doug smith training

Development Exercise:  Write 5 goals for the day and achieve them all by noon. If it's past noon now, do it tomorrow. See how it makes you feel. Then, in the wise words of the shampoo bottle: rinse and repeat. -- Doug Smith

People are more likely to help us achieve our goals when they know about them. Communicate your goals! -- Doug Smith

When is your team building job as a leader finished? If your answer is "never" I'd have to agree. Teams are in constant change.  As leaders we must constantly challenge team members and help them grow -- both individually AND as part of the team. That takes some attention away from the day-to-day tasks that consume our time, but it is as important as anything else we do as leaders. Team building is never done. What will you do to build your team today? -- Doug Smith

What's your most challenging project or goal issue? For me it is following up. I enjoy initiating ideas, forming plans, and even executing key tasks. What I need to focus more on is following up. To assume that people will stay on task or remember exactly what I've requested (or offered) is risky for a leader. People may be doing the best that they can, but often that means that they aren't doing everything we'd expected. That's no reason to get angry. That's no reason to feel disappointed. But it is a reason to follow-up. I resolve to check in more frequently on a plan, to pay closer attention to details, to assume nothing. My plan for getting thru those problems that are the most persistent? Set the right goals, design a strong plan, and then follow-thru, follow-thru, follow-thru. How about you? -- Doug Smith

Even the best leaders can't solve everybody's problems. Strong leaders develop their team's problem solving skills. Training, practice, projects: three ways that high performance leaders develop their people. How are you developing your people this week? -- Doug Smith

Are you the leader your team is looking for? Do you know what they're looking for? Does that matter. I think it does matter. To mobilize your team, to energize your team, to be the high performance leader you want to be who gets things done you need to be the leader that your team is looking for. Strong, yet gentle. Supportive, yet challenging. Participative, yet directional. Not all things to all people, but the right things for the right people. The right things for your team. And, if you don't know for sure what those things are, take the time to ask your team.  They will tell you. -- Doug Smith

We may need to rally support to find the help we need for solving problems. When it doesn't look as urgent to someone else, when it seems too hard for someone else, when the compelling reason for solving it isn't obvious to someone else, we need to ramp up our influence. That's not always fun, just necessary. Who is ignoring your biggest problem today? How can you rally more support from them? -- Doug Smith