doug smith training

Leaders thrive when daily discipline is non-negotiable. Establish healthy and productive habits and then keep them. -- doug smith 

  How is your sense of direction? By that, I mean -- do people know where you are directing them? Are you providing the vision that pulls people toward higher performance?  High performance leaders make the map to their plan extremely clear.  Doubt causes delay. Certainty creates energy. Make your message clear. -- doug smith

Do you stand tough? While high performance leaders must be open to being influenced, we must also know when to stand tough. Temptation can be all too easy. Charismatic foes can be all too manipulative. We need a careful blend of boldness and precision -- of analysis and action. If you are too easily swayed you are easily played. Stop. Breathe. Think. Act. -- doug smith  

  Have you ever experienced a leader who tried to motivate you thru fear? Fear of consequences, fear of failure, fear of your own loss of self-esteem? We used to call it "old school" leadership but it's made a return in some companies. Some leaders think that they have to bully people into doing what they want them to do. Even if that works on a short-term basis, it doesn't last. The side-effects are deep. The price is high.  Fear is a terrible motivator because it keeps biting even after it's achieved its goal. And that makes each consecutive goal harder and harder to achieve. High performance leaders can do better.  -- doug smith

Do you ever get over-excited? Does stress ever bring on strong emotions for you? It's certainly happened to me. Feeling that urgency without seeing an answer is tough. That's when I've learned to breathe deeply, count to ten (or higher) and stay aware to exactly what is going on. Experience the experience and then, slowly if necessary, move forward. High performance leaders master calm and composure.  Of course, I'm still working on it. How about you? -- doug smith

Doesn't it seem a little hazy sometimes? The future is fuzzy. Uncertainty rules. It can knock us sideways with a dizziness that dazzles us without rest. Breathe. You are up to this. You are made for this. You can center yourself, focus yourself, clarify your own goals, and push. Relentlessly push positively in the direction you choose. If it's the wrong direction, you'll discover that and shift. High performance leaders are constantly shifting. From the old, to the new. From the uncertain, to the clear. Shift. Centered leaders live with ambiguity while pushing for clarity. Keep pushing. -- 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  

When we first get promoted to supervisor we tend to make mistakes. I remember one mistake that I made was being too "hands-off" as a leader.  I didn't want to come off as a boss. I didn't want to take command because I thought that people's feelings would be hurt. I tended to let them be.  It didn't work very well, and I quickly got over it. People DO need attention. Your team members NEED to know what matters to you. They NEED to know your expectations. And, they expect YOU to challenge them a bit. They won't ever ask for that, but they do need you to edge them forward. Keep your hands on. Conduct regular one-on-ones with your team members. Challenge any assumptions your team is making. Raise the bar and keep on raising it. Your job as a leader is to help your team members level up, not level off.  A hands-off leader is not really leading at all.  Stay in the game. -- doug smith

It's hard to find a permanent job. Could it be that they don't exist anymore? While that is tough news it does bring opportunity for certain types of leaders. High performance leaders who create dependable results, who perform according to their goals, AND who develop their teams into high performance produces tend to prevail. Create that leadership dependability: dependable on your word, dependable on your performance, dependable on your fairness to others, dependable in your strong and steady use of clarity, courage, creativity, and compassion.  If you're not dependable, you are expendable. Be dependable. -- doug smith

Once I was rehearsing with a band and as we were tuning one of the musicians said, in jest, "close enough for jazz." We could spend more time getting it more precise, we could find an electronic tuner to get it exactly right, or we could settle for a quick "good enough." It was a joke because good enough is not good enough -- for a jam session, a rehearsal, or a performance. Quality matters. The audience can sense your level of quality even when they are not trained to detect it. And, if you don't start out "in tune" there's no telling where you'll go. It doesn't automatically get better. In fact it tends to get progressively more out of tune. It starts a cavalcade of crap. Letting quality slide starts an avalanche of chaos. High performance leaders insist on quality. Not perfection, but a quality so high that it appears to be perfect to most people. It takes longer. It's usually harder. Give it the time. Give it the effort. Quality mat

Why do people pursue goals that cause pain? When one person's ambition causes another person's anguish that is not a noble goal. It is not sheepishness or lack of courage that cautions us to take care of other people and their needs -- it is basic human decency. High performance leaders do not need to create harm. We make important decisions. We can balance our goals with the consequences and chose those that create only value. That does not rule out competition. Sometimes we DO need to compete. When we need to compete (hey, I like a good contest as much as anyone) we do it fairly, within the rules, with no intention of harming anyone. I can block your shot without breaking your arm. You can tackle me without causing a concussion. It is possible to assertively work for a win without creates debilitating loss. Seek good goals. Work on noble goals.  A goal is no good if it results in harm. -- doug smith  

High performance leaders turn detailed plans into powerful actions. -- doug smith

Stay positive, not because it's easy but because it opens many more possibilities. -- doug smith

Do you ever lose your patience? High performance leaders sometimes focus so much on results that we get impatient about it. That's not all bad. Leaders need a sense of urgency. Just as long as we don't take it out on our team members. Press, don't distress. Push, don't crush. Every day provides opportunities to practice patience. -- 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

Have you noticed that some of your biggest problems from many years ago no longer bother you? You've likely solved them, outgrown them, or left them behind. That's not true for every problem of course, some physical problems stay a lifetime, and some systemic problems last for generations. Some problems truly are out of our control. But what can we do about the problems that we do have influence over, we just haven't yet solved? Working a useful problem solving process is one way. Continuing to learn is another way. Evolving and developing ourselves prepares us in whatever strategy we use. High performance leaders and performers keep growing.  Evolve faster and you could make your most persistent problem obsolete.ff Then you'll be ready for something even bigger and better. -- doug smith

Somethings are so easy. One click, one call, one spoken command. But, as always, not everything is easy. When we begin to assume that everything should be easy we lose track of the reality that some things DO require discipline. You can't one-click your physical work-out. You can't one-tap your organizational realignment. You can't one-command your new, improved, work-ethic inspired workforce. Things of value and projects of worth still require engagement, discipline, and the relentless willingness to try, fail, and try again. In any workforce you'll find performance problems. There is no magic wand to make these problems turn into performance. It takes attentive leadership that cares about team members and provides the development they need to prosper. It also takes the open and dedicated willingness OF those team members to make performance progress happen. We, as leaders, can't do THAT for our team members. Without the willingness, they are truly helpless. It'

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

We do not have to create teams where people either win or lose. We do not have to create organizations where people either win or lose. We do not have to create societies where people must either win or lose. We can make better choices. As high performance leaders, we can co-create better outcomes; ways for all of our constituents to benefit. We can even compete without tearing down our competitors. What if every action you made as a leader improved the world, instead of producing a little tear in the fabric? Zero-sum leadership is not sustainable or defensible. Lead without producing loss, or face your own eventual loss. -- 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