Field notes
Field Notes
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.
Search Field Notes
Retaining the Talents of ‘Ready Now’ Leaders.
As leaders and human resource professionals consider an organization’s succession plans, they often classify prospective promotees in three buckets: Ready in 3-5 Years, Ready in 1-2 Years, and Ready Now.
Leaders can learn from seasoned athletic coaches when it comes to dealing with an abysmally poor initial performance. When teams get blown away and find themselves in a lopsided game, the best coaches take a pause (halftime) and reset the score to 0-0. They then encourage their team to fixate on winning the next phase of the game without thinking about the margin or overall score.
Leaders can learn from seasoned athletic coaches when it comes to dealing with an abysmally poor initial performance. When teams get blown away and find themselves in a lopsided game, the best coaches take a pause (halftime) and reset the score to 0-0. They then encourage their team to fixate on winning the next phase of the game without thinking about the margin or overall score.
Creating a new habit is never easy. It requires real discipline to adhere to a new routine. What isn’t obvious is how frequently the routine needs to be repeated before a habit is formed. New behaviors that don’t occur daily seldom become habits. The human brain is hard-wired to create new connections. When a behavior is repeated regularly, especially in the same environment, the brain gradually encodes it as a routine action
Leaders naturally discriminate between team members based on track record, reliability, and skill.
Giving team members a letter grade to capture the difference between them is somewhat of a parlor game for leaders. They love to argue about how many A-players they have on the team and why others don’t make that grade. Every leader wants more A-players and fewer C-players. The question is: What specifically defines the difference?
When team members focus on the smallest steps, the larger objective not only seems more achievable, but progress toward it continues.The best leaders know that the smallest goal can sometimes be the largest motivation.
Leaders who care too much about the happiness of others and have a strong need to be liked by them often reward people indiscriminately. When they fail to tie their caring and rewards to measurable goals, a sense of entitlement is usually the result.