Let’s talk about leadership. At its core, we’re all leaders on some level. No matter what you do people are watching and evaluating you. Some choose to follow you.
This is especially true as a business owner.
What we do and more importantly how we are as people has a huge impact on our success or otherwise.
Which starts with self-leadership and self-awareness. What motivates us. How we act and respond to circumstances.
What our vision is for what we want to achieve. What impact we want to make.
We need discipline. Working out our priorities. Setting a direction and charting course. Determining goals and milestones. Actively taking the right steps along the way.
Now I’ll be the first to admit this is easier said than done.
Personally I’m a very disciplined person in certain contexts. Food is one of them. As someone who has to watch his blood sugar levels, I’m very disciplined about what I eat. It’s a rare day that I eat chocolate even though I love it.
The issue is carrying this into business contexts.
Like most of our clients I like doing certain things and not others. So there are times I have to force myself to do stuff I don’t necessarily like – until it becomes habitual.
I don’t always look at the big picture. Why I need to do something.
I get distracted by bright shiny objects.
I often think I don’t know enough. “I’ll just read that additional book, watch that video, do another course etc.”
BTW, it’s the “feeling like a fraud” complex we all have to some degree no matter what our level of experience and expertise.
I don’t know if you relate to any of this.
Having said that, these are some of the lessons I’ve learned over the decades.
Resilience. The ability to take setbacks in my stride. I’m not saying it’s easy at the time. But there are always lessons that come if you reflect on them.
I’m always reminded of the saying, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” I’ve always tried to live up to this.
Mistakes won’t kill me. I will make them. Learn from them and don’t beat myself up.
Get support. No man (or woman) is a island. We all need support and asking for help is a strength – not a weakness. People love to be aske for their help and in my experience feel honoured to be asked.
Integrity & Loyalty. It should be a given. Treat people with respect and they’ll (mostly) return the favour. One of my highest values is loyalty.
Self-Care. Airlines tell you to put your own oxygen mask on first. Unless we’re looking after ourselves first, we can’t effectively look after others.
If you’ve read this far and can relate, what’s your level of self-leadership? How are you leading your business?
We work with our clients via our Better Business Reboot program to perform a thorough assessment of the current state, identifying areas for improvement, and implementing changes to improve performance. This may involve changing strategy, revamping marketing and sales efforts, streamlining service offerings, or restructuring people and operations.
We implement a solid expansion plan providing a framework for decision making, helping you stay focused while minimising risks.
So if you feel your business could do with a reboot in one or more areas, drop me a note. We’ll have a preliminary no obligation conversation and take it from there.
