doug smith training

Does your ego ever get in the way? Leaders do need healthy egos. We must demonstrate belief, confidence, and assurance. All of that requires healthy self-esteem that allows us to stand up to resistance and push thru difficulty. It's possible, though, for that self-esteem to turn into self-aggrandizement if we're not careful. How can we manage our egos? The best way I know is by developing the kinds of strong, open, honest relationships with people that allow others to provide feedback. Have a friend who is willing to tell you when your ego is bloated or your assumptions are presumptuous. Develop the resilience and resolve to realize that, gasp! you are not always right. Especially when we begin operating fast and relentlessly the safety valve of honest people keeps us out of trouble. Also, everyone we deal with has an ego. Our team members, our customers, our bosses. Egos are everywhere and whether they are confident or hesitant we deal with them in the middle of worki

Are you keeping up with change? I find myself sobbing just a little every time my mobile phone wants to install an update. How do I know it'll be better? Can't I just wait a little while? What if I like things the way that they are? High performance leaders are in the business of change. We rock the boat for a living. As Tom Peters once said "if it ain't broke, break it." That quote is more than twenty years old and we've been rocking the boat constantly since then. What about the people who fall off of the boat? What about the details that are tried and true and tradition? Is there a place for tradition in today's rapidly changing world? Yes, there is. Tradition is more than the way things used-to-be. Tradition is more than old habits. Tradition is a topic worthy of a book, but for now here are a few things tradition means. Tradition is honoring the past and the people who built that past. That past got us to here, so they must have done somethi

Do you love your team? I've been so blessed and lucky in my life to have been part of some truly outstanding teams filled with people who challenged me, supported me, and made my life (and work) better. I have loved the people on those teams and many years after working with the people on those teams I still think of them fondly almost every day. The team pictured here was one of my early teams at the Ryan Insurance Group. The talent on that team, and on other teams, astounded me every day. We had our struggles, but they were hard working, brilliant people and I miss every one of them. There have been other great teams of course. Today I think about this group and what it grew into as we expanded, improved, and grew as people and as a business. I was not a perfect boss, and I'm sure I sparked more than a little frustration now and then, but they patiently dedicated themselves to achieving the goals of the team. I'm proud of that team. I invite you today to reflec

High performance leaders always remember that people are the reason we do what we can do. Take care of your team, and your team will take care of you. Make your goals centered on improving things for people first, and people will respond. -- doug smith

How often do you review your goals? My experience, and my studies, show that it's best to review your goals every day. Even if you don't review all of your goals (some people have dozens of them!) it is helpful to review your top five. Keep them in front of you. Remind yourself why they are important. Reinforce your motivation to achieve those goals. And then, work on them. Goals can keep us on track when we are otherwise distracted. What are your top five goals? Have you reviewed them today? -- doug smith

Front line leaders either know that they can't hide or they soon learn it the hard way. You can't hide, and you can't hide your problems. Performance problems, attendance problems, quality problems, morale problems, skill problems, motivation problems...nearly any and every team has more than its share. Why should yours be any different. Pay attention. Talk about it. Get your team to collaborate. Find the root causes. Explore possibilities. Solve those problems. Everyone knows when a supervisor is ignoring a problem. ...and there's no payoff to ignoring a problem. The payoff is in the solution. Solve those supervisory problems. -- doug smith

High performance leaders are not swayed by excuses. -- doug smith

How we communicate is how we lead. High performance leaders communicate clearly, creatively, courageously, and with compassion. Clear, so that the message is understood. The mission is strongly centered as the focus. The goals are clearly aligned with the mission. The leadership actions support the goals. Creatively, because problems are not easily solved and do require new ideas. Because people prosper better in a creative environment. Because growth is the preferred direction. Courageously, because the more important your work is the more resistance you are likely to encounter and it takes guts to overcome that. It takes courage to stand your ground against the temptations to cut corners and shave ethics. It takes courage to keep going when it feels like your cause is lost. It takes courage to stand up to your boss in support of your own team. Compassion, because while high performance leaders must deliver on their goals and produce increasingly outstanding and high qual

A short video from one of my top influences in leadership development, Tom Peters.

A high performance leader is tough without being abusive and tender without being soft. Find the balance and the magic is yours. -- doug smith

Merry Christmas from our place to yours! -- doug smith

High performance leaders pay attention to details. Sure, we must be strategic. And yes, it does make sense to delegate as much of the details as we can. Still, we can never let the details slide. Just a few of the details that we must tend include: are your customer happy? are your team members energized by the work AND by each other? are you showing the appropriate levels of respect for the people who work around you? is your cash flow headed in a positive direction? is your core business still viable? is your work environment conducive to building and engaging collaborative teams? Details matter. No matter how high you rise in the organization, the details will either sustain you or drain you. Work for the side of sustaining. High performance leaders pay attention to details. Are you? -- doug smith