Communicate Collaboratively

Do you like someone who bosses you around? Do you respond best to someone who's idea of communication is a series of commands?

Probably not -- and not surprisingly people on your team don't prefer that communication style, either.

Yes, there are circumstances when leaders must communicate their urgency and certainty quickly and without any doubt. I was a volunteer fire fighter for many years and the fire ground is no place to call a meeting to talk things over. We appreciated a decisive no-nonsense captain who barked orders with precision and confidence.

My guess is that most of your situations are not of the building-on-fire variety. High performance leaders spend time and conversation in planning, developing, and collaborating. The more a leader is able to collaborate with the team the more likely decisions will be supported and growth will continue.

It feels faster to boss people around but the results don't last as long.

Even that highly assertive fire department captain knows that there are times when reasonable cooperation is a better path, when collaboration builds more participation and capacity. The best bosses develop their people collaboratively with such depth and commitment that they can simply respond with the right behaviors without any bossing around at all. Even on the fire ground. Even on your team.

Are you building your team members collaboratively? Are you communicating in ways that they respond?

-- Douglas Brent Smith

Develop the communication skills in your team by bringing our one-day workshop Communicating for Results to your location. Contact me today at: doug@frontrangeleadership.com

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Your Reputation

More authority means higher levels of responsibility. More power requires more service to others, not less. What you do with your power is who you will be known as. Also, how you use the power you have creates who people will remember you as. How do you want to be remembered? -- doug smith

Measures Matter

Some people measure quantify first and quality later. Some people measure money first and impact to the team later (not even second!). How you measure productivity might determine your character and your reputation. Put people first. -- doug smith

New Ideas

New ideas won't break you but they can make you bigger. -- doug smith

What You Need

Use what you've learned to become what you need. -- doug smith

Personally

Improving performance does require us to take our work seriously. But it does not require us to take ourselves too seriously. Taking things personally is a waste of self-esteem. -- doug smith

For example

Get good at something that won't obsolete itself. For example: emotional intelligence creating great conversations encouraging people leadership What would you add to the list? Which ones are you developing? -- doug smith

Decide

What do you want? Are you getting what you want? Intention is direction. Decide. And, then go. -- doug smith

High Performance Leadership Combination

We can rationalize anything without making it justified. Leaders should always ask: who is this good for other than me? High performance leadership does NOT mean performance at any cost. It means performance that serves a noble cause while also benefiting people. High performance leadership is a combination. Results without relationships are shallow and temporary. Take care of both, and you'll be a high performance leader. -- doug smith

The Problem With Compromises

Think about the last time you compromised on something. Whether it was a big compromise or a little compromise, how do you feel about it now? While we often call it "meet in the middle" it seldom does. Compromises are not automatically fair, no matter how implied that fairness is. Someone usually gets more out of a compromise than the person they are "compromising" with. If the low end is you, you don't like it -- and you remember that. If the top end of the compromise is you, you probably forget all about it even though the inequity simmers in the background. Compromises must be constantly revisited because they are inevitably unfair. If you get the chance to balance things out, your relationship will prosper. If you miss that chance, the relationship will suffer. What's your choice? -- doug smith

Start With Kindness

When you start with kindness you don't have to stay there, but you probably will. It works better for others. It works better for you. If you're human, you'll probably relapse. It does take practice to stay the course. The course starts by starting. When you start with kindness, it becomes more naturally the way. High performance leadership develops from the core leadership strengths of clarity, creativity, courage, and compassion. Build one of those strengths today thru some act of kindness and the others will get stronger as well. -- doug smith

High Performance Leadership

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