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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A Four-Letter Word to Describe Bad Leaders
It’s time to retire a four-letter word that is all too common in most workplaces. This word has an insidious effect on how we orient to leaders. Yet, we don’t instantly find it offensive or out of bounds. In fact, this four-letter word is so common as to be synonymous with leadership, even though it…
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Feeling Gratitude Is About Your ‘Get To’
Gratitude is en vogue for good reason. No stronger antidote for unhappiness exists than the daily review of what we are grateful for. Remembering to be grateful is not always easy, however, especially when we get busy and confront numerous challenges throughout the day. As we face the daily grind of arduous tasks, we often…
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Develop Situational Awareness
When we find ourselves driving on an icy road, our attention to detail becomes acute. We see every dark patch on the roadway and game plan how we will respond if our wheels were to slip or slide. We accept that the threat of losing control is real and focus our attention and actions to…
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Revoke Bad Decisions Publicly
Given the enormous number of decisions leaders make throughout the year, it is only a matter of time before they lay an egg. A few bad decisions in the crate of good ones are virtually guaranteed. A policy decision with unintended negative effects. A process that creates resistance because of its complexity. A strategy that…
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Is That the Best You Can Do?
Sometimes, even a simple question can push others to reach higher and attain achievements equal to their potential. Consider a question like this: Is that the best you can do? A leader might evaluate an initial work product. A first draft. An early performance. And when those seven words are deployed, they can drive talented and…
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The Downside of Success
The highest distinction of culinary excellence in the world is a rating of three stars from the Michelin Guide. Only a handful of restaurants earn even one star, much less three. Chefs spend their entire careers hoping to receive the adulation and success granted with a Michelin star. Those who reach the zenith and consistently…
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Seek Excellence Not Perfection
In our increasingly competitive world, perfectionism is on the rise. At a time when winning creates so much social value and attention, the desire to attain perfection is a natural consequence. Perfection, by definition, requires a hyper-focus on eliminating mistakes and errors. To compete without flaws is perceived as a means to ensure victory. But…
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Ask Them to Prove It
Sometimes, challenge is the best way to push others towards excellence and help them grow. The idea is to “stretch” expectations, to encourage people to believe in themselves, and to push them out of the comfort zone of the status quo or mediocrity. As one leader expresses it, “You have to teach people to get…
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A Vulnerable Leader Is a Courageous Leader
One of those hard lessons in both leadership and life is internalizing the idea that asking for help when you need it is actually a strength, not a weakness. This idea is highly correlated with another difficult concept to master — admitting you don’t know, that you don’t have all of the answers, even acknowledging there…
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Experience Can Be Deceiving
Experience is often weighed too heavily when assessing talent. Leaders commonly place an extra thumb on the scale of experience when judging others. They have learned, falsely, that experience is to be given reverence, much like age and wisdom. They all go hand-in-hand, or do they? Do you have 20 years of experience or one…