High Performance Leadership

When you get stuck, take a step. Find the forward motion. Act on a goal, a task, a plan. Move. Take a step, any step. Find the dance inside the chaos and each new step gets easier to find. Find it. -- doug smith

How important are your goals? I've learned that as important as goals are, and for high performance leaders they are essential to success, it is also possible that a goal can outlive its usefulness. A goal can even become an impediment. It may sound silly, but I still remember the day I realized that I don't have to finish reading every book that I start. Before that I would slog thru it no matter what -- long past any resemblance to enjoyment seemed possible. Why? Because I was taught to finish what I started. I do still like to finish what I start. I do still find merit in keeping one's commitments. And, I've also learned that like a book that no longer makes sense to read, some goals no longer make sense to achieve. As important as they might have been, they now stand between you and something better. Stay relentless on your plan as long as you can. Achieve every goal that you set that is worth achieving. But, don't let a goal arbitrarily run your life...

We call lots of things problems that really are not problems at all. If we know the solution and can immediately solve the situation, it's not exactly a problem, is it? If money can fix it and we have enough money for the situation, then it's not a problem (I know, the lack of money can certainly be a problem). If we haven't prioritized the situation and it requires our attention, it's not so much a problem as a choice. Yes, we have lots of problems. Let's just be careful about avoiding a situation by labeling it a problem. It's not a problem just because it doesn't fit into your agenda. -- doug smith

It's easy to forget that our team members are people with problems. They have issues. They have lives. They have families with situations we don't even know about. And, yes, they are also our team members. High performance leaders remember that there are no perfect people and that we all carry a bit more baggage than we'd like. We're all wired too tight in some spots and a bit unravelled in others. A great leader knows when to hold someone carefully accountable and when to ease up enough to allow for some room to ease the tension, to relax into the task. Everyone on your team is dealing with challenges that have nothing to do with you or your team. How you help help them handle those challenges will largely define what kind of leader you are. -- doug smith

When was the last time your team changed? If you answered "today" or "about a minute ago" you are thinking the way that I'm thinking: your team is constantly changing. Every time you add someone to your team, it changes. Every time you say goodbye to someone from your team, it changes. Your team changes when you change a process, when you change a procedure, when you change a rule, when you change the schedule...on and on your team is a relentless mixture of change. The good news is that team leaders can influence that change. You have the opportunity to change in ways that makes your team better, faster, smarter. Your change is open to better change. Changing one person on a team could change the whole team. High performance leaders build constantly, change intentionally, grow patiently. They change on purpose, and so does their team. -- doug smith

Leadership requires growth. You need it from your people, you need it from your organization, and you need if from yourself. Successful leaders constantly look ahead to the next area of growth. -- doug smith

High performance leaders provide the kind of environment where people can prosper.  How do you set up your team for success? By interviewing and recruiting so carefully that you bring in qualified and motivated people. By providing the training that everyone needs. By supporting projects that stretch your team while also delighting your customers. And maybe most importantly, by spending time with your team. Time to talk, time to socialize, time to break bread, time to bond. Your team's performance depends on how well you've set them up for success. Set your team up completely. -- doug smith