doug smith training

Are you happy while you are working? I know, that's too much to ask for some people. We've all had jobs that were more chore than joy, and many people are still doing those types of jobs. It isn't that the job isn't important, though -- it's more like it's not appreciated.  Are any of your goals like that? Unappreciated? Do you look forward to the goal because the result is going to make you happy? Are you bringing your own happiness to the work? Achieve your goals with happiness, rather than expecting goals to GIVE you happiness, and the joy will last long after the goals are forgotten. What's your happiest work right now? -- doug smith

Who has taught you the best lessons? What have you learned that has become part of the value of your life and who was it who taught you? Some people in your life had lots of opportunity to teach you. They had time. They had proximity. Maybe they even had authority. They were people involved with you closely: your parents, your grand parents, siblings, elementary school teachers, high school teachers, college professors, best friends, lovers, adversaries, organizational leaders, pastors, priests, gurus, yoga teachers, improv coaches, music conductors, choir leaders, policy officers, military officers, coaches, cooks, fraternity and sorority members, doctors, therapists, nurses, dental hygienists, dentists, chiropractors, delivery staff, food service workers, co-workers, bosses, mentors...if you dive deep enough for long enough the list is extensive. For all of us. Ponder that list. Ponder those lessons. Know it. Do it. Teach it. What did you learn? What have you learned so completely, s

  When was the last time that your integrity was tested? As leaders, we are often tempted to cut corners, to shave edges. A little compromise here or there, often in the interest of the bigger mission, seems justified. Who'll notice? What's the harm? Rounding out the numbers on a late night report for example. Or fudging that expense report just a little so that your best performer can get that invoice approved faster. Or, not confronting a clear case of harassment because the harasser is one of your friends. These are just small, inconsequential things, right? Wrong. Ethics may be open to both interpretation and circumstances, but one of our biggest problems these days is that the boundaries have blurred so far as to be indistinguishable. It feels like anything goes. That's no way to lead. That's no way to improve the world. Ethics, and integrity, matter as much as ever.  That means we have to pay attention. We as leaders must be careful, oh so very careful, of any com

  One of the benefits to growing older is the possibility of expanded perspective. Because things have changed so much, change doesn't seem so disruptive. Because we've experienced difficult times before, tough times seem more like the natural order of things rather than impending doomsday. For goodness sakes, having lived thru the daily fear of nuclear annihilation other problems pale in comparison. They're still serious, yet survivable. As leaders we owe our teams a sort of resilient perspective. Especially our younger team members, who have not lived thru crisis after crisis for decades on end and might hear their own doomsday clock ticking loud enough to deepen their anxiety. We can help with that, even when we can't solve every problem. For not every problem is solvable, at least not immediately, but given determination, science, and able leadership each generation can make life better.  I admire our youngest generations for their willingness to make things better.

  Every leader is also a trainer. You either train well or lose ground. High performance leaders train their team members. Coach the skills, develop the bond, build your team. It will make you a more effective leader. -- doug smith

How many times have you started over? Not a minor change, I mean completely started over? New job, new relationship, new car, new year? Starting over is tough, but necessary. It's aggravating, but essential. To get where we'd rather be we have to change where we are. Changing feels like leaving an old friend behind and that makes us drag our feet. Yet here we are, in constant unrelenting need to pick up our feet, to move on. It's good. Change gives us chance -- the chance to improve, to learn, to grow. How many times have we started over? Every day we're starting over. Let's start over in joy. Let's start over with learning, with growth, with new levels of understanding, understanding that we can't possibly know it all and that is fine. We just need to keep starting over.   -- doug smith

Do you ever get discouraged trying to lead your team forward? I know, they give you challenges that annoy you. They forget what you've already taught them. They miss time after time after time. And yet, they also bring a smile to your face. They surprise you with an insight that goes far beyond anything you've ever taught. They connect with customers in ways that reflect how YOU feel. They also bring you joy. Up and down. Down and up. Leadership is one challenge after another, randomly peppered with joy. If leading was easy they wouldn't have to pay people for it. But if there weren't rewards far beyond the money, no one would do it. Leading is tough. Leadership is the best. -- doug smith

Who sets your goals? Yes, there are goals we must achieve because we're in a job and because a boss sets them for us -- but those are just an entry ticket into the big game. The bigger game, the big picture, includes the goals we set for ourselves. Some people will understand that, and some will not. Be careful about letting anyone else judge your goals. They have their purpose, you have yours. Your goals are your business. -- doug smith

How successful would your team be if everyone on it worked as hard as you do? That's a question with more than one implication. Are you working hard enough to set a great example? Or, are you setting the bar so low that results suffer? The leader sets the example. The leader, as John Maxwell as said, "models the way." As leaders, let's model ways we'd like our team members to follow. Let's work hard. Let's work ethically. Let's work together. -- doug smith  

Do you like to give advice? I don't know how many times people have asked me for advice and in return I just let them hear what I had to say about what I thought they wanted to know. That has two big problems:  Maybe I haven't really understood their issue, and Maybe they aren't really ready for advice until they've thought it through By asking questions, I can learn more about their situation to find out if I even have advice worth sharing on that situation. Sometimes, they have all they need to solve the problem by themselves. Also, by asking questions and letting them think through the situation in greater detail, they can tell that I'm not just going to pull out a stock answer -- and the answer will come from our dialogue together, not some ready-supply of world wisdom. I'm smart, but I can't solve everyone's problem. How about this -- do you like to get advice? Asking for advice (without paying for it) can be an imposition. It can also be rude. It c

Have you ever wished for a better boss? Have you ever wanted someone as a leader who made your job better just because of the kind of leader they were? What would that be like? What would that kind of boss say? How would that kind of leader act? What would people say about that kind of supervisor? You could be that kind of boss. You could be the kind of boss people always wanted to have. Be the kind of leader you'd like to have as a leader. It's probably what your team members want from you. -- doug smith