On Silence

image: https://pixabay.com/photos/flower-lonely-alone-moss-stone-1739892/

Sometimes I talk too much.

Have you ever said anything that you regret? If you're telling the truth, I'm going to guess "yes."

Leaders do that sometimes. And, while we owe it to our teams to speak up and express ourselves clearly, there are times when silence is better. Silence is better when the words you are about to speak are better spoken by someone else. Silence is better when the opportunity is for the team to learn from their own words and actions. Silence is better when the words we are about to say are in anger.

How can we know the difference? When do we need to speak up and when do we need to shut up?

Try this: pause for three seconds and at least one deep breath (more if you can.) Your answer may appear in that silence.

-- doug smith

Comments

Plan to Celebrate

I am not good at celebrating, and yet celebrating is motivational. Because of that, I need to PLAN to celebrate or it will pass me right by. That also means that in order to see the plan to celebrate thru, there must be something worth celebrating, which means doing the work to achieve the goal. Your goal is easier to achieve when you make energizing progress and then celebrate it. It's not either or -- it's both and: progress (doing the work) and celebration (rewarding yourself and others for that success.) What do you think? -- doug smith

What Secret?

How secret is that secret? Secrets are told when people think that no one is listening. Some one is always listening. That's how secrets get out. -- doug smith

You're the Leader

What's next? Everyday there is some new challenge and everyday there are multiple ways to handle each challenge. People are waiting for answers without even understanding the questions. Where does that leave you? The best we can ever do is to make things better. Start with one thing at a time and grow. I don't do nearly enough of this, but I'm willing to ramp it up. How about you? Lead the way to something better and people will follow you. -- doug smith Call to Action: Make a list (a very short list!) of problems you'd like solved or projects you'd like to do. Prioritize the list. Start working on number one. Do something.

Finding Collaborators

Who do you call on a project when you need help? Do you have a team of people you rely on? Or, is every project a struggle to find help? Maybe we should be constantly looking for help. Teaming up. Partnering up. What if we spent some of our strategic planning time in finding collaborators? Anyone could be a collaborator. They could be working in another department or process. They might even be in a different organization. You might not have even met yet. Still, the potential is there. Anyone could be a collaborator and sometimes we just need to ask. "Hey, I've got this great project I'm working on. Can I tell you about it?' If it really IS a great project, why wouldn't they want to hear all about it? And then, if they''re right for the project, your team could be about to grow. -- doug smith

Start With Calm

It's amazing how many problems stop being problems once we are centered and calm. -- doug smith

Questions for Hitting Your Goal

If you usually hit your goal you'll usually hit your goal. To do that, to usually hit your goal, get into the habit of hitting your goal. Questions to ask to prepare yourself for achieving your goal include: Do you know why you want to achieve your goal? Do you have everything you need to achieve your goal? How committed are you to achieving your goal? Who do you need help from in order to achieve your goal? What might get in the way of achieving your goal? How will you break your goal down into smaller pieces? How will you measure your progress and results? What will it give you to achieve your goal? We're all so busy. It that goal isn't important enough to answer those questions clearly then maybe it's not important enough to achieve. Pause, breathe, ask, then act. -- doug smith

The Word of the Day

The word of the day is love. The word of the month is love. The word of your life is love. Isn't that the best word -- and advice -- ever? -- doug smith

Convince Yourself

How important is that goal, really? How deeply do you believe in the importance of that goal? It's easy, but silly, for us to fool ourselves. Either the goal REALLY matters or it does not. Design a plan to achieve your goal that is so persuasive you won't be tempted to ignore it. Then do it. Act relentlessly on your plan. -- doug smith

Make It a Goal

Take your problems seriously, then take them away. Find out what it is about the problem that is standing in your way. What is it that you really want? What is your goal? Once you convert your problem statement to a goal you've opened the door to a thousand new possibilities. Your answer is in there. -- doug smith

Enjoy AND Improve

Do you enjoy success? If that seems like a silly question (Of COURSE I enjoy success!) think about it from another perspective. Sometimes we can taper down our enjoyment and appreciation of something because we know it's not perfect yet, and how can we be happy if it's not perfect? I do that somethings. It's not helpful. OF COURSE it's not perfect: nothing else and nothing ever will be. There are no perfect people, processes, performances, or plan. If we wait for perfection, we'll just keep waiting (and probably without gaining ground...) Let's do both. Let's enjoy our current level of success and achievement while also working to improve it. Performance must constantly improve, AND we can enjoy our exiting improvements. -- doug smith

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