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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Taking Away the Excuse for Inaction
People who want to avoid acting or executing often ask to “study” the problem or issues. By engaging in serious inquiry about a problem or decision, they create a delay that inhibits action. Whenever people are feeling uncertain, uncomfortable, or less expert, it is not uncommon for them to suggest that studying or thinking more…
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“Guard Against” Advice
Good leaders anticipate the challenges and issues faced by team members and move to prevent them from becoming problems. They provide invaluable advice when they offer a caution or warning about a potential quagmire. When given in a caring and positive way, these “guard against” messages can avert an unfolding issue or thwart an unseen…
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Helping Reticent Team Members Find the Courage to Speak Up
The reasons people have for doing what they do reveal a great deal about their character, values, fears, and needs. This is especially true when we examine why people speak up and register their views with others.
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The Humility Myth
Humility is a superpower when possessed by competent and experienced leaders. Humble leaders draw the respect and admiration of everyone around them. By engaging others with humility, leaders build trust, deepen relationships, become more approachable, and create an atmosphere of openness and collaboration.
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When Team Members and Performers Reach a Plateau and Stop Developing
It is quite common for top performers to reach a level of performance where they stop making gains in their skills, outcomes, and insights. When they reach this plateau, they seem incapable of improving any further. Psychologists call this stall in improvement “arrested development,” and it happens to just about everyone at some point. As
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What Leaders Everywhere Can Learn From Disney Magic
At Disney’s theme parks, Magical Moments are planned events. “The Cast,” as Disney calls their park staff, are charged with a series of staged activities to enhance the guest experience and make it memorable. For instance, each day a family is chosen to officially open the park, a child is asked to introduce each live
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Guidance Before Autonomy
Giving team members and colleagues autonomy and control over how to complete tasks and assignments motivates and inspires them to do their best work. Research consistently shows that team members who feel empowered, valued, and trusted to execute on their own become more productive and effective. Leaders who have learned the benefits of empowering others
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A Relationship Challenge: Greet Everyone You Come in Direct Contact With
There is something special about a person who chooses to greet everyone they come in direct contact with. With a simple gesture, they convey that people and relationships matter to them. When a leader follows this principle, it carries an additional meaning. Leaders who greet everyone they come in direct contact with project a deep
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Rethinking Team Member Rewards
When it comes to rewarding team members for exceptional work and results, leaders are often in a rut. They rely on the same four or five rewards to recognize people. In addition to increased compensation and monetary rewards, leaders depend too heavily on public awards and acknowledgments, work flexibility and time off, development experiences, and
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How to Listen to Everyone Without Listening to Everyone
Good leaders use silence to encourage more dialogue and openness from others. By not filling the void of immediate response, leaders encourage others to offer their candid views and opinions. Too many leaders can’t stop themselves from offering a quick opinion or position, which can discourage competing views. More silence and restraint from response normally…