Balance the Optimism on Your Team

Do you lead a team of optimists? Do they expect to succeed no matter what?

Positive energy is powerful. Building optimistic teams can lead to better results. Creating the kinds of teams that people enjoy working with facilitates your success. But, is it possible to be too positive?

High performance leaders must manage their focus and their balance. By centering our view points and attitudes, and remaining open to all kinds of possibilities (even the ones that we would not choose) we stand a much better chance of overcoming obstacles and achieving our goals.

Successful leaders balance optimism with realism almost every minute.

They ask questions like:

what's the best thing that could happen under these circumstances?
what's the worst thing that could happen?
what are our strengths that will serve us well today?
where are our challenges that could trip us up?
do we show signs of a positive and affirming attitude
do we have a grasp on reality so that we're not surprised by an issue, a shortcoming, or a challenge?

Where does your team stand? If it stands somewhere in the middle that's OK. As the leader, part of your job is to regulate the energy on your team so that it is both empowering and protective. It's not always easy. That's where the science of team leadership meets the art of centered leadership. Balance, focus, and attitude. You influence them more than you'll ever know.

How is the balance on your team today?

-- Douglas Brent Smith

Interested in developing your team? Bring our one day workshop Building Your Team to your location and explore what it takes to balance and enhance the people, processes, problems, and performance of your team.

doug@frontrangeleadership.com

Comments

There Is No License for Laziness

I like to take a day off once in a while. I enjoy long walks with nothing to do but walk. It's not all about outcomes and goals. But those outcomes and goals ARE still important. We earn our leisure, don't we? The trouble with casual laziness is that it's contagious. And, laziness is persistent. And, before you know it, laziness becomes a way to be. Don't be lazy. (That's me, talking to myself. Listen in if you want to!) I like to come up with crazy ideas. I like to do weird work. I like to take long walks with nothing to think about but thinking. I've lived long enough to be eccentric. But not long enough to be lazy. Now, get busy... -- Doug Smith

One Kind of Choice

It is not always the answer, but surprisingly often it is: It's easier to hire a motivated worker than it is to motivate an unmotivated one. That's not the end of the story. It could be great hiring advice though. Whatever the technical skills are for people you are interviewing to hire, be sure to ask some questions about motivation that can't be answered with a yes or no. Questions like: When were you the most motivated in your life? What kinds of work motivate you? What's your approach to a work day when for one reason or another you don't feel very motivated? If you had been here for one week, what would we see that shows us how motivated you are? Start there, and follow-up with more questions. Give each candidate time to convince you whether or not they will bring motivation to your organization. You can teach people almost anything, but it's always easier if they are already motivated. -- doug smith

All Edge in Moderation

I once had a boss who, during my performance evaluation, told me that I was doing a good job as a leader but that I needed to develop more of an edge. I wasn't quite assertive enough. She was concerned that people might take advantage of me. I worked on my edge as a result. I sharpened it thru steady practice. I had an edge to end all edges. At the next evaluation, what do you think she suggested? "You need to dial that edge down a bit," she laughed. It's not either/or. Assertiveness is valuable and necessary. Aggression, not so much. You don't have to dull your edge -- just don't cut yourself with it. -- doug smith

Lead with Compassion

Does your team know that you care about them? How do they know? Is it from your flexibility? Is it from your discipline? Is it from the time that you take to talk with each and every one of them on a regular basis? Times are tough for many team members. They are wrestling with issues that we don't even know about, plus some issues that we DO know about. How leaders respond makes the difference between a functional team and a dysfunctional one. Go for the functional, fully moving forward team that delivers on performance. Build trust, build relationships, spend time getting to know your team and letting them get to know you. The payoff is immense. Lead with clarity, courage, compassion, and creativity. If you don't know where to start, start with compassion. Leading with compassion builds trust. And trust propels high performance teams to success. Go for that success. You can do it. You're the boss! -- doug smith

Character Is In The Actions

Some days it's easier to preach than perform. Resist that temptation. Telling people what to do works for a little while, but eventually they are going to watch to see what YOU do. Character, no matter how it is presented verbally, is revealed in action. Kindness is shown by helping. Courage is demonstrated by standing down an evil force or intention. Creativity is demonstrated in the art created, not the art criticized. I've sometimes fallen into the temptation to preach. It comes easy. Opinions just roll off my tongue. But, I'm working on that. Preaching is easy. Performing takes work. Practice build character. Do the practice. -- doug smith

Show Integrity

The goals we seek bring a lot of pull to them. We get wrapped in them. It's useful and it's powerful when we care about our goals so much that they propel us forward and keep us working even when we're tired, beyond the boundaries of our usual limitations. But they should not take us beyond the boundaries of our usual values. They should not trick us into bending the rules just because the rules are in the way. Truly high performance leaders of character who are focused, and centered, and noble maintain integrity. No cheating is ever worth the outcome. Integrity is so rare that many people don't even recognize. If you do, be thankful. We need leaders like you. To truly understand integrity you've got to keep it. Even when it's hard. Even the lines are blurred. -- doug smith

High Performance Leadership

Search This Blog