🥁 The OffBeat #84: Lead Sheet | Leadership Digest
Something to read, something to think about, something else
This is The OffBeat, from jazz drummer, two-decade marketing leader, and very tired mom of two Allison Stadd: music-inspired answers for your leadership challenges, like a music-inflected take on networking. Let’s make work a source of creativity, connection, and motivation again.
Lead Sheet is The OffBeat’s every-other-week roundup of links, recs, and quotes. Like a lead sheet in music (just the essentials: melody, harmony, lyrics), it always has something to read, something to think about, and something else—all within the themes of leadership cues from music, cultural curiosity, and personal/professional balance.
Do something with the post-its! ()
What to say when people get bad news ()
The one underlying question driving all business cases ()
3 quadrant exercises to help you zero in on your most creatively fulfilled self ()
The habit of “usualing” (Seth Godin)
How to find more flow in daily life (Aesthetics of Joy)
In an RTO world, who gets to WFH? (WorkLife)
“I know feeling small gets to some people, but I kind of like it. Takes the pressure off when you’re just one life of six billion at any given moment. And when you’re going through something hard it’s nice to know you’re not even close to the only one.” — Emily Henry, Beach Read
In 2025's chaos, momentum is everrrrrrrything.
And one way to build momentum is by celebrating tiny wins.
To get you started, here are 10 meaningful, unconventional ideas for recognizing small triumphs, for yourself or with your team:
Email your future self a time-capsule "congratulations" note to open in 6 months
Create your own "victory anthem" playlist that evolves with each win; here’s my go-to hype playlist if you want a starting point
Drop a jelly bean in a jar for each mini win (when it's full, treat yourself to something special) — via Amanda Goetz
Take a victory lap around the block and notice 3 things you've never seen before
Create a "wins casino": flip a coin for each win. Heads = treat yourself now, tails = add $5 to a future celebration fund
Mark tallies on a whiteboard (at 20, celebrate with a fun dinner)
Buy yourself flowers, and actually put them where you'll see them during your next challenge
Create a quick voice memo capturing how you feel right now and set a calendar reminder to listen to it 6 months from now
Pick a "celebration spot" in your city and visit it only when celebrating wins
Send a thank-you note (on paper! in the mail!) to someone who helped make it happen
In a world of quarterly targets and annual reviews, it's the daily or weekly little victories that build resilience.
For double the reading recommendations, including how humor is the duct tape of the workplace and the health benefits of swearing, plus 5 fascinating things to listen to / watch, keep reading.