Category Archives: brian smith-pld

Learn To Lead The OpenAI Way

brian smith-pld, Coaching, Entrepreneurship, Leadership Development, Management, Management Training, Mentorship, Personal Development, Professional development, Reformed Control Freak, Self-Help, small business owner, Soft-Skills Training, Teacher, Uncategorized

We are not born knowing how to manage and lead others effectively. It is a learned behaviour. Generative AI systems have been in the news lately, so I thought I’d have some fun using them to develop a list of invaluable management or leadership traits. If you aspire to take on a management or leadership role, here are my search results using Microsoft’s Bing OpenAI with editing by Grammarly and yours truly.

Worth Remembering – “Leadership is practiced not so much in words but in attitude and action.” – Geneen.

Learn to lead the OpenAI way.

  • Show your team how you want them to behave and perform by modelling the qualities and behaviours you expect from them. If you want your team to be positive, enthusiastic, and creative, you must demonstrate those traits yourself.
  • As a manager or leader, you must make intelligent and timely decisions that benefit your team and organization. You must empower your team to make appropriate decisions and provide the necessary tools and guidance.
  • Transparency and honesty are essential for building trust and establishing rapport with your team. Communicate openly and clearly with your team, and be honest about your actions, thoughts, and feelings. Encourage your team to do the same and listen to their feedback and concerns.
  • Remember that your main goal as a manager or leader is to guide and support your team, not to control or micromanage them. Put your team’s interests and needs above your own and show them you care about their well-being and success. Recognize and appreciate their contributions and provide them with opportunities for growth and development.
  • A good manager or leader can motivate and inspire their team to work towards a common goal that aligns with their values and ideals. Use consultation and collaboration to get your team committed by challenging them with new and exciting tasks.

Worth Remembering – “Great managers and leaders encourage leadership development by openly developing themselves.” – Marshall Goldsmith.

A great manager or leader is always willing to learn new things and improve their skills. Seek feedback from your team, peers, and mentors, and be open and receptive to constructive feedback. Learn from your mistakes, and trust me, there will be plenty of them. Celebrate your achievements. Seek out new opportunities for learning and development, and share your knowledge and insights with your team. I hope these tips help you learn to manage or lead the OpenAI way.

Powered by Bing’s OpenAI with editing by Grammarly and Brian Smith – Power Link Dynamics. Not to be reproduced without their permission. Are you searching for a corporate training provider, planning a lunch-n-learn or in-person training session? To learn more about Brian and what he can do for you and your organization, visit his website or contact him directly. https://briansmithpld.com

Are You Uncomfortable Yet?

brian smith-pld, Coaching, Leadership Development, Management, Management Training, Mentorship, Personal Development, Professional development, Reformed Control Freak, Self-Help, Teacher, Uncategorized

Are you comfortable being where you’re at and what you’ve accomplished in your career, or do you want more? If you are comfortable and don’t aspire to take on more or do more, don’t. There is nothing wrong with that. But if you aren’t satisfied and want more out of your life or career, you need to change because nothing changes until you do. Change can be disruptive and uncomfortable. Change can be scary and somewhat unpredictable when doing something you’ve never done before. Nothing ever changes unless you are uncomfortable being comfortable.

“The price of doing the same old thing is far higher than the price of change.” – President Bill Clinton.

Do you want to make a change in your life or career? Then CHANGE.

C – Commit; Commit to a new beginning. Determine what needs to change in your life or career and devise a plan to achieve it. Those who fail to take the time to put a plan together end up failing.

H – Habit: Stop doing one thing and start doing another. Do it often enough, and it will become you. The old habit is no longer serving you. The old habit is getting in the way of you achieving your goal.

A – Action: Action, not words. Stop talking about it and start doing it. No one ever achieved anything by just talking about it. Real change comes from doing.

N – Never; Never give up. You’re going to have setbacks. Sometimes, it will feel like you’ve taken two steps forward and four steps back. At times, you’ll feel like quitting – but don’t. Be patient. Hang in there.

G – Growth: Growth happens outside of your comfort zone. The moment you take that first step is when you start to grow. But you have to take that first step.

E – Enthusiastic: If you aren’t excited about the changes you want to make, the direction you’re headed, and the goals you’ve set for yourself, then you aren’t motivated enough to make those changes. How bad do you want it?

‘Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything. ” – Shaw.

People change for a whole bunch of reasons. What will that change do for you? Will it make you feel better, look better or be a better version of yourself? Will it enhance your career and make you promotable? The changes that stick are the ones that people are committed to making. You have to be all in. If you aren’t 100% committed to making the change, you’ll likely fall back into doing what you’ve always done. Are you uncomfortable yet?

Your call to action. We can help you make those changes. Contact Brian to find out how. – brian@briansmithpld.com.

Copyright (c) 2023. Brian Smith – Power Link Dynamics. Not to be reproduced without permission. To learn more about Brian and what he can do for you or your organization visit, https://briansmithpld.com.

The Seven Principles of Delivering Exceptional Customer Service

brian smith-pld, Competitive Advantage, Customer Service, Dealing with Difficult People, Entrepreneurship, Leadership Development, Management, Management Training, Mentorship, Personal Development, Professional development, Reformed Control Freak, Self-Help, small business owner, Soft-Skills Training, Teacher, Uncategorized

Your advertising and traditional marketing campaigns based on the Four P’s (Product, Price, Promotion and Place) are no longer considered a strategic advantage. Some businesses refer to their customers as guests or clients and try to reinvent themselves by adding non-traditional product lines to maintain or grow market share. However, adopting the seven principles of delivering exceptional customer service is the only advantage you have left to set yourself apart from your competition.

‘A business absolutely devoted to delivering customer service will have only one worry about profits. They will be embarrassingly high.’ – Henry Ford.

If you want an advantage over your competition, then you need to adopt the seven principles of delivering exceptional customer service.

F – Friendly – Smile, say hello and make eye contact. Build those all-important relationships. People like to do business with people they like and with companies that make them feel wanted.

O – Observant – Learn to recognize customers who want help and those who don’t. Ask open-ended questions. Customers know what they want, but if they have never done the task or that repair before, they don’t know what they need.

C – Competent – Don’t make stuff up. Trust me, your customer has already done the research; they want to know what you know about the products and services you provide. If you don’t know the answers to their questions, then find out or get someone who does.

U – Understanding – Be empathetic.. See things from your customer’s point of view – especially when dealing with an angry and upset customer. Don’t waste your customer’s time reciting company policy. Find out what the customer wants to resolve the situation. If you don’t have the authority to grant it, get someone who does.

S – Sincere – If you genuinely want to help your customers, it will show in the way you communicate and interact with them. You communicate 93% of the time non-verbally. You are speaking volumes, and you haven’t said a word. Your actions and words must be congruent, or your customer will believe the non-verbal as being more accurate.

E – Energized – Be enthusiastic; act like you want to be there. Approach your customers instead of leaning on the counter, talking to your co-workers or spending too much time on your phone. Give customers your undivided attention.

D – Dependable – Whatever you said you would do, do it. Your word must be your bond. Customers need to trust what you say. If they can’t trust your word – they won’t trust you at all.

“To give real service, you must add something which cannot be bought or measured with money, and that is sincerity and integrity.” – Douglas Adams.

Providing exceptional customer service is not that difficult. All you have to be is better than your competitors. Based on what customers say about the current level of service or lack thereof, that won’t be difficult if you apply the seven principles of delivering exceptional customer service.

Copyright (c) 2023. Brian Smith – Power Link Dynamics. Not to be reproduced without permission. To learn more about Brian and our Let’s Get FOCUSED (c) on Customers – The Seven Principles of Delivering Exceptional Customer Service workshop, contact Brian at – brian@briansmithpld.com or visit our website – https://briansmithpld.com

Authentic Leadership Defined

brian smith-pld, Coaching, Entrepreneurship, Leadership Development, Management, Management Training, Mentorship, Personal Development, Personality Types, Professional development, Reformed Control Freak, Self-Help, Soft-Skills Training, Teacher, Uncategorized

Authentic – Adjective: of undisputed origin, genuine. Synonyms: – credible, legitimate, original. Being authentic implies that you’re trustworthy and reliable. Some leaders and managers start taking on bogus characteristics because they feel pressured to be what they’re not. They believe it will help them increase their chances of successfully leading or managing others. Are you being your authentic self, or are you faking it?

“You were born to be real, not to be perfect. You are here to be you, not ot live someone else’s life.” – Ralph Marston.

You can’t rub the stripes off the tiger or the spots off the leopard, no matter how hard you try. You are who you are. However, your authentic leadership style may not be effective in some situations. A strength can become a weakness. One way of managing and leading others does not fit all. The key to working with others is to communicate and interact with them the way they like. You don’t have to change who you are – just modify your approach.

Authenticity is the daily practice of letting go of who we think we are supposed to be and embracing who we truly are.” – Brene Brown.

Dr. William Marston believed we are one of four distinct personalities, Dominant, Interpersonal, Steadiness or Conscientious, that heavily influence our behaviour. He ascertained that we become who we are and act the way we act at a very young age. We get accustomed to behaving a certain way, communicating and interacting with others a certain way and managing ourselves and others a certain way that eventually becomes our authentic selves.

“Any change, even a change for the better, is always accompanied by drawbacks and discomfort.” – Arnold Bennett.

If you want to be more effective in leading or managing others – don’t change who you are – change the way you do it.

D – Dominant: To be more effective in leading or managing dominant personalities, get to the point quickly, use a rapid pace and be business-like. Answer the “what” questions.

I – Interpersonal: To be more effective in leading or managing interpersonal personalities, be casual and approachable, and establish those all-important relationships. Answer the “who” questions.

S – Steadiness: To be more effective in leading or managing steadiness personalities, use a slower pace and establish rapport by being friendly. Answer the “how” questions.

C – Conscientious: To be more effective in leading or managing conscientious personalities, be reserved and wait for them, limiting your feelings and enthusiasm, Answer the “why” questions.

Copyright (c) 2023. Brian Smith – Power Link Dynamics. Not to be reproduced without permission. To learn more about DISC and how it can help you and your leadership team manage and lead others more effectively, contact Brian at: brian@briansmithpld.com.