How Is Your Toolbox?

Do you rely on the same methods of work over and over again? Have you been using the same tools for years without reflecting on why?

My dad was a weekend woodworker. He worked in a glass factory as a supervisor most of his life, but he was also a skilled craftsmen. He even built our house. He didn't know everything about every craft, but he found ways to learn. He mainly learned by helping.

When the contracted plumber installed the plumbing in the house he was building, he helped the plumber.

When the electrician installed all of the wiring and circuits and kept everything up to code, my dad helped. He followed orders. He did the heavy lifting. He listened attentively. And, he helped. Not so that he could install plumbing or electricity in future houses (he never did) but so that he could FIX whatever malfunction occurred later in his own home.

He saw which tools he'd need. He learned how to think thru a problem. He found the boundaries of his knowledge so that he'd know when to ask for help.

The tool box kept growing.

It's been that way for me as a leader. I've never had everything I need to be a perfect leader. I never will. But I've followed on at least as many projects as I have lead. And each time I did the grunt work, pulled the heavy lifting, watched, listened and learned. Not to be the greatest leader of all time, but to learn what tools I'd need, to learn how to think thru a problem, and to find my own boundaries so I'd know when to ask for help.

Every leader needs a tool box of techniques to enable fast thinking and reasoned responses. How's your toolbox coming along?

-- doug smith

Comments

Keep your choices open

Have you ever felt like a prisoner to your own emotions? The feelings can be so strong that they flood your being with an almost paralysis. I have found myself wandering away from a situation because my emotions were pushing so hard, even though a better choice would have been to stay, get those emotions under control, breathe, and choose. Once a bad emotion has sent you its warning, it's best to send it on its way. Emotions can drive us, but don't need to. Feel it, pause, and step away. Keep all of your choices open. -- doug smith

Move Ahead

There are so many parts of my past that I would love to fix. Thinking about them doesn't help and won't fix them. The best I can do is to reflect on the lessons learned and do better next time. How about you? If we could fix the last we'd break it in brand new ways. The price of being imperfect is a glorious one: constant learning. That's not so bad after all. -- doug smith

Collaborate

Working together is not over-rated. Even the sharpest of minds miss some important details. Even the strongest of leaders needs a team to lead. Truly collaborating means accepting that sometimes your point of view is flawed, and is almost always incomplete. Staying open to the ideas of others, while working in the same direction on a unified mission, creates a path for success. The art of leadership benefits from collaboration. -- doug smith

Team Talk

The most powerful team building tool is talk. Talk with each team member and talk together as a team. Communication is the most powerful skill to practice. -- doug smith

Positive Solutions

Problems need not prevent positive outcomes. It's what we do with them that matters. -- doug smith

Multiple Solutions

That extra tough problem might need multiple solutions -- in fact, its probably does. -- doug smith

Misunderstood

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

Maybe Start With A Smile...

How do you react when you meet someone new? They're not new to the world, of course, just to you but that's new enough, isn't it? What if they disagree with you? What if you're on different sides of an issue? What if you don't know? People desire respect. When respect is lacking, we know it right away, don't we? And when we withhold our own respect it stands to reason that others know that right away, too. But if we start with respect -- if we start with the idea that every person we meet has value -- it becomes easier to interact meaningfully and maybe even share common ground. When we connect with respect we dramatically increase our chances of communicating effectively. I'll do my best to practice that today -- how about you? -- doug smith

Start With What You've Got

Most leaders can think of team members they'd love to have on their team, but don't. New skill sets, balanced personalities, brilliant innovations...anything more than what we have to begin with. But, what we have to begin with is where we need to begin. A team is build from the pieces you have to start with, not the pieces you wish you had. That's good news because: now you are ready to go. -- doug smith

An Artist's Palette

The art of leadership includes a palette of patience, passion, and persistence. That will likely take practice, too. -- doug smith

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