FieldNotes
Our daily Field Notes email is just the kind of jumpstart you need. A fast read. Maybe less than a minute. Because sometimes it just takes one insight to change the trajectory of the day.
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What Is Team Chemistry, Anyway?
The next time you experience or observe chemistry between people, watch how different the interaction is. It flows, as if it is lubricated by some unknown spirit. The underlying accent of the conversation is chemistry in action. Or perhaps it is chemistry itself.
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300 Passes
When NBA coach Steve Kerr took the helm as the basketball coach of the Golden State Warriors in 2014, he inherited a highly talented but hugely underperforming team. Because Kerr believed deeply in analytics, his first strategic task as coach was to sit down with the team’s metric guru, Sammy Gelfand, to review the strengths
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The Confidence of Stretching Others
It is common for leaders not to express their true judgments about the talents and skills of those they lead. They don’t hold back as much as they lack the ideal forum through which to express the confidence and trust they have in others. Stretch assignments and the conversations to explore them offer the perfect…
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The Sneaky Way Productive Leaders Procrastinate
By very definition, productive leaders get things done. They relish ticking off the priorities on their to-do list. One task at a time, they accomplish an amazing amount of work in a day. The satisfaction that comes from being productive is a narcotic that keeps the train of productivity rolling. Of course, not all tasks
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Leaders Who Succeed Wake Up and Run
Making a different choice is all about commitment. When leaders are excited to get things done, they find the power and energy to start fast and keep the wheels turning. The more they lose themselves in something bigger than themselves, the more energy they find. As Benjamin Franklin liked to say, “Energy and persistence conquer…
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Treat Your Leader as a Coach
If treated like a coach, your leader will likely become a quality source of learning and perspicacity. More importantly, engaging your leader as a coach will create an ongoing dialogue about how both parties view high performance and the critical ingredients that foster it. As with all great coaching relationships, mutual influence is what keeps…
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Look for Passionate Advocates When Consensus Is Impossible
When consensus is negated, identifying two or more passionate advocates lights the pathway forward. With anything less than a core group of zealots in favor of the decision, good leaders should share the discomfort of those against the decision and keep the issue on the table until a different solution or choice presents itself. Without…
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Promoting Intrinsic Motivation
When motivated from the inside, without rewards dangling in front of them, team members expand their potential by working harder and smarter. Task enjoyment and skill enhancement are two important ways to encourage self-motivation. People are born with intrinsic motivation. The best leaders just remind them how to rediscover that inner drive.
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Leaders Who Pretend to Agree
Leaders who only pretend to agree to team decisions are not to be trusted to lead. Their desire to impose their personal views on a finalized decision suggests they think they know better than the wisdom of the team. Such arrogance and action shatter the alignment so necessary for organizational success.
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Leaders Who Overshare
In the workplace, too much information can be as dangerous as too little. Team members want to be included and privy to what is going on. They relish fast-breaking news and value understanding how the leader sees and makes judgments about the team, the future, and the work at hand. In the name of transparency and vulnerability,