High Performance Leadership

"Wait, you mean I have to achieve all my goals, earn tons of money for the company, AND be nice to people?" Umm, yes. But remember, kindness does not cost anything at all. When leaders practice human decency they can gain better results anyway, so why not stay kind? Quick ways to treat people with kindness include: Listening without judging. Sometimes people just need to vent. In any case, few of us ever believe that we are listened to enough. Listen! Treat people with respect. Honor their presence with your attention.  Show courtesy in social norms and situations that may vary from person to person Do the right thing. Say the right thing.  Act in ways that show people are important to you Leaders are not responsible for other people's feelings, but we are responsible for treating people with kindness. -- doug smith

Have you ever had a hard time getting someone to understand what you were saying because they were too emotional? That can be frustrating, especially for those of us who mainly focus on facts first, and not so much on feelings. But feelings are important. To some people, the feelings come first. Until we care about their feelings, they likely don't care about our facts. We all feel things differently. Sometimes, what seems like a small challenge to someone else could be a cause for hurt feelings for another. We feel what we're feelings and hope that others can understand that. It takes attention and work. When feelings are fragile, answers are hard to find. We need to take care of our feelings and the feelings of others. That doesn't mean that we must share those feelings, but we do need to understand them. That answer we're looking for is likely hidden by a fog of feelings too thick to ignore. Don't ignore it. -- Doug Smith Front Range Leadership:  ...