High Performance Leadership

Wouldn't it be great to be perfect? Or, maybe it wouldn't. I will never forget seeing a puppet show (yes, I said puppet show) in New York City, many years ago, with the essential flow of dialogue being something like this: "I want to be the very best! The very best best!" "But not too good. Be the best but not the best best!" "I want to be the very best. So good. But not too good." "Because if you were too good, people wouldn't like you." "It's not good to be too good." ...somewhat over and over in that manner -- outright saying that it's possible to be too good. It was funny then. But it wasn't true then and it isn't true now. You probably can't be too good. But, in the pursuit of good (or whatever else you're chasing) it IS possible to be difficult. Haven't we all been difficult? Here's the thing (there's got to be a thing!): we do NOT always realize it when we are being d...

Do you have a difficult person in your life? Most people can think of at least one difficult person. Someone who it is just plain hard to get along with. They constantly irritate. They frequently fail. They mess around with our expectations. They make interaction tough. They. They. They. What's our role in the interaction? What are we doing to make it tough? What can we change? The easiest and best thing to change about difficult people is how we interact with them. Then we can influence their behavior. Then we can show them how we like to be treated. Then we can show them what respect, compassion, courage, creativity, and clarity looks like. When we are the centered leaders we need to be, others will respond. They won't be perfect. They might still be difficult. But they will respond. And little by little when we make the interaction more positive, they become more positive, too. Besides. What if we're the difficult person? -- Doug Smith