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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Despicable Listeners That Steal the Ball
Some listeners take over the conversation by interrupting, changing the topic, or focusing on themselves without any intention to understand what the other party has to say. Metaphorically speaking, they steal the ball away from those speaking. And run with it. People quickly get fed up with them. You might recognize this ploy from someone…
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The 5-3-1 Rule and Social Fitness
You probably have a decent idea of what kind of shape you are in physically. But how healthy are you socially? Social fitness reflects the quality of your relationships and how often you connect with others in a meaningful way. As it turns out, how socially fit you are has a tremendous impact on the life
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Anchor the Discussion on Opportunity to Encourage More Risk
Some teams would greatly benefit by taking on more risk. By avoiding worst-case and what-if scenarios, they too often make decisions that fail to seize opportunities or leave gains on the table. As much as pundits think making big bets is what gets teams in trouble, much more often it is risk aversion that undermines…
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Some Strategic Questions Shouldn’t Be Answered
To reduce uncertainty and to inform their thinking, team members often raise questions they believe would add value to the decision-making and strategic planning process. They advocate that the team should invest the time, energy and resources to take a deep dive to generate an answer to an important question. Some examples: Curious team members
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When Leaders Shouldn’t Be Vulnerable
Inclusive leaders view vulnerability as a leadership strength and not a weakness. They courageously share their feelings, fears, experiences, and doubts with those they lead to build authentic relationships and to grow as leaders. They openly share their honest emotions and thoughts as a pathway to stronger relationships, personal development, and a more fulfilling work…
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The Straw Man and the Scarecrow
As politics and political gamesmanship spill over into the workplace and everyday life, people are learning some of the worst political tricks and applying them in team meetings, advocacy, and presentations. It’s important for leaders to recognize these manipulative practices and to have an antidote that repels them. Perhaps the most common of these devious practices is
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The Danger of False Dichotomies (And They Are All Technically False)
People, decisions, and situations can be extremely complex. Making sense of what is really going on and why people do what they do requires good mental models. These schemas and frames help to cut through the clutter of complexity and can guide leaders to a simpler understanding that can be acted upon. The problem is…
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Are You a Poor Listener or Just Hard to Influence?
Some leaders get a bum rap regarding their listening skills. Although they’re accused of listening poorly, in actuality, they process and comprehend what others say and mean with aplomb. Their ability to pay sharp attention to others and understand what they communicate is beyond reproach. Yet they are told repeatedly that they have lousy listening…
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Learning to Think in Opportunities, Not Problems
Ask a leader to list 10 problems faced by the team, and they won’t hesitate to rattle them off. The request for 10 more wouldn’t be a heavy lift either. But ask the same leader to list 10 opportunities for the team, and they will likely struggle to complete the assignment. Identifying 20 opportunities will…
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Why Team Members Sometimes Hear Negative Feedback as Positive
A surprising thing sometimes happens after a team member receives direct and candid negative feedback about their performance. Even though the leader believes they have been straightforward and unfiltered in their criticism, the team member does not receive the message as negative. In fact, on some occasions, they actually hear the feedback as relatively positive, or at