Category Archives: Mentorship

Next-Level Leadership is Possible

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

This is not the time to rest on your laurels. The workplace is evolving, and you need to adapt to these changes. The way you managed and led others got you here, but that approach may not be the best style for taking you and your team to where you need to go. It’s becoming increasingly evident that soft skills—the ability to communicate and interact more effectively with others—are essential skills for today’s managers and leaders. Next-level leadership is possible, but only if you focus on your people because you need them more than they need you.

Worth Remembering – Leadership is not about you; it’s about investing in the growth of others. – Ken Blanchard.

People won’t care about you or your organization until they know how much you care about them. Next-level leadership is about those you lead. It’s time you FOCUSED on your people.

F – Friendly – Smile, say hello. Idle chit-chat is vital in building those all-important relationships. Get to know everyone on your team beyond their work. People prefer to work with and be managed by people they like. How much fun are you to be around?

O – Open and Receptive. A good idea becomes a great idea the more you allow others to contribute their input. It’s bigger than you. You can’t do everything on your own. Teamwork makes everything work.

C – Confident and Competent. – Know what you know and know it very well. But also know what you don’t know and seek the advice of others. You don’t have to know everything, but you do need to know where to find the answers.

U – Understanding – Be empathetic. Don’t judge too soon. See things from their point of view. There may be things going on that you aren’t aware of. Get all the facts before making a final decision on a course of action.

S – Sincere. – If you truly want others to be successful, it will show itself in the way you treat them. Be respectful.

E – Energized. – Be prepared to lead the charge. Enthusiasm is contagious. Act as if you want to be there, even when you don’t at times.

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

Worth Remembering – Leadership is not about titles or designations. Leadership is about making an impact on those you lead, exerting influence, and inspiring others to take action. – Brian Smith.

You have the potential to work with four different generations simultaneously. Each generation – Boomers, Gen X, Millennials and Gen Z have different wants and needs, but they all have one thing in common. Each generation wants to be acknowledged and feel appreciated. Each generation wants to be included, not excluded. Next-level leadership is possible.

Copyright 2025. Brian Smith – Power Link Dynamics. Not to be reproduced without permission. Are you searching for a keynote speaker for your next event or planning a training session at your location? Brian specializes in soft skills training and leadership development. He will customize a session that is right for you and your organization.

It’s Time To Rethink Motivation

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

Motivation is defined as the reason or reasons one has for acting or behaving a certain way. Motivation is inside out – never outside in. Everyone is self-motivated. Everyone does things for their own reasons. You can’t make someone do something that they don’t want to do unless you have something that they want. If you know their WIIFM – What’s In It For Me – and you have the power to grant it, you can use that understanding to get them to do what you want them to do. Offering the carrot while showing them the stick always yields better results. It’s time to rethink motivation.

Worth Remembering – It is only when a person has their own generator that we can talk about motivation. They need no outside stimulation. They want to do it. – Herzberg.

The thing about motivation is that everyone can be motivated. But not everyone is motivated by the same thing in the same way. Some people are motivated by money. Some are motivated by fancy job titles or that premier parking spot in front of the building. According to Daniel Pink, author of ‘Drive – The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us’, for some, autonomy is key. They want complete autonomy over when, where and how they perform their work. That’s why forcing people to go back to the office five days a week isn’t working. If they aren’t getting their WIIFM, they aren’t motivated enough to come back.

Worth Remembering – The common wisdom is that managers need to learn how to motivate people. Nonsense – People bring their own motivation. – Tom Peters.

Mason got it right. Abraham Maslow first introduced his ‘Needs’ theory in his 1943 article published in the Psychological Review entitled, ‘A Theory of Human Motivation.’. The basis of his ‘Hierarchy of Needs’ theory was that all human beings are motivated by unsatisfied needs. His theory provides a framework for understanding human motivation and behaviour. Think of his hierarchy as a triangle or pyramid with five levels. Once the needs in the lower tier of the triangle are met, such as food and security, we move on to satisfy the higher tiers, including self-esteem and self-actualization – a process of fulfilling our full potential and becoming the best version of ourselves.

Worth Remembering – The Motivation Equation. Needs plus goal-directed behaviour equals your WIIFM. – Brian Smith.

What’s your WIIFM? What’s the reason or reasons you do what you do and act the way you behave? If you aren’t getting your WIIFM, then you need to change the way you are going about it. You need to act and behave in a way that will get you what you want. Sometimes, that means doing one thing to get another. It’s time to rethink motivation.

Copyright 2025. Brian Smith – Power Link Dynamics. Not to be reproduced in any form without written permission. Are you searching for a keynote speaker or planning a training session at your location? Brian works with people who want to learn how to communicate and interact more effectively with others, build collaborative teams, resolve conflicts or motivate people to perform at their best.

Are You Still Putting Out Fires.

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 • Tags: , , , ,

Do you know me? I’m looking over your shoulder, waiting for you to make a mistake so I can point out everything you’ve done wrong. My way is always the best. I need to be in charge and want everyone to know about it. I’m the classic control freak. I am robbing you of your opportunity to grow because I haven’t learned how to give up control to get control. I haven’t learned how to delegate. Does this sound familiar? Are you still putting out fires?

Worth Remembering – ‘In the digital age, you need to make knowledge workers out of every employee possible. ‘ – Bill Gates.

To stop putting out fires, you must ignore the urge to micro-manage everyone because the reality is you can’t control everything all of the time. It’s bigger than you. You physically can’t be in all places at once. You can’t be looking over everyone’s shoulder all the time at the same time. You must learn to trust the people around you and make knowledgeable workers by delegating some of your responsibilities to those on your team.

Worth Remembering – ‘Big things and little things are a leader’s job. Middle management can be delegated.’ – Konosuke Matsushita.

Delegation 101. Eight easy steps to effective delegation.

Step One – Decide what you want to delegate. You must be clear about the task and ensure they have all the tools they will need to complete it.

Step Two – Decide who is capable and, most importantly, who is willing to take on more responsibility.

Step Three – Create a teachable moment. First, demonstrate the task, then have them perform it, and once they have completed the task satisfactorily, leave them alone.

Step Four – Ask open-ended questions to ensure learning has taken place. You need to make sure they know what needs to be done and why.

Step Five – Follow up, follow up and then follow up some more. Make it a point to check in on them now and again to make sure things are still on track.

Step Six – Keep the lines of communication open. Let them know you are here to help them if and when they want it.

Step Seven—Hold them accountable for the results. Standards and quality are not open for debate, but how they accomplish them can be. It doesn’t have to be just your way.

Step Eight – Recognize what has been accomplished and praise their performance.

You don’t appreciate it when someone is looking over your shoulder, watching your every move, and second-guessing every decision you make, so don’t do the same to them. Stop micro-managing. Are you still putting out fires?

Copyright 2025. Brian Smith – Power Link Dynamics. Not to be reproduced without permission. Are you searching for a keynote speaker for your next evernt, planning a webinare or a training session at your location. Contact Brian. He specializes in soft skills training and leadership development. Brian will customize a presentation that is right for you and your organization.

Strengths Overused Can Become A Weakness

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 • Tags: , , , ,

We are who we are and act the way we act because that is who we are. But that might not be a good thing. A strength overused or used in the wrong situation can become a weakness. When you identify why you do what you do, you can learn to modify your behaviour to get a more favourable result. You can learn to act in a way that will get you what you want because if you act the way you usually do, it may be counterproductive to accomplishing your goals.

Worth Remembering – ‘Mastering others is a strength; mastering yourself is true power.’ – Lao Tzu.

We are creatures of habit. We get accustomed to acting a certain way. We know that a good habit produces a good result, just like a bad habit produces a bad result. We know we can learn new habits. Just stop doing one thing and start doing another; if you do it often enough, it will become you. Some experts believe that if you do it twenty-one times in a row, you will create a new habit.

DISC Theory, developed by Dr. William Marston, is a tremendous behavioural assessment tool designed to help you identify your weaknesses. Remember – a strength overused can become a weakness.

Dominant Personalities – Others may see limitations because you can appear unapproachable, insensitive, and impatient with others.

Interpersonal Personalities – Others may see limitations because you can be disorganized, appear superficial in your approach to others, and lack follow-through.

Steadiness Personalities – Others may see limitations because you can be indecisive, you won’t disagree with what you don’t agree with, and resist change for fear of failing.

Conscientious Personalities – Others may see limitations because you can be overly concerned with perfection, act aloof, and stifle creativity by sticking to your plan.

Worth Remembering – ‘Never share your weaknesses with anyone. Your enemies will use them against you.’ – Brian Smith.

Our weaknesses are an integral part of who we are. It’s in our DNA. But they can become our Achilles’ heal. If your weaknesses are getting in the way of accomplishing what you want, you have the power to change how you do it. All you have to do is learn to act in a way that will get you what you want. Remember – a strength overused can become a weakness.

Copyright 2025. Brian Smith – Power Link Dynamics. Not to be reproduced without permission. To learn more about DISC and how it will make you a better team member, manager or leader, visit our website and download a FREE DISC lesson. Are you searching for a keynote speaker for your next event or planning a training session at your location. Brian specializes in soft skills training and leadership development.