Knowing how to lead your business and teams is a constant challenge. As your company matures, you have to grow into the CEO role your company deserves.
At our startup, we would meet with a potential client, troubleshoot a glitch, take out the trash, answer a customer call, then race to another meeting.
And that was before lunch.
Each day was relentless and the “hats” we wore were unlimited. Whatever needed to be done (and a lot that didn't), we'd put that hat on – if only for a moment. Like that typical morning, our hats were mostly random. We really didn't know how to operate and grow our business.
Can Your Company Survive Without You?
As an owner, hundreds of items cross your desk each day and demand your time. A list of โto-do'sโ greet you each morning, and there are frequent fires that have to be put out.
Your company canโt survive without you.
Or so you think.
Indispensable is the LAST place you should be in if you want to truly lead your business and your teams.
If your company would grind to a halt without you, you are in survival mode, and your business wonโt ever become what it could be.
In fact, you won'tย survive.
Are You a Random Leader or an Intentional Leader?
Once you begin to grow customers, a team, and revenue, to grow your business (and yourself), you need to switch from expending energy on everyday tasks to focusing on the CORE priorities that require your leadership and shedding or delegating everything else. Learning how to lead your business will pay significant dividends.
Those “hundreds of to-do items?” One strategy is to pick one or two and get busy.
Go all out and multitask while you're at it. Call each one a โpriority,โ and hope there is a payoff to the company.
Pick a handful each day. Rinse and repeat the next day. Work through your weekends for good measure.
I like to call that approach the Random Leader. You are leading your company and your teams in ever-changing directions.
When you are a Random Leader, your company and your teams are at the mercy of your daily whims. Being a Random Leader is not how you lead your business.
But there is a better way.ย MUCH better.
You have time to dedicate your attention to only one or two priorities in a day if you expect to make real progress.
But understanding what IS a priority takes forethought grounded in the purpose of your company. Random Leaders seldom make this distinction.
Your CORE priorities are something you set in advance intentionally. You then determine that you will dedicate 90% of your attention to your priorities, and discipline yourself to stick to them.
Knowing Your CORE priorities and focusing your attention on them makes you an Intentional Leader.
The Intentional Leader Framework
Hereโs a simplified version of the initial exercise in the framework I guide my clients through to identify their CORE priorities.
The goal is to transform a Random Leader into the Intentional Leader who knows hows to lead their business.
Start by asking yourself a simple question: “Can my business run without me?”
If your answer is “Yes,” congratulations!ย Stop reading and take the next week off.
In our business, we were never able to answer “Yes.” Our potential suffered, and we missed opportunities.
If you answer “No” as we would have,ย you have some work to do so that you can change your trajectory. Your company's survival depends on you taking action.
Proceed to the next step: Close your door, put your computer to sleep, and silence your phone.
Yes, I know you donโt have time, but you never will until you take this time.
Random or Intentional? Your choice.
On a sheet of paper, write out why your company exists in one sentence. Just below that, write out how your role as owner or CEO supports that purpose. Keep it to one sentence.
Below that, make two columns. On the left use bullet points to identify the four to six key roles you the Intentional Leader, as the CEO, must fulfill to support your company and your teams.
These are your CORE priorities. Remember, just four to six priorities in this column.
In the right column, write out everything you do during a day plus what is on your mind that you “should” do.
Finally, match each bullet in the left column to every activity in the right column.
If you are like most owners, what you find yourself doing every day barely resembles what your day should look like if you were to focus on the CORE priorities for your business.
You won't find matches for the majority of your right column activities. Know why? You shouldn't be doing them!
Only Intentional Leaders Can Be Real CEOs
Being a CEO is about finding alignment between your CORE priorities with the purpose of your business, and doing the few things that really matter to your company and teams.
Thereโs a fair amount of effort involved in identifying your CORE priorities and making the transformation to Intentional Leader. Clearly seeing this difference between what youโre doing and what an Intentional Leader does is the first step in becoming the CEO your company and teams deserve.
Be honest:ย Are you leading from the left column, or following your whims in the right column?
Take Action
Once youโve done this exercise, you have the first tool to become an Intentional Leader. Start working toward that today.
If youโre interested in learning how to lead your business from the left column, send me a message or click the calendar picture toย book a time.
We'll discuss your CORE priorities and transforming into the Intentional Leader your company and teams deserve.
Photo Sources:ย
Startup Group: Ottawa Startup Weekend via Flickr – https://bit.ly/2UivDWl; To-Do List: Flaviu Lupoian via Freeimages.com https://bit.ly/2UlLiED; Dice: Andrzej Pobiedziลski via Freeimages.com https://bit.ly/2UnEPc3; Planing: erdogan ergun via Freeimages.com https://bit.ly/2UmW3GJ; Spiral Notebook: Thiago Rodrigues da Silva via Freeimages.com https://bit.ly/2UlOJv1; Calendar: Dafne Cholet via Flickr: https://bit.ly/2Un66vj
At our startup, we would meet with a potential client, troubleshoot a glitch, take out the trash, answer a customer call, then race to another meeting.
And that was before lunch.
Each day was relentless and the “hats” we wore were unlimited. Whatever needed to be done (and a lot that didn't), we'd put that hat on – if only for a moment. Like that typical morning, our hats were mostly random. We really didn't know how to operate and grow our business.
Can Your Company Survive Without You?
As an owner, hundreds of items cross your desk each day and demand your time. A list of โto-do'sโ greet you each morning, and there are frequent fires that have to be put out.
Your company canโt survive without you.
Or so you think.
Indispensable is the LAST place you should be in if you want to truly lead your business and your teams.
If your company would grind to a halt without you, you are in survival mode, and your business wonโt ever become what it could be.
In fact, you won'tย survive.
Are You a Random Leader or an Intentional Leader?
Once you begin to grow customers, a team, and revenue, to grow your business (and yourself), you need to switch from expending energy on everyday tasks to focusing on the CORE priorities that require your leadership and shedding or delegating everything else. Learning how to lead your business will pay significant dividends.
Those “hundreds of to-do items?” One strategy is to pick one or two and get busy.
Go all out and multitask while you're at it. Call each one a โpriority,โ and hope there is a payoff to the company.
Pick a handful each day. Rinse and repeat the next day. Work through your weekends for good measure.
I like to call that approach the Random Leader. You are leading your company and your teams in ever-changing directions.
When you are a Random Leader, your company and your teams are at the mercy of your daily whims. Being a Random Leader is not how you lead your business.
But there is a better way.ย MUCH better.
You have time to dedicate your attention to only one or two priorities in a day if you expect to make real progress.
But understanding what IS a priority takes forethought grounded in the purpose of your company. Random Leaders seldom make this distinction.
Your CORE priorities are something you set in advance intentionally. You then determine that you will dedicate 90% of your attention to your priorities, and discipline yourself to stick to them.
Knowing Your CORE priorities and focusing your attention on them makes you an Intentional Leader.
The Intentional Leader Framework
Hereโs a simplified version of the initial exercise in the framework I guide my clients through to identify their CORE priorities.
The goal is to transform a Random Leader into the Intentional Leader who knows hows to lead their business.
Start by asking yourself a simple question: “Can my business run without me?”
If your answer is “Yes,” congratulations!ย Stop reading and take the next week off.
In our business, we were never able to answer “Yes.” Our potential suffered, and we missed opportunities.
If you answer “No” as we would have,ย you have some work to do so that you can change your trajectory. Your company's survival depends on you taking action.
Proceed to the next step: Close your door, put your computer to sleep, and silence your phone.
Yes, I know you donโt have time, but you never will until you take this time.
Random or Intentional? Your choice.
On a sheet of paper, write out why your company exists in one sentence. Just below that, write out how your role as owner or CEO supports that purpose. Keep it to one sentence.
Below that, make two columns. On the left use bullet points to identify the four to six key roles you the Intentional Leader, as the CEO, must fulfill to support your company and your teams.
These are your CORE priorities. Remember, just four to six priorities in this column.
In the right column, write out everything you do during a day plus what is on your mind that you “should” do.
Finally, match each bullet in the left column to every activity in the right column.
If you are like most owners, what you find yourself doing every day barely resembles what your day should look like if you were to focus on the CORE priorities for your business.
You won't find matches for the majority of your right column activities. Know why? You shouldn't be doing them!
Only Intentional Leaders Can Be Real CEOs
Being a CEO is about finding alignment between your CORE priorities with the purpose of your business, and doing the few things that really matter to your company and teams.
Thereโs a fair amount of effort involved in identifying your CORE priorities and making the transformation to Intentional Leader. Clearly seeing this difference between what youโre doing and what an Intentional Leader does is the first step in becoming the CEO your company and teams deserve.
Be honest:ย Are you leading from the left column, or following your whims in the right column?
Take Action
Once youโve done this exercise, you have the first tool to become an Intentional Leader. Start working toward that today.
If youโre interested in learning how to lead your business from the left column, send me a message or click the calendar picture toย book a time.
We'll discuss your CORE priorities and transforming into the Intentional Leader your company and teams deserve.
Photo Sources:ย
Startup Group: Ottawa Startup Weekend via Flickr – https://bit.ly/2UivDWl; To-Do List: Flaviu Lupoian via Freeimages.com https://bit.ly/2UlLiED; Dice: Andrzej Pobiedziลski via Freeimages.com https://bit.ly/2UnEPc3; Planing: erdogan ergun via Freeimages.com https://bit.ly/2UmW3GJ; Spiral Notebook: Thiago Rodrigues da Silva via Freeimages.com https://bit.ly/2UlOJv1; Calendar: Dafne Cholet via Flickr: https://bit.ly/2Un66vj
