Field notes

Does your organization tilt toward lean or heavy? Discussing the philosophy preferences of your colleagues is a good place to start to make your staffing decisions intentional. While there are no “right” answers, how an organization staffs has tremendous consequences for how the work gets done and on who arrives and wants to stay.

To clarify your core values, consider asking this question instead: What qualities do I most admire in others? The answer to that question normally reflects the values we hold most dear. Contemplate the two or three qualities you most admire in others by reflecting on your experiences and reactions in your many prized relationships. This question and its answers will help you cut through the noise and identify what really matters to you.

Great teams enjoy a playful quality and a peer-like conversation. Superb team leaders are often both the instigators and the recipients of good-humored escapades. When everyone on the team sees themselves on the same level as the team leader, they feel more comfortable in taking risks, speaking their minds, and accepting criticism. Edison knew that. Contemporary team leaders could stand to take a page out of Thomas Edison’s playbook. Teams that laugh together create together. How much fun is it to be on your team?

On occasion, a decision that a team leader doesn’t agree with comes rolling downhill from higher up in the organization. Those on the receiving end of the decision may strongly believe that the decision is wrong-headed, creates risk, or has significant unintentional consequences. Perhaps they have had the chance to argue against the decision but have failed to influence the outcome, or maybe the decision has come down from above as a directive without seeking any of their input.

Truly competent people don’t tell others they are competent. They show them. People are suspicious of anyone who labels themselves as competent. The thinking goes that those who have to broadcast that they have significant strengths and proficiencies must lack capability. Only an unskillful leader would find the need to tell others about their competencies. Those confident in their skills prefer to let their work speak for itself. This is the age-old idea that actions speak more loudly than words.

What Makes Some People Uncoachable? In yesterday’s Field Note, we broached the topic of what skills and traits are largely immutable and highly resistant to change and coaching. What wasn’t mentioned is the idea that some people are uncoachable or at least less coachable than others. In other words, some team members and colleagues are more open-minded to new ideas and practices, more receptive to feedback, and more willing to make personal changes than others. The question is, why?