Donna stands with a black cat (Riley), holding slips of paper, and says, “I have prepared the list of names” as the department meets to discuss their Secret Santa exchange. An owl (Leslie) holds a clipboard and says, “And I have prepared the purchasing guidelines,” standing beside the black cat. A goldfish (Finley) holding a book labeled “Safety Procedures” says, “And I have the safety protocols for review,” while the black cat stands beside it. A raccoon (Milo) holds a sheet of sparkly gift-emoji stickers and says, “I brought sparkly stickers with a gift emoji to help you remember to bring it,” while the black cat stands beside him. The black cat holds a magician’s hat and says, “It appears that Riley is providing us with a magician’s hat to draw the names from.” The black cat (Riley) holds a magician’s hat over scattered name slips while Donna stands nearby. The cat says, “Which he will now demonstrate is not pre-stuffed with his name.”

CHOOSE YOUR STARTING POINT

CHAPTERS

The Hat

Cartoon portrait of Donna Lake with short hair, purple glasses, and a lavender sprig beside her name deskplate

From Donna's Desk:

Sometimes people think leadership is about mitigating disasters.
Most days it is about noticing who brought the hat.

You learn who in your department needs structure, who needs reassurance, who needs a checklist, and who needs to have their magic tricks inspected before they go into circulation.

We all knew he was too eager, too available. This kind of low-hanging fruit may have worked in the past, but he's going to have to up his game this time.

So here is what I am wondering today:

  • Have you ever seen a tiny red flag at the planning stage and said nothing, only to watch it grow into an entire holiday saga?

  • What helps you speak up early, before the magician says “ta da” and everyone is suddenly pretending to be surprised?

Tell me your stories. The times you caught it, and the times you really wish you had.

I'll be here, divining his next moves.

Donna 

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