Sitemap - 2023 - Admired Leadership Field Notes
Praise Without the “But” Is the Best Reinforcer
Communicating With Those We Like and Care About After Termination
Helping Others Combine and Apply Their Strengths
Seeking Feedback About Your Feedback
How Much Will Your Organization Change?
Reducing the Negative Grip of Gossip
Waiting for a Situation to Play Out
What Team Leaders Can Learn From Cults
Track Conversations Before Sales Growth
The Question That Defines Trust for Leaders
How Leaders Help to Create Brilliant Jerks
Disrespect Between Colleagues Can Derail the Team
Select Wisely From the Menu of Criticism
Did You Give Your Brain a Workout Today?
Good Leaders Don’t Allow Meeting Spectators
Turning Problems Into Opportunities
Words That Are Designed to Silence
Pick a Character Trait to Work On
Self-Importance Can Lead to Unintentional Insults
Make Individual Performance Transparent to the Team
When It Comes to a Critical Choice, Ask an Equally Critical Question
Developing an Ethic of Accountability
Lubricating the Mind and Body Before Performance
Taking Charge Is Not About Getting Your Way
Gather a Piece of Everyone You Admire
Learning to Think on Your Feet
The Tyranny of the Vocal But Minor Voice
Organizing Meetings Around Questions Instead of Topics
People Who Project Their Own Flaws Onto Others
In Search of More Gamma Brainwaves
Where Do Leadership Instincts Come From?
Creating Separation Between Back-to-Back Meetings
The Hidden Jeopardy of Expected Rewards
Getting Others Comfortable With Disagreement
Designating an Angel’s Advocate
Are You a Should or Could Leader?
How Leaders Overestimate and Underestimate Their Own Brain Power
When a Colleague’s Ideas Are Repeatedly Ignored
Do You Think-to-Talk or Talk-to-Think?
Team Celebration Is the Glue That Binds People Together
The Right Leader for the Challenge
The Skills Required Before Accountability
Energizing the Team That Faces Repetitive Tasks and Travel
Leaders Can Put Too Much Faith in Personality Diagnostics
Leading Those Who Rationalize Poor Performance
Once Interrupted, Give It Your Full Attention
The Order of Warmth and Competence for Leaders
Bringing Those From Another Culture Into the Conversation
The Failure to Hide Negative Judgments
Navigating the “What Happened?” Conversation
Great Leaders Create Happiness to Make Themselves Happy
Some People Only Respond to Thunder
A Team That Stares at the Problem Statement
Be Careful Not to Punish Competence
The Secret to Leading Inexperienced Team Members
The Reason Not to Have a Team Meeting
Don’t Take a Breath in a Brainstorm
Turning Praise Into Encouragement
Getting Candidates to Talk About Their Weaknesses
Why Everything Depends on Setting the Right Priorities
Hand Signs Between Trusted Colleagues
Ask Your Leader to Reach Down With Praise
Burned by People Too Many Times
Make the Charitable Assumption
Replace Improvement Decisions With Hard-and-Fast Rules
What Makes an Experience Special?
Are You Unknowingly Addicted to Hedges and Disclaimers?
The Challenge for Aging Leaders and Thinkers
Tackling What Is Most Urgent First
The Importance of Execution Technique
Tom Brady and the Act of Signing Autographs for Teammates
Your True Priorities Are Reflected by How You Spend Time
The Question to Pose After Painful Leadership
Gauging the Conviction of Those Who Advocate
The Availability Heuristic and the Power of Review
Managers Who Quit Soon After Promotion
The Relational Affirmation of Positive Surprise
When Sharing the Vision, Show People What’s in It for Them
Leaders Who Make Lightning-Quick Decisions
Learning a Person’s Backstory Creates a Powerful Connection
Ask the Audience to Experience Your Message Directly
Helping Others Achieve Mastery
Focusing Feedback on What Others Are Capable Of
When Leaders Themselves Are Defensive to Feedback
When Asking for Advice Is the Highest Form of Respect
Why Overweighing Loyalty to People Can Lead to Horrific Decisions
Is It the Leader or the Team That Needs to Be Admired?
When Criticizing, Good Leaders Separate the Person From the Opinion
Why a Reputation for Fairness Makes Feedback More Impactful
Colleagues Who Push a Point Too Far
Making the Most of One-on-One Meetings With Team Members
Bring People Along With Your Thinking
A Decision Owner Stops Colleagues From Stonewalling
Navigating the Tension of Competing Values
Will Artificial Intelligence Make Us Lazy Thinkers?
Are Your Performance Measures Current?
The Overwhelming Allure of the Status Quo Bias
Why Are Some Leaders Praise Stingy?
Making Presentations Razor Sharp
Does Your Team Have Vision Fatigue?
Training for the Hardest Things
Competing Goals Are the Source of Many Group Conflicts
No One Is Too Junior to Have the Best Idea
What Does It Really Mean to Lead by Example?
The Team’s Willingness to Help Others Learn
Inside Every Leader Is a Better One
Start the Work Before You Get the Assignment
The Difference Between Fact, Opinion, and Truth
Prove an Opportunity Is Worth Pursuing
Forgiveness and Accountability Go Hand-in-Hand
Give Negative Thoughts a Positive Ending
Use Reverse Q&A to Learn What’s Really Going On
Unwavering Optimism During Extremely Challenging Times
Team Members Who Turn Off Their Cameras During Virtual Calls
End-User Engagement Is the Best Proof of Progress
Sometimes a Key Fact Alters the Decision
The Unusual Way We Protect Self-Image
Developing the Superpower of Curiosity
When a Situation Calls for Tough Love
Do I Have to Be a Jerk to Succeed?
Avoid the Drama and the People Who Live for It
Change Always Creates Opportunity
Always on the Search for Talent
Let Me Remind You Why This Isn’t a Democracy
Holding Others Accountable Starts With the Leader
Keep Your Eye on the Reverse Gap
Promote Yourself Without Promoting Yourself
Agile Leaders Rely on a Network of Experts to Make Faster Decisions
Leaders Interrupt Bias Whenever They See It
A Good Strategy Is Always Evolving
There Is Always Something You Can Do About It
For Leaders, the Opposite of Belief Is Never Disbelief
Leaders Who Hedge Before Admitting the Answer Is No
The Stories We Tell Ourselves About Problems
The Fatigue of High Standards When Selecting Talent
A Shift in Your Leadership Mindset Is Critical for Promotion
When Things Look Grim, Be Quick to Accept the Downside
Let Your Team Members Select the Song
No One Is Too Senior to Be Wrong
Don’t Delay an Obvious Decision
Urging Team Members to Play More Aggressively
The Unique Way We Do Things Around Here
Practice Team Improvisation to Improve Execution
Symbolism and Forrest Gump Point
After a Team Defeat, Be a First Responder
How to Scale Leadership Across an Organization
Ground Rules That Promote Open Discussion
How Organization and Team Cultures Are Defined by Status
The Benefits of Two-in-a-Box Leadership
Challenging a Strong First Impression
The Spark of Being True to Yourself
Restraining the Optimism That Leads to the Planning Fallacy
Creating More Emphasis Vocally
The LEGO Critical to Your Organization’s Success
What Does It Mean for My Team to Win Today?
When Multiple People Are Accountable to the Same Problem or Outcome
Always Practice the Details Prior to Performance
Let People Discover Your Strengths
Why Everyone on the Team Matters
The Flaw of Selecting People Before Deciding on Strategy
How Can We Improve Our Judgment?
The Good, the Bad & the Ugly Behind the Desire for Promotion
Body Language and the Search for Hidden Meaning
The Pecking Order of Culture, Strategy, and Talent
The Invisible Power of Trust Between Teammates
High Potential for What, Exactly?
Prepare Upstream for a Major Decision
On Becoming a More Courageous Leader
Admired Leaders Are a Rare Combination of Results and Followership
When Leaders Reduce Their Status, People Tell Them the Truth
Make It Easy for Others to Comply
Creating a Culture of Accountability
Team Leaders Should Not Be the Only Ones With Coaching Assignments
Recognize the Team or the Individual Contributors?
First Take Something Positive Away
Teams Learn to Ignore Leaders Who Chase Fads
Investing in What Matters to People
The Norm of Who Gets to Advocate in Team Discussions
The Best Reference Anyone Can Receive or Give
When Decisions Aren’t Reversible
Listening for What Doesn’t Get Said
Pride of Craft Is Unequaled Pride
The Sacrifice Every Great Leader Makes
The Intangible Quality That Defines the Highest Talent
Praise and Encouragement Are Not the Same Thing
Coping With the Loneliness of Leadership
What Is the Ideal Team Size for Getting Things Done?
Not All Good Ideas Can Be Executed
Leaders Can Always Make a Bad Decision Worse
Having the Hardest Conversations Requires the Deepest Caring
Ask Everyone to Come Prepared to Meetings, Including Yourself
Strengthening the Skill of Pattern Recognition
Trust People by Giving Them the Toughest Assignments
Frozen Knowledge Can Be Deadly
Playing With People Better Than You
Taking Full Advantage of Business Trips
Teaching Quality Through Exemplars
Asking a Crafty Question Upward Can Carry an Indirect Punch
Believing in People Before They Believe in Themselves
Learn to Separate the Problem From the Symptom
Vividly Describe the Ideal Candidate
When You Lose Passion for the Work
What If Character Were a Skill You Could Develop?
A Leader’s Relationship With Decisions
What Is Team Chemistry, Anyway?
The Confidence of Stretching Others
The Sneaky Way Productive Leaders Procrastinate
Leaders Who Succeed Wake Up and Run
Look for Passionate Advocates When Consensus Is Impossible
Promoting Intrinsic Motivation
Save Your Hardest Questions for Recruits
The Right Leader for the Right Challenge
Is Contemporary Leadership Advice Really Just B.S.?
I Really Dislike One of My Team Members
Leaders Who Yell and Ridicule on Purpose
If You’re Not Elaborating, You’re Not Listening
Who Knew We Were in Violent Agreement?
Co-Creating Organizational Change
Leading Colleagues Older and More Experienced Than You Are
If Only I Had Seen This Situation Before!
Projected Confidence Does Not Always Come From the Inside
Colleagues Who Don’t Pull Their Weight
Widening the Circle of Congratulations
When Conflict Isn’t What It Seems
Some Leaders Don’t Fit the Culture
Sometimes a Team Just Needs a Win
Revoke a Bad Decision Publicly
The Inescapable Metaphor of Baseball
Problems That Arise Gradually or How to Boil a Frog
When Teams Are Not Really Teams
When Personal Identity and Performance Become the Same Thing
Good Reasons to Withhold the Truth
Respecting Other People’s Time
Jumping to Conclusions About People
The Case Against Dirty Empowerment
Getting People to Talk Candidly in Meetings
Rituals That Signal Heightened Performance Focus
Saying Yes More Slowly Will Allow You to Say No More Often
Triggers Are Essential for Changing Habits
Certifying Skills for Entry-Level Team Members
How You Make People Feel About Their Contribution
The Teaching Moment of Applying Values to Problems
Why Confidence Shrinks When Dealing With Senior Leaders
Overcoming Disappointment With Resolve
When the Search for the Right Answer Isn’t a Search
The Timing of Feedback After Success and Failure
All or Nothing Means I’m Always Right
Resignations Can Become Contagious
The Lost Art of the Handwritten Note
Good Leaders Never Mistake Kindness for Weakness
Win More Often by Not Trying To
Social Media Creates an Echo Chamber for Leaders
Taking Charge Without Taking Charge
Talking to Leaders When They Fall Out of Favor
The Ivy Lee Method for Personal Productivity
The Way You Speak to Yourself Matters
People Are Always Talking About Me
Why Team Objectives Matter More Than Team Goals
Dealing With High-Maintenance Team Members
When to Give People a Second Chance
Making a Bad Decision to Avoid the Agony of Complaint
Expertise Is a Matter of Context
Busting the Myth of Leadership Expertise
How the Best Hotels in the World Deliver Exceptional Service
How Colleagues Are Terminated Really Matters
The Habit of Summarizing Conversations
Identifying the Talent You Can’t See
The Highest Compliment a Leader Can Receive
Identifying Mediocre People in the Recruiting Process
Why the Word Partner Carries So Much Weight
Developing Skills Through Job Rotation
When Excluded, Ask the Question
Setting Aside Resources for Small Bets
Practice Mental Toughness Every Day
Knowing the Details of Those You Lead
Making the Complex Simple Takes Talent
Unreasonable Leaders Reframe What Is Possible
How to Become a More Approachable Leader