High Performance Leadership

Do you enjoy project management? Projects provide us with all kinds of challenges (many of them associated with people) and all kinds of benefits. I spend much of my time facilitating project management workshops for people just starting out in their project management portfolio and sometimes they are doubtful as to the benefits. But the good stuff is there. Projects bring about change. Projects bring about growth. And, projects provide us with a perfect opportunity to grow as leaders -- because if we do not grow and learn we can scarcely complete the work in front of us. Every project gives you the opportunity to improve you and your world. Isn't that cool? -- Doug Smith

How many times during a problem solving effort do you pause to reach an agreement? In one of the many subtleties of managing a problem solving team we find our leverage in our agreements. When teams take the time to reach and confirm agreements on the details and behaviors as they go they are far more likely to be able to reach agreement on a solution AND the implementation of that solution. Sometimes agreeing on the right solution to a problem is tougher than coming up with a solution.  We generate lots of ideas. We develop some energy around our own ideas. We fatigue and subliminally wish to move on. We push when we should be listening. All of those issues are handled quickly when our team gets into the habit of reaching agreements. Agreements on details such as: how will we interact as a team? how do we reach decisions? what is our process for managing conflict? when do we step away and take a break? how long will we invest in this project? what are our roles? ...

Have you ever tried to solve a project problem by throwing more resources at it? More people, more budget, more tools, more materials? The problem with solving project problems is that we often end up solving symptoms and not the problem itself. To solve the problem we need to find the root cause. To find the root cause it helps to hold deeper conversations. High performance leaders create the kinds of environments where deeper dialogues can achieve shared meaning. More important than "truth" (because truth is constantly open to interpretation and misinterpretation) is reaching shared meaning. We know what we are talking about and we agree on both the facts and the feelings. It's easy and tempting to ignore the feelings but when we do we allow the feelings to distort the facts. Then where are we? Getting to the root cause of a project problem takes patience, curiosity, and skillful communication. The answer to your project problem is probably not more resource...

How quickly do you reach for an old answer to a new question? Maybe something looks familiar, like a performance problem, and the easiest thing to do is follow the path of the progressive discipline process. Maybe it comes so easy that we jump at it a little too soon. Or maybe your project seems to be stalled and you remember that once it helped to energy the team by getting really exciting (maybe even yelling) about your expectations. It worked once. What if there are some new answers? What if we could stop long enough to allow new ideas to incubate? What if somewhere under the surface we could find a quantum leap solution that send the old issue packing for good? Centered leaders constantly find new answers to old questions. Even when the old answers seem fine -- what if? What old answers could you retire for just today in order to attract something new and exciting? -- Douglas Brent Smith Front Range Leadership : Fast, affordable leadership training.

What's your biggest project? High performance leaders tackle tough projects -- big projects. Projects that make life better, healthier, or more peaceful. Projects launched with big aspirations, big expectations, and the energy it takes to take them on. Think about the biggest project you've ever completed. What made it work? What were the things that you did to propel that project forward? What were the results? Important projects don't always find us -- sometimes we need to launch them ourselves. Projects about things we deeply care about. Projects with outcomes that change the world for the better. What if your life were a series of projects to create a better, more fair, and more healthy world? Wouldn't that be time well spent? -- Douglas Brent Smith Front Range Leadership: Fast, affordable leadership training workshops , webinars , and teleclasses .