doug smith training

It's tempting. It's right in front of you as a leader. Someone violates your trust, or misses a goal, or fails to respond to the promise of a reward, and the logical action seems to be to punish them in some way. Take away a perk. Deny a personal day off. Refuse a good assignment. Be careful. Every punishment brings about unexpected payback. Maybe it's immediate or maybe it comes months (even years!) down the road -- but payback is coming. It could be assertive, even aggressive -- or it could be so passive aggressive that you fail to see it coming. Oh, but it's coming. You may not like that payback. You may want to consider another path. What do you think? -- doug smith 

Whenever I ask a group the following question, the answer is a resounding "yes." Is there too much drama at work? Drama feeds on itself. People who crave the drama may not even know that they do, they simply repeat whatever it takes to make any situation emotional. Run out of supplies? It must be somebody's fault = drama! Behind schedule on that big project? = drama! Struggling with demanding and unreasonable customers? = drama! Drama creates tension that craves release -- which likely then drums up more drama. Breathe. Slow down. Skip the blame and play a new game -- one of cooperation, curiosity, and respect. My latest way of dealing with drama is simply to pause long enough to smile -- as I ponder: "Ah, I recognize this. Drama!" It's completely made-up, and it can be completely by-passed. ; Manage the drama so that it does not manage you.