doug smith training

Maybe it didn't turn out \exactly as you planned. Maybe the problem is still clanking around in the background or even right in front of you.  There you are. Calm. Focused. Centered.  Centered problem solvers are OK even if their problem is not yet solved. -- doug smith  

Simply buying some one's solution solves one problem but it might not be yours that it solves. Consider the source. Consider the agenda. Consider the ramifications. Centered problem solving could take longer, but you'll like the results more. -- doug smith 

We tend to claim that we don't want problems. Let's just keep it smooth. Let's not rock the boat. And yet, worry and anxiety and low self-esteem can produce an unlimited amount of concern. There must be a problem, right, because there always is a problem? It's hard to talk yourself out of a problem that you talked yourself into. What do you tell yourself about your problems? Maybe that's a place to start. -- doug smith  

Have you ever completely forgotten about a goal? Honestly, I have. Those kind of goals have a built in resistance that is trying to tell us something. It's not the same as a goal that makes you uncomfortable because that could be a good thing. Rather, it's a goal that does not even seem to interest you. Pick goals you can't stop thinking about -- those are the ones you really want.  -- doug smith

Problems are discouraging. They slow us down. Often a problem will confound us. Problems can polarize us into immobility if we let them, afraid to make any decision because it might make the problem worse. Keep solving. Keep analyzing. Keep working on better choices. A problem won't stop you if you don't stop. Keep going. -- doug smith  

Circumstances try to pin us into either/or decisions. Win/lose. This or that. Pick one but not the other. Even when neither choice is appealing, there's a presumption that you've got to choose one. What if you don't? Embracing a paradox is a way to make peace with the irreconcilable.  Or is it? What do you think? -- doug smith

Silence is a powerful communication tool. When leaders can become comfortable with silence they can learn more, understand more, and connect more deeply. We don't always understand silence. The meaning isn't always clear. That's why developing patience with silence can be so helpful. Silence gives people time to think. Silence provides process time. In a noisy world, silence can even restore sense and peace. Honor silence even when you don't understand it. There is meaning there to find. -- doug smith  

As a leader, do you know how much your team wants to be connected? Why not connect with each team member this week and talk about their connections. What do they feel most a part of? How is their enthusiasm rate? Do they feel truly included? Connection lights the darkness of our lives and soothes our hollow loneliness.  Connect. -- doug smith  

Each session is 3 hours long.    Morning sessions begin at 10:00 am ET    Afternoon sessions begin at 2:00 pm ET        Management and Leadership Skills for First-Time Supervisors and Managers:          September 24 and 25    September 29 and 30    Excelling as a Highly Effective Team Leader:    October 8 and 9    Project Management One-Day Workshop    October 14 October 30      Register here: https://skillpath.com/virtual    

 Problem solving builds strength and clarity. -- doug smith

Empathy is at the heart of... Superior service Centered leadership Better relationships Happiness... When leaders scale up on empathy, when they learn how to understand other people's feelings and situations and then respond with kindness, they make better choices. Strategies last when they include empathy. It's not always easy. At any given time we can find devilish barriers to caring about others. We can always uncover selfish motives and evil actions. But we don't have to do any of that. We can choose. We can develop caring and continue to care. Caring about each other makes defeating anyone unnecessary. Isn't that better? How do you feel about it? -- doug smith  

The goals we seek bring a lot of pull to them. We get wrapped in them.  It's useful and it's powerful when we care about our goals so much that they propel us forward and keep us working even when we're tired, beyond the boundaries of our usual limitations. But they should not take us beyond the boundaries of our usual values. They should not trick us into bending the rules just because the rules are in the way. Truly high performance leaders of character who are focused, and centered, and noble maintain integrity. No cheating is ever worth the outcome. Integrity is so rare that many people don't even recognize. If you do, be thankful. We need leaders like you. To truly understand integrity you've got to keep it. Even when it's hard. Even the lines are blurred.  -- doug smith 

Be careful of an answer that feels automatic. What if the obvious solution is an illusion? Problems seldom create their own solutions without magnifying the problem.  Just because you can't see an agenda doesn't mean that there isn't one... -- doug smith 

How much and how often do you want your leaders to listen to you? "Very much and always," is a rational response. Very much...and always. As leaders that's a big expectation. It deserves our constant attention.  Listen until you understand and then keep listening because there's always mroe to understand.  -- doug smith

Bad customers are no excuse for bad service. We've all experienced difficult customers and people who cannot be pleased no matter what we do. And even though it could feel justified to provide worse service as I result, that's wrong. I've seen people do it -- give the customer less than usual because of a rude remark, or take longer than necessary on a task because of a condescending attitude -- but in service to others we must be better than that. Customer service excellence means constant, attentive, respectful helpfulness. Nothing less. And who knows -- we could always end up turning that bad customer into a great customer. -- doug smith 

The brain is wonderful, isn't it? Fully capable of decoding, encoding, and subject to eroding when we least expect it, the brain is filled with surprises. To keep it focused, we focus hard -- on facts, on data, on details. All of that is important. It's also critical, as we practice critical thinking, to keep the big picture in mind. Where are we going? What is our mission? What's going on in the world (even the universe!) that will impact us whether we are aware or not? The big picture will include you, whether or not you include the big picture. Step back today and take a look. The big picture has probably shifted on you. -- doug smith  

How sure are you of the facts? In any decision, during any problem, the facts matter. While emotions propel us forward, unless we measure the facts, the facts could trip us up. How? Easily. What we believe to be facts could be something else. Inaccurate. Assertions. Assumptions. We need to practice our critical thinking skills to see thru the constant fog and clarify the facts. Accuracy depends on some fairly inaccurate assumptions. Before we can be sure, we need to recognize and qualify our assumptions. At least, I assume that's true... -- doug smith  

When you start with kindness you don't have to stay there, but you probably will. It works better for others. It works better for you. If you're human, you'll probably relapse. It does take practice to stay the course. The course starts by starting. When you start with kindness, it becomes more naturally the way. High performance leadership develops from the core leadership strengths of clarity, creativity, courage, and compassion. Build one of those strengths today thru some act of kindness and the others will get stronger as well. -- doug smith   

  We're in this, too. All the stuff. All the things. The changes, the strangeness, we're in. Impacted by what happens, what other choice do we have than to impact what happens? "These times!" you say. "These times are tough!" Yep. And so are you. The times make us what we are, more than we realize,  but then we also make the times. Let's make them good times. Let's do better. I'm in. How about you? -- doug smith

Working to make things better works best when we enjoy the work right now. Loving our neighbor works best when we love them right now. Building your best future works best when you build right now. Got it? It all starts, it all moves forward right now. -- doug smith