doug smith training

Have you ever had a leader who kept trying to push you out of your comfort zone? Kept trying to get you to do more than you'd ever done before and try things that are, frankly, scary? I sure have. And truth be told, didn't like it much at the time. A great boss is supportive, which we like, AND also challenging, which we might not be so happy about. The growth does happen, though, outside of our areas of ease. To stretch, we need to move those muscles.  The hope of a high performance leader is that we'll move those muscles so much that they grow stronger. The goal is to grow so much that our former team looks like the glimmer of promise that our future team becomes: faster, stronger, smarter, better. The growing zone takes us far, far beyond our comfort level. What if we pushed ourselves so far out of our comfort zone that we never came back?  What are you doing today to stretch yourself or your team? -- doug smith

Think about a time when you experienced tremendous satisfaction. You were not just happy, you were pleased inside and out. Your value was enhanced, your self-esteem was elevated. What caused that? What was it that you did? More importantly, who did you help? Chances are that you helped more than yourself. You probably started by helping someone else, and that lead to helping you as well. High performance leaders serve first. They aren't in it for the ego. The ego is fragile and near-sighted. True leadership achieves noble goals in the service of others. And that's what makes us happy in lasting and meaningful ways.  It is in service that we are best served. Serve first, my friends. It will serve you well. -- doug smith

Do you get stuff done? At the end of the day, isn't that what leaders are paid to do? Oh sure, to do that means you must communicate effectively, build cohesive teams, solve problems, and improve performance. That's all part of the job. But mainly the job of leadership is to get stuff done.  High performance leaders find reasons, and ways, to get things done. How are you doing? -- doug smith

My former acting coach, Brian McCulley once said that "done is better than perfect." I don't think he meant to minimize quality, because that is also important. But sometimes urgency is more important than perfection, considering that we'll never achieve perfect. There are no perfect people. There are no perfect products. There are no perfect processes. We may travel John Wesley's road to perfection without ever getting there. That is completely fine. I've learned to seek wisdom rather than perfection since discovering the endless amount of personal flaws has destroyed any illusion of perfect. Still, I travel that road, whether it's driving or as a passenger. It's a good road, even when it never ends. I've also learned not to let it grieve me.  We are all here to improve. Let's keep improving. When we look into the mirror, let's not expect perfection. Let's not let disappointment cloud our days. Expecting perfection is not a ...

doug smith training develops high performance leadership with clarity, courage, creativity, and compassion. It's tough on the front end, dealing with your team, your customers, and your bosses. Get the leadership training you need to navigate the choppy seas of supervising. "Supervising for Success" is a two-day workshop that helps you to develop: The keys to leadership success Setting and achieving your supervisory goals Communicating for results Building your team Motivating yourself and others Time Management Coaching for performance Leading productive meetings Solving problems Leading ethically and effectively Supervising multiple generations in the workplace Prioritizing and handling multiple projects and goals Contact me today about bringing "Supervising for Success" to your location.  doug@dougsmithtraining.com