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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Ask Everyone to Come Prepared to Meetings, Including Yourself
Understanding the issues well enough to reach thoughtful conclusions in the span of a single meeting requires planning. Too much information overwhelms team members and is impractical. Any time a meeting requires hours of prep time, it is an indication that a single meeting is not sufficient. Spending an hour or less to prepare for…
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Strengthening the Skill of Pattern Recognition
The chain reaction of pattern recognition draws upon both stored experience and objective observation to give relief to otherwise random information. The best leaders are astute observers who are always looking for new patterns. They get this way by choice and intention. The more a leader searches for patterns, the better they get at recognizing…
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Trust People by Giving Them the Toughest Assignments
Delegating a difficult problem doesn’t mean leaders just walk away and watch from the sidelines. In fact, good leaders stack the deck and make sure the assignment will succeed in some measure by serving as a resource and checking in with whatever help the team member needs. Building trust is never easy. Using the hardest…
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Frozen Knowledge Can Be Deadly
Fighting the urge to keep our beliefs and facts stagnant is what smart leaders do. Write down the key facts and assumptions you operate from and spend a little time reading and listening to subject-matter experts about them. You might be surprised at how much has changed since you last put those facts in your…
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Playing With People Better Than You
Occasionally allowing others with less skill to hitch a ride on your shoulder is the payback of asking others above you to do the same. Dedicate a portion of your practice and play for those more skillful than you. Compete the best you can and soak it all in. You may find your skills get…
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Taking Full Advantage of Business Trips
Business trips are a rich resource of learning and insight if we treat them that way and take full advantage of what is possible in a new city or venue. Travel is one of life’s greatest teachers, if you let it be. By focusing on experiences, not things, leaders can turn any business trip into…
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Teaching Quality Through Exemplars
When team members know what excellence looks like and can discuss the nuances with their leader, learning and skill accelerates. Leaders naturally know how to set an example for others. But by collecting and sharing exemplars, they infuse an immediate understanding of what counts as excellence from which others can learn. When people chase excellence,…
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Asking a Crafty Question Upward Can Carry an Indirect Punch
Once the feedback has been dispensed through the question, the key is to resist the temptation to argue about whatever their answer might be. The reply really doesn’t matter. Once the question has been posed, the feedback has landed. Let it sit there and have its impact. Don’t ruin the influence it will have by…
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Believing in People Before They Believe in Themselves
Some leaders ask team members to jump through hoops and over hurdles in order to prove their worth. As a team member shows promise and results, they devise yet another test to ensure that this colleague is really worth their time and investment. They have to earn every ounce of trust and responsibility this leader…
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Learn to Separate the Problem From the Symptom
Learn to Separate the Problem From the Symptom. To identify a symptom, ask this question: What would we like to see more of or less of? Sales, customers, profits, talent, attrition, team conflict, and weak execution are common answers. These are not problems, but the signs of an underlying challenge worth identifying and resolving. To…