High Performance Leadership

Have you ever seen this sign? Leave your ego at the door. Ever try to do that? It's not easy, is it? Of course not. It's not easy to step away from who we think we are. It's not easy to be mindful of everyone else in the room and leave yourself outside, counting clouds and wondering where all the fun is. That ego wants to come along. Just keep it under control. Stay curious. Stay respectful about other people. Keep it light. And for heaven's sake (and I'm REALLY talking to myself here, too) DON'T TAKE YOURSELF TOO SERIOUSLY. No one else does. If you have a pulse you have an ego. Why pretend otherwise? -- Douglas Brent Smith

Are you fooled by big boasts about world class or state of the art? Didn't think so. I've seen companies call something "world class" that was at least five years outdated. I've heard about "best practices" so many times from so many people with a hidden agenda that it nearly became code for "don't believe what you are about to hear..." You're not fooled. I'm not fooled. Who do we think IS fooled? Calling yourself world class does not make it so and does not fool anyone either. Calling something a best practice already dates it as obsolete. Let's drop the buzz words. Let's forget the braggadocio . Let's be as honest and direct as we can. What do you think? -- Douglas Brent Smith

When things go right for you, really right, what makes that happen? When you are at your best, what did you do to get there? We each have our own individual patterns of success. There are things that each of us do -- distinctive and individual, that create the conditions we need to do our best. We don't always do that of course -- which is often the source of our struggles, the reasons we falter, the regulators on our engines. When we can discover what makes us hum, what gets us into that flow, what brings about our success -- then we stand a much greater chance of LIVING there, of creating it whenever we want to, of performing at our best. And isn't it everyone's job to perform at our best? Individual performance often follows an individual and distinct pattern of success. Here are some ways to discover your pattern of success: 1. Think about the times that you created the most success. What lead you to the results that you achieved? What things did you do with...

Collage by Doug Smith Are your possibilities endless? Do you search for more possibilities every day? Solving problems is all about finding solutions. Creating innovation is all about finding possibilities. Living a rich, full, robust life is all about exploring possibilities. Places to see, people to meet, experiences to touch. New combinations. New environments. New games to play. Centered leaders focus on their possibilities to achieve their goals. Your creative process is always ready for more possibilities. Are you? -- Douglas Brent Smith

Do you want to meet that problem head-on, or wait for it to crash into you full speed? Nobody is perfect. I've side-stepped plenty of problems in my day, and almost always regretted it. Little problems, left alone, often turn into big problems. Really, really BIG problems. Solutions left unexplored have never helped me out. It's only when that problem is confronted that I stand a chance of overcoming it and achieving my goals. High performance leaders confront, rather than avoid, their problems. It's a lesson I keep on learning. What problem do you need to confront today? -- Douglas Brent Smith

Trust takes time to build. It lasts from a series of trustworthy acts: telling the truth, making the tough choices, acting with integrity, keeping promises, staying curious, and keeping the needs of all concerned in mind. It's not easy. Most of us violate our sense of trust every day. Maybe even every hour. Centered leaders continue to build trust. They work at it. They bring their character, their discipline, and their strengths in ways that help other people to succeed. They create winners without creating losers. They honor those who trust them by consistently honoring that trust. Leaders who take trust for granted will soon be living without it. And it's not easy to get back, once lost. What makes people trust you? -- Douglas Brent Smith

How do you extend your reach? How do you provide your greatest possible impact as a leader? Not through control, not through authority but through influence. And your influence is completely up to you. That's great news, and also challenging. Influence must be carefully built, but not as a goal -- as an outcome. Setting out to "dramatically improve my influence" sounds self serving, and is. Influence comes about by doing other great things: - helping people - getting things done - demonstrating integrity - building innovation - encouraging performance - living creatively - showing courage - communicating with clarity - providing compassion ...and the thousand other ways that we develop influence without really trying. It's not the influence that we're going after, but it is the influence that we gain as a result of doing other wonderful things. It's up to each of us. You can't delegate influence. You've got to earn it. Ho...