High Performance Leadership

Are you feeling a little busy? Are there more problems than you can juggle at once? It feels new, and yet the world has always had unsolved problems waiting for your help. There are more people now, many more, and that does make a difference. Everything is multiplied.  Which makes you even more important than ever. The world will always need centered problem solvers. Are you ready? -- doug smith

You might not solve that problem by talking about it, but what if you did? Centered problem solvers create dialogue. They listen and share in order to reach mutual understanding. The first step to mutual agreement on the solution to a problem is to understand the problem AND each other. Got a problem? Talk about it. -- doug smith

How does it feel like when your mind is foggy? For me, fogginess happens when there are an overwhelming number of choices, or possibilities, or the problem seems to cut so deep that only a tourniquet will help. Fogginess can also come from incomplete thinking - we stop at a place that makes sense to our unseen bias, and move forward without looking for other facts. Flaws in our thinking develop when our thinking is misdirected (it was true about something else so it must be true about this), polluted (that advertisement is just SO convincing), corrupted (it might not be exactly right but it's good for me), and any of dozens of factors that fog our thoughts. The flaw that blocks you knocks you off center. The flaw that deceives you leaves you without a real solution. Find the flaw in your thinking while you can still find it, or the problem is yours to keep. -- doug smith Level Up It's challenging to think about what we think about. Our minds don't always se...

How much of that difficult problem is our own doing? Do you remember the last time you caused yourself your own problem? I seem to do it enough that it's like a secret power: cue up the situation, make it more complicated, then dig my way out. I've learned to check in on what part of the problem I have contributed to. Rather than blaming someone else (they don't want the blame and it's probably not true anyway) it's better to see how the problem is built of smaller pieces and that some of those pieces came from your closest source: yourself. Think it thru, I tell myself, think it thru. Breathe. Figure it out. What did I do to create this situation and what can I change to improve or solve it? Problem solving sometimes requires a level of self-examination we are reluctant to try. But sometimes going deep inside is the only way out. -- doug smith

We call lots of things problems that really are not problems at all. If we know the solution and can immediately solve the situation, it's not exactly a problem, is it? If money can fix it and we have enough money for the situation, then it's not a problem (I know, the lack of money can certainly be a problem). If we haven't prioritized the situation and it requires our attention, it's not so much a problem as a choice. Yes, we have lots of problems. Let's just be careful about avoiding a situation by labeling it a problem. It's not a problem just because it doesn't fit into your agenda. -- 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

Even high performance leaders can get stuck trying to solve a problem. Tough resistance stands against the solutions tried and keep the problem around. What makes that problem so tough? What is it that stands in the way? What if it's you? (or me, I must ask myself!) What if the part of the problem that's so hard to solve reflects that part of you that you don't want to change? You might need to change! -- doug smith Leadership Call to Action: Think about a problem that you are struggling with. What can you change about YOURSELF that might wiggle you free from this stasis?

When the direction is unclear, when the heat seems unbearable, when the pressure is crushing you, when the problems stack high like a looming tower, put the problem into perspective: A problem is there to challenge you, not break you. Meet the challenge. -- doug smith

High performance leaders solve problems. They solve their problems and they work with their team members to solve collective team problems (because any team problem becomes a collective problem - impossible to isolate.) Using the right balance of clarity, courage, creativity, and compassion high performance leaders facilitate the kind of dialogue that challenges, encourages, cooperates, and collaborates. They talk about it. Their team talks about it. They get it done. It can be rough going solving problems. Personalities can get excited. High performance leaders find ways to remain centered. How? Of course it depends. Here are some ways to remain centered when you're solving problems: Breathe Pause Maintain respect Think creatively Consider many, many possibilities Suspend your inner judge and stay curious Trust that others have ideas as great as yours There's more to it of course. Solving problems is a dynamic, difficult adventure. But by taking the time to...

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...

Center Burst People will give you as many problems as you're willing to hold onto. -- Doug Smith

Have you ever tried TOO hard to solve a problem? It's possible. I've been know to over-think a problem. People sometimes take the spaghetti approach -- throw a bunch of solutions at the problem and see what sticks. Sometimes it works. It doesn't always. Sometimes finesse wins the day. Or patience. Or collaboration. It isn't always necessary to overwhelm a problem in order to solve it. Maybe, like in the martial arts, it pays to let the problem fall on its own with just a gentle re-direction from you. -- Doug Smith

Have you ever encountered a problem that felt like a wall? I have. I'm in the middle of one now. But today, I think I will be like water... How you look at the wall is up to you. -- Doug Smith

If that problem has been around awhile, if that problem is cagey to the point of making you scratch your head, you might need many solutions. Many ideas. Creative, centered problem solvers stay with the process long enough to develop more solutions that any one problem needs. The gold is deep. Keep digging. -- Doug Smith

Problems resist easy answers. That's why we need to ask the tough questions. Why are things the way they are? What is the deeper cause? On the surface, we may think we understand a problem. Digging deeper, asking probing and open ended questions, we can get at the heart of what is really going on. Are people being rewarded for incorrect behavior? Is someone benefitting from the problem situation? If so, who? Is it too easy to ignore the problem? Is the source of the problem aware that there is even a problem? For example, those who most resist a fair distribution of work are those who may not be working too hard. Why change?  Executives making juicy bonuses may not even be aware of how hard it is to live paycheck to paycheck. Creative problem solvers ask the tough questions with curiosity. Not to judge. Not to punish. But to know. What's really going on? Centered problem solvers use their creativity to separate people from the problem. They use their compassion to f...

Did you ever stop to think how much you owe to your problems? No, I haven't gone nuts. Think about it. Every problem we solve, every solution we design, gives us a level of focus and creativity that we didn't have before. Problems help us grow (because if we don't grow, the side effects are bad.)   Where would you be today if you'd never had a problem to solve? The next time I have a problem, it will be the opportunity I seek. Maybe the problem is the key to the next big step. Maybe the lesson to learn will propel me forward farther than I could have ever gone before. Problems make us stronger. Isn't that comforting? -- Doug Smith

Why don't people understand? Sometimes I get so frustrated because I'm trying hard to make someone understand about a problem and they just don't get it. It doesn't seem big enough, important enough, or urgent enough to prod them into action. For example, why do we tolerate a banking system that pays less than one percent interest on savings and then charges up to 20% interest on loans? Isn't that a system for robbing the poor? And why do we allow banks to charge people $39 overdraft fees, and then another fee when there's no money to pay the overdraft fee? Isn't that profoundly cruel and stupid? That's just one example. Problems abound. Some folks will listen, some won't. Some will take action, some won't. How other people respond to our problems may be inaccurate or incomplete. They don't understand...yet. They don't get it...yet. They are not ready to act...yet. High performance leaders do not give up. Centered leaders find...

How many possibilities are there? Endless possibilities! So when we're working on problems, there are always more possibilities to draw from. We just have to identify them. When we are building teams, achieving our goals, communicating for results, building relationships -- there are always new possibilities for how to do it better, faster, and smarter. It takes possibilities stop solve problems and solving problems opens new possibilities.  It's a virtuous cycle of innovation. Come up with new possibilities, solve problems with those possibilities, and enjoy the new possibilities that emerge. What's your next possibility? -- Doug Smith

What are your outside interests? In addition to working as a trainer and consultant, I'm active in the arts. I'd love it if you'd check out these additional blogs that I write and maybe even subscribe. It's something. douglas brent smith : one of those places I park my poetry, collage, and music. doug smith training : my company originally started out with this name and you shouldn't be too surprised if it goes back to it when I relocate. The focus is also likely to shift to developing communication skills such as better conversations, more productive meetings, and more powerful presentations. centered problem solving : leaders must do two things well or face losing their leadership: solving problems and achieving their goals. this blog focuses on what i call centered problem solving. Thanks! -- doug smith

Are you ignoring a problem? Is it quietly buzzing around your conciousness in the background but so far you're putting it off? How long do you think you can put it off? How long before the problem catches your attention. I've noticed that problems usually have two troubling traits in common: - They don't go away on their own, and - Left alone, they get worse Is that your experience, too? A problem that is ignored will manifest until it can't be ignored. And by then, it's much harder to solve and causing much more damage. Why not tackle that crazy problem right away? -- Doug Smith