Thrive on Possibilities

Do you believe that anything is possible?

I'm careful about going that far - I know for certain that I will never play basketball in the NBA or play bass with the Beatles no matter how much I want to or believe it. Belief does have limits.

For many people those limits are far more restrictive than they need to be. Despite our limitations, the world (the universe!) is filled with wonderful, exciting, curious possibilities. We could (and should!) spend our lives exploring those possibilities.

Not in regretting what is no longer possible - in discovering what is.

One of my favorite books is The Art of Possibility - Transforming Professional and Personal Life by Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander. It's a great guide in how to see the possibilities and potential in people, processes, places, performance with an attitude that welcomes success.

Imagine that - an attitude you can carry with yourself in every endeavor and every interaction that invites success. New possibilities keep us fresh, keep us creative, and keep us young.

Even if all you read in The Art of Possibility was the Table of Contents (and you should read the whole book, you truly should) you could get a recipe for improving your chances of success:

It's All Invented
Stepping into a Universe of Possibility
Giving an A
Being a Contribution
Leading from Any Chair
Rule Number 6
The Way Things Are
Giving Way to Passion
Lighting a Spark
Being the Board
Creating Frameworks for Possibility
Telling the WE Story

Do those things (or even a few of those things) and new possibilities open up. I am constantly invigorated by the possibilities that zoom into my world simply by staying open to them. Ask the universe "what have you got for me today?" and stay open to what shows up: your possibilities will get better and better.

High performance leaders thrive on possibilities.

How about you?

-- Doug Smith

Front Range Leadership: Training Supervisors for Success

doug smith training: how to achieve your goals

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Release

If a goal doesn't make you happy, let it go. -- doug smith

A Better Future

We can always imagine a better future and that's a great start to getting there. That's the fun part. The hard part is the work. But you know that already. Set the goal, identify the plan, then get started. No one else is going to do it for you. -- doug smith

The Essential Question

The essential question is "How can I help?" Whether you are the leader of thousands or completely on your own, your role on this planet is to help, to make things better. Usually, that means helping other people. Kings, rulers, athletes, artists, government officials, doctors, fire fighters, deli workers, mechanics, economists...we are all here to help. Sometimes it doesn't feel that way. Sometimes we feel the need to be served instead. But whatever the situation, no matter what the organization, high performance leaders know that their role is to help. Reflection Questions How can you be most helpful? What situations are you facing right now where you have not yet asked the question, "how can I help?" Who do you remember the most for being ready to jump in and find a way to help? How did they make you feel? How engaged and happy did they seem to be? Action Plan Within the next 24 hours, find a situation and ask yourself "how can I help?" ... and then...

High Performance Leaders Deal With Anger

What do you do when someone in your range of influence is angry? It can be discomforting. It can be disruptive. Anger is tough to handle under the best of circumstances. And yet, handle it we must. Centered, high performance leaders are careful about anger. Careful about their own anger and careful about their reactions to the anger of others. I had a boss once (a very long time ago) who told me that I had a problem with anger. That made me angry. The reaction to anger is sometimes defensiveness, sometimes fear, and sometimes (surprise!) more anger. Whatever our reaction, our bodies are usually poised for action. What we do in that moment of activation is critical to our success. If our life or emotional well-being is being threatened, that steers our direction. But usually, although it feels that way, we are not actually under any threat. So we must deal with anger productively. We must say what we want without blaming others for it not being there. We must listen with cur...

Learn To Build A Better Tomorrow

Do you have all the answers yet? Are you finished learning? Of course not. Learning is a lifetime necessity, especially for leaders. Centered leaders learn constantly and apply what they learn to make things better. To solve problems. To achieve their goals. What we learn today can bring about a better tomorrow. Isn't that what you want, a better tomorrow? It can happen, but it's up to each of us. What will you do? What will you learn? What have you learned today? -- Doug Smith Front Range Leadership: Training Supervisors for Success doug smith training: how to achieve your goals

Stop Running From Your Solution

Why do we run away from the answer? Sometimes it's right there in front of us - the solution to our problem, and yet we turn away. It's a bad habit and one that keeps us from finding what we're looking for when it comes to solving a problem. The solution to your problem is looking for you -- you just need to stop running. Can you hear those footsteps? -- Doug Smith Front Range Leadership: High performance leadership training doug smith training: how to achieve your goals

Great Teachers Are Great Leaders

Do you remember your favorite teacher? What was it about that teacher that made class better, more effective, and more productive? Was learning interesting, even fun? Did you realize at the time that your teacher was demonstrating great learning skill AND great leadership? Where else could high performance leadership be more important than in our schools? There's a great article here about a great leader and teacher from Alabama, April Kennamer and her approach to teaching. Her keys to teaching including: Encouraging students to learn thru self-discovery Creating curiosity in her students to compel them forward Promoting respect for all things We could certainly benefit from more leaders who include those three components. We tend to remember more when we discover the answers on our own, most team members are more inclined to stay motivated if there is an element of curiosity in their work, and we all benefit from both giving and receiving more respect. You could even make a case...

Insist On Productive Meetings

Who needs bad meetings? And yet, so often we tolerate them. We sit thru meetings where nothing is accomplished or where people are so uncomfortable that true and honest communication is avoided. It does not need to be that way. When I have control over the outcome of a meeting, I make certain that it includes both careful planning and skillful facilitation. The planning includes: The agenda The goals Processes for achieving each goal Agreements and guidelines for how people behave during the meeting Roles (facilitator, time-keeper, recorder, and whatever else the meeting needs) Feedback / Evaluation Depending on the meeting, I might add other things such as warm-up activities, breaks, refreshments (and refresher activities.) When I do not control the meeting, I seek to influence it in advance to include those things mentioned above. When I do not control or influence the meeting, I decide ahead of time how necessary is it for me to attend, and if the answer is...

Leading Through Participation

"If you create an environment where the people truly participate, you don't need control. They know what needs to be done, and they do it. And the more that people will devote themselves to your cause on a voluntary basis, a willing basis, the fewer hierarchies and control mechanisms you need." -- Herb Kelleher, CEO. Southwestern Airlines Leadership brings about participation. It's not just distributing work the way some people call delegation. If a person feels dumped on, it's not effective delegation. I have a real distaste for the definition of leadership that describes it as "getting work done through others". Sure, others help -- but unless the leader has at least some taste for the work involved, people will only stick around until a better offer appears. To build true devotion takes commitment and involvement by everyone -- including the leader. -- Douglas Brent Smith Learn more in the workshop: Supervising for Success

Test Your Solution Ideas

Did you ever get an idea for a solution to a problem and then couldn't get it to work? We can fall in love with our ideas and in so doing miss what they're missing. Maybe they don't actually meet our solution criteria. Maybe our team members aren't equipped to implement them. Maybe our constituents have no appetite for the changes the solution will bring about. No one wants to implement a solution that won't work. Test ideas carefully against your problem solving constraints. Qualify them. Yes, it's another layer of analysis after a wide open time of creativity -- but that's the breath of centered problem solving - the flow between convergent (creative) thinking and divergent (analytical) thinking. We need both. --- Doug Smith Front Range Leadership: High performance leadership training doug smith training: how to achieve your creative goals

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