Remember Tradition While Creating the Future

How traditional is your team?

Has your team carried forward patterns from the past that stabilize and simplify how things get done? Does your team honor the accomplishments of the past while working toward the future?

I remember working in an office with no computers, no fax machines, and no expectation of 24/7 service. It's not that I miss those days, but I do remember them. I also remember loyalty without the need for loyalty programs, and a work ethic that didn't need to be taught because people brought it with them.

Things change. For the most part I believe that the general state of the world is improving. We develop new technologies. We build new configurations of teams. We learn from diversity and experience. We improve.

As leaders we are responsible for co-creating the future. How we lead, which projects we support, and the people we inspire determine what tomorrow will look like. That is an awesome and wonderful responsibility.

We can do that enthusiastically and still honor the achievements of the past. Some of your people may be waiting to be remembered for accomplishments you've long forgotten. Would you be here today without those accomplishments?

Some noble traditions have been forgotten or ignored that might help your team function faster and more effectively. What are those traditions? How can you find them? How can you honor the past without necessarily repeating it?

Centered leaders remember the old traditions with respect while co-creating new ones with love.

Try that. See how your people respond.

-- Douglas Brent Smith

Front Range Leadership | Fast, affordable leadership training

Comments

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

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

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

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

Decide

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

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

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

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

High Performance Leadership

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