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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“You Always Do This”
Patterns are tough to break. They are equally hard to deny. Leaders who see a negative pattern in the behavior of others are likely to call it out. That’s only natural. However, how they choose to raise the issue makes all the difference. Focusing too much on the pattern and not on the behavior they
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Finding Just the Right Analogy
By drawing parallels to concrete and familiar concepts, leaders use analogies to paint a picture that makes complex ideas more understandable. The human mind delights in finding those connections, and good leaders offer them as a convenience and comfort to those making sense of a novel idea. Great analogies become “old friends” quickly and can…
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With a New Strategy, Be Sure the Old Structures Still Support It
In today’s fast-moving marketplace, changes in strategy happen quickly. Leaders frequently craft a new strategy to take full advantage of the changes and opportunities they see or to overcome problems that have been hindering growth or effectiveness. Before moving forward to execute the new strategy, leaders must also consider adjusting the existing structures that will…
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Finding Common Ground Versus a Common Goal
The most common advice for building relationships always includes finding common ground with the other party. Common ground is defined as anything shared between the parties. Exploring similarities in experience, background, values, knowledge, interests, or people they know in common creates a connection to build upon. By first establishing commonality, a relationship becomes more comfortable,…
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Thinking Through the Difficult Decision to Terminate a Team Member
Making the decision to expel a team member is never easy. Because they are good people who want to be fair, most leaders agonize over the decision, doing their best to find reasons to avoid firing a long-standing colleague. Open-and-shut cases where termination is the obvious answer are relatively rare. Instead, most dismissals require weighing…
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When It Comes to Disputes, Beginnings Predict Endings
How a conflict begins is usually how it ends. The first few minutes of a dispute set the tone for the rest of the conversation. Conflicts that begin aggressively typically deteriorate quickly, and commonly end with rancor. Beginnings really matter. Disputes that start with one party issuing a harsh or accusatory statement set a hugely…
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Viewing Everything as Feedback
Leaders and performers who are highly committed to self-improvement and making big strides in development see everything as feedback. From this vantage point, information about the person, the performance, and the moment flows from every conceivable direction. The world and its response to our performance are a never-ending source of evaluation and suggestion. Not surprisingly,…
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Expanding the Bandwidth of Team Members
Before leaders can assign new tasks and projects, they must know who on the team has the capacity to take on additional work without sacrificing the quality of their current tasks. Determining who has the bandwidth to take on more right now and who doesn’t is one of the most critical assessments leaders make. Get…
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Teams That Spin Without Making Critical Priorities and Decisions
Teams that frequently discuss issues endlessly without reaching a decision are hugely ineffective. But it isn’t their fault. Sometimes the team leader just needs to make the call. Leaders who prefer to operate as a peer or cling to a commitment to consensus can create quite a problem for an otherwise effective group. In their…
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Rediscover The Skill Chart
Rediscover the Skill Chart. Skill charts were once a mainstay in organizations. As a way to measure performance progress, organizations identified the core skills required to do any job or role. They then produced a visual chart outlining the features of every skill and the proficiency levels of each team member.