The Work of High Performance

Performance excellence takes effort.

Performance comes from practice, patience, and persistence.

Put in the time. Put in the effort. Enjoy the performance.

-- doug smith

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The Benefits of Supervisory Training

When was the last time you had any leadership training? How often do the supervisors in your organization get training? If you are like most organizations, it's never enough. Some teams go without any supervisory training at all and expect supervisors and managers to learn as they go, on the job. Unfortunately, while it is memorable to learn from your mistakes, it comes at a high cost. People get tired. People leave. Important accounts go away. Customers complain. And teams struggle without the skills and knowledge it takes to build cohesive teams that are capable of solving problems, improving performance and achieving goals. Admittedly, I can be expected to support training since I'm in the business. Still, take a closer look at your own leadership career and decide for yourself. Are leaders better off with more training and development or with less? Supervisory training can generate benefits that pay off long after the training is over. Here are just a few of the things sup...

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

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...

Wake Up Call

The phone rings. It's darker than usual. Who would be calling now? You stumble to find the source of the ring. That's not even what your phone sounds like. You pick up the receiver. No one's there. It's your wake up call. Now you remember: you're away from home. There's work to be done, and you did ask for this reminder to rise up early and to get started on your goals. Wake up calls are sometimes disorienting. They can take us by surprise, even when we expect them. How does that make sense? Examine your history of wake up calls and look for patterns. The patterns are likely there. What is your wake up call? What have you put in place to get you going, to get you oving in a strange place, at an unusual time? We live in unusual times but hasn't that always been the case? What do we have to prevent us from slipping into a muddled routine accepting everything and leaving our own assumptions untested? What can rattle our cage? We need wake up...

Feelings Count

Facts matter. We should pay attention to data. And, we should remember that data isn't the whole game. Data is a poor indicator of feelings. Feelings matter. People will believe that they matter when leaders show them that their feelings matter. That's not always easy and it can even be counter-intuitive if you're an analytical sort like me, but it is necessary. Facts matter. Feelings matter. And, more often than we might care to admit, people decide based on how they feel. How do you feel about that? -- doug smith

Explore Perspectives

When you find yourself locked in conflict, suspend your competitive edge long enough to discover what people in the conflict really want. For many of us, the natural reaction to conflict is to become more competitive. We prepare ourselves to fight to the finish and behave as if victory must be one sided (and of course, must be ours alone). As Doctors Thomas and Kilmann have pointed out in their influential work on conflict, we have more choices than that. We can always choose to compete if necessary. But first, what if there's an opportunity to build relationships? What if there's an opportunity to collaborate? Isn't it worth taking a moment to step back and find out? Breathe. Relax. Look at the situation from a more impartial distance. Ask meaningful questions with genuine curiosity and an open mind. It's that important. -- Doug Smith http://frontrangeleadership.com For a useful Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Modes Instrument in PDF form: http://www....

Work To Be Done

Many years ago when I was music director and touring with Child's Play Touring Theater we were putting together a show for children with a work-related theme. Children are often fascinated by jobs, by what their parents do, by what they see adults doing in the world. It was just one of hundreds of shows that we did, but I remember one song from that show that I wrote especially. The first verse was: there's a little bit of work to be done an American phenomenon there will always be a little bit of work to be done to be done, to be done, by everyone... I can't take credit for the lyrics because we used poems and stories written by children as the basis for our material. It was fun. And it reminds me today that what was true then is still true today. There's a little bit of work to be done. We have problems to solve. We have goals to achieve. High performance leaders are never finished. Even as I near retirement age (don't fret, my bills will keep ...

Tell Someone Your Problem

Who else knows about your most pressing problem? I'm not advocating that you tell everyone everything that bothers you. But, you know there's a problem causing you some discomfort, right? You know that there's an issue you could use some help with on your team, in your business, in your life. Telling someone else your problem helps you understand what your problem really is. They don't even have to help you. You might even start the conversation with "I'm not looking for help on this, but it will help me to talk it out." Someone you trust. Someone you would do the same for. Someone soon. What's on your mind? -- Douglas Brent Smith Help the people at your organization dramatically improve their problem solving skills by bringing our one-day workshop Solving Problems to your location. Ask me how here: doug@frontrangeleadership.com.

Majestic and Vital Leaders

We are the giants that are so dependable. We have risen from the ground,weathered the seasons and the storms. We stand tall against all skies, the bright blue ones and the ones that are grey and daunting. Yes my friend,we are as the mighty oaks. Beautiful and majestic and vital in a very special way. -- David Spiegel Do you have a mentor? Is there an older person in your life you trust who can guide you and coach you as you work on your goals? I've been fortunate enough to have worked with some strong and bold mentors. They haven't always been older than me. Sometimes a great mentor is younger than you, and when you get to be my age, it's highly likely than many younger people can provide expert advice, guidance, and coaching. In fact, most of the best coaching I receive now comes from people younger than me. Here's my point. Whether the guidance and feedback comes from someone older, younger, or the same point, don't disregard it. Think it over. Evaluate i...

High Performance Leadership

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