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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Overcoming the Shadow of a Predecessor
Following a popular and effective predecessor can undermine the self-confidence of a new leader. Strong leaders who have held the role for a long time are a particularly tough act to follow. It is easy for leaders who follow an exceptional leader to feel self-conscious and less sure of their skills and talents. Those who
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The Importance of Retelling Stories of Success
With a renewed memory of success, team members are motivated to recapture the feelings and confidence that only success can generate. Everyone loves a good story, but they relish the success stories they were a part of. Good leaders remind the team of what they have accomplished so they are motivated to repeat that success.
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Strengthening Weak Ties to the Organization
Strengthening Weak Ties to the Organization. For a host of reasons, some team members can become disconnected or uncommitted to the team and the team leader. Their everyday interaction, lack of connection to more than one or two colleagues, and reluctance to seek opportunities to collaborate reflect their weak ties to the organization and its…
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Leaders Who Lack Courage Allow Bad Ideas to Prosper
When we think of leaders who lack courage, we typically envision people who have a difficult time making tough personnel decisions or delivering a strong message to those who need it. To be sure, courage is required to be an effective leader largely because decisions have consequences and workplace relationships need both caring and accountability.…
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On Thinking Gray
The disadvantages of black and white thinking are well known. Any time a leader oversimplifies a decision or issue by choosing to see things in extreme good’s and bad’s or right’s and wrong’s, they typically make poor choices and draw inadequate conclusions. By giving up the middle ground, or shades of gray, leaders lose the
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When Character Traits Are Out of Balance
A strong character is a prerequisite for strong leaders. Although critics often point to the character flaws of leaders after they fail or make a consequential but poor decision, the truth is that there are very few leaders who lack any semblance of character. While some leaders can certainly be plagued by character flaws, the…
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The Best Team Members Are Sponges
No team has too many sponge-like members. Adding the metaphorical qualities of this marine animal to the criteria for selecting new team members is a wise choice. Leaders can’t create sponges, but they can select for them.
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The Smallest Details Carry a Company’s Culture
Any debate about whether a strong and positive organizational culture predicts high performance has been settled by the recent stream of books, research, and data that underlines the power of culture to deliver results. High performance doesn’t promote a strong culture nearly as much as a cohesive culture produces top-tier performance. To achieve success, good
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Becoming a “Spend Time With Me” Leader
The requests a spend-time-with-me leader makes of others offer quality time not just substance: “Join me and let’s work on that project together.” “Come with me and take a walk so we can talk things through.” “Let’s travel to the meeting together so we can spend some time discussing that issue.” “Join me for breakfast…
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The Hidden Challenge of a Highly Cohesive Team
Teams that are full of trust, comradery, shared values, and possess the ability to work together through challenges are the gold standard. Spending time on shared tasks in close proximity brings such teams even closer. These tight-knit teams possess the elusive quality of “chemistry” so critical to high performance and typically go beyond trust to…