High Performance Leadership

Did you ever hide from a lesson? Have you ever had a truth revealed right in front of you but wouldn't let it shine? Sometimes we know what we should know but keep running away from it. Maybe it's our true vocation. Maybe it's a relationship we know is over but keep stringing along. Or, maybe it's that relationship that is more than we will admit. Maybe it's a place we live and need to move on. Maybe it's a mistake we keep repeating -- like starting jobs that aren't meant for us or driving cars that we don't even like. It could be staying with a project long after the value has been squeezed out of it and it no longer makes sense. We've seen this before, why don't we shut the project down and move on? Why don't we go to our sponsor and say that the triple constraints are blown, the goal is out of reach, and the project is a dog? Some of our most useful lessons are at first vigorously resisted. But we can learn. We can grasp the ...

If you make the wrong bet, what happens to your money? No doubt, you lose it. Whether it's on a sports team or the stock market, you are likely responsible for your own decisions, right or wrong. If someone else makes a bet knowing that no matter how badly the deal goes down, they can't really lose because they'll still get paid and still have a job, what is to keep them from repeating bad bets? What's to keep them from acting like scoundrels who only care about their own bonuses and who pass the risk on to others? We should stop rewarding scoundrels by not paying them.  And, when they repeat their scoundrel behavior after warnings not to, it's time to help them out of the organization. What do you think? -- Douglas Brent Smith

If you work for a regional site of a large corporation, you probably like it just fine when corporate leaves you alone. Surely, they have more important things to work on than how things are going at your operation. What you probably don't want, is someone in a suit showing up (or in some cases a blue shirt and khaki pants...) and saying "Hi, I'm from corporate and I'm here to help". Help from corporate often leads to restructuring, layoffs, and even site closures. Who wants that? What's to be done? Keep corporate happy. Make money faster than other regional offices. Reduce your expenses on your own. Keep customers happy and complaints at a minimum. Create a culture where your people are happy to work and still challenged to constantly do better. Lead with intension, high intensity, and deliver high performance. It's not a guarantee. You could do so well that the site is sold or merged. Sometimes you just can't control that. But you're od...

Do you have someone in your life you can tell your innermost secrets? As open as we try to keep our communication within our teams and within our organizations, sometimes the thing we need most is someone outside to confide in. Someone with nothing at stake, who can listen openly and without judging. Someone we can trust. Someone like us, willing to suspend titles and lines of authority and willing to let you think thru your thoughts out loud. Leaders need people outside of their organization to confide in. Who is that for you? -- Douglas Brent Smith

What kind of mood are you in? Your team knows. People on your team are paying close attention to your mood. They want to know if this is going to be a good day, or something else. They want to know who you will pay attention to. They want to know if your emotions will drive them forward or hold them back. Centered leaders remember that their mood sets the mood for the team. It's a big responsibility, but there's no avoiding it. What kind of mood are you in? -- Douglas Brent Smith

You probably have seen the great offers that companies make to lure new customers in. Half price specials. Extended terms. Better warranties. You notice that the price is lower than you paid and the terms are more attractive -- ah, but! There's the fine print that says "for new customers only." You can't have those extra miles. You can't get that two-for-one. You can't get that special level of service all because -- you already are a customer. How does that make you feel? It makes me feel cheated. It makes me feel less appreciated. It makes me feel taken for granted. Maybe that's too strong or too bitter, but pardon me if I feel that a company should value its existing customer as much (or MORE) than prospective ones. After all, we're already spending money with them. If you offer new customers a better deal than existing customers, what message does that send to your current customers? Maybe there's a better way to use your marketing ...

"It wasn't my fault." "I wasn't even there." "I think it happened on the other shift." "They are always messing things up." Who's to blame? When things go wrong, when a customer gets angry, when a supplier raises prices, when things don't go as you planned. Who's to blame? Will it even help if you could pin that down to one person? Will pouring guilt or punishment on a person solve your problem? Probably not. But people do it all the time. Blaming others is so easy that many people don't even know they are doing it. What if we stopped blaming others? What if instead, we worked together to find solutions, better ways of doing things, and ways to avoid what caused our problem to begin with? -- Douglas Brent Smith

What are you working on that could change the world? Do you have a vision and a mission for making things better? Have you assembled a team? The clock is ticking - when will you take your dream to the next level? What are you working on that could change the world? -- Douglas Brent Smith http://frontrangeleadership.com

Do you have a sense of momentum? When I used to play sports - basketball and baseball mostly -- every game had a sense of momentum. No matter what the score was, I could tell which direction the game was headed and often, who would win based on the feeling of momentum. Winning has a momentum of its own. Standing still is no momentum at all. What is your momentum like? Where are you headed? Are you building a winning game? Where will you be a year from now if you keep doing what you're doing now? Will that be where you want to be? What will you do today to energize your momentum in the direction you want it to go? -- Douglas Brent Smith http://frontrangeleadership.com

What if customers paid exactly what they thought the value was? Would your business prosper? Have you ever given a tip to a street performer? Also known as buskers, street performers rely 100% on value to value transactions. They have barely two minutes to make an impression, and only get paid what people think they are worth. Sometimes that's a dollar, sometimes that's a dime, and usually "customers" keep on walking without paying anything at all. Could your business survive using that model? I've considered it as a model for my leadership training practice. Come to a workshop, or get some coaching and consulting and then pay me exactly what you think it was worth. What stops me? Not sure. Is it fear of the unknown monetary value? Is it fear that human nature might be to grab for the bargain (free!) and move on? If a business demonstrates value that the customer is seeking and delivers on that promise, shouldn't people pay what is fair (or ev...

Find the dignity in each of the people around you and they can't help but reciprocate. It's there. People do what they know how to do and try their best. When they fall short, leaders can be patient guides to help them back on track. But, there's joy and honor in the struggle. Respecting intent as well as actions helps people to develop. Occasionally, when the intent is not there, granting credit for better intent can spark it to life. Which has worked best for you - assuming the best of people or assuming otherwise? People have wonderful dignity inside and sometimes it's just waiting to emerge. Can you recognize that below the surface? Can you see the dignity in each of us? Find the dignity in each of the people around you and they will quietly return the favor. Cultivate respect - you will like the results. -- Douglas Brent Smith http://frontrangeleadership.com

Fill up before you're empty. Start by developing yourself every day. Have you ever run out of gas? It changes your whole day. It wastes time and ruins schedules. Have you ever found out that you needed fuel just when you had the least amount of time to find it? Maybe you were in a hurry to a meeting, or to a date, or to a client appointment. Suddenly, with no time to spare, there you are on "E". Not only can that happen with your car -- it can happen with your personal leadership development as well. Fill 'er up early. Keep developing. Keep learning. Fill up your emotional and intellectual tanks before they're empty. What will you do today to fill up your tank? -- Douglas Brent Smith http://frontrangeleadership.com

In the Boulder edition of Craigslist last week was an ad for an actor with the capacity to withstand physical pain. Why would an actor need to withstand pain in a role? Because this actor will be portraying an investment banker. If that’s not enough to bring the wrath of the audience on the actor, there will also be paint guns – fully loaded and aimed at the actor. The actor will have protective gear of course (which is more than the investment bankers from the major banks living on life-support right now had given to those of us now holding incredibly shrinking 401-Ks) but in this art performance piece is sure to take on some of the overflowing anger we feel at our shrinking economy. How did common sense fail the executives of some of our biggest companies? How could they not see the folly in insuring your own losses, in attaching derivatives and poor mortgage risks and over-leveraged assets to their books without any plan for risk control when the cycle trended down?...

It's an exciting time in the United States. Historical in proportions, we welcome the inauguration of Barack Obama. Whatever your political leanings are, I hope that you can enjoy the exhilaration that so many of us are feeling at this change in leadership. At last, the future seems brighter. It's not so much that we expect one person to change everything. That would be a mistake. Instead, it's a feeling that we can at last come together and make meaningful change with a new sense of purpose, a new direction of unity. It's also because in a very large way as a nation we have set aside some dangerous divisions that so long splintered our great nation. We haven't eliminated prejudice, but we have let it be known that it can no longer rule. We haven't eliminated racism, but we have overcome it's ugly hold. We haven't perfected progress, but we have shouted loud our willingness to get back on board. Let's progress together. Let's help bui...