doug smith training

  "I don't know..." "What don't you know?" "If any of this makes sense..." "You doubt the merit of the work?" "The work, the mission, the whole thing..." Doubt is natural. It's part of any important mission. Without doubt, how can you be sure? But, doubt can be paralyzing and stop the work. Doubt can be self-fulfilling. If you are sure about your purpose, if you are sure about your mission, there is work to be done. Let doubt spark action instead of resistance.  -- doug smith

It's tempting as a leader to force people to do things. Influencing them, convincing them takes so much longer. When we're convinced that the change we need to implement is truly a need and not a want and that it will make a necessary difference, we can get impatient. Just do it now, we think. Get on board or get out of the way, we mutter under our breath. Not always, but maybe in those dark times with deadlines pressing and needs to be met. We DO need to achieve that goal, right? People are messy and need time. They need convincing. And the more we take shortcuts by changing the ways that they do things forcefully, without a choice, and even by surprise, the more we face resistance. And rightfully so. Without carefully vetting a change, how can we know that it truly IS the best new choice? Ask. Test. Overcome resistance. Talk about it. Forcing people feels effective but it's really not. Forcing change invites rebellion. And that eventually unravels the relationship ...

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...