engagement so they can lead conversations with greater awareness and care.
This website does an exceptional job explaining how five key social experiences activate the same reward and threat responses in our brains that influence survival behavior. When these domains feel supported, people engage and collaborate; when they feel threatened, people withdraw or react defensively. This understanding helps explain emotional responses in feedback, change, and everyday interactions.
The Problem With Having the Answers
The Double Win Podcast with Michael Bungay Stanier
This episode is a masterclass in everyday leadership conversations. Through humor and real examples, it shows how asking better questions leads to trust, clarity, and stronger connections at work and at home.
Change is Easy, Transition is Hard
At The Table
This episode explains that while people may intellectually accept change, what’s truly difficult is navigating the emotional and psychological transition that accompanies it. Patrick Lencioni and his team discuss why transitions feel hard, how they involve loss and uncertainty, and what leaders can do to guide teams through them with more awareness and support.
PERSONAL LEARNING
by Tasha Eurich
Insight shows that although most people think they know themselves, true self-awareness, both internally and in how others see us, is surprisingly rare and powerful. Drawing on research and real-world examples, Tasha Eurich outlines the barriers that keep us from seeing ourselves clearly and offers practical strategies to build deeper self-knowledge that improves decision-making, relationships, leadership, and fulfillment.
Science of People
This exercise is a simple, structured reflection that builds clarity and ownership by identifying what’s working, what’s getting in the way, and what small shifts will have the biggest impact moving forward.
Attention Residue: The Productivity Killer
by Sahil Bloom
Sahil gives a clear explanation of why multitasking is counterproductive and provides actionable techniques to protect your attention so you can do deeper, more meaningful work.
Science of People
A personal SWOT analysis is helpful to create clear self-awareness by naming your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats in one simple view.
It helps you make more intentional decisions by understanding where to lean into what you do best, what to watch out for, and where growth or change is most possible.
Take That Vacation: Why Time Off Makes You a Better Worker - Scientific American
Scientific American
This Scientific American article synthesizes decades of research showing that real mental downtime, like vacations, breaks, and periods of complete disengagement from work—restores attention, reduces stress, fosters creativity, and ultimately boosts productivity and well-being. It highlights that regular breaks (not just rare long vacations) are essential because they rejuvenate both mind and body in ways that constant connectedness simply cannot.
Stanford University
This article highlights research showing that walking significantly boosts creative thinking compared with sitting, increasing creative output by about 60 %, whether you walk indoors or outdoors. The study suggests that the simple act of walking can spark new ideas and sustain creative momentum, even after you sit down again, making movement a powerful tool for brainstorming and fresh perspectives.
The Mel Robbins Podcast with Charles Duhigg
This episode is a practical playbook for sustainable behavior change, especially during seasons of burnout or low motivation. The habits are intentionally small, making progress feel possible instead of overwhelming.
BUSINESS
XPLANE offers a wide range of tools to help you clarify goals, streamline processes, and foster collaboration.
These free tools give you directions and a worksheet to use.
Just a few examples:
30/60/90 Day Road Map
Customer Journey Mapping
Employee Experience Journey Map
Anthropologist’s Game
Culture Crush