doug smith training

Centered leaders must skillfully deal with one paradox after another. Here's another one: Priorities determine time, and time determines priorities. If we don't make time for our priorities, time will decide for us what is most urgent, most pressing, most noisy and we'll end up working on something we did not plan on. But, if we schedule time based on our priorities, the paradox gives way to true prioritization. I didn't make this up -- I'm just working on doing it more consistently. How about you? -- doug smith 

  Before you commit to a goal be sure to determine what motivates you about the goal. What does it give you? What's the reason behind the reason?  How vital is it? When does the time come when you only work on goals that matter to you? Now. The time is now. -doug smith

Which matters more to you, results or people?  It's better when it's not an either/or choice, but sometimes leaders are faced with making decisions based on the results they are looking for compared to the effects of the decision on people.  If it is at all possible to consider both results and people a leader still much prioritize. What matters most? Results do matter. What do your customers expect? How can you create products or services that deliver the kind of results that optimize your organizations resources? What will create the best possible present AND future? All the while also treating the people within your organization with respect, dignity, and fair opportunity.  Before we decide whether it's an either/or situation, let's consider this: unless we start with people, and unless we prioritize people, our results are at best temporary. If you prioritize results over people, it's only a matter of time before you become one of those people de-priorized over ...

What if your biggest goal is not your most important goal? It's natural to think that your priorities are always determined by size: which goal will produce the largest revenue, save the most money, or give you the biggest impact. And, yes that's important. But should it determine what goal you work on today? I guess that it depends on whether you ask yourself or your boss, but I like to ask myself "which goal brings you the most joy right now?" Happiness matters. What if the purpose of achieving your goals is to make you happy? What if while you are working om your goals you felt great joy?  If the joy is missing, maybe the goal isn't so big after all... -- doug smith

  How far afield have you ever gotten distracted?  Have you ever gotten so far distracted that you forgot who you are? Not literally who you are, but rather who you are supposed to be in your work. Your role, your vision, your mission -- your PURPOSE for working. Presumably who you ARE is safely lit in your heart. It's in our work that we can get confused. At least, that's true for me. I've at times taken assorted bunny trails down jobs that were not suited for my purpose. I did them, whether it was as a favor, or out of a desire to serve, or to simply earn some money -- but I could always feel, in those times, a gentle tug telling me "hey, this isn't you..."  Like a small cat patting me on the head when I shouldn't be sleeping. Like a small puppy tugging on my pants leg when I should be outside, moving around...that gentle but irritating feeling that there is better work ahead, but what I'm doing is getting in the way. It's easy to do. Life will l...

Have you ever kept a goal alive for far too long after it's become obvious that you don't really care about it? You've got so MANY great goals, it's OK to drop a dud. Dropping a goal you'll never achieve is better than pretending that you still believe. -- doug smith

Yes can be a trap. We want to please, so we say yes. We want to be great team players, so we say yes. We want to be exemplary family members, so we say yes. Have you ever worn yourself out with your own yes yes yes? Yes. Me, too. Sometimes we've got to say no. No to the goal that someone else wants us to complete but that interferes with our own goals. No to the task that should be done by someone else. No to the questionable ethical (or clearly unethical) demand. No. Unless we have the courage to say no, our yes always belongs to someone else. Let's own our own yes by owning our own no. -- doug smith

How many top priorities do you have? The trouble with too many top priorities is getting them done. Too many top priorities means you don't really have priorities -- just a really long list of goals. Have all the goals you want. Goals are great. I've know people who carry a list of 100 goals. They check them off one by one, and some have truly accomplished nearly half. That takes time, and feels more like a bucket list than a goals list. Top goals are what you work on first. Top goals are what you prioritize above all else. Top goals are where your results make a meaningful distance. High performance leaders show the courage to focus on five top goals. How many do you focus on? -- doug smith

Your team can't do it all. I know how it feels to leave something undone, it's not fun. The harsh reality though is that we cannot do everything and neither can your team. That's why it is urgently important for you as a leader to let your team know what's most important. When you are clear about your absolute priorities, your team can focus on what matters most and finish the highest impact work. It's a choice. Energize your team around what's most important and then the unfinished unimportant tasks can be forgiven. Let them know. -- doug smith

Tackle that feeling of overwhelm using a practice, simple tool. Situation: Overloaded with tasks. Getting delegated to from multiple sources and you suspect someone may be overloading you. Bonus: Helps you prioritize based on who assigned the work Allows you to add and identify what you own because you assigned it (to yourself OR to others) How it works: Add a column for "Per" for the person who assigned you the task. For example: Priority Scale: A = Urgent, important, and due today B = Important but not urgent C = Not due soon, more tactical than strategic D = Delegate or delete these Additional Uses: A way to show the people who assign you work how much they assign you and also what else you are working on. Makes you assign a realistic priority value instead of calling everything an A (urgent AND important.) When deployed among your team you can see if the distribution of work is optimal or needs adjusting. -- doug smith ...

High performance leaders take care of the details. What helps the most in taking care of the right details is keeping focus. Knowing what is important is the first step, acting on what is most important is the next step. No one can do everything, so high performance leaders maintain a sharp focus. To determine that focus, identify your goals. Align those goals with your mission, and the focus develops naturally. Prioritizing becomes easier when you know what is most important. What is your focus? Our goals reveal our focus, so be sure to focus those goals! -- doug smith Leadership Call to Action: Play hard, work hard, be smart!

I'm still looking for someone who can do everything. Every task on their list, every task on their boss's list, every goal in their endless stream of goals. I still haven't found them. I'm still looking for the person who can finish everything they've started, who can achieve any goal while tackling all goals, and who never gets nervous in the process. I still haven't found them. No one can do everything. Not even you. Chaos comes when we try to do everything. Chaos comes when everything looks like it's as important as everything else. Chaos comes, and it screams. Do you hear the screaming? Do you enjoy the screaming? Chaos screams! Prioritize. Prioritize and chaos will settle down. -- doug smith

It feels harder than ever these days to prioritize. We get pulled into so many directions it's hard to know what to do first. Every day feels like life on the edge of (or in the middle of) chaos. What to do? Common sense says priories. Decide what is most important and focus first on that. Build the future you want by working on it today. The place to start? The place to start prioritizing is with your goals. Limit how many you have. Rank the ones you have set by priority, and then focus your efforts accordingly. We all have to start somewhere. It might as well be with our goals. -- doug smith

Setting the right goal frees us of a thousand excuses. There's no need to dance around the reasons you have not achieved your goal when your goal truly matters. It does not guarantee that you are done, or will be done. What it does guarantee is that you won't resent the effort. And, in todays busy world, why not focus on what you care deeply about. Why not set the right goal? -- Doug Smith

Do the people you work with know and understand your priorities? It's easy to take for granted that our priorities are clear, but most of the time they are not. We need to let people know. We need to act according to our priorities. As important as our goals are, other people have goals of their own and sometimes they can hijack our efforts in service to theirs. People will shift your priorities unless you constantly remind them what they are. Talk about it. Tell people your priorities. What's your number one goal? Where do you expect your team to be a year from now? To achieve your goals, be sure to act relentlessly on your plan, no matter how many attempts to shuffle your priorities emerge. Day to day living is nice, but it's in communicating our priorities that we achieve them. -- Doug Smith