
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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Why Is the 9-Box Talent Grid So Popular?
Why Is the 9-Box Talent Grid So Popular? The 9-Box Grid assists organizations in pinpointing future leaders, improving succession planning, identifying performance gaps and issues, igniting dialogue around talent placement, and suggesting development actions appropriate to where a person currently stands. It is a simple and valuable tool which has made it widely favored in…
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A Team Exercise to Introduce New Best Practices
The best team exercises have a measurable long-term impact on the organization and culture. While exercises that are entertaining and highly engaging can give a team a much-needed boost of energy, team activities that incorporate learning and application make the organization better.
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How Do You Know If a Job Candidate Has the Passion for the Work?
How Do You Know If a Job Candidate Has the Passion for the Work?
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The Rashomon Effect or the Downside of Being Smart
The Rashomon Effect or the Downside of Being Smart. People naturally interpret and describe common events and experiences in very dissimilar ways. Known as the Rashomon Effect in cinema, it’s named after a 1950 Japanese film in which four witnesses describe a murder in four contradictory ways. The temptation to craft a story that fits…
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Reading for Speed, Backwards
Active learners are voracious readers who consume a tremendous amount of information from many sources. To stay abreast of events and news and to advance their thinking, many leaders have learned to read with speed. The many versions of speed reading typically combine several fundamental techniques, including focusing on key words and phrases rather than
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To Get Smarter, Expand Your Inner Circle of Influence
Who do you turn to for a view, for advice, or for candid feedback? As leaders rise in many organizations, the busyness of the role and the insular nature of avoiding those with self-interest shrinks the number of people in their inner circle of trust. Leaders at the top of an organization are notorious for…
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Integrity Is Often Reflected by What You Say No To
One lens into assessing integrity involves understanding what people say No to. Here’s an important insight: Those with integrity say No more often than they say Yes to opportunities, deals, trades, relationships, and many of the other decisions that shape important life outcomes.
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Could You Report to One or More of Your Team Members?
Forging a high-performing team is no easy task. Leaders who have the qualities to do so are both rare and invaluable. Great organizations never squander the potential flourishing of another team, so they quickly put the team leader to work elsewhere. But how does a leader know when the team is ready to fly without…
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Leading Team Members Who Retire Before Retiring
An unspoken epidemic exists in many organizations, especially in large enterprises with a sizeable swath of senior team members. To preserve the peace, this disease is commonly ignored and only talked about in hushed tones. The dirty secret everyone knows is that some leaders and team members retire before retiring.
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Ask Your Leader to Define the Criteria of Success Before Beginning Any Role, Assignment, or Initiative
Expectations between leaders and team members can prove more elusive than many people think. Nothing is more infuriating to team members than reaching the end of an assignment they believe has been successfully completed only to learn the leader is disappointed with the outcome. This reality often occurs even when expectations have been discussed and…





