💌 P.S. Want more affirmations like this ^ one to kick off your week? Sign up for our Motivational Monday texts (U.S. only).

✅ Today's checklist: 

• Cultivate a trauma-aware leadership style
• Meet less; create more
• TA reader Kari advises to do the hard things first

🤔 Riddle me this: I can open doors, but I'm not a key. I can change minds, but I'm not a word. What am I? (Find the answer on the bottom).

🔔 ICYMI: We opened up 100 spots for The A-list and spots are filling up. Apply to join our private Slack community here. We close applications on Fri 10/25 @ 11:59PM PT (or when spots run out).

🤝 Networking: Some tips for making networking actually work for you.

🚀 Jobs: Accelerate your search by staying in your 'zone of genius'.

🌍 Equity: Improving women's access to decent work opportunities around the globe.

💼 Work/Life: Is the 'gig economy' just the new economy?

 

Just thinking about the concept of trauma-informed care can make even the kindest and most sensitive people feel uncomfortable…uncertain at best.

Stephanie Lemek, founder of the Wounded Workforce program, did an interview with WorkLife to demystify the goal of being a trauma-informed leader.

"It's a big task to think about building a trauma-informed workplace," she said to warm up well-meaning, but also slightly intimidated leaders.

"But the thing about big tasks is they're built by a whole bunch of little tasks."

Some trauma informed workplace principles she talks about in her training courses include:

• Safety
• Collaboration
• Empowerment
• Trust
• Transparency
• Community

Here are some of Lemek's top insights to keep in mind at your own workplace:

Trauma awareness is essential in workplaces because the unbalanced power dynamics can leave survivors vulnerable to retraumatization at the hands of managers and other colleagues higher on the org chart.

That's why Lemek says trauma awareness is an especially important part of the collaborative process—to help everyone be sensitive to the possibility of retraumatizing someone.

"We're looking for ways to avoid re-traumatizing you, as a survivor of any kind of trauma. And we're also looking for ways to just minimize harm in general."

The goal is honoring and respecting each individual's experiences and feelings—not knowing or trying to know every detail of someone's history.

Try to not only support survivors of trauma at work. Take intentional strides to empower them as well.

Lemek says empowerment is especially important for survivors, who very often struggle when they perceive a lack or loss of control.

"Start thinking how you can provide your teams with choice," she says. "How can you create choice for your teams? Can you give them options? Can you let them choose how they complete their work?"

 

We know The Assist readers come from all corners of the professional world—marketers, salespeople, and business owners alike. Whether you're managing leads, tracking customer interactions, or trying to streamline internal processes, finding the right CRM is key to making your workday smoother.

For many of you, staying on top of communication, managing pipelines, and getting actionable insights are top priorities.

Here's how a well-chosen CRM can help solve these pain points:

• Streamlined Communication: Ensure every customer touchpoint is captured and accessible for your whole team.
• Automation: Free up time by automating repetitive tasks like follow-up emails and lead scoring.
• Data-Driven Insights: Track what's working in your sales and marketing efforts with real-time insights.

Let's explore 3 CRMs that can meet your needs, no matter what role you play:

1. Zoho: A perfect fit for small to mid-sized businesses, Zoho is known for its affordability and flexibility, allowing you to manage workflows, pipelines, and customer journeys all in one place.

• What sets it apart? Seamless integration with Zoho apps and third-party tools, plus a variety of pricing options, including a free version.
• Best for: Small-to-medium businesses that need customization on a budget, especially if you already use Zoho products.
• ⭐ Try it free for 15 days.

2. Salesforce: The go-to CRM for large organizations, Salesforce offers unmatched scalability, deep customization, and advanced analytics.

• What sets it apart? Ideal for enterprise-level needs with powerful automation and data insights.
• Best for: Mid-to-large-sized teams looking for a comprehensive platform that can handle complex workflows.
• ⭐ Self-demo and trial available.

3. Pipedrive: If you're looking for something simple and sales-focused, Pipedrive is for you. Its visual sales pipeline and drag-and-drop interface make it incredibly easy to use.

• What sets it apart? Clean, user-friendly interface that keeps lead management clear and simple.
• Best for: Small-to-medium sales teams that want a straightforward, no-fuss CRM.
• ⭐ Try it free for 14 days.

One TA Subscriber wants to meet less…and create more: My biggest challenge is too much time spent in meetings every week and too little time spent on creative thinking/project work.

This is a classic conundrum related to modern work. Meetings are essential…up to a point. You need to have them to be able to complete your work.

But...

What happens when they're getting in the way of completing said work?

What happens is that something needs to change, and in many cases, you—the individual hoping to get out of some of the meetings—are the only one you can really count on to champion your time.

In other words: It might get awkward. Some people may want you to attend every meeting and might even be difficult if you try to excuse yourself.

You alone truly know all the essential details about your workload and personal life to make that decision. Do what you need to do to get work you find meaningful and important—done and done in a way that makes you feel proud.

All that said, the way you approach declining some meetings matters. To mitigate hurt feelings and accusations of unfairness, simply make sure you have a systematic, objective-as-possible approach to deciding which meetings to attend and which to pass.

Here are some example ground rules to start with. Adjust them to suit your needs and keep them top of mind as a way to justify your decision should you confront any pushback—consider them your "meeting mission statement."

• I will attend only important meetings.
• I define important meetings as those where...
  • My team plans to make a key decision
  • Leadership plans to discuss strategic direction
  • I want to build/strengthen relationships with the other attendees
• If I'm uncertain whether or not a meeting is important, I will consider asking the following questions:
  • Can you give me a short, precise summary of the overall topic/purpose?
  • How will my attendance be helpful?
  • What exactly are we trying to decide during the meeting?

Read the full HBR classic: How to Get Out of a Meeting You Know Will Waste Your Time.

 

Does your current onboarding process leave you haunted by low engagement and poor retention? You're not alone—only 12% of employees feel their onboarding sets them up for success. But it doesn't have to be this way.

Join Dr. Christina Moran, an innovative People Ops leader, in this must-attend webinar on Thurs 10/24 @ 12PM PT / 3PM ET where you'll discover how to craft personalized onboarding experiences that scale effortlessly. Learn how to ditch the cookie-cutter approach, making each new hire feel welcomed and empowered from day one.

👻 Register today and avoid onboarding HR frights!

Start with the hard stuff; often times those tasks we dread the most aren't nearly as "hard" as we think. Action motivates further action.

 Kari Jackson, Marketing Strategy & Optimization

⭐️ What's the one piece of career advice you swear by? Drop your best wisdom here!

📚 The Pocket Guide to High Ticket Selling has all the strategies you need to close those big deals.

🦈 This VPN lets you surf like you're off the grid, no matter where you are.

💳 Square makes credit card processing a breeze for businesses of any size.

📧 A TALA member told us about Unroll.Me and we needed to get the word out ASAP.

How do you feel about your daily meeting schedule?

Have more feedback? 💌 Reply to this email and tell us.

⭐️ Answer to the riddle.

🚨 Open Jobs: Visit our job board here.