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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Weak Leaders Prefer the Silence
In political circles, speaking truth to power is always in vogue. In the spirit of Mandela, King, Gandhi, and Scholl, those with strong convictions are encouraged to call out the false or biased assumptions held by those with higher status. This act of courage is seen as virtuous and necessary to prevent those with power…
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The Maladjusted Lizards of Leadership
We have all worked with leaders who are emotionally unpredictable. Their reactions swing wildly based upon what has happened to them in the last few minutes. Their moods go up and down faster than the stock market, as they carry forward every interaction into the next one. When we chose not to engage them or…
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Do You Detest Making Small Talk?
Finding common ground in new relationships is an essential first step for creating rapport and building connections. With strangers and those we don’t know well, this means making “small talk,” an idea that can bring grown men and women to their knees in fear or repulsion. Most people detest making small talk because it is…
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Leaders Don’t Get Paid in Cash
How much does a leader get paid? In the words of conductor Zubin Mehta, “I don’t know but whatever it is, it isn’t enough.” Leadership is a tireless job. Thankless, too. The best leaders understand exactly what Bob Dylan meant when he wrote: “You’ll find out when you reach the top, you’re on the bottom.” …
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A Better Way to Approach Potential Mentors
As we search for the insight, clarity, and perspective we aren’t getting from our current leaders and colleagues, the best among us seek out seasoned, successful, and experienced people who might serve unofficially as our mentors. In many instances, these prospective mentors barely know us. Some have retired or moved on to other organizations. Some may…
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Why Leaders Fail to Meet Our Expectations
Leadership has evolved. Once upon a time, leadership was a straightforward matter: Be controlling, as well as directive. We expected leaders to issue commands — and they did. No one dared to “push back,” as we like to call it now. As society changes, so does leadership. We expect so much more from leaders than in generations…
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Is There a Leadership Gene?
Social scientists will soon change the entire conversation of what is now debatable in the social world. Geneticists are making incredible progress in identifying what parts of the DNA code are associated with stable traits, such as intelligence, mental illness, and susceptibility to disease, among many others. Thanks to what is known as polygenic testing, we will…
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Beating the Blandness of Good
Good is the enemy of great, or so author Jim Collins reminds us. Most teams and organizations never experience greatness because they become overly satisfied with good. Worse yet, over time, “good” will turn into…just okay. On less effective teams, “good” becomes associated with “enough” until “good enough” becomes a rallying cry for mediocrity. Maybe…
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Overcoming Resistance to Change
We prefer to do what we have always done. We tend to eat the same foods we have always eaten. We listen to the same music we have always listened to. We buy the same brands we have always purchased. The point is this: not only do we strongly prefer the status quo, we significantly…
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How to Be Rejected by Any Audience
If a stranger walked up to you and, for no obvious reason, demanded that you move a few feet from where you’re standing, your reaction would be the same as that of virtually all human beings on the planet. You would be inclined to stand firm and not move. This feeling is called psychological reactance, and it…