Over years of leading organizations, I always struggled with an internal conflict. I knew that we as a team, and as a company, could be greater than we were. But at the time, it felt like nothing was moving fast enough for me even though I couldn’t slow down long enough to catch my breath. Daily I struggled to free up my time to focus on the bigger picture, time that seemed to always be eaten up by recovering from mistakes and getting in the weeds of small details preventing us from moving towards our ultimate goals. On one hand, I loved what I did for work and I loved the challenges of running the business. On the other hand, I felt like I was Failing with a capital F at leadership.
Maybe you’ve been there too? Maybe this is your current reality?
Now, I often hear leaders I’m coaching speak about what others are doing or not doing. It is common to see these executives and business owners feeling stuck in a cycle of blame and disappointment.
I invite them, and all of us, to cut out the noise and focus on ourselves and what we can control. I believe that taking personal responsibility to ask the tough questions and setting our own standards by inviting others to follow along is the only true way to lead. To lead by example means to be a person worth following. Your goals don’t need compromising; your actions need to show people the direction you’re headed and quietly invite them to join you on the journey or choose another path.
Maybe this resonates with you to some degree but seems not that easy because the amount of responsibility that’s piled onto you at this given moment is more than you can control.
Is it more than you can control?
What if I told you that everything is in your power and nothing is in your control and accepting that is the first step of breaking free from this cycle?
Do you genuinely have a desire to create a positive impact for those you serve? Do you want to lead your organization, your customers, and the people you work for and with well? I know I do. Like me, most people who step into leadership were never trained to be great leaders. So then, do we need to take a course on leadership? Or are we required to hire someone who has already finished their degree and has experience being a great leader to take on that role in our companies? Maybe. And yet, YOU must become the leader you want to see lead YOUR company. Regardless of who you put in place to surround you to help accomplish your goals, this is a mission you can’t escape.
This blog series is an answer to the leadership challenge. Beyond strategy, tactics, and managing personalities, this series uncovers the root of true leadership and offers a step-by-step process that anyone can follow to become a true leader by first leading themselves.
Your business will only grow as much as you do. Your business can only be as good as you are. As a leader, your team will only ever rise to the level in which you lead yourself.
These posts are about the mindset we need to lead our organization, and ourselves, to greatness.
This doesn’t happen by magic or accident; it only happens with intentionality and action.
Included in these posts are journal prompts and step-by-step guidance for developing the habits to evolve your mindset and your leadership.
If this is the ONLY thing you focus on (not that I expect you to) for 90 solid days, I promise you that the people around you will see the change and that the results will speak for themselves when you commit to being the change you want to see.
You may ask yourself, what will I gain by focusing on developing myself even more as a leader? If I make this commitment, what will change? The short answer is, your whole world. The way you see everything will change. And as a result of enjoying this journey and making positive changes, you will (just by being you) show others how to become their own heroes. That’s my definition of leadership.
This is a lifelong journey, and it doesn’t start and stop here. It isn’t just about leading a team. What I’m talking about is about taking ownership of your life and leading yourself to the full potential I know you know you have. This is about evolving yourself into a leader in every aspect of your life. If you choose to commit to this, you are choosing to become the hero in your own story.
I too am still very much still on this journey. As someone who helps guide other leaders every day, I wake up every day to serve. To do that, I have to believe I am the hero of my story and that the power to lead lives within me and within each of us, if we answer the call.
These next ten posts will guide you to get above where you’re currently sitting so you can lead a life that inspires and attracts the right people to work with you and make the type of impact you want to see in the world. As the hero of our own journeys, we all start out in the ordinary world on the search for the magic elixir — our reward — true leadership. This blog series is the roadmap for your own hero’s journey.