doug smith training

Which would you prefer -- a leader who knows how to do your job and could do it if you weren't there, or a leader who has never done what you do and couldn't do it if the business depended on it? As a leader, you could find yourself in either circumstance. In fact, the higher you go in an organization the more likely you are to be in charge of people who do things that you do not know how to do. You don't need to know how to do what your direct reports do, but if you do, that does add a layer of respect. But sooner or later, the respect will need to come from your skills a s leader. -- doug smith

Do you have the qualities of a leader? I'm sure you know that leadership is not just a title. Leadership is what we bring to the organizations we lead in order to develop our people and achieve our goals. That's easier said than done and it doesn't necessarily come naturally. When I think about the qualities of a high performance leader I notice similarities with what I would consider to be a high quality, high character person: curious, brilliant, adventurous, determined, attentive, focused, ambitious, strong, kind, worthy, ethical, resilient, spiritual, healthy...the list is long. I've also come to believe that while many qualities are important, there are five that are absolutely essential. You could lead without these qualities, but the job is much harder that way and the outcomes are more volatile. The five qualities I aspire to are: courage, clarity, creativity, compassion, and centeredness. I define centeredness as the skillful use of the other four...

Do you delegate? Many leaders struggle with delegation. Some don't delegate enough because they worry that the work will not be done to their satisfaction. That's a case for developing both the leader and the people the leader could delegate to. It can be overcome. Some leaders struggle with delegation by only delegating work they'd NEVER do -- mundane, routine, or nasty tasks that the person getting the work doesn't want either, they simply have no choice. That is no way to endear yourself to your team. We do need to delegate though. And sometimes the work that we delegate is routine but simply needs to be done. During the time that I worked there, my team leader at Whole Foods once told me, "we don't pay supervisors to wash the dishes." She did go on to say that handling the dishes for 15 minutes set a good example, but washing them the whole shift simply kept the supervisor from leading. A more powerful form of delegation is done for develop...

Our leadership strengths are like muscles. The more we use them, the more we apply them to situations, the stronger our strengths become. How many problems could stand up to you using all of your clarity, courage, creativity, and compassion? Use your leadership strengths. Develop your leadership skills. Solve those problems and achieve those goals with the ease and elegance that you deserve. -- doug smith