doug smith training

The toughest decisions are the ones you have no control over. Remember that when you make decisions that effect those who have no voice in the call. -- doug smith  

Have you ever had a boss who thought that in order to get the best performance from you they had to treat you like dirt? If so, how did you feel about that? Leadership is a balance, but that balance too often leans to the side of manipulation and force. Being mean is a poor, sad, troubling strategy.  When is it appropriate for a leader to act like a jerk? Never. Many supervisors could double their effectiveness if they stopped acting like jerks. If you catch yourself about to get mean, come clean and restart.  -- doug smith

Dissonance is the start of the search for truth. Keep searching. -- doug smith  

Goals are important but require action. No matter how much you want a goal, until you start working on it the goals just sits there.  Everyone has goals, but some people haven't committed to them. Some people haven't worked on their goals. What are you doing today to work on at least one great goal? It's not too late. It's never too late. Let's get started! -- doug smith

"It's all too much," I've heard people say. "We're being overwhelmed," say others. "We'll never get the answer," says a pessimist. Go ahead and sigh. Go ahead and breathe. It's today and you are up to it. What if you simply changed one thing for the better? -- doug smith

"You bring out the best in yourself by looking for the best in others." Gene Bedley

Do you get stuff done? At the end of the day, isn't that what leaders are paid to do? Oh sure, to do that means you must communicate effectively, build cohesive teams, solve problems, and improve performance. That's all part of the job. But mainly the job of leadership is to get stuff done.  High performance leaders find reasons, and ways, to get things done. How are you doing? -- doug smith

Until you can communicate your perspective to your team, how will they ever give their best effort to achieving your goals? We all see things differently. Let your team know how YOU see things. -- doug smith

Attention to detail thwarts a thousand problems. -- doug smith

Should we stop looking, once we've found what we're looking for? Or, should we savor having that precious moment while also remembering to look onward. Keep looking. Keep building. Keep growing. Find the dream you're looking for and then keep looking. -- doug smith

Have you ever thought that you've got this leadership thing all worked out? I've never reached a point where I thought "that does it, it's all easy from now on..." It gets better, but not necessarily easier. As the goals get bigger, the plans take longer. As the tasks pile up, the discipline must grow or it all stumbles to a stop. Just when you think you've got your team where you want them, a star performer leaves, or a struggling performer slips even further. The work never stops. Some of it is the science of leadership (mind your metrics, facilitate your meetings, improve your processes) and some of it is art (develop your people, conduct those on-the-spot tough conversations.) The art of leadership seldom stops after one draft. Don't stop. Keep moving. Keep learning. Keep growing. -- doug smith

Are you good at criticism? I am. It's so easy to find what's wrong with something and there have been times when I'm more than happy to share that criticism. What I've learned, though is that criticism may be necessary but there are useful and not useful ways of delivering it. Negative energy comes from negative input. If all I communicate is what is wrong with what I see, it both shuts down the desire for feedback AND distorts what I see. It would be extraordinary for anything to be all wrong, or all right. There are degrees of excellence. High performance leaders work to increase the degrees of excellence. That is helped by respecting whatever we're evaluating. Share your observations, certainly. Just be sure to observe what works as well as what does not work. Balance criticism with hope and confidence or the criticism will do more harm than good. And high performance leaders are all about doing what's good. -- doug smith Leadership Call to A

Are you working on building your team? If you're not building your team, it is slowly falling apart. One of the best ways to build your team is to get to know your people. Spend time with them. Create deeper conversations. Talk about what's important to them. To be a better leader, get to know your people. -- doug smith

Break it down. Work it out. Analyze the root cause of the problem. Involve the people who are involved. Take the time it takes to take the problem seriously. Complexity is no excuse to avoid solving a problem. -- doug smith

Have you ever considered that everything we have is borrowed? I used to loan people books and then expect them to be returned. Ha. Then I came to realize, that if you loan someone a book, it's probably never coming back. The next time you see it will be at that person's home, if ever. But life went on. My first bicycle was a treasure. I eagerly waited for it and it was one of the best Christmas presents my parents ever gave to me. Black Beauty, I named it and rode it all over my neighborhood and behind. I even had a speedometer and odometer that recorded my precious miles. That's all gone now. My first car was totaled by my brother. Now, sadly, both are gone. It wasn't the accident that took my brother, but he's gone way too soon. I miss this precious treasures and other treasures as well. It's hard to let go. But they are gone. Poof! Into the void. Now, if I have some I can give away, I try not to think of the loss, but rather of the gain. To some

Every once in a while I will meet someone who is content to remain out of control. They refuse to believe that they can change anything because "the culture is so bad here" or because "my boss would never go for that" or because "that's all fine and good but it wouldn't work for me." What can you say in response? "You're absolutely right. At least, as long as you think that." Then I try to avoid saying one of those favorite consultant answers, "how's that working for you?" because, clearly, it isn't. Positive leaders believe in empowerment. Positive leaders believe that regardless of opposition or culture or challenges galore, the better route to achievement takes a positive approach. Do what we can. Challenge where we need to. Support each other all the way thru. A positive leader builds a positive team - a team that collaborates, cooperates, and cares. Of course the work is hard -- that's why it's

If you've ever had a leader slow you down, you know how frustrating that is. Not enough resources, not enough support, even undermining your efforts. That's not leadership - that's obstruction. Leaders provide guidance. Leaders provide direction. Leaders provide training and inspiration. At some point, high performance leaders need the trust to delegate and stay out of the way. My limitations have no business slowing you down. How about yours? -- doug smith

Always be ready to set a bigger goal. -- Doug Smith

Are You Evolving? We don't always evolve painlessly. Evolve anyway. -- Doug Smith

Our creative best makes everything else better. -- Doug Smith