Centered Leaders Play Fair

Can you remember the first time you were playing an exciting game and realized that your opponent was cheating? What did that do to the game? What did that do to how you felt about your opponent?

We need the clarity of rules. We need to know that when we take the field of play there is a sense of organization that transcends individual will to win. If will to win is someone's first and only motivation, there is no limit to the damage they can do in pursuit of that goal.

It's not worth it. The game is more important than the outcome. Your character is more important than your won/loss record.

Just don't play with those who cheat.

And for goodness sake, don't ever cheat yourself! Centered leaders play fair, even if that extends the game, even if that causes them hardship, even when that puts the outcome of the game at risk.

-- Douglas Brent Smith

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Lead On Level Ground

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When You Are Truly All In

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Don't people remember the craziest things? After you've completed the biggest project you've ever worked on, after you've dramatically improved your team's results, after you've been a poster-model for the best centered leader on the planet what some people will remember is that little mistake you made. They'll remind you of your mistakes just when those mistakes have almost disappeared from your own memory. Just when your sleep patterns are returning to normal, someone will remind you of why it was disrupted in the first place. Supervisors don't have to remember all their mistakes -- other people will help you with that. Our job as leaders is to learn from those mistakes. And next time -- maybe make some new ones. It's not a bad thing -- it's part of being a high performance leader. -- Douglas Brent Smith

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Is That Problem Solved?

How do you feel after solving a problem? Usually, there is a rush of joy when I think I have a problem licked. The effort, the work, the time feels altogether worth it. But, sometimes there can be a lingering doubt. There can be a flicker of uncertainty. The faint sounds of the problem still ticking away are heard. Maybe that problem isn't solved after all. Maybe there is still work to do. Sometimes our inner radar will tell us. Centered leaders have ways of knowing when their center is still off. Balance is impossible to fake. If you don't feel better after solving a problem maybe you haven't solved the problem. Ready to go back to work? -- Douglas Brent Smith

Productivity Is Focus

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