Ideas
Ideas Worth Applying.
Less noise. More signal.
There is no shortage of leadership content.
The challenge is knowing what is worth our attention.
FEW selects ideas that help leaders think more clearly, act more effectively and focus on what matters.
Featured FEW Pick
Decoding leadership: What really matters
McKinsey & Company · Article
- CRITICAL FEW
- FITNESS
WHY WE THINK IT MATTERS
McKinsey examined 20 leadership behaviors and found that just four explained most of the difference in leadership effectiveness between stronger and weaker organizations.
A powerful reminder that better leadership development may start with teaching less — and focusing on the few behaviors that matter most.
FEW Picks
Outstanding external ideas selected and contextualized by FEW. All links open the original source.
How to make hard choices
Ruth Chang · TED · Video · 15 min
- WISDOM
- FOCUS
How to make hard choices
Ruth Chang
The video only loads from YouTube after you click.
WHY WE THINK IT MATTERS
The hardest decisions cannot always be solved by finding the objectively superior option.
Ruth Chang offers a different perspective on choice — one that puts judgment, values and responsibility at the center.
Exactly the kind of situation in which leadership requires wisdom rather than another decision matrix.
Using our practical wisdom
Barry Schwartz · TED · Video · 23 min
- WISDOM
Using our practical wisdom
Barry Schwartz
The video only loads from YouTube after you click.
WHY WE THINK IT MATTERS
Rules and incentives can guide behavior, but they cannot replace judgment.
Barry Schwartz explores practical wisdom: the ability to understand what a situation requires and choose the right course of action.
A useful foundation for the FEW understanding of Wisdom.
The puzzle of motivation
Dan Pink · TED · Video · 18 min
- ENERGY
- ENABLE
The puzzle of motivation
Dan Pink
The video only loads from YouTube after you click.
WHY WE THINK IT MATTERS
Leadership is not only about what people can do. It is also about what gives them the energy and motivation to do it.
Dan Pink challenges simple assumptions about incentives and explores the role of autonomy, mastery and purpose.
A useful perspective on both Energy and Enable.
Building a psychologically safe workplace
Amy Edmondson · TEDx · Video · 11 min
- ENABLE
Building a psychologically safe workplace
Amy Edmondson
The video only loads from YouTube after you click.
WHY WE THINK IT MATTERS
Leadership is also about creating the conditions in which others can contribute.
Amy Edmondson's work on psychological safety shows why people need an environment in which they can speak up, ask questions and acknowledge mistakes.
Enable in practice.
Four Steps to Building the Psychological Safety That High-Performing Teams Need
Harvard Business School Working Knowledge · Article
- ENABLE
- FITNESS
WHY WE THINK IT MATTERS
Psychological safety becomes useful when leaders know how to translate the idea into everyday behavior.
This piece moves from concept to practice and highlights concrete ways leaders can create better conditions for learning, contribution and performance.
Understand team effectiveness
Google re:Work · Guide
- ENABLE
- FITNESS
WHY WE THINK IT MATTERS
Google's research on team effectiveness asks a very FEW-like question: among the many factors that could matter, which ones actually make the difference?
The result shifts attention away from who is on a team and toward how people work together.
Three Essentials for Making Better Choices
INSEAD Knowledge · Article
- WISDOM
- FOCUS
WHY WE THINK IT MATTERS
Better analysis does not automatically produce better decisions.
Before applying sophisticated tools, leaders need the capacity to think, clarity about purpose and meaningful alternatives.
A strong reminder that Focus comes before analysis.
High-Stakes Leadership: How CEOs Navigate Critical Decisions
INSEAD Knowledge · Article
- WISDOM
- FOCUS
WHY WE THINK IT MATTERS
High-stakes leadership exposes the limits of simple frameworks.
Pressure, uncertainty, conflicting interests, intuition, data and emotion all meet in the same decision.
This is where leadership becomes an exercise in judgment.
FEW Originals
Our own thinking.
Our own thinking on the Critical Few, leadership and what makes development work.
Coming soon
FEW Picks are independently selected external resources. All rights remain with the respective authors and publishers. Selection does not imply affiliation or endorsement.