doug smith training

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 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

Which comes first, happy or productive? Many people will say that happy comes first, and that happy team members are more productive. I don't dispute that because I've seen it happen. Some of the best team members I've ever worked with brought an inner joy to their work that became contagious. They were more productive, and soon other team members around them were also more productive. I think that it is also true that productive team members are happier. It's possible to create more joy in the team when the people involved are highly trained, skillful, attentive, and focused on making customers delighted. The wonderful side effect to this great work is great joy. High performance leaders do what they need to do to create this great joy. It comes from knowing your team members, from helping them when they need it, from making sure that they have the help and resources that they need, and most of all, from appreciating their results AND their efforts. The bes...

You don't HAVE to build a team, but it won't build itself... -- Doug Smith

Put any number people in a room and some won't like each other. To turn that into a team is a task for a skilled high performance leader. -- Doug Smith