High Performance Leadership

It's not always easy. We don't always succeed. There is so much distance between some of us that the easier path is to isolate, seclude, allude, and dig in. Hiding from the truth does not keep it at bay. Pretending that ignorance is fine is...not. I have often failed to understand someone -- sometimes for lack of trying enough and sometimes because they were not telling me the truth when I thought that they were. But making the effort -- that's where I rest today. It's not enough to hope I've got it right. I must work at it, dig deeper, ask better questions, and stop judging. All tough, but helpful. All the tools of love. Understanding someone is an act of love. Do you understand? -- doug smith

High performance leaders realize that there is power in what they say. A few words can make the difference between a stronger relationship and a more flexible team or a broken promise and a shattered dream. What we say maters. It's amazing how much a little can mean. Let's choose that little like it's a lot. Because it is. -- doug smith

Do your people ask you a lot of questions? I remember as a supervisor getting tons of questions, so many in fact that I appointed my number two (who was smarter than me at the technical details anyway) in charge of any question focused on the technical details. That freed me up to answer questions about discipline, vacations, team orientations, training, or the occasional rambling series of questions meant to just spend some quality time with the boss. I'm thinking of you, Carl. It feels flattering to get so many questions. I must be smart, and I must have answers if so many people ask. That is only partly true, but I did learn that how I answered each question mattered. How the supervisor answers questions largely determines how valued each team member feels. There's a line wide enough to park your car on between answering too much and answering too little. Supervisors have lots of attitude. They also have lots of work to do, so it's tempting to give the briefest of ...