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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A Master Class of Institutional Knowledge
In many organizations, leaders presume that the collective knowledge that makes the organization effective will persist without a structured approach to retain it. Because they undervalue the tacit knowledge, expertise, and experience that an organization accumulates over time, they allow team members to leave, retire, and switch roles without much consideration for the consequences.
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How Leaders Treat Failure and Error Differently
Leaders view failure and error very differently on purpose. It may sound like a matter of semantics, but for leaders, failure and error are very different outcomes that must be addressed distinctively. So they choose to treat these two outcomes differently to jumpstart improvement and to make more progress.
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What Do I Wish My Leader Knew About Me?
Several years ago, elementary school teacher Kyle Schwartz wrote “I wish my teacher knew _______” on the board and asked her 3rd-grade students to complete the sentence. They responded with honesty, comedy, and vulnerability. What she learned changed her as a teacher.
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Is Psychological Safety Inconsistent With Candidness?
Psychological safety is no management fad. Its role in improving performance is so critical that it has superpower status on the best teams. The bottom line is this: When people believe they are protected from embarrassment, ridicule, and humiliation for what they say and do, they operate more openly and learn more actively.
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Teams That Perform Acts of Community Service
Leaders who facilitate acts of service build teams in the process. When team members use their talents to serve the community, they lift themselves up and learn how to better collaborate. Now that’s a Win-Win.
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The Fear of Disappointing People Who Believe in You
The fear of disappointing people can paralyze you. It’s evidence of the stock you have in what others think of you. But using that fear to motivate you is what good people do. It’s usually not enough just to make others proud. You need a dose of trepidation to keep you on your toes. Not…
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Leading by Feelings Versus Principles
Many people, leaders included, operate based on their feelings. Their behaviors and choices reflect what they are feeling at any given moment. How they feel determines what they do or don’t do. For instance, when things are going well and they feel positive, they are more likely to spend time with team members and dig…
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The Ground Rules of Disagreeing With Your Leader
Good leaders encourage team members to speak their minds and disagree when they feel it is important to do so. But even with the most open and receptive leaders, team members must follow a commonsense protocol to avoid ruffling feathers or creating ill will. This age-old formula is worth articulating now and again. Here are…
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Making Large Organizations Feel Smaller
As organizations and teams grow and add more people, it is easy to lose the camaraderie and personal connection between team members. More remote work, people working in different locations, and the fast pace of concentrated tasks all contribute to the loss of what a small and tight-knit culture feels like.
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The Talent Barometer of Processing Speed
“In order to be exceptional, you have to be an exception.” So says NBA executive Sam Presti. Presti, the general manager of the Oklahoma City Thunder, would know. Over the last decade, Presti has traded for and drafted unheralded players who later became superstars. He has an eye for talent, especially for those players who…