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.
Search Field Notes
-
How Are Others Interpreting What You Say and Do?
A popular maxim among communication professionals is that people “cannot NOT communicate.” This adage refers to the idea that others interacting with you will draw meaning from everything you say and do, whether you want them to or not. All behavior is a form of communication, even when you are silent or not actively trying…
-
Know Your Worth
The value of expertise is uneven and hard to measure. Those with the experience, know-how, street smarts, and acumen to apply their knowledge to important problems and opportunities will always be in high demand. In many cases, these experts demand an unusually high dollar for their wisdom, opinions, or solutions, and people still line up…
-
Developing Team Members With a Proactive Attitude
Every leader wants a team of proactive colleagues who anticipate needs, issues, and opportunities and step up to address them without being asked. By anticipating problems, roadblocks, and opportunities and acting on them before they arise, proactive team members make life easier for leaders and for each other. Proactive team members develop an eye for
-
Show Respect by Asking Others to Go First
How team meetings begin sets the tone for the engagement, positivity, and energy shared by the group. How team meetings end shapes what the team will remember and solidifies team member commitment to next steps and actions. Yet, most leaders don’t think very strategically about these important time-bound bookends. As such, they miss a crucial…
-
Powerful Beginnings and Endings for Team Meetings
How team meetings begin sets the tone for the engagement, positivity, and energy shared by the group. How team meetings end shapes what the team will remember and solidifies team member commitment to next steps and actions. Yet, most leaders don’t think very strategically about these important time-bound bookends. As such, they miss a crucial…
-
“You Owe It To Yourself”
Leaders sometimes need to prod people to put their own interests above the expectations of others. These hard-working team members, colleagues and friends need a leader to remind them that sometimes it is okay to focus on their own needs and goals rather than putting others first. Leaders turn to a well-worn phrase to get
-
Get Ready with a Lifeline of Optimism
On the game show “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,” contestants rely on “lifelines” when facing difficult questions. They can phone a friend, poll the audience, or eliminate wrong answers as a means of getting to the right answer. Effective leaders employ a similar strategy. Not for answering trivia. But rather for maintaining optimism. Sustained
-
The Motivation to Help Others Succeed
The best leaders are highly motivated to help others succeed. The satisfaction they receive when others reach their potential and achieve great outcomes drives much of what they do as leaders. They are as proud of the accomplishment of those they lead as they are of their own performance and results. We would like to think that
-
How Curious Are You Really?
Curiosity plays a pivotal role in innovation, exploring feedback, and making quality decisions. Many well-known leaders credit curiosity as the reason for their extraordinary success. Good leaders are naturally inquisitive people, which makes them better at building relationships and navigating situations they haven’t seen before. But are the best leaders truly curious, or is there
-
Managing a Rules-Based Leader
Rules and authority matter a great deal to some leaders. Rules-based leaders find security in strictly following rules and comfort by deferring to authority. Because they deeply prize efficiency and respect authority, they allow established rules, policies, and hierarchy to guide their decision-making. This makes them highly consistent and predictable. But also somewhat rigid and…