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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Holding on to Grudges
Sometimes, people strongly resent what others say or do. If the infraction is large enough, the feelings of ill will and distaste can linger. Harboring this bitterness or resentment over time constitutes a grudge. Those who hold a grudge refuse to forgive the offending party and often fail to treat them with the respect, courtesy,
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What Are You Avoiding?
To reduce discomfort, lower anxiety, or push aside difficulty, leaders avoid things they really shouldn’t. At any given moment, most leaders are avoiding something they need to address. Avoidance gives them temporary control over a situation they would rather not face, and leaders like the feeling of control much more than the stress and negative…
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Allocate Time in Each Day for Both Strategic and Tactical Work
In his attempt to emphasize the difference between efficiency and effectiveness, management guru Peter Drucker famously drew a line between “doing things right” and “doing the right things.” Thus, the popular quotation: “Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.” The ability to think about and do both every day is what constitutes balance
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Three Critical Behaviors That Display a More Senior Style
Leaders and team members sometimes get the feedback that they don’t show up as “senior” enough. This is another way of saying they don’t engage or sound like peers when they are in the room with more experienced and seasoned members of their organization. The view that a colleague has a style that is too
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An Exercise for Practicing Team Dialogue
Advocacy-based discussions dominate in team interactions. Team members propose ideas, advocate for positions, and try to persuade others to accept their viewpoints. Our need to influence others and to make our convictions known runs deep. So much so that it is exceedingly rare for a team to engage in any conversation that is not advocacy-based.…
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How Quickly Will Others Notice My Changes in Behavior?
Leaders who make a change and expect to see differences quickly reflected in performance reviews or manager appraisals will be sorely disappointed. It takes a long time to convince others that you operate differently, and they won’t reward you for that change until they see the behavior dozens of times and in different situations. Are…
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To Grow, a Leader Needs to Be Inauthentic
Contrary to popular leadership wisdom, authenticity is not a reflection of how leaders display what is in their hearts or heads. Authenticity resides in what leaders do most often. For instance, a leader who believes themselves to be compassionate and hopes to display their warmth for others is, in reality, not authentically kind-hearted until they consistently act compassionately. We know leaders
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Start Your Day With a Compliment
Imagine if your day began with a message from someone you respect describing how pleased they were about something you did. Such a compliment coming from a trusted source might change your entire day. The boost such a compliment provides might reframe how you look at challenges and problems throughout the day. Everything in your…
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Never Mistake a Correlation for a Cause
The best leaders, however, recognize that confusing correlation with causation leads to flawed conclusions and ineffective solutions, so they guard against it. They begin the decision-making process with the assumption that whatever is presented as causal is likely not true. And then work from there.
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Leaders Who Unintentionally Leak That They Don’t Like a Team Member
Not everyone likes or appreciates those they work with. It is inevitable that, on occasion, a leader will find a team member distasteful or stylistically not their cup of tea. Over time, unless the leader finds their way to more connection or affinity with a disapproved team member, they will often unintentionally “leak” their dislike…