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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Seeing Criticism as Compliment
The highest compliment leaders can offer to those they lead is to make the effort to help them succeed. This requires feedback — sometimes hard feedback. We wouldn’t do it if we didn’t care about the progress others could make. To care enough to lead and offer feedback is no small gesture. It is what
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Invest the Time to Kill Bad Ideas
When we think of great leadership, we often think of leaders who make big, bold decisions, thereby changing the world around them. Making quality decisions is a hallmark of leadership and it is hard to conceive of an Admired Leader who isn’t known for the decisions they make. When it comes to extraordinary leadership; however,
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Don’t Tolerate This Kind of Subversion
When teams come together over issues, concerns are expressed, advocacy occurs, decisions get made. Everyone present claims to support those decisions. Soon thereafter, those with doubts begin to express their disagreement to others. The “They” versus “We” begins to leak out. With their own teams, statements like, “They made a bad call, but we’re going
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‘You Are Acting Out of Character’
Offering feedback when others are generally unaware of the negative impact they are having can be tricky. When a trusted colleague or leader unknowingly becomes more negative, dominant, distracted, status-conscious, or disengaged (among other issues), we face a unique feedback challenge. How do we offer this feedback without creating a strong and negative reaction? The
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How Strong Is Your Capital Balance Sheet?
The real balance sheet of your organization is about much more than economics. The truth is, there is a lot of capital running around your organization. We all know how important it is to have access to Financial Capital, either by creating it, borrowing it, or collecting it. Businesses don’t exist without working capital to pay
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Expect a Drop in Performance
When leaders introduce colleagues to a new way of doing things, they can expect a temporary drop in performance. This is especially true for new colleagues who have never been exposed to a particular way of achieving results. Any time leaders introduce a new learning, a new discipline, or a new language of doing things,
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Don’t Get Stuck in the Curve
By the time we arrive at whatever success we are experiencing, we face the ultimate challenge: Achieving future success will require different skills and insights than what was required for our current success. “What got you here, won’t get you there.” So says the title of a popular book. If we don’t invest now in
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Correct Errors in Remarkable Ways
Turning angry customers or clients into raving fans is an act of leadership often overlooked by more traditional views. In every customer experience that goes terribly wrong, there exists the possibility of responding to the event in such a way as to create a lasting and positive impact. A restaurant runs out of a popular
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Non-Posting Is a Ninja Move
“Keep me posted.” Leaders say it all the time. The simple act of posting someone to keep them informed is an everyday practice familiar to all of us. Messages that clarify progress on a project, acknowledge a promise has been kept, a signal that a package has been sent, or warn of a possible delay are all
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Don’t Toss a Last-Minute Grenade
To ensure any output will be delivered on time and with excellence, good leaders naturally check in frequently during the process to see where things stand and offer a hand if needed. Checking in is a leadership duty required to achieve great results. The key is to time the last check-in so the leader can