High Performance Leadership

What are your top five goals? You might have more than five, but how many can you work on at any given time? I have a calendar-planner (paper, yes I still keep one of those) that has a space for five objectives for each day. That's all. And, it also has a column for priority, and honestly most of the time they are all "A" priorities. That's because I can focus on five. Any more than that, and the "B" priorities don't really hit the list. Because if they do, they aren't getting done anyway. Oh, I do a LOT more than five things each day. But I start with a focus on five goals that I know I need to do. Some are big, some are small; all get done. High performance leaders show the courage to focus on five top goals.  Work those goals. -- doug smith

Have you ever said anything that you regretted? That expression "put your foot in your mouth" resonates a bit more when you wear size 13's. I do. And yes, I have sometimes said things that I regretted. Because you know what? When you say something that hurts someone do you know when they'll forget it?  Never. They will never forget it. The damage is done, and just keeps on echoing through the years. That's why I've learned (well, OK, I'm working on it) to pause before saying something with an edge, something with anger, something even passive aggressive. The payoff is bad, and lasts forever. Words meant to hurt are better left unsaid. 'nuff said. -- doug smith

High performance leaders do not make -- or accept -- excuses. -- doug smith

Do you remember how it felt to be a young child filled with curiosity? I probably forgot until I became a parent and saw how curious my own children were. Everything was something to be explored and discovered. And then, when I became a grandfather, I felt a curiosity recharge as it surrounded me with the enthusiasm of young children. Curiosity is powerful. It opens up possibilities. It wards off our inner judge long enough to truly explore, without bias, what's going on. When we can keep that level of curiosity alive we learn, we grow, we discover. Stay curious. Curiosity is more powerful than rhetoric, dogma, or unquestioned truth. Stay curious. -- doug smith

High performance leadership is a hands-on enterprise. Communication is essential. It is always worth remembering that communication is more than words. Communication is conveyed on three essential channels: the words, the tone, and the body language. Providing feedback means more than telling someone how they did. It could also include showing them how to do it better. When I was a young baseball player, when I struggled at the plate my coach would not just tell me how to do it better, he would show me. "Here's a better place to grip the bat...it's a better way to step into the ball...if you stand like this you'll see the pitch more clearly..." feedback and instructions. When I was taking music lessons on my old Lowry Organ my teacher would not just tell me how I sounded -- when it helped she would also show me better ways to hold my hands. When it was useful she would also move my hands to an inversion that made the chord sound more rich and full. She was ...

Do you know many people who dominate a conversation? It seems like no matter what the topic is, some people have the most to say. And, they insist on saying it. My grandmother used to describe that kind of situation by saying, "I couldn't get a word in edgewise." Communication is not a broadcast. For true communication to exist, the people involved need to reach some sense of shared meaning. They do not need to agree for this happen, but they do need to understand each other. Sometimes that takes many words, sometimes it takes just a few. Listen, understand, and then speak up to make your own meaning clear and understood. It could take an extra measure of assertiveness with some people. It is worth it. Just because someone wants to dominate a conversation does not mean that you must allow it. Share responsibility for success. -- doug smith

Those big problems are tough. Like giant stone walls they overshadow everything around them. How will we ever solve them? Those walls are made of smaller bricks. What if we tackle one brick at a time, one smaller problem at a time? High performance leaders find ways to break down the big walls into digestible pieces. What if our biggest unsolvable problem is really one hundred perfectly solvable little problems? -- doug smith

You are constantly changing -- getting better, faster, and smarter. Grow each day and float powerfully, like a butterfly, to your new destination. You have got this! -- doug smith

Solving a problem gives you confidence, and that's useful. The challenge is that the next problem is brand new. The previous solution likely won't work. The previous process toward reaching that solution might not even work. The new problem is new. Stay creative. Stay centered. Focus on what you want and find ways to bring that about. We may not be able to solve our next problem with the solution that worked for the previous problem. -- doug smith

Values evolve over time. If values are ever true, they refine without denying what once was. They grow. They distill. They find ways to self-generate the results they aspire to. Here are some values I've refined into calls to action. I don't just agree with them, I expect to do them. To show them. To act on them. Sometimes it goes well, and often I fall short. The journey is a long one, so keep going. Here are my current calls to action: Be your best Stay curious Say yes! Communicate, Connect, Interact! Challenge yourself Reach out with compassion Expand your possibilities Appreciate Play nice, work hard, stay smart Learn constantly What are your values? What are your calls to action? -- doug smith

Do you have a lot of tools? I don't. I had a nice collection inherited from my dad (I call them a collection because I collected them but when they were his he actually USED them) until they were destroyed in a fire. Now, an apartment dweller, I have few tools. I still don't use all of them -- but I know how. When we are solving problems we have many tools. The temptation is to use them all. It's oddly satisfying to bring out tool after tool. Satisfying, but sometimes inefficient. Simplicity - elegant simplicity is often best. Use the tools that work, and leave the rest for another time. It isn't always necessary to overwhelm a problem in order to solve it. Sometimes the solution is right there in from of you and in need of only one tool. Dialogue. Talk about it and see what happens. You might just solve that problem faster than you expected. -- doug smith

Do you keep your promises? I do my best, and yet I know I've broken some serious promises. We can learn from broken promises but it's easier to learn than it is to heal. A broken promise is a lie proven. A broken promise is a heart stomped on and painted over brown. A broken promise hurts. High performance leaders keep their promises. I've learned that could mean to make fewer promises AND to keep track of them. Ask someone to hold you accountable. Write it down. Believe it. Making any promise lightly comes back a heavy load. The hurt of broken words exceeds whatever convenience felt worthy at the time. Here are some promises leaders make: Of course I've got your back You'll get all the training you need We live by our values every day at this company I promise to review your work and make it worth your while Your place is secure here... You get the idea. Promises that leaders make are promises that they should not break. The thing about pro...

Unconditional love's payoffs take time. At first, it can feel like you've given way too much. For a time, it can seem like an imbalance that will never center itself again. The wings are heavy, the time feels hard. Let the conditions go. Let the symptoms go. Let the time relax. Unconditional love may sometimes feel like it costs more than it gives -- until it doesn't. Hang in there. -- doug smith

I do not enjoy it when someone breaks a promise. And yet, I have broken promises. I do not like it when someone lies to me. And yet, I have lied. I'm not fond of broken hearts, yet truth be told I have broken hearts I should have loved unconditionally. We are flawed creatures in need of learning, in need of helping, in need of forgiving. Forgiveness brings peace that even can't reveal. Always forgive. -- doug smith

Do you make a lot of promises? Leaders with credibility keep their promises. To keep their promises, high performance leaders prevent themselves from over-promising. Not too many promises. No promises too large. Tell the truth. Stretch yourself, but don't break yourself and for goodness sake don't break your word. We should make few promises because they are so hard to keep. No one wants to hear "I tried." We're listening for, "Yes, I did." -- doug smith

High performance leaders know that we are always becoming. Every day we have the opportunity to grow. We will stumble along the way. We will make mistakes that make us cringe. But when we keep learning, when we keep growing, we are always becoming a better version of ourselves. A version of ourselves that makes a positive difference. A version of ourselves who helps others in need. A version of ourselves that forgets our troubles and solves problems while achieving our goals. Let's be that. Let's become. -- doug smith

I'm still looking for someone who can do everything. Every task on their list, every task on their boss's list, every goal in their endless stream of goals. I still haven't found them. I'm still looking for the person who can finish everything they've started, who can achieve any goal while tackling all goals, and who never gets nervous in the process. I still haven't found them. No one can do everything. Not even you. Chaos comes when we try to do everything. Chaos comes when everything looks like it's as important as everything else. Chaos comes, and it screams. Do you hear the screaming? Do you enjoy the screaming? Chaos screams! Prioritize. Prioritize and chaos will settle down. -- doug smith

How clear is your message? You'll know it's clear when it's understood. You'll know it's understood when your intended audience communicates it back to you, meaning and tone and urgency intact. Clarity requires constant clarification. Chances are you're not done. -- doug smith

It feels harder than ever these days to prioritize. We get pulled into so many directions it's hard to know what to do first. Every day feels like life on the edge of (or in the middle of) chaos. What to do? Common sense says priories. Decide what is most important and focus first on that. Build the future you want by working on it today. The place to start? The place to start prioritizing is with your goals. Limit how many you have. Rank the ones you have set by priority, and then focus your efforts accordingly. We all have to start somewhere. It might as well be with our goals. -- doug smith

When was the last time one of your assumptions was wrong? It's so easy to jump to conclusions. We fill-in-the-blanks so many times in so many ways because it's just part of being human. But, when we assume that things are not going in our favor, when maybe there is no reason to, we do ourselves no service. This is a picture of a recent training room for one of my workshops. It was day two of the two-day workshop and since the hotel staff had in the past forgotten to unlock the door to my room. I arrived, and sure enough the door was locked. Rather than get upset (something I might have experienced in the past) I calmly contacted the hotel staff and politely, yet assertively, asked to have my door unlocked. "I can do that, sir," said a polite maintenance gentleman, "but you could also just walk in thru that second, open door..." "Oh. Gee. Thanks!" That was just a little embarrassing. Just about fifteen feet from the locked door was an o...