doug smith training

  Assumptions get us into so many problems, don't they? We know better, and yet they are hard to resist. "I'm sure they'll get that done on time...I know they agree with me...Of course we're right about this...people will work harder if you pay them more..." On and on, the list of assumptions is long.  Where do those assumptions come from? Most likely, they aren't new. Assumptions are based on what once was true, or what we at least believed to be true. Even if they WERE true in the past, assumptions may no longer be valid. Yesterday's assumptions require inquiry today.  Don Miguel Ruiz has as one of his "Four Agreements" Don't Make Any Assumptions. As noble as that is, and I absolutely love the book "The Four Agreements" I think it is a challenge too big to win in order to not make any assumptions. I like to rephrase it as "Question Your Assumptions." You ARE going to make assumptions. I AM going to make assumptions.

  "It's so hard to find anyone who wants to work these days..." "I know what you mean, they just want to stand around and read their phones." "If you can find them at all..." Is that how it has to be? Is that how it feels? Everyone in awhile even a high performance leader needs a reality check. Maybe you agree, and maybe you don't, but here's a free reality offering for you: People don't want to work for you -- they want to work for fun and profit. Lead them TO that and they'll follow. We could make it more complicated, but it's not. What do you think? -- doug smith

We tend to believe that our values are absolute and true, but to truly know that we need the courage to test them. To withstand resistance and temptation. To try after trying gets hard. Have you tested your values? Have your values been tested? -- doug smith  

  It's possible to be both tough and tender as a leader. Be tough on the task, and tender on the person. -- doug smith

  Feeling discouraged? Did that plan go wrong? Plans go wrong all the time. Make new plans and keep moving. You've got everything you need. -- doug smith

Are you an optimist? Do you think that things will always work out, no matter what? Or, maybe you're a pessimist, always waiting for things to fall apart, whether or not you can fix them. What matters more is awareness. Getting the scoop. Figuring out the facts and sorting them out from emotions. Neither optimism nor pessimism is any excuse for ignorance. Figure it out. -- doug smith  

  I do not like to make assumptions. But, sometimes I do. I'll assume someone has bad intentions, when maybe they just have bad manners. I'll assume someone's goal is in conflict with mine, when it's really just a different path to the same destination. Misunderstanding someone else's goal can lead to unnecessary conflict. Clarify, clarify, clarify. Ask questions. Listen. Reach mutual understanding, even if agreement does not seem remotely possible. Understanding might get you half way there... -- doug smith

Leaders are paid to produce results. What if the results that leaders produced included optimism? What if they included hope? What if they created great days? Leaders can do that. You can do that. Let's do that. Give people a reason to believe that this is a great day.  Because if you make it happen, it happens. -- doug smith

Sometimes the best way to lead is to get out of the way -- but not sa far away that you aren't available. Once you know the difference -- and calibrate the distance -- it all gets easier. -- doug smith  

Are you a hands-on leader? Do you get involved in the work of the work? How much time do you spend "in the trenches" whatever your field is, working like the rest of your crew? Ideas flow. Communication improves. Morale mysteriously grows. And... Some of our best thinking is done with our hands.  If you're blessed with hands that work, keep them working. -- doug smith

Create a great day no matter what comes your way. -- doug smith 

  Leadership is a combination of big-picture thinking and attention to detail. One without the other will leave you lacking. Big picture thinking is the inspiration, the invitation, the appeal to all of your senses for some noble cause.  Attention to detail gets it all done.  Everything will work out when you work out the details. Work out the details. -- doug smith

  Problems are not always caused by mistakes. Sometimes they're caused by good intentions. While it is great to begin with good intentions, what we do still matters more than what we intend. If a leader creates an unfair atmosphere out of the intention to help one particular team member, that could be a problem. If a leader intends to build a high performance team and yet supports without ever challenging team members, that could be a problem. Good intentions are not enough. Right actions matter more. -- doug smith

Stretch goals might leave stretch marks but they also build muscle. -- doug smith

The road to destiny takes the scenic path. Our job is to pay attention. -- doug smith  

  How noisy is it for your team?  When we ask our teams to deal with extraneous details -- too much noise -- they lose track of the purpose of the team. I've lost patience over the years with administrative details that add zero value to the customer proposition. If it doesn't help you serve, help it out the door. Too much noise makes the head lose focus Learning to focus is learning to breathe. Breathing is, of course, the way of life. -- doug smith

Do you take your goals too seriously? That may seem like an odd question for a coach to ask, yet if you are coaching someone -- or if you are reflecting on your own habits -- it is worth asking. Do you take your goals too seriously? Goals are important. They propel us forward. Goals keep us going when we might otherwise lose our way. Still, I do my best to remember that goals are created to help us, to serve us. While it does take a solid plan and relentless pursuit of that plan to achieve our goals, we should also consider: a) are those goals contributing to our purpose, and b) are those goals contributing to our happiness? Your goals are there to help you, not control you. Fair enough? -- doug smith

Which would you prefer -- a leader who knows how to do your job and could do it if you weren't there, or a leader who has never done what you do and couldn't do it if the business depended on it? As a leader, you could find yourself in either circumstance. In fact, the higher you go in an organization the more likely you are to be in charge of people who do things that you do not know how to do. You don't need to know how to do what your direct reports do, but if you do, that does add a layer of respect. But sooner or later, the respect will need to come from your skills a s leader. -- doug smith

 Lead with your heart and with your mind, be bold, creative, clear and kind. -- doug smith

The art of leadership is getting things done without hurting anyone. -- doug smith