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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Teaching Others How to Compete
Good leaders make competitions fun by designing quick challenges where the winners are honored and the losers must engage in a mild sanction. Toasting the winners, dressing in a particular outfit the next day, or serving the winners coffee creates good-natured teasing that elevates team spirit and gets everyone to raise their game. Competition brings…
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Deciding the Desired Outcome of Meetings Before They Begin
Prior to the launch of a meeting, the best leaders introduce the desired outcomes of the meeting, stating them clearly so that everyone knows exactly what the conversation is expected to achieve. Letting everyone know the specific result that must be achieved in the meeting helps to keep everyone on track and encourages team members…
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The Beta of Data
The key is to know what data points matter most before we begin assembling the set. Diving deep on those factors will likely produce a more confident and effective decision. Less really is more when it comes to data and decisions. This maxim runs contrary to contemporary thinking. Don’t let the big data vogue fool…
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When Leaders Withdraw an Existing Reward
Leaders must be thoughtful when they believe withdrawing a reward is the right decision. They should do so only when it is absolutely necessary. They then need to be prepared to make their case and endure the reaction. Leadership is hard for many reasons. Some reactions are not perfectly rational. Withdrawing an existing reward makes…
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Increasing the Odds of a Windfall
Windfalls normally follow the bumpy path of good fortune, but like all unexpected outcomes, leaders can increase the probability of chance by thinking creatively about what is around the corner and looming unseen overhead. When an opportunity appears on the horizon, the lucky are better prepared for it.
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Protecting Against Hubris
The dangers of hubris are well known, and need to be avoided. Leaders with high self-esteem and who project confidence have nothing to fear, unless they allow their pride to escape the normal constraints of reality. Remember that confidence isn’t thinking you are better than everyone else. True confidence is realizing that you have no…
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The Recency Bias of Performance Reviews
Offsetting the recency bias natural to leaders when reviewing performance is essential to reach the correct decisions. The best leaders collect data points from the entire year to make the most accurate performance assessments. To paraphrase Edwards Deming, without all of the data, you’re just a leader with an opinion.
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Reframing Nervous Energy
The physiological response to a high-pressure moment is actually telling us we are ready to perform. But because we aren’t used to the sensations and changes our body produces, we often view what is happening as negative and something that needs to be suppressed. This makes us pay attention to the stress rather than to…
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Embracing the Paradoxes of Leadership
The everyday paradoxes of leadership may be the most powerful explanation as to why some leaders excel and others flounder. The complexity of leadership becomes more understandable when we accept the idea that creating simplicity is exceedingly hard work. Now, that’s a paradox worth celebrating.
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You Can’t Unring the Bell
You Can’t Unring the Bell It has happened to celebrities, news anchors, reality stars, and politicians. No one is immune. Say, do, or tweet something highly offensive in the wrong moment and get walked to the door.