Skip to main content

Posts

Develop Your People

You can't build a great team without developing your people. Find them the right projects. Get them sufficient training. Coach them everyday. What is a high performance leaders most important job? Developing your people! -- Doug Smith

How to bring fast, affordable leadership training to your location

Supervising for Success Developing your front line leadership skills Two things happen when you are promoted to supervisor. First, you lose your team's best technical performer (because that was you!) and second, you are thrust into a job that requires a completely new set of skills.  Working side-by-side and setting a great example with customers is a good place to start, but supervisors and managers need so much more. In this in-person workshop you will explore, discover, and practice these key leadership skills: Develop leadership capacity, strength and flexibility Set and achieve your supervisory goals Handle critical conversations confidently Build collaborative, cohesive, results-based teams Develop more motivation in yourself, your team members, and your colleagues Delegate work that develops your team Improve productivity Coach to improve performance Facilitate highly productive meetings Solve team problems collaboratively Practice preventing and r...

Teleclass Special: 30 minutes / $30

30 minutes / $30 Limited Time Special Focused, fast teleclasses that focus on skills, processes, and tools you can put to use immediately. Listen anywhere you have a phone. Share your connection if you like. Take notes and participate in the lively conversation. Set a goal for the leadership skill you're working on and ask follow-up questions on the call, at our blog, or during a follow-up coaching call. You can also schedule a teleclass for your group or yourself or attend one that's already on our public schedule. 30/30 Teleclasses help you get the training you need, at a price that you can afford. No travel, no trouble, no technological meltdowns. Just no-nonsense training over your telephone. Here is a sampling of the teleclasses available for your fast, affordable training: Ten Keys to Leadership Success Explore ten key ways to quickly improve your leadership performance. But it's more than a list. You'll also hear how to implement these keys in yo...

Build Your Best You

To build your best team you must also build the best you. Your team members will notice. They will notice when you attend training. They will notice when you invite feedback. They will notice when you take on challenging projects that force you to grow. They will notice and they will emulate. What are you doing today that your team members will notice? -- Doug Smith

Imagine

Imagine goals so strong that they outlive you. Imagine goals so strong that they change you. Imagine goals so strong that they are irresistible. Now -- set a plan and get going! -- Doug Smith

Over-communicate

What's the one thing that leaders could do more of? Communicate! When it comes to managing projects, achieving your goals, and solving problems it is almost impossible to over-communicate. We tend to communicate less than we need when the stakes are the highest. I work to remind myself constantly to communicate more robustly, more clearly, more creatively. To communicate with more courage and compassion. To communicate using a variety of ways (not just another email!) To constantly communicate. How about you? You probably aren't over-communicating. High performance leaders over-communicate. Not annoying missives. Not repetitive propaganda. Clear, concise, vision-focused communication delivered in a variety of ways: - email (yes, sometimes) - face to face (the strongest energy field for success) - telephone (remember that?) - voice mail - posters - videos - presentations - through intermediaries and spokespersons - through endorsements - advertising -...

Even High Performance Leaders Need Training

Can you spot a leader who needs more training? As a trainer of course, my answer (somewhat biased!) is easy: look at any leader - they all need more training. And in a way, all leaders do need more training. We all must continually learn. The learning never stops. But you and I both know that there are some leaders who need training more than others. Whether they are struggling with the basics of supervising (which, it turns out, are not so basic after all) or with the vagaries of higher level strategy, their struggles point out a need for training. It is especially evident when a leader struggles in one of two key areas: results, and relationships. As a leader it is easy to forget how intertwined these two areas are. Mess up the relationships, and the results will suffer. Miss on the results and the relationships may never have time to develop. Leaders must work on, learn about, and train how to excel at developing both relationships and results. Who do you know who needs ...

Focus On Your Goals

If you take your goals for granted, so will everyone else. Keep your focus on your goals! They won't get done without you! -- Doug Smith

Keep Your Goals Aligned With Your Mission

Goals that are aligned with your mission should not cause you stress. They don't cause you stress because they are compelling, important, vital, and necessary. If you do feel stress, think of that as eustress, or positive stress. It's the boost of energy to complete the task. It's the electric anticipation of a job well done and success. -- Doug Smith