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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Decisions Communicate Loudly
When leaders attempt to imprint important messages, such as strategy, values, and vision, down throughout the team and organization, they harness multiple mediums to get the job done. The most common of these is the formal communication organizations are known for — culture decks, mission and value statements, guiding principle documents, and emails that outline current strategy.
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Invite Expertise Into the Conversation
Experts are seemingly everywhere and often dominate important discussions with their facts and opinions. When debating the merits of a plan, subject matter experts can trump the views of leaders and quickly derail tactical plans and strategy. Bumping up against experts and expertise is never comfortable for leaders — especially when the leader feels strongly about
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Use Data to Inform Decisions, Not Make Them
Opinion in the absence of evidence or facts is bias or whim. Good leaders work hard to distinguish between unsupported opinions (of which there are many) and evidence-based viewpoints. Using data and numbers to help leaders and teams make quality decisions is, finally, the norm. Leaders across the world rely on data — big and
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Too Much Transparency Can Be a Bad Thing
Good leaders today are much more transparent and open than leaders of the past. To engage team members and include them in decisions that affect them, leaders often share information about the early stages of a decision and how it is shaping up, even before a conclusion is reached. Openness and transparency, after all, motivate
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Attribute Your Ideas to Those You Want to Persuade
Among the many strategies of getting others to support an idea or proposal, perhaps none is more powerful than attributing the idea directly to them. Doing so gives individuals ownership of the idea and naturally reduces their resistance. After all, who wants to disagree with themselves? Leaders and decision-makers are especially influenced when others give
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Creating More Urgency When You Need To
On occasion, a team facing a challenge or major obstacle doesn’t act with the urgency a leader desires. A relaxed attitude when the business is under duress can be highly disconcerting for any leader. When a leader wants to turn up the pressure and create urgency in a good way, they focus on key measurables
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The Need to Be Liked Can Be a Fatal Flaw
One of the fatal flaws for leaders is an oversized desire to be liked by others. All humans have a deep desire to be liked. That need is baked deep into our DNA. When this desire becomes too strong, however, it can prevent leaders from delivering tough messages, being honest in the face of confrontation,
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A Four-Letter Word to Describe Bad Leaders
It’s time to retire a four-letter word that is all too common in most workplaces. This word has an insidious effect on how we orient to leaders. Yet, we don’t instantly find it offensive or out of bounds. In fact, this four-letter word is so common as to be synonymous with leadership, even though it
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Feeling Gratitude Is About Your ‘Get To’
Gratitude is en vogue for good reason. No stronger antidote for unhappiness exists than the daily review of what we are grateful for. Remembering to be grateful is not always easy, however, especially when we get busy and confront numerous challenges throughout the day. As we face the daily grind of arduous tasks, we often
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Develop Situational Awareness
When we find ourselves driving on an icy road, our attention to detail becomes acute. We see every dark patch on the roadway and game plan how we will respond if our wheels were to slip or slide. We accept that the threat of losing control is real and focus our attention and actions to