doug smith training

  It's a new time, a time of more virtual work, more individual work, more asynchronous connections. Still, if you want to build a high performance team, it's best if your team finds ways to work together. Teams need to spend time together, whether it's virtual or face-to-face. Do your team members enjoy spending time together? If your team members do not enjoy spending time with each other you might have the wrong team members. Just something to consider... -- doug smith

  Every leader is also a trainer. You either train well or lose ground. High performance leaders train their team members. Coach the skills, develop the bond, build your team. It will make you a more effective leader. -- doug smith

How successful would your team be if everyone on it worked as hard as you do? That's a question with more than one implication. Are you working hard enough to set a great example? Or, are you setting the bar so low that results suffer? The leader sets the example. The leader, as John Maxwell as said, "models the way." As leaders, let's model ways we'd like our team members to follow. Let's work hard. Let's work ethically. Let's work together. -- doug smith  

If you want to communicate better you may need to communicate more often. Maybe even every day. Reach out to each team member, no matter where they are, and try these three things today: Appreciate Challenge Encourage It doesn't take an hour. It doesn't require a video. Just reach out. You'll like the effect that it has. You'll feel like doing it again. Go ahead.  -- doug smith

How often do you talk with your team members, one-on-one? Not counting the group meetings, are you scheduling and keeping regular conversations with each and every team member? They need that level of attention. They require that level of attention. They have a much better chance of meeting your expectations when you give them that level of attention. It's an effort. It takes discipline. But, what could be more important than clear and regular communication with your team members? I would say, just about nothing would be more important. High performance leaders talk with each team member about what comes next. High performance leaders talk with each team member about performance. High performance leaders talk with each team member regularly, openly, honestly, and deeply. It's your best leadership tool. Talk with your team members. -- doug smith

Does your team know that you care?  How? If you have told them today (and I do mean TODAY) then good -- that's a great start. What if you showed them as well?  How to show your team that you care: support learning provide training conduct one-on-one conversations with each team member every week smile! recognize good performance correct poor performance keep your promises What ways can you think of to show your team that you care? Your team won't know that you care unless you show them. Now is a good time to start! -- doug smith

Situations, processes, designs, conditions, relationships -- so much up for grabs. Working together to solve a problem fixes far more than just the problem. Why not work together? -- doug smith

How much time do you spend motivating your team? Trick question? How about this for a bold answer: all the time. Every moment that you spend with your team is an opportunity to motivate.  When you inspire your team their performance elevates. But, where to begin? How do you get that fully energized, totally motivated team? The first step to motivating others is wanting them to be happy. Wanting them to be happy enough that you ask. Wanting them to be happy enough that you collaborate on creating an environment where their happiness can flower and grow. No problem, right? Try this: ask them what motivates them. What energizes them? What gets them excited? And then?  Listen. -- doug smith Call to Action: Stay curious about what makes your team members happy. Ask!

When in doubt about what to talk about with your team, talk about goals. -- doug smith

Teams need constant attention. You get them where you want them and then they change. Just like relationships. The dynamic is always moving. High performance leaders move with the team, gently directing and redirecting and communicating as much certainty as you have available. Your team might need to grow before it knows it. Your team might need to slow down and focus. When we can put our coaching hat on and guide the ingredients we need become more clear. One-on-one conversations, powerful meetings, meaningful goals, clear roles...the list is remarkably stable even though the players are not. You can build a team or tear it down. It's your choice. -- doug smith

How well does your team know each other? Whether they work side by side, or across the globe from each other, the better your team members know each other's strengths and weaknesses, the better they understand how each communicates and what their interaction style means to them, the better they are likely to perform. We spend so much time sorting out intentions. Speed that process up by helping your team members get to know each other. Facilitate deeper conversations. Lead powerful meetings where things get done. Teach each other how an action usually uncovers a need. Work better together because you care about each other. That's not instantaneous. There's no easy exercise. It takes time and presence to build rapport, and it takes rapport to build relationships. Build your team by helping them get to know each other better. You'll like the results. -- doug smith

What if everyone you hired had to complete a boot camp just to prepare them for the high level performance of your team? What if you had the kind of team that people longed to work for, that dreamed of working for, that worked their tails off just to get a chance to work for? Imagine the goals that team would accomplish? You could have that team. You just need a plan, the discipline, and the fortitude. What's your plan? -- doug smith

How far can your team go? How much work can your team do? How successful can your team become? I have two answers to all of those questions. The first answer is "amazingly so." The second answer is harder, "only as far as you allow." Your team's biggest limiting factor is you. That's hard to hear, perhaps, but also liberating. Grow yourself and you will grow your team. Limit yourself and...well, you get the idea. In order to build your team you might also need to build yourself. Build your ability to listen. Build your ability to take charge. Build your ability to solve problems. Build your ability to lead. Build yourself. Your team will follow. -- doug smith

What have you learned from your team today? It's not too late, and your team has a lot to teach you. Sure, your job as a leader includes training your team members and making sure that they develop in ways that help them while also achieving your team goals. What many leaders forget, though, is that your team is also constantly teaching you. They are teaching you what they need to succeed. They are teaching you how their interpersonal dynamics are developing. They are teaching you how effective your leadership style is. It may not always seem like it, but they have things to tell you that may not be said directly with words. How is their performance? Are they happy? Do they feel connected to something larger than themselves? Are they proud to be part of the team? Do they feel valued and appreciated? Watch their body language. Listen to their tone. Get clarity around what their words say. Stay attentive to what they have to teach. Every team teaches its leader whether

Do you love your team? I've been so blessed and lucky in my life to have been part of some truly outstanding teams filled with people who challenged me, supported me, and made my life (and work) better. I have loved the people on those teams and many years after working with the people on those teams I still think of them fondly almost every day. The team pictured here was one of my early teams at the Ryan Insurance Group. The talent on that team, and on other teams, astounded me every day. We had our struggles, but they were hard working, brilliant people and I miss every one of them. There have been other great teams of course. Today I think about this group and what it grew into as we expanded, improved, and grew as people and as a business. I was not a perfect boss, and I'm sure I sparked more than a little frustration now and then, but they patiently dedicated themselves to achieving the goals of the team. I'm proud of that team. I invite you today to reflec

It takes discipline to discover what is otherwise not available. -- doug smith How do you find the answer to building your best team? Is there a magical formula? Teams take work and the work is never done. For a leader to find the time to talk to each team member one-on-one frequently it takes the discipline to set a schedule and THEN to follow it -- even when your boss tends to pull you away and even when you get distracted by other urgencies. Your team members deserve your time and they need your time. Even when they do not ask for your time, they need it to connect, to calibrate, to collaborate. Give your team members one-on-one time and the payoff will be great (even if it takes a while to notice, hang in there.) The answers to your problems, the solutions to your challenges, the magic secret sauce that differentiates your team from dozens of others that are otherwise similar, hides in the discipline of doing the work. It takes discipline to discover what is otherwis

Trust your ambition but do the work. -- doug smith Dreams are great, and yet it takes more. Ambition is powerful, and yet it takes more. It takes a detailed and powerful plan. It takes working each step of that plan. Even when people resist and even when team members act like anything but team members. Do the work. Build the relationship. Spend time and grow. Trust your ambition, but do the work. -- doug smith

Find out what your team means to each team member and then build from there. -- doug smith

Team building. It's a never ending process. It starts with recruiting. Who you bring into your team makes the chemistry of your team. Who you bring into your team sets the players in place to do the work that needs to be done. Take your time with recruiting. Start by getting to know the best talent you can. You never know who might be interested in joining your team, but first get to know them. Learn from talent everywhere. Explore places you might not usually explore to find the talent that can take your team to the next level. They might not join your team now. They might not even be interested. But, someday they might. The only way that someday arrives is if you start the dialogue today. Who do you know who you wish was on your team right now? What if you gave them a call? -- doug smith

You're not just part of the team, are you? You are, as the team leader, at the center. You set the tone. You set the speed. You set the mood. Those are powerful abilities, if you use them in high performance ways. You'll need power, and you'll need strength, and you can't grab that from anyplace else other than yourself. Your team is counting on you. Whether or not they tell you, they depend on you to be their strong leader. The strength of patience. The strength of persistence. The strength of high expectations. Pull your team together. Talk with them individually AND as part of the whole team. Let them know how to succeed and they'll do their best to do so. As much as you might want it to, your team will not build itself. It needs a strong leader. That's you. You can do it. You're the boss. -- doug smith