doug smith training

Even when it looks like corruption is everywhere, we do not have to let it rule. Leaders need the courage to resist corruption -- no matter how small and no matter how large and no matter for how long.  When in doubt tell the truth, play fair, and act with integrity. Anything else will always catch up to you. -- doug smith  

This might sound like a paradox, or a riddle, at first. I think of it as a koan.  It can be hard to be honest with yourself but it's the only way to the truth. Like it or not (and sometimes I do not like it) if we are honest with ourselves we can see our tender little fragile assumptions. If we're brutally honest with ourselves we can taste the vinegar in our lies. When we insist on exploring the truth before declaring the truth we have a much better chance of finding the truth. What do you think? -- doug smith

Even if honesty seems rare, you can achieve it with discipline. When you practice it. When you insist on it. When you get better at testing your assumptions. When you give people the chance to tell the truth by responding with respect. High performance leaders finds ways to explore before they implore -- they make certain of the truth before they swear by it. Powerful leaders stay open to possibilities that they may not have contemplated and allow the truth to emerge. Once the truth emerges, there will still be people who doubt it, who still will resist. When we can share what we think and what we feel with honesty, it will serve us well even when we're wrong (because even honest people are sometimes wrong). Insist on honesty with respect - it's a great path to the truth. -- 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

Stay healthy, stay happy, stay honest. At least one is all up to you. We all prefer good health. With good health comes many blessings. Every day I am humbly grateful for my good health.  Happiness? That can be a moving target sometimes. Just when you think you've got a formula figured out, the rules change. But, we can influence our own happiness and yes, maybe even control it. Even when our circumstances are less than ideal, our attitude can determine our level of happiness. And that brings me to the third thing on this list: honesty. That one is completely up to you. We each determine how honest we will be. To quibble a bit, it may not be a matter of "how honest" anyone is: you and I are either honest, or not. There isn't really a middle ground. You can't be a "little bit honest." But we're not perfect. We have to work at it all -- even being honest because every day there is some new temptation to twist the truth, hide the facts, or stay silent w

I hate hidden agendas. When people have motives that they do not reveal it is the worst kind of lie. That's why I appreciate the truth so much. We can't all, and can't always, handle radical truth. We need a little filtering to keep from walking around with bruised feelings all of the time. We can handle truth delivered with respect. We can handle truth that is useful. And, we can certainly handle the truth about our goals. What do you want? What's your biggest goal? Once we start sharing that level of truth we can genuinely help each other the most. Being honest about our goals is necessary to tell the truth. What do you want, how do you define the success of what you want, and when do you want it. Action word + result you want + time.  That's what I call ART goals and the best way to get the most out of them is to be upfront and honest. Once we know what we want, we can intelligently decide whether to agree or not. Anything less is pretending. Go for