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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Strong Opinions Held Weakly
Exceptional leaders embrace the expression, “Strong opinions held weakly.” It represents both a strength in advocacy and the wisdom to remain open-minded as new information and viewpoints become available. When operating from this vantage, leaders let their guard down and involve others in their search for truth. Even when they are highly convicted, the best
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Use a Hierarchy of Emphasis
Raising concerns about issues and people with the appropriate emphasis is never easy, even for the best leaders. Unintentionally causing a five-alarm fire over a smoldering issue is never a good idea, nor is failing to warn others of impending doom. Of course, most concern falls somewhere between those endpoints. The question is how to
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Give the Gift of People
Of the many gifts we give others to express our appreciation for all they do, perhaps none is more novel or impactful than giving the gift of people. People are the perfect gift from leaders. Gifts of people bring meaning, memory, and experience together in a way almost no other gift can rival. A weekend
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How Can I Do Better?
Seeking feedback immediately after a performance is never easy for even the most seasoned leaders and performers. But you never know what people are thinking unless you ask them. Dodging this feedback by presuming others would tell you if there was something you needed to know means missing valuable information that could make you better.
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Spread Messages Redundantly
When it comes to spreading strategic messages across an organization or a marketplace, the best communicators know something all leaders should know — there is a world of difference between repetition and redundancy. Repetition is about saying the same thing over and over. Redundancy is about saying the same thing in different ways. Over time, we tune out highly repetitive messages,
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Don’t Blindly Follow Innovations
Society doesn’t do a good job of identifying the harmful effects of new innovations and technologies once they have taken hold in popular culture. True believers never want to hold back progress, so they resist improvements and changes that could offset the negative effect of these new innovations. Think tobacco, plastic bottles, guns, sugar, X-rays,
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Being Effective Beats Being Right
Let’s agree to the following reality: Being “right” does not make you effective. In other words, having the facts in your favor does not mean others will follow you to the conclusion those facts suggest. Being right versus being effective is one of the hardest leadership lessons to learn in life, and too many seasoned
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The Trap of Work-Ethic Suspicion
No one you lead wakes up and says to themselves, “I can’t wait to disappoint my leader today.” Starting from the viewpoint that everyone is trying to do the best they can is a game-changer for leaders who set a high bar. It puts everyone at ease and allows leaders to objectively examine their role
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An Exercise to Strengthen Team Understanding
When teams gather to plan, the best leaders save some time for everyone to gain a deeper understanding of their teammates. A more in-depth understanding of who others really are helps teams to build trust and overcome petty disagreements. A team event that concludes without team members knowing just a little more about one another
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Time Is More Arbitrary Than We Think
How leaders punctuate time, for themselves and for those they lead, influences their potential for progress. Society tells us to situate our accomplishments in weeks, months, quarters, and years. Year-end reviews, quarterly reports, and weekly metrics all speak to the power of set periods to define what it means to be productive. These recurrent periods