doug smith training

  Listen to your team and count how many times they say "we" compared to "me". Develop and promote those who say "we" and coach those who get stuck on "me" to focus more on "we". -- doug smith

Broken teams lead to broken teams. Tend to your team because there's much at stake. -- doug smith

What's the best way for a leader to make their job easier? Make sure your team is well trained. Leaders can't possibly manage all the dynamics on a team -- which is why they should train their team members to manage them. And while you're at it, why not train your team to manage everything? Then, once you have, you can truly lead. -- doug smith  

  It's frustrating to be misunderstood. It is well worth working on our communication skills in order to minimize misunderstandings because they lead to hardships and hard feelings.  But, do you know some one who just seems to always misunderstand your message, or your intention? It's almost as if they are missing the point on purpose. They probably are not -- there's just some filter in the way. Some people will misunderstand you no matter how clearly you speak. Reframe, rephrase, re-try...it's not worth letting the misunderstanding stand. -- doug smith

Goals have the power to change us, to form us, to set us up for success -- or less. But, they should serve more than your own intentions. Great goals also serve others. Make sure that your goals are noble because they will direct your behavior. And, you do want to be considered noble, don't you? -- doug smith  

Big goals need little goals to build momentum. If you get stuck, find a piece to work on. Break those big goals down. Keep moving. There's always something to be done on any goal that matters. -- doug smith  

You could rely on luck. You could depend on inheritance. Maybe you could fake it until you make it. All of those courses of action are unreliable. As an old friend used to say about buying lottery tickets: "It's for people who think that the answer is outside of themselves." To be the best work harder than the rest. That's the only secret formula you need. -- doug smith  

  "My crystal ball is broken and all the snow has dried up..." says my friend Linda whenever someone expects her to read their mind or tell the future. The information is not available. We can spend a lot of time looking for shortcuts. What passes for an insight could be instead a slight. With all the tools and software we have available we still do not have workable crystal balls.  My job might be easier if I had a crystal ball, but if I did have a crystal ball then I wouldn't be needed. Worth considering? Let's not fear the future. Let's do the work that's right in front of us while keeping sight of our mission. -- doug smith

Build the connections that strengthen your team and release the ones that tether your team to trouble. What we hold tight might not be what we need now. Deliberate connection just might take your full attention. -- doug smith  

Understanding your limitations is both humbling and liberating. -- doug smith  

How are you at taking advice? Do you respond quickly and decisively when someone offers you sound and well considered advice? Do you respond favorably to consultations? To tell the truth, I'm not so good at it. As a recovering know-it-all I struggle to consider an idea that wasn't my own. I'm better at it than before (that's the recovering part) and yet sometimes I just resist. It's good to take good advice. Sometimes, though that good advice has an expiration date. What makes sense today may not make sense a year from now, or two years from now. Once we move toward taking good advice we still have the duty of due diligence to watch out for change, to stay alert for expiration. Because once we have bought in, it feels like a mistake to let go. But, sometimes we do need to let go. What advice are your holding onto that does not make sense today? -- doug smith