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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Don’t Paralyze Your Rookie Players
When those we lead are inexperienced at a task or activity, showing them what TO DO is far superior than telling them what NOT TO DO. Players new to any game or task simply don’t do well when hit with a barrage of ideas and actions to avoid. It’s easy to miss this simple truth.
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Coercive Power Undermines Trust
During a heated discussion, a mother says to her daughter, “Sit down.” The tone and volume make it clear that this is a demand. The daughter puts her hands on her hips and stares back without any movement downward. The mother then moves a step closer and says even more harshly, “I said, sit down.” The
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Passive-Aggressive Is a Major Problem
Passive-aggressive behavior is more common than we would like to admit. It’s always easier to express our candid views about a person without them present. The same applies to our views on issues. Many people find it painless to tell the leader they like an idea, yet later admit to others they hold an opposite
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Fend Off the Negativity Effect
When you ask a seasoned executive whether they first want to hear the good news or the bad news, they almost always ask for the bad news first. The reason is simple. They don’t have to do anything about the good news, but are likely to have to act on the bad news. In this
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Share Power to Gain Influence
Power for a leader is an elusively counterintuitive proposition. When we first lead others, we understand all too well how the position, title, and authority we have over others allow us to direct, push, and cajole them forward. As we mature as leaders, we come to learn that to be truly powerful, we have to
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Learn to Play the Clarinet
When legendary Winged Foot golf pro Claude Harmon asked his mentor, Harvey Penick, what he could do to be a better teaching professional. Penick told him to learn to play the clarinet. Harmon was of the old school and followed his mentor’s instruction without resistance and to the letter. He took clarinet lessons for a
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Fight This Feedback Bias
Everyone is really good at something. A signature strength defines who we are in the eyes of others. This asset allows us to dance and perform at the highest level. Such an asset deserves to be nurtured and shared with others — except when offering feedback. Every leader, parent, coach, and teacher is influenced by
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No One Has a Lock on Character
What does it mean to possess high character? Is character something you own, or is something you must prove through your actions and choices every day? We all know a leader who displayed the highest integrity and character for multiple decades who then lost it, perhaps forever, one morning with a horrible choice or decision.
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Avoiding Is an Act of Cowardice
Avoidance might be the most common conflict strategy no one writes about. When we are uncomfortable with others, even those we know well, we tend to avoid them. Contact is averted. We look right past them in meetings. Conversations are cut short, postponed, or cancelled. Engagement is neglected. Avoidance allows us to ignore what we
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Tune Into the Repeated
Given all of the noise, bias, and gossip that exists in an organization, how does a leader know what is true and what is less true? Is that team member talented? Is the team behind the new process? Is the strategy working or floundering? The best leaders use a simple but enduring maxim to guide