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The Growing Zone

Have you ever had a leader who kept trying to push you out of your comfort zone? Kept trying to get you to do more than you'd ever done before and try things that are, frankly, scary? I sure have. And truth be told, didn't like it much at the time. A great boss is supportive, which we like, AND also challenging, which we might not be so happy about. The growth does happen, though, outside of our areas of ease. To stretch, we need to move those muscles.  The hope of a high performance leader is that we'll move those muscles so much that they grow stronger. The goal is to grow so much that our former team looks like the glimmer of promise that our future team becomes: faster, stronger, smarter, better. The growing zone takes us far, far beyond our comfort level. What if we pushed ourselves so far out of our comfort zone that we never came back?  What are you doing today to stretch yourself or your team? -- doug smith

Virtual Training: Supervising for Success

Fast, affordable leadership training ! Supervising for Success Whether you've just been promoted to supervisor or need a refresher on how to take the aggravation out of leading so that you can achieve your goals and enjoy your job more, this program will help. Discover what people are looking for in a leader, and what you can do to get what you're looking for from them. Discover how to: Build your leadership strength Set goals that motivate action Manage different personalities Delegate with confidence Motivate your team Supervise multiple generations Coach to improve performance Manage virtual teams Get more done and enjoy your job more The entire program is presented in one day. There are two sessions with a two-hour break between sessions. This is a zoom meeting but you will not be on camera. Schedule: 10:00 am ET to 12:00pm  Part One 2:00 pm ET to 4:00 pm, Part Two What to Expect: We start on time We get to the point There is no sales pitch You will NOT be on camera The sl

The Power of Focus

What controls your focus? There are so many choices. We can focus on trivial activities and simply pass the time. We can focus on noble causes but miss taking action to move those causes forward. We can focus on our goals and direct ourselves accordingly. It's up to us. It's up to you. No one else can decide where you'll focus but you. Find what matters most to you, and focus on that. -- doug smith  

Can You Have Too Many Goals?

There's a lot of overwhelm going around. People are doing more than ever before in circumstances not ever experienced. Should we keep adding more and more goals to the mix? How much is enough? How many are too many? That's up to you. I've heard people describe keeping a list of one-hundred goals. It's their bucket list. I've seen enough episodes of "The Twilight Zone" to never keep a bucket list for fear that once I've completed them all it would be check-out time.  But mainly, I'd be overwhelmed by all of them. A hundred? A thousand? Let's take a shorter list please and narrow it down to goals we actually expect to achieve. If you have too many goals to remember them all you have too many goals. (and now for some advice to myself, but you're welcome to listen in) Narrow your list. Prioritize your list. Get busy. Get stuff done. -- doug smith

Start With Quality

Once I was rehearsing with a band and as we were tuning one of the musicians said, in jest, "close enough for jazz." We could spend more time getting it more precise, we could find an electronic tuner to get it exactly right, or we could settle for a quick "good enough." It was a joke because good enough is not good enough -- for a jam session, a rehearsal, or a performance. Quality matters. The audience can sense your level of quality even when they are not trained to detect it. And, if you don't start out "in tune" there's no telling where you'll go. It doesn't automatically get better. In fact it tends to get progressively more out of tune. It starts a cavalcade of crap. Letting quality slide starts an avalanche of chaos. High performance leaders insist on quality. Not perfection, but a quality so high that it appears to be perfect to most people. It takes longer. It's usually harder. Give it the time. Give it the effort. Quality mat

Let's Choose Honesty

Stay healthy, stay happy, stay honest. At least one is all up to you. We all prefer good health. With good health comes many blessings. Every day I am humbly grateful for my good health.  Happiness? That can be a moving target sometimes. Just when you think you've got a formula figured out, the rules change. But, we can influence our own happiness and yes, maybe even control it. Even when our circumstances are less than ideal, our attitude can determine our level of happiness. And that brings me to the third thing on this list: honesty. That one is completely up to you. We each determine how honest we will be. To quibble a bit, it may not be a matter of "how honest" anyone is: you and I are either honest, or not. There isn't really a middle ground. You can't be a "little bit honest." But we're not perfect. We have to work at it all -- even being honest because every day there is some new temptation to twist the truth, hide the facts, or stay silent w

Stay Ahead of Change

Do you like it when someone or something forces you to change? Me, either. We can sometimes (often) avoid that, though. Initiate change. Stir up improvement.  Change before something requires you to change. Get ahead of the current and ride the wave. -- doug smith Action Plan: Ponder your business a bit. What hasn't changed for awhile? What is due for some disruption? What's your next move?

Give Your Goals Visibility

Where do you keep your goals? Do you place them in a visible place you'll have to see every day -- maybe even all day? When your goals are visible you are much more likely to work on them. When you work on your goals you are much more likely to achieve them. Keep your goals where you can see them so you can see them thru. -- doug smith

Calibrate Your Goals

Do you like ambitious goals?  We can stretch ourselves and our abilities with ambitious goals. It's a great way to develop. Our goals should push us and prod us and poke us forward beyond our existing limits. But not so far that they break us. Not so much that we can't attain success. Goals are dynamic and we can calibrate them appropriately. Pick the right sized goal for you. You can always make it bigger once it's achieved. -- doug smith

Work On Noble Goals

Why do people pursue goals that cause pain? When one person's ambition causes another person's anguish that is not a noble goal. It is not sheepishness or lack of courage that cautions us to take care of other people and their needs -- it is basic human decency. High performance leaders do not need to create harm. We make important decisions. We can balance our goals with the consequences and chose those that create only value. That does not rule out competition. Sometimes we DO need to compete. When we need to compete (hey, I like a good contest as much as anyone) we do it fairly, within the rules, with no intention of harming anyone. I can block your shot without breaking your arm. You can tackle me without causing a concussion. It is possible to assertively work for a win without creates debilitating loss. Seek good goals. Work on noble goals.  A goal is no good if it results in harm. -- doug smith  

Do You Own Your Goals?

You don't have to let anyone talk you out of a goal. The goal is yours, the work is yours, the reward is yours. Own it. Experience it. Work it. -- doug smith  

Are You Committed to Your Goals?

Goals are important but require action. No matter how much you want a goal, until you start working on it the goals just sits there.  Everyone has goals, but some people haven't committed to them. Some people haven't worked on their goals. What are you doing today to work on at least one great goal? It's not too late. It's never too late. Let's get started! -- doug smith