18 Leadership Lessons from 18 Years Leading My Own Business

1. Your mindset is your foundation

Leaders can possess the greatest skills in strategy, planning, communication skills and other areas, but your mindset can hijack you or support you. Finding ways to manage the more destructive self-talk and thinking (I call this the destructive self) and realise your potential (the potential self) needs proven and consistent strategies.

2. Know your direction

Your vision needs to be worked on collaboratively with your team, shared with them and kept in mind continually. I suggest you focus on a 3 year vision for where you want to be in each key area of your business, then drill down to 1 year and finally 90 days. The 3 year vision can be more aspirational and a time to think big! Your 90 day plans should be specific and realistic. Everyone should know and commit to the direction of travel.

3. Work on developing your identity

Both in terms of the leader you aspire to be (your values, habits and the styles you will employ) and the identity for your organisation. This work will drive your behaviours and those of your team.

4. Work on your habits and behaviours

These include your daily behaviours, but also regular habits like reviewing your strategy, looking at key measures for the business, keeping on top of the financials and the point below. My most effective daily habit is to always plan the next day at the end of the previous day.

5. Plan every day in advance

Leading on from number 4, at the end of each day I plan my next day. Don’t allow yourself to become too reactive, especially with the myriad of emails hitting your inbox. Plan your day and allocate time for the important areas that are not urgent, like strategy and planning.

6. Have quality time with your people

This means both team meetings and 121s for your key reports. Make this purposeful and time box these meetings with a clear agenda and outcomes. Ensure your people know and are accountable for their objectives and tasks. Also take time to praise your people for jobs well done.

7. Develop and nurture your contacts

It can provide support, potential suppliers and opportunities. Always look to help others and come from a place of service. One day the positive energy will come back to you in some way.

8. Take time out for creativity and knowledge

On a regular basis, ensure you have time (ideally away from the normal office environment) to allow for some physical and psychological space. It is in the quiet that you have your best ideas. Stimulate this with some good reading and training.

9. Never neglect life outside work

Your work as a leader can be incredibly rewarding, but sometimes too consuming. Don’t ever neglect your family, your friends and the things outside work that mean a lot to you.

10. Celebrate the good stuff and learn from the mistakes

Every day I capture at least 5 good things about the day. When really good stuff happens take time out (with your people) to celebrate this and see the progress and growth. When things go wrong, individually and collectively look at this as a learning opportunity and take the key points as reference for the future.

11. Develop yourself continuously

Read, listen to podcasts, go to seminars & training courses, hire a coach and continuously look to grow and develop your skills.

12. Prioritise your health

Any signs of health issues, get them looked into and act on the advice. Don’t let health issues develop without remedy or treatment.

13. Be agile

In times of difficulty (like those faced during 2020) be ready to change your plans speedily, make bold decisions and keep a constant eye on the finances and other key elements of the business.

14. Enjoy what you do

During all the challenges of the past 12 months I have lost sight of this at times myself. I also see other business owners and leaders who seem to have lost the joy in what they do. They may have a good level of success, but they don’t appear to enjoy what they do anymore. If we aren’t enjoying our roles, it’s time to either change the way we are seeing things or change what we do. We always have choices.

15. Don’t take too much on your shoulders but look to others

As a senior leader or business owner it’s important to look at the responsibilities you have (and take on) and ensure your time is well spent on the right tasks. For other tasks it’s wise to look at options to get these off your shoulders. This can mean delegating, outsourcing, consulting, finding suppliers or working with partners.

16. Be bold, move out your comfort zone and take risks

We are very much impacted by our survival instinct trying to keep us safe. In modern life those fears can hold us back unnecessarily. It’s not about taking steps that will terrify us, but taking continual steps and decisions that enable us to grow. There is risk in this, but there is often great risk in staying still.

17. Future pace your business

The working world will continue to change dramatically over the next few years. Remote working and the demands for this from employees will increase, so we will need to become more and more results focused (and less focused on time spent). AI is already impacting the business world significantly, so if you don’t have an AI strategy for your business, it’s time to develop one. Keeping a constant eye on the future has never been more critical for us all in business!

18. Focus on your NEWS

Definitely not the news you hear every day on the TV but your Nutrition, Exercise, Water (hydration) and Sleep. I find leaders often look for complex solutions to the challenges of leading a business and people, but it’s critical to start with the right foundation. How you show up with your team, your clients and your business in general will be directly impacted by those 4 elements. Score yourself out of 10 for each and for any 7 or less work on a plan to take you closer to 9 or 10. You will see the impact on your results!

I hope you find at least one of these tips insightful and useful.

If you would like to explore any of them in more detail, drop me a line or give me a call.

Finally, if you would like any support with your Leadership journey contact me on 07912 143 040 or email me at tony@theleadershiptrainingworkshop.com.