Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from March, 2019

Be Direct and Clear

Sometimes, with good intentions, leaders provide incomplete directions. Then what do the followers do? Usually, they follow with incomplete results. It takes a moment longer. It takes a bit more thought. It's important. When you're delegating, when you are providing guidance, when you're giving directions, make them complete, direct, and clear. If you want someone to use the stairs instead of the elevator, how about telling them where the stairs are? -- doug smith

Energize with Priorities

Your team can't do it all. I know how it feels to leave something undone, it's not fun. The harsh reality though is that we cannot do everything and neither can your team. That's why it is urgently important for you as a leader to let your team know what's most important. When you are clear about your absolute priorities, your team can focus on what matters most and finish the highest impact work. It's a choice. Energize your team around what's most important and then the unfinished unimportant tasks can be forgiven. Let them know. -- doug smith

Insist on Results

Do you insist on positive results? Team members will struggle sometimes. As high performance leaders part of what we must do is to teach the people who need teaching. And guess who needs teaching? Everyone! Including us! Every day, part of what leaders do is teach. Through intentional as well as spontaneous coaching, mentoring, prodding and motivating, our role is to help other people achieve their goals, and in so doing achieve our own. We teach -- patiently, persistently, even unrelentingly. We teach -- and then we need more. We need progress, performance, and results. Leaders are teachers who insist on results. Remember to teach. Remember the output. -- doug smith