If your organization has problems getting results, you may be looking in the wrong place. Find out why you may be contributing to the problem in your business.
You probably won’t like what you’re about to hear, but it needs saying.
The level of results that a service business owner gets from their business all comes down to one thing: it’s the level of leadership that they bring into the business.
Yes, that means what you think it does.
If the business isn’t getting results, it’s not the employees’ fault. It’s not even your vendors’ fault.
One of the big issues today is that everybody wants to pass the blame onto someone else. But here’s the harsh truth:
It’s the leader’s fault.
That’s right!
If the leader isn’t up to par, it doesn’t matter how stellar your team is. You’ll never get the results you want!
But if you’re willing to make some changes and embrace a new strategy, you can turn things around. Find out what you need to do to get the results you want.
The Strategies
Change is difficult for everybody. But if you’re willing to employ some new strategies into your leadership style, you can get the results that you need.
Strategy #1 – Listen Clearly (Before Preparing a Response)
Someone told me a great phrase that I’ve been using to remind myself. They said, “You were not clearly listening as a leader if you’re already preparing a response.”
So how many times do you listen to somebody?
Be honest here…
It’s okay if you say that you fall into the “not listening” category from time to time. We’ve all done it before.
But if you do find yourself preparing your response before listening clearly, remind yourself to stop. Take a deep breath and really take in what you’re hearing.
Only after the speaker finishes should you start formulating a response to what you heard.
Strategy #2 – List Your Strengths and Weaknesses
You have personal strengths and weaknesses. We all do. But how many of us can list them? Let me go one step further.
Because if you know your strengths and weaknesses, you can set out to improve them.
Now, I know that there are plenty of ways that you can go about outlining your strengths and weaknesses. There are some great books out there. Or you can even use an app to do a profile.
The problem with those methods, though, is that we get the results and then just sit on them.
Right?
So, let me give you a simple framework to figure out your strengths and weaknesses. Simply make a traditional list with one side for strengths and the other for weaknesses.
The difficult part about this is getting to the actual truth about yourself. You may have to take a good hard look into who you are and what you do. And what you thought was a strength? It may actually be a weakness.
Strategy #3 – Do a Simple Leadership Survey
Next, it’s time to do a leadership survey with those around you. Ask your family, children, employees, and vendors a couple of questions, like:
- What do you think are my strengths as a leader?
- What do you think my weaknesses are?
Remember, though, that you have to remind them to be brutally honest with you. Because the only way you can change is by being honest.
Strategy #4 – Establish Your Baseline (And Be Willing to Change and Improve)
Once you have the leadership survey, you can establish a baseline. You have what you believe about yourself and how others perceive you.
You and I both know that those two ideas often don’t coincide. And the results may surprise you. But no matter what your survey says, you need to be willing to change and improve.
There’s another component to this as well:
You need to see what holds you back from improving.
You see, there are two things to contend with at this stage.
There’s the story including the limiting beliefs you’ve been telling yourself. And then there are the patterns that turned into habits.
Everybody has good and bad habits.
We all have something that we think is great. On the other side of the coin, there’s always something we want to change.
For example, you may chew your nails and wonder, “How did that happen?” Maybe you had a frustrating day and had a hangnail. And then it happened.
You put your nail in your mouth.
Suddenly, the next time you’re frustrated, you chew on that nail. And now, the pattern turns into a habit.
Now you may hear some people say that you should hire for your weaknesses and stay in your strengths. It’s a good point.
But I think even if you hire for your weakness, you need to understand your weakness enough to communicate it with a high enough level.
Strategy #5 – Recognize That You’re Never Done with Leadership
If you’re waiting to reach the pinnacle of your leadership skills, you’re going to wait a long time.
Why?
You’re constantly growing and evolving as a leader. That means that your work is never really done.
You know the phrase, “The way you do things is the way you do everything” applies to this strategy. I see the way that someone leads at home and the way they lead their business. And there’s a correlation.
Just like family dynamics, relationships in business are always changing. And you’ll find that you’re changing with them. As a leader, you need to learn and adapt to what that dynamic needs.
Embrace Growth to Become a Better Leader
Nobody wants to hear that they’re the reason why they’re having problems in their business. But I believe that every service business leader needs to confront some harsh truths.
And the most important truth is, you may be the reason why you’re not getting the results you want in business.
But it’s not about blame – it’s about accountability.
As soon as you understand that you are the reason why you’re not seeing results, you can start the change process.
Learn how to listen to others, understand your strengths and weaknesses, and do a survey to find out where you are in leadership. When you have that baseline, you can work on stopping those bad habits and work on developing your leadership skills.
Just remember, true leadership is an ongoing process. And if you want to see ongoing results, you’ll have to invest in ongoing growth.
Are you ready to hear more about leadership in your service business? CEO Warrior can help.
