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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Raising the Aspirations of Those Who Are Better Than They Think
Some team members and colleagues are better than they think they are. For a myriad of reasons, they don’t have the inner confidence and self-esteem that they should. They expect less from themselves than is healthy and underestimate their skills, talents, and potential. Good leaders don’t accept the low bar these team members have placed…
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Does Your Team Need an Elon Musk Moment?
When was the last time your team or organization had a singular focus that drew everyone in and engaged the entire team for a few days? What is the big idea or difference-maker worth such a moment? Perhaps that is exactly what the doctor ordered for your team. Create such a moment and watch what…
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How to Create More Buy-In
The best leaders refrain from giving people answers, decisions, or directions. They almost never tell people what they want them to do or why they should do it. Instead, they offer a view and ask others to get involved with a simple question: What do they want to do together? People get on board slow-moving…
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Impatience Can Be About People or Outcomes
Great leaders often fight an internal war against their own impatience. Results-oriented leaders are notoriously impatient. They want results faster, bigger, better, and long-lasting. That impatience leaks out when others don’t deliver outcomes as quickly as they should. When people sense the disappointment of impatient leaders or learn directly from them that their work is…
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Achieving Outcome Independence During Performance
Examine the best performers in any field, sport, or endeavor and you will likely find someone who works hard to achieve outcome independence during performance. Yet, they typically don’t talk about it. Not because they fear giving up a secret, but because they know others aren’t ready to learn about it. It’s easier for the…
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Leaders, Not Teams, Squander Leads
Protecting a lead is the fastest way to lose one. This isn’t just true in sports. Companies and enterprises that have a huge advantage often get complacent. Instead of innovating and executing, they sit on their laurels and squander the lead. Leads make teams lazy, defensive, and unfocused. Teams are the most vulnerable when they…
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People Often Express Content Conflict Relationally
The tendency for people to express content conflict through dissatisfaction about the relationship is so strong it should become a leader’s first conclusion when trying to understand why two colleagues have such distaste for each other. Helping the parties achieve more parity regarding their influence with others will usually take the temperature down and allow…
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People Often Express Relationship Conflict Through Content
People Often Express Relationship Conflict Through Content. The next time you encounter two people who are frequently at odds over minor points of contention, consider whether the conflict is really about the relationship qualities one or both parties are dissatisfied with. Maybe one of those people is you. Address what is really at issue, rather…
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Teaching People to Think Strategically
Thinking strategically is not impossible to teach when leaders deconstruct existing strategies and how they came to be. With this understanding as a foundation, less skilled strategists can make big strides forward. Leaders who follow this simple strategy for teaching strategy will be rewarded with a team member who can better see the future and…
