“Are you staying ahead of the curve in most aspects of your business?” You may have cringed in hearing this question, thinking…Annie, who has time for that?
If you are not able to stay ahead, it may be a relief for you to know that the majority of entrepreneurs answer the same. Is there a better way to lead?
Does this sound familiar?
At first light, you wake up feeling the pressure of demands facing your day. Just like the last, nothing slows down. You have a vision for your business, and even now in the midst of this pandemic crisis, you aspire to grow your business and serve your clients even more—yet you can’t catch up, much less stay ahead. You are piled high and weighted down. You realize you don’t know how to repair the bottleneck—because you don’t know what it is—most likely it is you!
This is the wake-up call for entrepreneurs: the reality that you don’t have to do it all yourself. Your leadership makes all the difference. Forgetting this fact cripples team performance and business growth.
Can you relate?
Generally speaking, are you feeling overwhelmed and on the edge of burnout? At times of high stress moments, do you fall into emotionally reactive behaviors toward your team? These are natural defensive human reactions in times of change and intense, complex situations.
When you think about it, you might notice that your actions impede timely decisions and stall team productivity. Why? Because all the decision-making is up to you. Business goals are unclear. The team is not aligned. Self-protective behaviors hinder effective teamwork… I could go on, but you get the idea, right?
For too long you’ve bought into the old business myth—and that is—it’s up to the owner, the CEO, to pull all the weight—to decide, create, communicate, train, problem-solve, take action, achieve results…
If you take one thing away from this blog today, let it be this: That type of authoritarian leadership cannot sustain business growth and functions in today’s rapid, ever-changing global business world. It’s a false, outdated notion.
It takes a team!
Remember, you don’t have to do it all yourself. You can’t! To achieve your desired business outcomes, it takes a multi-talented team. One that works together using their collective abilities and talents. This includes you, the entrepreneur, inspiring, supporting and working in conscious agreement with your team.
In today’s rapidly changing, competitive environment, it is the strength of the team that can carry the company through the unexpected, and through the times that require fast pivots and critically thought-out restructure to move ahead.
Of course you want to stay ahead of the curve in your business! I know you don’t want to push from behind and work in crisis mode. This starts with you and your team getting your processes in sync. It often requires mindset shifts, revised roles and responsibilities, and changes in your leadership habits and behaviors.
I learned early on in my career, company success is all about people and their behaviors. As my team and I work with companies, we teach a better way, and it’s not saying to your team, “just do as I say, leave the thinking to me.” You still may be surprised to hear that success comes from doing quite the opposite.
For the CEO or owner
It starts with your willingness to increase awareness about the essential “business part,” and the development of a united team, the “people part.” This prevents burnout and assures long term success when put into consistent action.
This proven leadership style begins when you choose to learn new behaviors that encourage all your people to grow into Self-Leaders in their roles, right alongside you. This specifically gives team members the authority to think on their own and function in their highest capacity.
We are here if you need us
Remember, human leadership behaviors and business processes are learned. Our “CCORE Empowerment Process” is our method for transforming challenge and stress into effective action so that you can achieve strong business outcomes.
Today, this brief glimpse into leadership style might be a pivotal moment for you. Often, shining light on something you hadn’t thought of before leaves you with more questions about what to do next. If this is you, take us up on an initial free coaching session with one of our executive coaches. Bring us what you feel is your biggest issue/problem right now. One call can help.
This is leadership!
-Annie
