doug smith training

  The best, most reliable leaders make ethical choices. You may have discovered, though, that people do define ethical in many different ways. For some, if it's right for the it must be ethical, even when it is not right for someone else. We do need a better standard. As leaders we serve best when we do no harm. Any leadership that produces victims is poor leadership headed for long term failure.  If you have to ask if something is ethical you probably already know the answer. Just imaging how you would feel if you were not given the choice.  -- doug smith

Can you reach a durable agreement with someone who does not share your values? Does it depend on which value? Certainly, it matters whether or not someone values truth -- and you could still disagree on what that means. It matters if the value is honesty, integrity, ethical behaviors -- and it matters enough that it is worth getting to know people before you agree too deeply.  Until we agree on values we will never fully agree. And, the cost of pretending to agree is higher than disagreement. Do you agree? -- doug smith  

Life is simpler when you follow a clearly prescribed set of ethics and base every decision on it. Or, at least how it feels at first. It's not so simple after all. We are frequently faced with ethical decisions that require either an iron-clad adherence to a principle that will result in an outcome we do not want, or exercising some flexibility in our choice which then risks throwing the entire value out. It is complicated. It requires learning. It requires sophistication not easily developed.  The trouble with unbreakable codes is that they will eventually break you. The trouble with situational ethics is that it might not regard your situation very highly at all. It takes work. It takes clarity, courage, creativity, and compassion in balance to know what is right. And, it takes the patience to realize that after that balance is measured carefully and applied we will still make mistakes. Love first, and step lightly around the rest. -- doug smith  

It's hard to escape it: there are lies everywhere. Behind every lie is a liar, someone who knows that they are deceiving people. The lies might be obvious. They might even rationalize the lies into harmless ways around the truth.  There is no way around the truth. The only way to the truth is telling the truth. It's tempting to rationalize our own reactions to lies. After all, they lied first so what's the harm in twisting the truth just a little for a good cause. No. You can't stop a liar from lying, but you don't have to play a liar's game. High performance leaders with integrity tell the truth. -- doug smith

Have you ever had a boss who cares more about results than character? The kind of boss who doesn't mind a short-cut ethically if it gets the job done? It's easy to give in to that kind of boss, because they are powerfully insistent. Easy, but not necessary to surrender but your character does matter. Honesty, integrity, ethical behavior -- traits that may not be rewarded but are clearly observed. Any time you cut a corner someone feels the edge. Your team cares about your character even if your boss doesn't.  Strength of character matters and, long term, will serve you well.  -- doug smith

Why do leaders get into trouble? Surely, there's enough for a book in that one question. Still, it's worth asking on an individual level. How do we as leaders avoid trouble? How do we stop ourselves from falling into our own self-shaped traps? There are pit falls just our size waiting for us, and very often we march right into them as if we were indestructible. Like that skateboarder going down the hill in the center of a highway, forgetting that someone else might not see them. Like that not-for-profit executive who makes a million dollars off of the donations of others. "But I'm doing good!" they exclaim. Or, like that little lie we tell to prevent ourselves from an otherwise awkward moment of explaining why we didn't achieve a goal. Awkward indeed. Our personal distortions, if we're not careful, get us into trouble. And when we are leaders our troubles become the troubles of others. Trouble yourself all you want, but please be careful of those who trust

  When was the last time that your integrity was tested? As leaders, we are often tempted to cut corners, to shave edges. A little compromise here or there, often in the interest of the bigger mission, seems justified. Who'll notice? What's the harm? Rounding out the numbers on a late night report for example. Or fudging that expense report just a little so that your best performer can get that invoice approved faster. Or, not confronting a clear case of harassment because the harasser is one of your friends. These are just small, inconsequential things, right? Wrong. Ethics may be open to both interpretation and circumstances, but one of our biggest problems these days is that the boundaries have blurred so far as to be indistinguishable. It feels like anything goes. That's no way to lead. That's no way to improve the world. Ethics, and integrity, matter as much as ever.  That means we have to pay attention. We as leaders must be careful, oh so very careful, of any com

We have choices. We always have choices. If you have a deep and decent sense of values developed with experience and education, you recognize what is right. What is right does no harm. What is right spreads compassion. What is right leaves no loss. It's not the easy thing. You know that, too. Do the right thing whether or not you ever see the benefit. Someone will. -- doug smith

Competition is useful. Usually, cooperation is better. Incentives have their value, internal motivation is massively more powerful. While high performance leaders DO focus on achieving their goals and delivering positive results, part of that is built around healthy relationships. Take the time to get to know your team members. Listen to their stories, their heart songs, their hardships, their views. When they achieve their goals, reward them with signs of your appreciation. And, when they consistently act as responsible adults within your relationships to achieve those results, show your appreciation. It doesn't need to cost any money. Sometimes a "thank you" is enough. We need healthy relationships to sustain trust. Without trust, a team member could be tempted to game the system in order to hit the numbers. That's not what you want. Sustain the relationships to keep the results both strong and ethical. Be careful about rewards that only recognize results.