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.
Search Field Notes
-
The Humility Myth
Humility is a superpower when possessed by competent and experienced leaders. Humble leaders draw the respect and admiration of everyone around them. By engaging others with humility, leaders build trust, deepen relationships, become more approachable, and create an atmosphere of openness and collaboration.
-
When Team Members and Performers Reach a Plateau and Stop Developing
It is quite common for top performers to reach a level of performance where they stop making gains in their skills, outcomes, and insights. When they reach this plateau, they seem incapable of improving any further. Psychologists call this stall in improvement “arrested development,” and it happens to just about everyone at some point. As
-
What Leaders Everywhere Can Learn From Disney Magic
At Disney’s theme parks, Magical Moments are planned events. “The Cast,” as Disney calls their park staff, are charged with a series of staged activities to enhance the guest experience and make it memorable. For instance, each day a family is chosen to officially open the park, a child is asked to introduce each live
-
Guidance Before Autonomy
Giving team members and colleagues autonomy and control over how to complete tasks and assignments motivates and inspires them to do their best work. Research consistently shows that team members who feel empowered, valued, and trusted to execute on their own become more productive and effective. Leaders who have learned the benefits of empowering others
-
A Relationship Challenge: Greet Everyone You Come in Direct Contact With
There is something special about a person who chooses to greet everyone they come in direct contact with. With a simple gesture, they convey that people and relationships matter to them. When a leader follows this principle, it carries an additional meaning. Leaders who greet everyone they come in direct contact with project a deep
-
Rethinking Team Member Rewards
When it comes to rewarding team members for exceptional work and results, leaders are often in a rut. They rely on the same four or five rewards to recognize people. In addition to increased compensation and monetary rewards, leaders depend too heavily on public awards and acknowledgments, work flexibility and time off, development experiences, and
-
How to Listen to Everyone Without Listening to Everyone
Good leaders use silence to encourage more dialogue and openness from others. By not filling the void of immediate response, leaders encourage others to offer their candid views and opinions. Too many leaders can’t stop themselves from offering a quick opinion or position, which can discourage competing views. More silence and restraint from response normally…
-
Silence at the Wrong Time Can Send a Powerful Message
Good leaders use silence to encourage more dialogue and openness from others. By not filling the void of immediate response, leaders encourage others to offer their candid views and opinions. Too many leaders can’t stop themselves from offering a quick opinion or position, which can discourage competing views. More silence and restraint from response normally…
-
Outcome Goals Are Overrated
One of the more creative acts of leadership is setting goals that inspire performance. Setting goals is easy, but crafting goals that narrow attention, build excitement, and motivate people to achieve is artful. The best leaders are masterful goal setters who think long and hard about the targets they place in front of others. They know
-
The Difference in Salespeople With an Affluent Mindset
Thinking as if they don’t need a sale to make ends meet makes them more aggressive and confident in attaining one. The most successful salespeople don’t always have a better style, approach, or strategy. Sometimes, they simply have a different mindset.