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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People Often Resist a Decision Solely Because of How It Was Made
Leaders who invest in transparent, inclusive, and respectful processes build a reservoir of trust that makes every decision land more smoothly. The bottom line is this: Leaders who remember that the decision process is the message get more done.
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Leaders Can Go High or Go Low When Supporting a Team Member
Leaders Can Go High or Go Low When Supporting a Team Member. The right question isn’t “Which approach is better?” It’s “Which approach best fits the situation?” To make that call, leaders should consider three factors: urgency, capability gap, and growth stage.
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Avoiding the Second Wave of Hardship
Avoiding the Second Wave of Hardship
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The Executive Team’s Orientation Toward Risk Can Make a World of Difference in an Organization’s Performance
Of the many differences in approach, mindset, and strategic focus that separate leaders, perhaps none is more impactful than how they view risk and opportunity. In their landmark book Focus, psychologists Heidi Grant Halvorson and Tory Higgins make the case that leaders and people operate from one of two distinct orientations. The first is a…
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Admiration May Be the Most Underrated Leadership Tool
Some of the best leaders on the planet know how to harness the power of admiration. They know that admiration is the leadership emotion that turns people into the best versions of themselves. But the power of admiration isn’t well understood or widely used. It’s time to change that. Of the 27 emotions identified by…
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The Discipline of Using Transitions to Revisit Expectations
Over time, the performance expectations shared by leaders and team members tend to become cloudy and less complete. The disconnect rarely happens all at once. Differences in perceptions and expectations accumulate quietly, one small assumption at a time. Eventually, the gap between what a leader expects and what a team member delivers grows wide enough…
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Fighting the Anchoring Bias in Negotiations
The first proposal has a tremendous influence on any negotiation. In what is known as “anchoring bias,” the first offer or proposal in a negotiation becomes a psychological mooring that sets the baseline. Even though people can counter with whatever they choose, most people allow this anchor to define the parameters of the exchange. In…
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Do You Nag People?
Nagging erodes trust and mutual influence, creating a pattern where one partner feels unheard and the other feels pressured.
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AI Tools Have the Potential to Widen the Performance Gap Between High and Low Performers
Generative AI tools, like Claude, ChatGPT, and Gemini, are a tremendous help for team members with well-defined tasks, such as drafting emails, summarizing business strategy, or generating marketing ads.
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There’s No Better Feeling Than Knowing You’re Getting Better
Jack Clark has been coaching rugby at the University of California, Berkeley, longer than most of the coaches he competes against have been alive. After 40 years at the same school, producing 24 National Championships and 135 All-Americans, he has learned a thing or two about what motivates people. Clark believes that one thing motivates…