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.
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Keeping Yourself Top of Mind.
Smart leaders know the power of a simple reminder. Keeping yourself top of mind with those who can reward you with assignments, contracts, invitations, and projects sometimes makes all the difference.
People dread some tasks simply because of how tedious and boring they are. Time goes by slowly when completing them. These tasks may be necessary, but that doesn’t mean the effort they require seems like time well spent. Getting them over with is the primary goal.
Unless you learn how to gamify them.
Good leaders commit to never acting aggressively toward others when they feel frustrated and to acknowledging when their frustrations can’t be expressed directly as a guard against displacing them.
Expressing frustration aggressively or redirecting it toward others unrelated to it is more common than most leaders realize. That’s why keeping frustrations under control is so critical to effective leadership.
Leaders who achieve a high level of success are often disappointed that their accomplishments don’t produce more satisfaction. For many people, success isn’t what they thought it would be. It fails to bring the lasting happiness and personal fulfillment they expected and counted on. Over time, more success becomes stale, empty, and uninspiring. The momentary pleasure and satisfaction of reaching yet another milestone seem commonplace and unexceptional. In many cases, the anticlimax of reaching a high level of success after years of hard work feels underwhelming to the point of disillusionment.
Highly successful people, to the bewilderment of those around them, often appear lost and rudderless. They naturally ask themselves, “What comes next?”
A great player-coach leads by example in production and manages by investment in team member development. They are forever the consummate player and never let their performance drop or suffer.
After all, no one refers to the role as coach-player for a reason.
But they also know the force multiplier for the team lies with them becoming a great coach. When the two sides are in balance, organizations and teams prosper.
For team members, Self-Reviews encourage reflection, build self-awareness, foster a growth mindset, and increase confidence.
But the greatest advantage is for leaders.
“I told you so” should never come out of your mouth. Good leaders do their best never to say it. That’s because they know very few leadership phrases invoke as much distaste, disgust, and defensiveness as those four simple words.