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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Leaders Who Don’t Suffer Fools Gladly
Leaders who don’t suffer fools gladly, as the expression goes, have a difficult time tolerating incompetence or sloppy thinking. Their impatience with those unprepared, naïve, or lacking in aptitude is often palpable to others. While this reputation has some advantages, it is generally not the compliment leaders secretly think it is. Those leaders who are…
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Don’t Empower the Wrong People
Even though empowerment is a windfall best practice that grows talent and tremendously benefits organizations and leaders, it is not a magic bullet that works in every situation. The best leaders empower others when they are ready or near ready for it, and not a moment before.
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Take The Expenses Quiz
What it costs to run a business or enterprise of any size is typically lost on people. Understanding the many layers of expenses, including taxes, rent, and operating costs is not easy for team members. Unless they have to make the connection between revenue and expenses, they prefer to let others think and worry about…
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The Fabulous Discomfort of Exit Interviews
When they conduct Exit Interviews with team members who leave the team for whatever reason, the best organizations garner a wealth of valuable information about how to improve. Questions regarding how the enterprise met expectations, the quality of the training they received, and suggestions for enhancing the culture are gold in the hands of those…
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The Danger of ‘Yes’ People
The desire for some team members to be liked and to work harmoniously with others can create a Yes mentality. They go along with, agree to, and support whatever opinion or decision a leader promotes. When asked point-blank what they think, a yes-person normally tells a leader what they want to hear. Everything is easier…
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The Best Place and Time to Have That Conversation
The Best Place and Time to Have That Conversation Where a conversation takes place and what else the parties are doing during the exchange really matters. My office or yours? Sitting at a round table or at a desk across from each other? Eating or drinking while talking or engaging in direct eye contact while…
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True Mastery Requires a Beginner’s Mind
Rare are the leaders and performers willing to embrace the beginner’s mindset and admit to themselves and the world that they know very little. But for those who take this leap, the potential of true mastery awaits, along with the white belt of naïve curiosity.
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Will You Be Bitter or Better?
As the motivational speaker Zig Ziglar liked to say, ”Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude.” Pithy, but also true. The choice is always ours. Good leaders go out of their way to remind us that better is more powerful than bitter in tough situations. Since attitudes are decisions, helping others make the…
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Asking and Answering Your Own Questions
Strong leaders are confident people who have equally staunch convictions about issues that matter. The best leaders are highly aware of the markers or cues of confidence that they use to project self-assurance. Cues such as emotionally intense words and phrases, highly vivid descriptions, direct eye contact, and strong qualifiers help to create a composite…
