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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Transition Versus Termination
When a team member is not up to the job, it is better for everyone if they are able to transition rather than be terminated. If the organization has the resources to do so. It’s always easier to look for a new role from an existing one. A transition allows the departing colleague the ability…
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The Best Way to Learn Is to Teach
We intuitively know that teaching others is the best way to learn just about anything. Any time we share a learning with others we clarify our own understanding in a much more precise way. Better yet, it exposes any gap we have in that understanding. This is known as the Protégé Effect among those who study learning.
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Some People Avoid You Because They Owe You an Apology
There are a truckload of reasons people avoid leaders at times. When those we lead don’t want the feedback, don’t like the answer, or don’t want to be held accountable or responsible, they commonly avoid us. Another reason is when a team member owes the leader an apology. Saving face by avoiding the people involved after
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When Others React Emotionally
Leaders often confront situations where emotions run high. In response to an event or issue, a team member loses control and acts out by expressing what they are really feeling. In their emotional release, a colleague might cry, shake, give emphatic answers, raise their voice, display angry gestures, or turn inward in obvious pain. How
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Wickedly Predicting the Unintended Consequences of Decisions
For leaders, the devil isn’t in the details. It’s in the unintended consequences of the decisions they make. The perverse and unpredicted effects of a decision can sometimes magnify a problem and make it much worse. Known as “blowback” in clandestine operations, the unforeseen outcomes of a decision can cause a big mess and turn…
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Not Responding Is a Loud Response
In an increasingly mediated communication society, however, such small acts carry a heavy impact. Those leaders who prize relationships get this idea and find a way to respond quickly. They know that not responding is a relationship offense that speaks volumes about who really matters to them. Taking the time to respond, even with simple…
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The Distinction of an Inquiry-Based Conversation
The Distinction of an Inquiry-Based Conversation
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Deleting Information Often Draws More Attention to It
Attempts to censor or remove information often produces the opposite outcome. Efforts to censor information will usually draw more attention to it, make it more widely known, and increase the appetite to learn more about it. Resisting the urge to squash information is sometimes the smart play. Erasing the past can be risky. There are…
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Communication Design Gets More Important Every Day
Every leader should be working to better understand the best communication design processes. Effective teamwork begins and ends with effective communication. Communication is, and has always been, the essential language of leadership. How good is your team and organization in communicating what is important?
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The Obligations of Leadership
When organizations make clear the Obligations of Leadership, they spell out precisely what it means to agree to the role. The title, authority, and position of leadership then become a decision, not wishful thinking. When other leaders outline the obligations and ask those stepping into a leadership role to make the commitment and promise to…