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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Nothing About Candidness Requires Disrespectful or Inflammatory Language
The truth is that a team member cannot become too candid when the group is wrestling with a critical decision or issue. But they can become too intense in the way they express that candidness. The truth between candid minds can only do harm when lines of respect are crossed. Being candid doesn’t demand anything…
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A More Creative Way of Taking Meeting Notes
A common practice at some of the most creative workplaces, like Disney, 3M, and Apple, is to take meeting notes categorically to learn more actively. In creative workplaces, people often take notes laterally across a page as opposed to the traditional vertical method of documenting points down the page. Instead of taking notes in a…
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Crafting a Team Charter to Working Through the ‘Storming’ Phase
Psychologist Bruce Tuckman first documented the stages of group development in 1965. He confirmed that teams go through five stages of development: forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning. During the Storming stage, team members settle in, get more comfortable with each other, and become more candid in their discussions. Disagreements over decisions and differing viewpoints…
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Hero Leaders Believe Every Issue Needs Them
A leader with a strong sense of purpose, extreme confidence in their decision-making abilities, extraordinarily high standards for excellence, and a clear vision of how to single-handedly steer any project to success is often called a “Hero Leader.” Despite many positive qualities, the label isn’t typically a compliment. The problem with Hero Leaders is that…
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Striking a Power Pose Before Performance
Staring at yourself in the mirror and giving yourself a pep talk while striking a power pose is more common than you think. Although many of the world’s most accomplished performers might not admit it, they, too, strike a power pose on occasion to elevate their confidence prior to performance. Give it a try sometime…
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When We Treat What We Do as a Craft
The pride and satisfaction people experience from doing a job well is etched deep into the human psyche. People are self-motivated to do good work. Those enlightened by a higher vision go a step further. They strive to excel for the personal gratification and self-respect they experience, not for the material or social rewards associated…
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Incorporating ‘Worked Examples’ Into the Onboarding Process
One way to judge the quality of an organization’s onboarding process is by how quickly new team members are ready to contribute. The sooner the new team member is ready to make an impact, the better the onboarding process. Learning to solve problems and pursue opportunities in a new workplace requires context and practice. That’s
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The Optimism In Gratefulness
People prefer to follow optimistic leaders. Leaders who display confidence in the future and predict individual and team success energize others. Their positive outlook and encouraging attitude towards challenges and opportunities motivate the team to view setbacks and failures as temporary. Because they focus on finding solutions rather than dwelling on problems, others find them…
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Leader Who Take More Than Their Fair Share
Some leaders take more than their fair share. They make the conscious decision to help themselves to resources, perquisites, and financial gains, sometimes at the expense of others. They honestly believe they have earned the right to an extra helping of privileges. They convince themselves that others won’t know, and even if they did, they
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Schedule the Meeting Before Completing the Work
People are incredibly busy. So much so that scheduling meetings and calls is becoming increasingly difficult. Add multiple people to that meeting, and it is nearly impossible to find a time that works for everyone anytime soon. The mistake not to make is waiting to schedule the meeting.