Leadership is not a light switch you can turn on and off at will.
Did you know, to grow your business, you must grow personally?
There is a correlation between personal growth and business success.
Small business owners like us start out believing business success is a result of a great product. That is true to some degree.
Real success is deeper than that because a great product is a result of authentic leadership, character, and integrity.
Leadership, Character, and Integrity cover a large surface area. That being said you can easily see there is much more room to grow in your leadership than in your product.
To make large gains in your business try intentionally growing in one of these three areas first and see what happens. I believe when you grow personally, the rest will follow.
If you don’t know where to start, begin with increasing your leadership.
So lets talk about leadership for a minute. I need to break the myth you've been believing. The myth that there is this magical leadership light-switch you can turn on and off.
Truth: There is no light-switch.
You cannot turn on great leadership at work, and stink at it at home. Detail is the same way. It’s not possible to have a messy car and house, then walk into work, flip the switch to automatically become detailed oriented.
Stop and reflect on that for a moment... How often do you try to be one thing at home and something else at work? It feels like you are about to be ripped apart, like your life is playing tug-o-war and your body is the rope.
Why is this important to you?
It’s important because you want to be successful. You want to reach your potential and have meaning to your life.
The Solution: Do what great leaders do, follow the lead of other great leaders.
Great leaders grow personally. When you become a new you, you will naturally use it in your business.
Real success starts with you.
Its time to be a little selfish by investing in your personal success. Everyone around you will benefit from it.
How can you easily do this?
- Read a book. I recommend anything by John C. Maxwell, Seth Godin, Dan Miller
- Listen to podcasts. My favorites are The Dave Ramsey Show, and TWIT, and Andy Stanley
- Find a mentor. I have many of them. They are like my own personal specialists. They are all great men. I usually go to each one based on who they are. One man is for business advice, one for spiritual, one for marketing, and one for marriage.
- Volunteer for Non-Profit Board. This type of leadership experience will challenge you to new levels in basic leadership, teamwork, and collaboration
Take the lead in your life.
What is leadership? It just means that you go first, you take the initiative to make an impact on your own life first, then it will turn into growth in your business as well.
To your success,
Coach Jeff
FYI - I now have two, one-to-one coaching slots open if you are interested in taking your business to the next level. For more information and a free consultation please contact me here with your interest.
P.S. Have you been to my website recently? I created a fantastic goal setting resource that is yours for free. 360businessinc.com
amen to this blog post. I started a business in 2002 with two partners. I was surprised how much I learned about myself from the added responsibility. This economy finally put that business under at the end of 2011. I am starting over as a sole proprietor now. And learning even more about myself. My personal problems do indeed equal limitations to my business.My walk with God and growth in character is definitely an essential part of my business plan.
ReplyDeleteJerry, glad to hear you have begun the journey to prioritize what's most important. You ARE a great leader, a leader of leaders! You got me thinking that a business plan should include personal growth and a character building plan.
ReplyDelete