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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THE Essential First Step to Great Decisions
Solving the wrong problem is more common for teams and leaders than we think. People with ideas and solutions jump to the head of the line and steer teams off the path. Leaders who stand for action don’t spend enough time thinking through the root cause of an issue. As a result, we often solve
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Take a Hard Look at Their Questions
Perhaps nothing reflects our aptitude and judgment as much as the questions we ask. Asking smart, insightful, and illuminating questions requires real brainpower. A great question necessarily reflects our understanding and judgment on an issue. Maybe that’s why so many people are bad at asking them. While we might spin an answer or project false
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Distinguishing Good From Great
Ask for advice from the wise and ancient mentors in any organization and you will likely hear among their pearls: “Always underpromise and overdeliver.” Those wise enough to heed this advice reap respect from those who lead them. Leaders understand there are always unforeseen obstacles and delays. They appreciate when team members assume there will
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What’s Next for Me?
Navigating a career can be tricky. So many viable choices and opportunities present a challenge for even the best resume builders. The roles and positions we accept define us to the world — and even to ourselves. Advice for how to best forge a great career is plentiful, but mostly without calories. We are generally
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When to Get Your Hands Dirty
“Eyes on, hands-off” captures a recipe many of the best leaders believe in. The idea is to have the pulse of what is going on at every level but to keep your hands off and allow others to do the work they know how to do. Establishing guidelines and setting guardrails at the outset of
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The Power of the Pelz Effect
The influence a leader has on those above them in an organization exerts a profound impact on how others below them view them. The question on everyone’s mind, especially when promotions, bonuses, or new policies are in play, centers on how much credibility and influence our leader has to shape the outcomes. We want our
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Command and Control Is Pernicious
More than 40 companies in the United States alone have 300,000 or more employees. Nearly a dozen organizations in the U.S. boast of more than half a million workers. And you thought you had leadership headaches! The idea of leading in these organizations boggles the mind until we understand that all large collections of people
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Leadership Is Leadership Is Leadership
If we think of leadership as situational, even fundamentally different in the many roles we play in life, we inadvertently become less effective everywhere. Conversely, leaders who understand that the foundations of leadership apply equally across all situations and with all kinds of people have a distinct advantage. We become more masterful at leadership when
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Habit Stack Your Workout
Habit stacking is an increasingly popular approach to building a new habit. By coupling two activities together, one enjoyed and one necessary, leaders make great strides in instilling a new habit. One habit stack taking firm hold with the best leaders is exercise learning. In this habit stacking, leaders listen to podcasts while they workout. Exercise learning
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Hard Truth About Why People Leave
The war on talent has new battle lines given recent changes in the workplace and the increasingly virtual nature of teamwork. Talent is more portable than ever before. Attracting top talent is a critical challenge for nearly all teams and organizations. Less obvious is the problem of taking one step forward while taking two steps