doug smith training

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

Even a reluctant leader can become a better leader. -- Doug Smith

Have you ever set a goal you thought was truly great, only to have it highly resisted when it came time for implementation? People resist change. What's inside your head ("this will be so much BETTER!") is exactly that: inside your head. People need to see the value. People need to feel the benefits. If they aren't, it could be one of these two mistakes are happening: 1. NOT communicating the value and urgency of your goal, or 2. Setting a goal that HAS no value or urgency I think you know how to fix whichever it is. Are you getting resistance? That's useful feedback. Fix what needs fixing and the goal will fly! -- Doug Smith ------------------------------------------ Shameless Promotion Department If you'd like to increase and improve your possibilities as a supervisor I can help you with that. It's what I do. If you and others at your organization would benefit from a two-day workshop on high performance leadership, please do contac

The most valuable training helps us achieve our goals. How are you doing on your goals? -- Doug Smith

Supervising for Success Developing your front line leadership skills Two things happen when you are promoted to supervisor. First, you lose your team's best technical performer (because that was you!) and second, you are thrust into a job that requires a completely new set of skills.  Working side-by-side and setting a great example with customers is a good place to start, but supervisors and managers need so much more. In this in-person workshop you will explore, discover, and practice these key leadership skills: Develop leadership capacity, strength and flexibility Set and achieve your supervisory goals Handle critical conversations confidently Build collaborative, cohesive, results-based teams Develop more motivation in yourself, your team members, and your colleagues Delegate work that develops your team Improve productivity Coach to improve performance Facilitate highly productive meetings Solve team problems collaboratively Practice preventing and respon

30 minutes / $30 Limited Time Special Focused, fast teleclasses that focus on skills, processes, and tools you can put to use immediately. Listen anywhere you have a phone. Share your connection if you like. Take notes and participate in the lively conversation. Set a goal for the leadership skill you're working on and ask follow-up questions on the call, at our blog, or during a follow-up coaching call. You can also schedule a teleclass for your group or yourself or attend one that's already on our public schedule. 30/30 Teleclasses help you get the training you need, at a price that you can afford. No travel, no trouble, no technological meltdowns. Just no-nonsense training over your telephone. Here is a sampling of the teleclasses available for your fast, affordable training: Ten Keys to Leadership Success Explore ten key ways to quickly improve your leadership performance. But it's more than a list. You'll also hear how to implement these keys in yo

One of my favorite quotes comes from Susan Scott and her essential book, "Fierce Conversations" when she says "let silence do the heavy lifting." So often we are uncomfortable by silence. We feel the need to fill the silence with something, anything. Silence is a valid response. Big work can happen during that silence. Higher quality thinking can be encouraged, nurtured, and born during meaningful, patient silence. I work to be silent when my words would wound another. Instead of blurting out that response, I work on the pause. Silence. Instead of getting even with a better dig, a sarcastic reply, I work on the breathing. The pause. The silence. Pause. See what happens. Let that happen. Breathe. Silence is a valid, useful, rich response. Honor that silence. -- Doug Smith

Interested? Register at http://skillpath.com

Do you enjoy initiating phone calls? The phone seems to have lost much of its importance in the office world, but it is still a key tool for communicating. When you know what results you want, sometimes the phone is the best way to interact. Especially in sales. Extra-especially in prospecting. But also in conducting follow-up, in contracting, and getting things done. It's something I must admit I will procrastinate on. I'm not proud of that, I'd prefer it be otherwise, but making that first call in the morning is tough. But you know what?  When I make that first call the rest are easy. Even if my first call is to someone I know well and simply to chat -- not for any business at all. The next call is easier. And the next even easier. It's just a matter of getting started. If it's the same for you, please allow me to encourage you for a moment: make that first call. You may turn into an action focused juggernaut of calling and getting things done. Imagi

What does maybe me to you? When I was a young dad, "maybe" probably meant "no" to me, but it meant a definite "yes" to my children. It's all in how you look at it and, of course, your agenda. When someone is working hard to convince us of something, they may hear a "yes" in our "maybe" that isn't there. This can build resistance that isn't necessary from our point of view and that gets in the way of genuine opportunities. We start defending our "no" when what we really meant was "we're not sure." What if instead of saying "maybe" we said "convince me?" What if we kept open and curious about the possibilities instead of going into a conversation with our minds made up? I think we'd open ourselves up to some greatly improved results and some beautiful surprises. Oh, yes, and then we'd be authentically communicating instead of just pretending to. What do you think?

Are your people getting the training that they need? Full disclosure - I provide training for a living, so of course I believe that people should constantly train and keep their people in training. But aside from that, I've seen so many dysfunctional teams fall to pieces and clash with each other simply because they haven't developed the skills that they need to effectively do the job. Communication skills. Leadership skills. Problem solving skills. Goal attainment skills. People need training. Training is more a sleep-inducing e-course. Training is more than orientation. Training involves exploring, practicing, discovering, and performing the skills needed to prosper and achieve your goals. Are you people getting enough training? It's probably impossible to over train your people. What do they need to learn next? What will do to support their learning? -- Doug Smith