High Performance Leadership

It sounds like name dropping here, so forgive me, but I once studied improv with Paul Sills. Paul is the son of Viola Spolin, who wrote the best book ever on improv - "Improvisation for the Theatre." My time spent taking Paul's class in a little space next to Second City in Chicago changed my life for the better in hundreds of ways. I became a much better actor. I took more risks. I stopped over-reacting. The work became a team effort instead of a test of egos. It was like magic. As it turns out, improvisation is not just good for actors - it's great for everyone. We all must improvise sometimes. Problems may have process-based solutions much of the time, but sometimes the solution is just not easy to find. People may follow our leadership gladly much of the time but sometimes they need something different, something that's hard to define. As high performance leaders, we must improvise. It's not just making things up. It's not going for the punchl

When we reach our limit, it means we have an opportunity. We can stay where we are, which eventually leads to sliding backwards, or we can find a way to learn. We can do better than our best by learning. Learning is how we grow. Learning is how we improve. Learning is how we do better than our previous best. What have you learned today? -- doug smith

No matter how great a goal is that we've set, we still need the right people and the right actions to achieve that goal. Writing a splendid goal looks good on paper. Action is where the action is. The right goals need the right goals working them. If that's your goal, then you are one of those people. Our goals are as effective as the people involved. Engage the right people, and the rest is easy. -- doug smith

How could someone have goals that aren't what they say they are? Lots of ways, such as: - their boss assigned the goals but the team member doesn't commit - they are confused about what results they really want - they don't realize how under-whelming the goal is and feel uninspired - the goals have expired and it's really time to set new ones Lots of reasons. We need to check in on our goals frequently. We even need to change them sometimes. Goals are important -- isn't it worth getting them right? When our goals are not what we say they are we aren't likely to get what we want. -- doug smith

Give your front line supervisors two days of training that will pay off in improved performance, engagement, and motivation for years to come. Agenda: Developing leadership capacity, strength, and flexibility Ten keys to leadership success Achieving your supervisory goals Communicating for results Building your team Motivating yourself and others Manage your time without driving yourself crazy Coaching to improve performance Facilitating highly productive meetings Solving team problems collaboratively Supervisors are challenged in every direction. They usually don't get the training they need and end up with more problems and headaches than they'd ever imagined possible. It doesn't have to be that way. The key tasks of a supervisor can be learned. Our time tested and field tested training methods get your supervisors to explore, discover, and practice the key skills that will make a positive difference in their performance, their teams, and their lives

Sometimes we have to listen as if there is a test to follow. There is. Are you listening? -- doug smith