High Performance Leadership

How do you recruit for your team? Of course there are many important details to recruiting. The interview is only part of it. Working in collaboration with a skilled human resource team is a big help. But, you know what else is a big help? Getting a reputation as a great place to work. Becoming known as an empowered team that achieves its goals. Finding success with both better results and more friendly relationships. It's your job as a leader to create the kind of environment where team members feel both part of the team and a key reason for its success. How are you doing at that? What can you do today to help your team help each other toward more success? -- Doug Smith

Do you have this leadership thing all figured out? Once I thought I did, until I learned later that it is a constant figuring out. It is a constant learning process. Even when I had a great team that was completely working together and achieving its goals, just when it seemed to be perfection I would make some mistake (hiring the wrong person, cutting short a performance evaluation, delaying an important piece of feedback, failing to recognize a big effort) that would set the energy back. Things wouldn't feel perfect anymore. But there are some things that have held up over and over. Some things that if we get right as leaders our jobs are SO much better, and our impact is deeper and longer lasting. These three things in particular touch almost everything that we do and, if done correctly (and often) can prevent us from having to let people go. Recruit right. Train right. Coach constantly. Each is a course-load in itself. Each could take a life-time to master. That's ...