Dr. Earl R. Smith II

Dr. Earl R. Smith II
DrSmith@Dr-Smith.com
www.Dr-Smith.com

There are lots of discussions about what makes a good leader. Many focus on character issues like integrity, honesty, openness or charisma. Others talk about skill sets like communication, literacy, technical capabilities or understanding of finance. Some use words like visionary. Almost all of these discussions focus on the person; who they are and what they do. Yesterday I pulled one of my favorite books off the shelf and settled down to read it for the umpteenth time. As I started the first chapter, I began to think about why I was so looking forward to reading the same words in the same order describing the same characters and actions. It dawned on me that none of that mattered; I was entering a world that I found worth living in. Read the rest of this entry »

Dr. Earl R. Smith II
DrSmith@Dr-Smith.com
www.Dr-Smith.com

The last decade has seen a major shift in attitude towards executive coaching. Ten years ago the most likely engagement would have been with a client who was having serious problems. Organizations tended to hire executive coaches when one or more of their people was either having or causing serious problems. Many would wait until things had progressed to such a state that damage control was the only option. In those days, executive coaches were, more often than not, crisis managers. But things have really changed. Read the rest of this entry »

Dr. Earl R. Smith II
DrSmith@Dr-Smith.com
www.Dr-Smith.com

The Perfectionist: During a recent coaching engagement, I came to realize that a CEO I was working with had a tendency to accentuate the negative. She was heavily committed to building her first successful business – driven to the point of almost maniacal focus on correcting the mistakes of her team. Her behavior was corroding the enthusiasm of her team. I decided to arrange a one-on-one session focused on her management style. Read the rest of this entry »

Dr. Earl R. Smith II
DrSmith@Dr-Smith.com
www.Dr-Smith.com

I recently wrote an article – The Essence of Leadership. In it I described two approaches to leadership. They were based on two recent conversations with ‘leaders’. Out of those conversations came two different approaches to answering the question ‘what makes you a leader’. Read the rest of this entry »

Dr. Earl R. Smith II
DrSmith@Dr-Smith.com
www.Dr-Smith.com

Given all the articles, book, lectures and discussions about leadership, you might hope that CEOs – particularly young ones – might have some idea about what it means to be a leader and, more particularly, what it means for them to be a leader. Such hopes founder on the rocks of the legalistic – and often formalistic – rationalizing that often spews forth from CEO’s trying to assert their ‘authority’ over the team. There are a number of variations on this theme: Read the rest of this entry »

By Dr. Earl R. Smith II
DrSmith@Dr-Smith.com
www.Dr-Smith.com

Leaders are supposed to have a vision that will guide the team towards victory – at least that is what is taught in the post-Fordist focused classes in most MBA programs. This is particularly true in the entrepreneurial parts of those curriculum. However, one of the things that graduate business education tends to do less well is to prepare their graduates for real-world experiences where real people attempt to work together towards some sort of goal. A number of my leadership coaching engagements have been with relatively recent graduates and they all suffered from this blind spot. Read the rest of this entry »

By Dr. Earl R. Smith II
DrSmith@Dr-Smith.com
www.Dr-Smith.com

My leadership coaching engagements tend to focus initially on the habits and leadership style of the client. A first stop on this journey is often the way in which they gather and process information about their team members. Often executives – particularly CEOs – have developed insensitivity or blind spots that prevents them from achieving what I call ‘situational awareness’. The actual dynamics of any situation or relationship largely define what is possible. Lack of a sharply focused awareness of those dynamics is a primary reason why so many potentially powerful and inspirational leaders end up frustrated and ineffective. Improving situational awareness becomes one of the principal goals in leadership development. Read the rest of this entry »

By Dr. Earl R. Smith II
DrSmith@Dr-Smith.com
www.Dr-Smith.com

A successful manager is the one who is able to get the strongest performance from his team. Most high-performance managers have employed an executive coach during their rise to the top. One of reasons that this pattern is so prevalent is that a coach helps bring out the best in the manager – and that helps the manager bring out the best in their team. Qualities that a manager should have and be able to imbue in his team are those that enable his employees to prosper and perform productively. Through the assistance of an executive leadership coach, these skills are nurtured and refined. Here are some of the areas that I work on with clients in my coaching practice: Read the rest of this entry »

By Dr. Earl R. Smith II
DrSmith@Dr-Smith.com
www.Dr-Smith.com

It is the dream of many executives in this world to become a great leader. Some are born leaders while others develop leadership qualities thorough perseverance and diligent work. In my long experience with leadership coaching, the later group is the larger by far – and the most productive. The ‘natural’ is often beaten out by the ‘self-made’ leader. Read the rest of this entry »

By Dr. Earl R. Smith II
DrSmith@Dr-Smith.com
www.Dr-Smith.com

Leadership coaching can help you to improve your leadership and personal growth dramatically. You can enhance your professional and personal relationships with the help of an efficient leadership coach. You can gain confidence and increase productivity. In today’s busy world, many people struggle to balance leadership skills and personal growth. This often results in work stress and family problems. They feel lack of support and a sense of isolation. Read the rest of this entry »