The beginning of the year is often a really useful time to take stock of your business; your objectives and priorities, and how you’re going to achieve them. It’s very possible to raise your leadership game in 2021, by making just a few manageable changes. If you’re ready to step up to the challenge, then read on. We’re going to look at six practical game-changers that you can get to work with right away.
1.Leave some unplanned time in your diary
If you take a look back over your schedule from the last few months of 2020, you’ll probably notice a trend. Most of your time is earmarked for certain events, internal or external meetings, networking, and so on. It’s wise to be organised, but don’t forget the value of having some regular unplanned time in your diary, so you can focus on handling issues in the moment or actually working on the business rather than just “in it”
2.Just say no
It’s all too easy to fall into the trap of chasing every opportunity that comes your way. But it’s impossible to do everything and sustain a successful business. It’s all about carefully understanding why your role needs to exist and then constructing what your role needs to deliver as a leader, whatever leadership role you are in! If in doubt, ask yourself what your priorities need to be right now to get you to where you want to be.
3.Delegate one task from your agenda
Being a business owner involves knowing when you need to hand things over and let go! You just can’t manage everything on your own. Many people struggle with this though and hesitate when it comes to handing over to someone else. Do yourself a favour this week and pass a task on to your management team. It’s vital that you aren’t the only person within your company that can do any one thing.
4.Forget about work for one evening or maybe a week or two?
Taking work home is often a necessity. You can talk about work-life balance all day long, but there’s no denying that sacrifices have to be made on the road to success. If you have absolutely zero distinction between your business and personal life though, you’re going to reach serious burnout sooner rather than later. Take the evening off, even better, take a week or two off and switch off. Read a book. Watch a box set. Do absolutely nothing. You might be surprised by what this teaches you, and the subconscious thinking and planning you could do when your batteries are re-charged. You will be no good to anyone when you are stressed out, burnt out and can’t think straight or make a decision.
5.Do that one thing that you’ve been putting off
It’s human nature to avoid the tasks that you dread. In certain situations, though this can seriously hold you back as a leader. Perhaps you know that you need to have a difficult conversation with a team member, but you haven’t quite managed to make yourself just do it. This week get it out the way. If you need some help to manage and structure that conversation, give us a call at Meraki HR, we’d be happy to give you some practical help to ensure you get the task you’ve been outing off done, plus I bet when you have done it, it wasn’t as bad as you thought it would be!
6.Turn your routine on its head
Routine can be a wonderful thing, but it’s worth considering whether you’ve fallen into the trap of just doing certain things because they’re what you’ve always done. Shake things up to avoid getting stuck in a rut. If you can get into the habit of experimenting with this, you’re likely to make big discoveries in terms of your motivation and productivity.
What can we do to help?
Being a leader can be massively rewarding, but it can be a tough job at the same time. You probably started your business because you wanted to bring your solution to market, or are the MD in a business because you are the technical expert or specialist in your chosen field, or the best business brain on the planet, so maybe the people management and leadership side of things is something that you never willingly signed up for or have had any support or training in.
If this all sounds like you, then we can help. We can support you to help you achieve your goals through your people and ensure that you reach your full leadership potential via our Highly Effective Leaders Program (HELP) which is designed to help business owners and leaders like you become the best leader they can be. We have some fabulous facilitators that you will learn from, as well as learning from the other leaders on the program. You can find out more about The Highly Effective Leaders Program 2021
Or you can book a virtual cuppa with me to see whether this is the right program for you by accessing my diary right here; https://bit.ly/CallMerakiHR
