doug smith training

As soon as something is gone let it go. -- doug smith Leadership Call to Action: That thing that's been on your mind but has long since left your life? Let it go. That team member who was disruptive or lazy and is no longer on your team? Let it go. Let it go.

What does your team think of your character? Do they know and understand your values? Would they say that you are living those values, every day? We work hard at what we do. Leading has its glorious days and it has its tough days. No matter how hard you work, unless your character -- how you behave -- is trustworthy and noble, people will know. If your character turns people away, who will you lead? People will forget your work if your character flaws get in the way. No people are perfect -- not you, not me -- but I do my best to live each day with character and integrity. How about you? -- doug smith Leadership Call to Action: Have a three-part conversation with someone on your team today about one of your values. How to do the three-part conversation: Small talk Talk about one of your values and what makes it important Appreciation for something that team member does that demonstrates that value or some aspect of that value

Once we start leading we encounter resistance. Some people are in the early stages of learning how to follow. Others find it uncomfortable if they are not in charge. Often, it's just a habit of negativity driving the moment. High performance leaders stay positive, whether the team is positive or not. You are a mighty performance force - stay positive. You have a mission worth working on - stay positive Your goals are your goals, whether people are positive or not. You are positive! -- doug smith

The boss gave goals. Lots of goals. The strategy was to stretch everyone on the team beyond their capacity, beyond their expectations. And, sometimes it worked. Until it didn't. People do need to stretch. People do need to grow. But high performance leaders don't break them. One goal too many could result in none achieved. -- doug smith

This brief video poses the theory that in order to build an effective team it is important that the people on the team get along. Interpersonal dynamics are important. While this may seem obvious to anyone who has worked with many teams, it is still important. How well do the people on your team get along? What are the interpersonal behaviors that your teams needs and wants? Why not explore that idea at your next team meeting? It's cheaper than a retreat, requires no trust falls or zip lines, and might just be the best thing you do for your team this month. -- doug smith Leadership Call to Action: Gather your team. Plan a substantial portion of your meeting (or maybe nearly all of a meeting) to asking your team members the following questions. Make sure that someone is capturing the answers on a group memory (white board or flip chart or similar display.) What interpersonal behaviors do you find most helpful when working with others? What habits or behaviors ar

Have you ever worked for a leader who is totally dedicated to tearing down what was before in order to move ahead with a new agenda? How did that feel? When you're in favor of the agenda, it could feel fine. But, for at least some of that leader's constituents the tearing down of the past felt like cruelty, like heartlessness. It causes people to dig in, to resist change, to do whatever it takes to repeat past processes rather than proceed past them. High performance leaders have a heart. It is completely possible to build an exciting future while also honoring those parts of the past that got you where you are. There are no perfect organizations. If you care enough to lead a team, please do care enough about that teams heritage to honor the work that came before. It's not a way to get stuck in the past. It's a way to move forward with dignity. Honor your past so that you can avoid repeating it. -- doug smith Leadership Call to Action: Be your best.

It's tempting. It seems so easy. A little hiding here, a little running there and who would notice? You'd know. You'd feel it. That ache would still be there to solve that problem before it unwinds you. The problem with running from our problems is that they are usually attached. Rather than run, why not solve that problem? -- doug smith Leadership Call to Action: What problem have you been avoiding? Today, do something about it! Things you could do right away: Convert your problem statement into a goal Talk with a friend about it Make an appointment with a professional about it Draw a root cause mind-map to uncover the root cause Silently write a list of one-hundred ways to solve your problem The possibilities are endless. Do something.

What could be more important to a leader than peace? We live in a world where peace cannot be taken for granted and where for much of the population peace is not even available. So many things that leaders have done in national interests, in theological interests, in self-interests, and in revenge or spite, have resulted in wars, not peace. Leaders with clarity, courage, creativity, and compassion choose peace. That means finding answers that may not be immediately satisfying. That means finding forgiveness when vengeance seems appropriate. That means standing up to constituents who demand any treatment of fellow human beings that is not human, not kind. Peace requires patience. What can you do today to bring about peace somewhere, somehow? -- doug smith   Leadership Call to Action: Be your best. Bring about peace.

High performance leaders take care of the details. What helps the most in taking care of the right details is keeping focus. Knowing what is important is the first step, acting on what is most important is the next step. No one can do everything, so high performance leaders maintain a sharp focus. To determine that focus, identify your goals. Align those goals with your mission, and the focus develops naturally. Prioritizing becomes easier when you know what is most important. What is your focus? Our goals reveal our focus, so be sure to focus those goals! -- doug smith Leadership Call to Action: Play hard, work hard, be smart!

What are you afraid of? We're all afraid of something. Some of us are afraid of many things. It makes sense to be afraid when danger threatens your physical or emotional well-being. If your life is in danger, deal with it promptly even if that means running away. Could it be that our fear centers are over-working? Is it possible that we avoid too many things that need a healthy supply of confrontation? High performance leaders confront their fears. They face into the risk knowing that they will grow in the process. It takes practice. It takes building muscles over the years and continuing to learn long after you think you know all the answers. That's just the beginning. Fears are there to warn you AND to challenge you. Can you handle this? Are you ready for this? Are you going to let this turn into an opportunity or a stalling game of keep-away? Challenge your fears, don't worship them. You're bigger than they are. -- doug smith Leadership Call to Ac

We all have agendas. All organizations have agendas. All movements (useful or not) drive agendas. This leads to a variety of mixed motives and unsavory outcomes. This leads to conflict and trouble. It doesn't have to be that way. What you live for, what you trust in, what you drive could be for the benefit of all. What you live could be a model for how you want to be treated -- and isn't that below the surface of most worthy faiths? Found your faith in love. Seek that good in the world that you can accent, amplify, and add. Add love Unless your faith was founded on love it's standing on shaky ground. Add some stability. Add some endurance. Add some goodness. Add love. -- doug smith Leadership Call to Action: Whatever you do today, add love.

What are your leadership conversations about? High performance leaders conduct all kinds of conversations -- around performance, goals, aspirations, tasks, schedules, development, customer service, process improvement...all KINDS of conversations. Something every high performance leadership conversation needs is time to build the relationship. Unhurried. Deeper conversations. Getting to know your people. That's one reason why two-thirds of the three part conversations we help develop at doug smith training contain relationship building: 1. Small talk 2. Big talk (goals, performance, etc.) 3. Appreciation You could think of it as a performance sandwich but that's not all of it. The "bread" of that sandwich is all about getting to know each other better, spending meaningful time together, and bonding in such a way that working together becomes easier and more effective. You're still the boss. You still get to decide in the end. But, as you get t