doug smith training

High performance leaders must do two things extremely skillfully: 1. Support your people 2. Challenge your people One great way to support your people is to appreciate them. Say thank you often and very specifically. Thank then for exactly what they did and why it's helpful. For example: "Thanks for getting your report in a day early! That gives me more time to digest the data and less time to worry about getting it on time!" "Thank you so much for listening respectfully even though I could tell you disagreed. When we're able to talk like this it's much more likely that we'll come up with great ideas and solutions to problems." "I appreciate the way you follow-up a good question with a clarifying response. That way we both understand what we're saying!" It takes practice. It might feel awkward at first. But here's something that I say every day because it's true: what gets appreciated gets repeated. If you like something, apprec...

You don't have to create a family at work. Families come with their own difficulties and if you've ever worked in a family business you know all about that. People at work don't have to love each other, but they do need to respect each other. Communicating clearly and honestly is a start. Collaborating instead of competing helps. Do your job, jump in to help when you're needed, and keep supporting the team's mission and goals. You don't need to create a family at work to build a great team. What you need is clarity, courage, creativity, and compassion.  Great leaders create the atmosphere where those core strengths prosper. -- doug smith

  As we adjust to the changing roles and responsibilities of leadership, it's worth considering the importance of our teams. Leaders get things done thru their teams. Often that means learning FROM our team members even as we facilitate their own learning. Instead of dictating, new leaders collaborate. Team success is a shared goal. The strength of a leader comes from the strength of the team. Not the other way around. If that feels new, it is.  -- doug smith

Big goals need help. Finding the right people to help achieve a goal may be even more important than applying your own skills on that goal. If one person isn't enough, who is on your team? Whatever your goals are, help will get you there quicker. -- doug smith  

  We're too big to feel too small. We're too small to control it all. What if everything is a collaboration? -- doug smith

  How noisy is it for your team?  When we ask our teams to deal with extraneous details -- too much noise -- they lose track of the purpose of the team. I've lost patience over the years with administrative details that add zero value to the customer proposition. If it doesn't help you serve, help it out the door. Too much noise makes the head lose focus Learning to focus is learning to breathe. Breathing is, of course, the way of life. -- doug smith

How resilient are you? Would your team say the same thing? So many times in life (and in leadership) I have been disappointed. Whether it was circumstances, scarcities, or troubling people, it felt easy to give up.  But even when the cards seem stacked against you -- even when defeat seems certain -- if you persist you will learn far more than you ever thought possible. I remember a time long ago when as a high school coach for a middle school basketball team, drawing a bunch of inexperienced and un-developed players and doing my best to coach them beyond their perceived weaknesses into an enthusiastic team capable of embracing of who we were -- rank underdogs who were surrounded by supremely talented teams who always won more games than us until the playoffs came, the games mattered more, and somehow we managed to hustle our way to a trophy. It was fun, but just before it became fun it was a lot of hard and sometimes discouraging work. When in your life do you remember overcoming ...

It's a question that is asked constantly  -- How can I motivate my team? So many ways. I can certainly provide training that will help you do a better job of motivating your team. Here's a shortcut (you should explore other ways of course, but maybe start with this...) Two key points: If your employees feel like they need to unionize to get what they want and need, you're failing as a leader. Fix that. And, When all of the rewards go to the top, the team stops caring. Fix that, too. Absolutely get to know your team members. Provide opportunities for growth. Demonstrate some emotional intelligence around them. Communicate clearly and often. Find the clarity you need to maintain your direction. Demonstrate compassion with those who need it. Think and act creatively in all that you do. And ponder those two points above.  -- doug smith

Every time someone new joins your team, the whole team changes. Dynamics shift. Relationships move. Routines get modified and values get passed on or passed over.  Even if you've delegated the task of welcoming and orienting new team members (by the way, congratulations on delegating!) as the team leader you still have the profound responsibility of helping that new team member succeed in the service of the team and in the development of their individual goals. Ignore that responsibility, and everything slips. Focus on the value of each and every team member, and everything strengthens. Remember that a new hire is just learning what it takes to prosper in your team. Why not make certain that they learn successfully? -- doug smith  

Do you ever let your power go to your head?  Here's a sure sign that the answer is yes: if under pressure you invoke your job title. "Well, I'm the boss and here's what you need to do." Yes, it is sometimes necessary to invoke authority, but it always comes with side-effects. One of those side-effects is the habit of relying on that authority. It's fast, but builds shallow relationships. It's expedient, but what about those times that you are wrong? It's faster to force your views and authority on someone but sure to create resistance. What is better? It's better to pause, talk it through, find the mutually shared value, and focus on collaboration, rather than agitation. You'll enjoy the good results much, much longer. -- doug smith

How important is trust in a team? When I ask leaders this question the usual answer is "It's everything. Without trust the team falls apart." I'd agree. Your team members must trust you as the leader to act with their interests in mind as well as the interests of the organization and of your customers. And you as the leader must be able to trust team members to perform in ways that serve the mission, help your customers, and help each other. I'd also add that trust starts with respect. Where does respect start? This is not a chicken-or-egg question. The answer is clear: respect starts with the leader. When you respect your team members, they witness how important that is, how useful it feels, and how necessary it remains. Show respect, receive respect -- in that order. It does not work in reverse. -- doug smith

If you or your team, or anyone on your team has a secret agenda, how is that working for you? In team building, establishing trust is a long effort and easily broken. People are watching you, and others on the team, every step of the way. When we keep secret agendas and try to manipulate people into helping us fulfill those agendas, that trust cracks open. Who is that secret agenda hurting the most?  Some random team member? Some soft-spoken customer? A vendor who is struggling to make their own budget? A regulator? That secret agenda is hurting your team. High performance, centered leaders tell the truth. They set goals that are easy to understand. They honestly detail the vision, mission, and agenda of the team. Lacking that, the team is lacking. -- doug smith

While we are each different, we all share many things in common. One thing your team members do share in common is the need to be appreciated. No one wants to feel taken for granted. It doesn't cost a thing to say "thank you" once in a while and it adds so much positivity that we should probably do it more often. We all want to be recognized and appreciated. As leaders, we are in a position to do more of that, so why not start today? -- doug smith P.S. Thanks for reading this! 

Are you helping your team grow? Not in size, although that can be useful. Growth in terms of ability, skill, motivation, traction, change, endurance, happiness...are you building those components in your team? If you are the right leader for your team you'll help them grow.  Otherwise, they'll find someone who does. -- doug smith  

High performance leaders know that any initiative takes both logic and emotion, but which comes first? Which will get you moving, and which will keep you on course? Knowing that you can't live without either one, it's useful to organize the team in ways that optimize your chances of success. Logic usually waits for emotions to express themselves before anyone cares about logic.  Tune up your team's emotions, or the logic will fall flat.  -- doug smith

Even the best leader can't rescue everyone. Sometimes people have to rescue themselves. That will likely make them stronger, too. -- doug smith  

  Teams are tricky. Just when you think you've got your team figured out, configured properly, fully set and ready to go, it changes on you.  Every time someone enters or leaves your team, you've got a different team. That's what makes recruiting, hiring, orienting, training, and development so important. If you don't develop your team the way you'd like them to develop, they'll change in ways that you might not care for. Team dynamics require us to build a team as a group, and also as a one-team-member-at-a-time proposition.  It's a project just juggling all of the pieces. It's a big responsibility and as a team leader there is no ducking that responsibility. I've tried -- you can't do it. Teams need their team leader's attention every single day. One on one conversations. Highly productive meetings. Occasional fun (and frequent sense of humor). Coaching to motivate when someone gets stuck. Prodding to get productive when someone gets lazy. ...

In lean staff times, in fully staffed times, in hard-to-find-the-talent times, we need to keep recruiting. Even when you don't have a hiring requisition, or an open position. Top talent doesn't always show up on schedule. Sometimes it peaks in thru the window. High performance leaders are always recruiting. Your next MVP is out there somewhere. Keep recruiting. Keep recruiting by: creating an environment where people want to work developing your people, no matter what stage of their career building diverse teams with all kinds of people saying positive things to people about your team smiling when you are asked about your team and about your goals Keep recruiting. -- doug smith

When turn-over is high, find out why. It's easy to blame the economy, and maybe that does have something to do with it. It is also easy to blame other exterior causes. If you can't fix those exterior causes, what can you do? Look inside. Turn-over means that someone who works FOR you would prefer to do something else. Turn-over means that the team has tension you're not addressing. People need to work someplace, but if they choose NOT to work for you, the thing you can change is you. Listen. Talk about it. Connect with everyone on your team more often. Fix processes. Pay fairly. There are so many things that you can do, and you do have to DO them. When turn-over is high, find out why -- and fix it. -- doug smith    

Does your team have doubts? Do you? Most people have doubts at some level. Some are spoken and obvious, others are hidden and untold. The challenges your team has faced may have nearly worn them out. Their spirits may be down and certainly tested. You can do something about that. Reward them fairly, of course. And encourage them. Let them know how confident you are in them. Tell them you're grateful for their work. Encourage them to find the joy in their work, even during tough times. Encouragement costs nothing and yet provides power to improve and prosper. How can you encourage your team this week? -- doug smith