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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Your Admiration for Others Reveals Your Core Values
To clarify your core values, consider asking this question instead: What qualities do I most admire in others? The answer to that question normally reflects the values we hold most dear. Contemplate the two or three qualities you most admire in others by reflecting on your experiences and reactions in your many prized relationships. This…
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Thomas Edison and the Power of Team Laughter
Great teams enjoy a playful quality and a peer-like conversation. Superb team leaders are often both the instigators and the recipients of good-humored escapades. When everyone on the team sees themselves on the same level as the team leader, they feel more comfortable in taking risks, speaking their minds, and accepting criticism. Edison knew that.…
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When Decisions You Don’t Agree With Come Down From Above
On occasion, a decision that a team leader doesn’t agree with comes rolling downhill from higher up in the organization. Those on the receiving end of the decision may strongly believe that the decision is wrong-headed, creates risk, or has significant unintentional consequences. Perhaps they have had the chance to argue against the decision but…
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The Paradox of Telling People You’re Competent
Truly competent people don’t tell others they are competent. They show them. People are suspicious of anyone who labels themselves as competent. The thinking goes that those who have to broadcast that they have significant strengths and proficiencies must lack capability. Only an unskillful leader would find the need to tell others about their competencies.…
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What Makes Some People Uncoachable?
What Makes Some People Uncoachable? In yesterday’s Field Note, we broached the topic of what skills and traits are largely immutable and highly resistant to change and coaching. What wasn’t mentioned is the idea that some people are uncoachable or at least less coachable than others. In other words, some team members and colleagues are…
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What Isn’t Coachable?
Spending more time on coachable qualities will likely promote more team member growth and development while accepting what can’t be markedly changed will result in less disappointment and friction. What is on your list of uncoachable qualities? Decide before you invest the time to push an immovable rock uphill in a storm.
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Developing New Leadership Habits in Low-Risk Environments
New leadership habits are hard to develop but worth the effort. The leader’s habits determine almost everything they accomplish or fail to accomplish, especially with people. Give yourself the best odds of forging a new habit. Try them where and when it is safe first, and then spread out.
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Not Everyone Should Raise Their Hand to Be a Titled Leader
People are more likely to be attracted to the perks of official leadership. They like the idea of the status, influence, and the increased compensation usually associated with most leadership positions. Especially the compensation. So, they raise their hands to become leaders, managers, and supervisors when they are ill-prepared and unmotivated to do the job.…
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The Myth of Radical Transparency
Some leaders contend that radical candor and transparency are the foundation for the optimal organizational culture. The aim of creating the conditions for extremely candid feedback and transparency around matters typically not discussed sounds like the ideal environment to get things done with excellence. Imagine if everyone really shared what they really thought almost all
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Teams That Conduct an Occasional Hot Wash Promote More Candor
Teams That Conduct an Occasional Hot Wash Promote More Candor.