Category Archives: Uncategorized

Stop Trying to Change People

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

Everybody is good at something. Some people are good planners while others are better at executing those plans. Not everyone can sing a song well but they can play an instrument. We’ve listened to great communicators and some who have a difficult time being understood. It’s rare to find someone who is good at everything.

Worth Remembering … “Consider how hard it is to change yourself and you will begin to understand what little chance you have in trying to change others ” – Unknown

You can’t take the stripes off a tiger or rub the spots off a leopard no matter how hard you try. Stop trying to change people. You can’t. You would have more luck trying to herd cats. Trust me it’s darn near impossible. Spend your time putting people in positions where they can do what they do well.

Worth Remembering … “The task of an executive is not to change human beings. The task is to multiply performance capacity of the whole by putting to use whatever strength, whatever health, whatever aspiration there is in individuals.” – Peter F. Drucker

Great leaders do what they do well and surround themselves with the best people they can find who do somethings better then they do. Great leaders understand that success comes from everyone on the team doing what they do well. Play to their strengths and stop trying to change people?

Copyright (c) 2020. Brian Smith – Power Link Dynamics. Not to be reproduced without permission. To find out more about Brian and what he can do for you and your organization visit: https://briansmithpld.com

Learn To Count To Ten

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

According to Wikipedia patience is the ability to endure difficult circumstances such as perserverence in the face of delay; tolerance of provocation without responding in anger; or forbearance when under strain, especially when faced with longer term difficulties. Patience is a much needed 21st Century skill. Some have it in spades, others have to work at it. Picking up a 2X4 and smacking someone on the side of the head may not be the way to go when you are frustrated. You need to learn to count to ten.

Worth Remembering … “Patience is bitter, but it’s fruit is sweet.” – Aristotle

Do you need to develop more patience? Here are some things to keep in mind.

1 – Expect challenges. Expect delays. There is no such thing as a perfect plan. Something will go wrong and when it does, work around it or climb over it.

2 – Go slow to go fast. You don’t want to end up doing things twice. Get all the facts before making a decision, but make a decision in a timely manner. Procrastination is a killer.

3 – Be empathetic. People will make mistakes, everyone does. When things go wrong, fix it, don’t dwell on it.

4 – See the big picture. Don’t get bogged down in the weeds. Keep your eye on the prize. A minor set back is just that. Keep moving forward.

Worth Remembering … “He that can have patience can have what he will.” – Benjamin Franklin

Those that know me best know that patience was never my strong suit. It’s something I have had to work at. I’ve had to bite my tongue on more than one occasion. If you want to be a more effective 21st Century manager or business leader then you need to learn to count to ten.

Copyright (c) 2020. Brian Smith – Power Link Dynamics. Not to be reproduced without permission. To find out more about Brian and what he can do for you and your organization visit: https://briansmithpld.com

.

Are You Using Your Personal Time Wisely?

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

We all have 168 hours in the course of a week. How are you spending your 168? Forget about a balanced life style. There isn’t one. You need to learn to manage your personal time more effectively. Grab a pen and paper and try this little exercise. Take a moment and think about the top 3 things that are most important to you. They can be family, friends, career, etc. Now write those 3 things down on that piece of paper.

Worth Remembering … “Time management is really a misnomer. The challenge we face is not to manage time, but to manage ourselves.” – Stephen Covey

How much time are you spending on the top 3 things that you put on your list? Did you put yourself at the top of that list? We seldom do. You have limited time and energy after you subtract the time you spend at work, sleeping, meals, personal hygiene and other commitments? Make sure you’re spending what time you have left on those 3 things that are most important to you.

Worth Remembering … “It is not enough to be busy. The question is what are you busy about?” – Henry David Thoreau

Time in is not a renewable resource. If you want to avoid the time crunch make sure you are scheduling some of your personal time each week on what you value the most. Time management is life management. How we manage our time is how we manage our life. Most people on their death bed regret not spending enough time on what brought them joy and contentment. Are you using your personal time wisely?

Copyright (c) 2020. Brian Smith – Power Link Dynamics. Not to be reproduced without permission. To find out more about Brian and what you can do for you or your organization visit https://briansmithpld.com

Three Must-Have Leadership Skills

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

If you do a Google search for the top ten traits of great leaders more than likely you will find having the ability to make quality decisions, able to pass work on to others and being exceptional communicators on that list. Managing and leading others is a learned behavior. For my money, if I had to pick my top three must-have leadership skills they would be communication, decision making and delegation. Of those three, which one do you need to get better at?

Worth Remembering … “Before you become a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.” – Jack Welch

Communicator: If the essence of communication is to send the message and have it received the way it was intended, then you must keep in mind that you are not the most important person in the conversation. If you can’t communicate in a style that others will understand, then what ever you say will mean absolutely nothing. You must be able to communicate your vision in such a way that others will want to go there.

Decision Maker: Autocratic vs. Democratic. Inclusion not exclusion is the only way to truly get buy-in. Success is a team effort. If they’re not buying what you are selling you are going to look pretty silly trying to do everything by yourself. If you want to get the buy-in you must allow others to be part of the process. It must be Our plan – not just Your plan.

Delegator: Great leaders give up control to get control. If you are not delegating some of your responsibilities to others on your team then you are robbing them of their opportunity to grow. Great leaders develop more leaders not more followers. Great leaders don’t spend their precious time doing tasks that others are more than capable of doing.

Worth Remembering … “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” – Benjamin Franklin

Copyright (c) 2020. Brian Smith – Power Link Dynamics. Not to be reproduced without permission. To find out more about Brian and what he can do for you and your organization visit: https://briansmithpld.com or email: brian@briansmithpld.com