doug smith training

  As we adjust to the changing roles and responsibilities of leadership, it's worth considering the importance of our teams. Leaders get things done thru their teams. Often that means learning FROM our team members even as we facilitate their own learning. Instead of dictating, new leaders collaborate. Team success is a shared goal. The strength of a leader comes from the strength of the team. Not the other way around. If that feels new, it is.  -- doug smith

  How noisy is it for your team?  When we ask our teams to deal with extraneous details -- too much noise -- they lose track of the purpose of the team. I've lost patience over the years with administrative details that add zero value to the customer proposition. If it doesn't help you serve, help it out the door. Too much noise makes the head lose focus Learning to focus is learning to breathe. Breathing is, of course, the way of life. -- 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

Are you helping your team grow? Not in size, although that can be useful. Growth in terms of ability, skill, motivation, traction, change, endurance, happiness...are you building those components in your team? If you are the right leader for your team you'll help them grow.  Otherwise, they'll find someone who does. -- doug smith  

  Teams are tricky. Just when you think you've got your team figured out, configured properly, fully set and ready to go, it changes on you.  Every time someone enters or leaves your team, you've got a different team. That's what makes recruiting, hiring, orienting, training, and development so important. If you don't develop your team the way you'd like them to develop, they'll change in ways that you might not care for. Team dynamics require us to build a team as a group, and also as a one-team-member-at-a-time proposition.  It's a project just juggling all of the pieces. It's a big responsibility and as a team leader there is no ducking that responsibility. I've tried -- you can't do it. Teams need their team leader's attention every single day. One on one conversations. Highly productive meetings. Occasional fun (and frequent sense of humor). Coaching to motivate when someone gets stuck. Prodding to get productive when someone gets lazy.

We try to make it more complicated than it is. We offer lots of fancy interventions. It's not that all of those efforts don't work -- I'm sure they make a positive difference. Still, it's worth considering: Engaging your team is easy - just give them something meaningful to work on. -- doug smith  

How often do you talk with your team members, one-on-one? Not counting the group meetings, are you scheduling and keeping regular conversations with each and every team member? They need that level of attention. They require that level of attention. They have a much better chance of meeting your expectations when you give them that level of attention. It's an effort. It takes discipline. But, what could be more important than clear and regular communication with your team members? I would say, just about nothing would be more important. High performance leaders talk with each team member about what comes next. High performance leaders talk with each team member about performance. High performance leaders talk with each team member regularly, openly, honestly, and deeply. It's your best leadership tool. Talk with your team members. -- doug smith

Does your team know that you care?  How? If you have told them today (and I do mean TODAY) then good -- that's a great start. What if you showed them as well?  How to show your team that you care: support learning provide training conduct one-on-one conversations with each team member every week smile! recognize good performance correct poor performance keep your promises What ways can you think of to show your team that you care? Your team won't know that you care unless you show them. Now is a good time to start! -- doug smith

How much time do you spend motivating your team? Trick question? How about this for a bold answer: all the time. Every moment that you spend with your team is an opportunity to motivate.  When you inspire your team their performance elevates. But, where to begin? How do you get that fully energized, totally motivated team? The first step to motivating others is wanting them to be happy. Wanting them to be happy enough that you ask. Wanting them to be happy enough that you collaborate on creating an environment where their happiness can flower and grow. No problem, right? Try this: ask them what motivates them. What energizes them? What gets them excited? And then?  Listen. -- doug smith Call to Action: Stay curious about what makes your team members happy. Ask!

When in doubt about what to talk about with your team, talk about goals. -- doug smith

Teams need constant attention. You get them where you want them and then they change. Just like relationships. The dynamic is always moving. High performance leaders move with the team, gently directing and redirecting and communicating as much certainty as you have available. Your team might need to grow before it knows it. Your team might need to slow down and focus. When we can put our coaching hat on and guide the ingredients we need become more clear. One-on-one conversations, powerful meetings, meaningful goals, clear roles...the list is remarkably stable even though the players are not. You can build a team or tear it down. It's your choice. -- doug smith

How well does your team know each other? Whether they work side by side, or across the globe from each other, the better your team members know each other's strengths and weaknesses, the better they understand how each communicates and what their interaction style means to them, the better they are likely to perform. We spend so much time sorting out intentions. Speed that process up by helping your team members get to know each other. Facilitate deeper conversations. Lead powerful meetings where things get done. Teach each other how an action usually uncovers a need. Work better together because you care about each other. That's not instantaneous. There's no easy exercise. It takes time and presence to build rapport, and it takes rapport to build relationships. Build your team by helping them get to know each other better. You'll like the results. -- doug smith

What if everyone you hired had to complete a boot camp just to prepare them for the high level performance of your team? What if you had the kind of team that people longed to work for, that dreamed of working for, that worked their tails off just to get a chance to work for? Imagine the goals that team would accomplish? You could have that team. You just need a plan, the discipline, and the fortitude. What's your plan? -- doug smith

How far can your team go? How much work can your team do? How successful can your team become? I have two answers to all of those questions. The first answer is "amazingly so." The second answer is harder, "only as far as you allow." Your team's biggest limiting factor is you. That's hard to hear, perhaps, but also liberating. Grow yourself and you will grow your team. Limit yourself and...well, you get the idea. In order to build your team you might also need to build yourself. Build your ability to listen. Build your ability to take charge. Build your ability to solve problems. Build your ability to lead. Build yourself. Your team will follow. -- doug smith

Do you love your team? I've been so blessed and lucky in my life to have been part of some truly outstanding teams filled with people who challenged me, supported me, and made my life (and work) better. I have loved the people on those teams and many years after working with the people on those teams I still think of them fondly almost every day. The team pictured here was one of my early teams at the Ryan Insurance Group. The talent on that team, and on other teams, astounded me every day. We had our struggles, but they were hard working, brilliant people and I miss every one of them. There have been other great teams of course. Today I think about this group and what it grew into as we expanded, improved, and grew as people and as a business. I was not a perfect boss, and I'm sure I sparked more than a little frustration now and then, but they patiently dedicated themselves to achieving the goals of the team. I'm proud of that team. I invite you today to reflec

It takes discipline to discover what is otherwise not available. -- doug smith How do you find the answer to building your best team? Is there a magical formula? Teams take work and the work is never done. For a leader to find the time to talk to each team member one-on-one frequently it takes the discipline to set a schedule and THEN to follow it -- even when your boss tends to pull you away and even when you get distracted by other urgencies. Your team members deserve your time and they need your time. Even when they do not ask for your time, they need it to connect, to calibrate, to collaborate. Give your team members one-on-one time and the payoff will be great (even if it takes a while to notice, hang in there.) The answers to your problems, the solutions to your challenges, the magic secret sauce that differentiates your team from dozens of others that are otherwise similar, hides in the discipline of doing the work. It takes discipline to discover what is otherwis

Team building. It's a never ending process. It starts with recruiting. Who you bring into your team makes the chemistry of your team. Who you bring into your team sets the players in place to do the work that needs to be done. Take your time with recruiting. Start by getting to know the best talent you can. You never know who might be interested in joining your team, but first get to know them. Learn from talent everywhere. Explore places you might not usually explore to find the talent that can take your team to the next level. They might not join your team now. They might not even be interested. But, someday they might. The only way that someday arrives is if you start the dialogue today. Who do you know who you wish was on your team right now? What if you gave them a call? -- doug smith

You're not just part of the team, are you? You are, as the team leader, at the center. You set the tone. You set the speed. You set the mood. Those are powerful abilities, if you use them in high performance ways. You'll need power, and you'll need strength, and you can't grab that from anyplace else other than yourself. Your team is counting on you. Whether or not they tell you, they depend on you to be their strong leader. The strength of patience. The strength of persistence. The strength of high expectations. Pull your team together. Talk with them individually AND as part of the whole team. Let them know how to succeed and they'll do their best to do so. As much as you might want it to, your team will not build itself. It needs a strong leader. That's you. You can do it. You're the boss. -- doug smith

Have you ever seen steps to nowhere? Since I travel a lot, I occasionally see a building with stairs that appear to lead nowhere, at least no where safe. Access is only semi-blocked, so the danger exists even if the destination is sketchy. Does your team have a destination? Have you updated your team's mission this year? Things are changing so quickly that what may have seemed important as recently as a year ago could be out of date now (or soon.) Is your team up to date? Do you have a vision for a vital future? Avoid those stairs to nowhere. Plan a vital, energized, noble future for your team. Get them involved. Show them how a high performance leader leads. -- doug smith