Can you lead your company and enjoy the wild ride at the same time? It's difficult, but not impossible. Exhilaration, despair, confidence, uncertainty, success, and failure. It is totally worth it.
Itโs been one heck of a ride
You started your company several years ago.
In the early days, you sold every client, and you were the one they called when they needed help.
Years later, they still want you to be their primary contact.
You set the tone for your culture; your personality was the culture, and it was fun.
You became the accountant, head of HR, director of marketing, sales lead, customer retention specialist, custodian, and technologist.
Youโve worn every hat and tried to lead your company well.
Youโve handed off some of your work and hired good people to handle it, but youโre still heavily involved in every aspect of your business.
Your transition from Founder to CEO has meant giving up some of the things you find comfortable and growing new skills.
All while you continue working toward the company you envisioned when you started. You believe in your dream, wild ride and all.
Every day offers a new challenge, a new victory, and it's exhilarating.
It's Harder Than You Thought To Lead Your Company
You frequently work into the evenings and through the weekends, telling yourself, โThis wonโt last long...โ
But youโve been repeating that phrase for years now.
Your kids arenโt getting younger. Youโve started to feel pangs of guilt for missing a class play, a sporting event, or opportunities for conversation and connection. You tell yourself, โI wonโt let that happen againโฆโ
Even when youโre not at work, youโre thinking about it.
Work pulls you in even during vacations or a long weekend. It feels like things will spin out of control unless youโre there.
You excuse yourself to check in, read email, answer questions, and call customers. You tell yourself, โThis wonโt take more than a few minutes...โ
Members of your team feel compelled when they are away to do the same; they are following your example.
The weight of work has tired you out, however. Youโre usually too exhausted to enjoy time with your family or friends. A night out is just another item on your to-do list.
And you tell yourself, โIโll get out of this season soon...โ
However, you don't know how or when that will happen.
You find yourself fighting off despair, reminding yourself how valuable your dream is to customers. You doubt yourself as you press forward.
Even so, the good still outweighs the hard stuff of being an entrepreneur.
You've Built a Great Team
In the early days, you scraped by and added a team member when you could.
You and your growing team crammed into one office. There were shared desks, and you worked as one. You celebrated like crazy over every sale and new customer.
When times were lean, you didnโt pay yourself so you could pay your team.
At first, growth happened because you made it happen, and then your team made it happen even more.
You added office space when necessary, and now your team has outgrown what seemed cavernous when you signed the lease.
Youโve hired great team members (and some bad ones). Youโve had to part ways with several along the way. Some left for greener grass. Either way, it was a blow to your gut.
Youโve learned a ton of lessons. Building and leading your team have been the most rewarding and the most difficult.
You have high confidence in your team, the growth opportunities ahead, and the future new office space you're evaluating.
Success Is Just Around The Next Corner
Somewhere along the way, you cobbled together an employee manual. Policies. Procedures. Administration. It needs updating.
Youโve worked on deals for weeks and months only to have them fall through at the last moment. It always seemed to be the time when you desperately needed the cash infusion, so you had to scramble.
Success always seems just around the corner.
Now your company has a line of credit that youโve used to cover operations, and you canโt seem to pay it down no matter how much you grow.
The uncertainty is always in the back of your mind. It casts a shadow on the good things happening. It doesn't keep you awake at night; instead, it fuels your desire to drive your dream to success.
The ride may be bumpy, but it is totally worth it.
The next big customer you land, the next product release, the A player hire.
Just around the next corner.
One of these will be the event that fuels success, and then you can finally relax a little.
You Need Space to Dream Again
After you catch your breath, youโll finally have something you never seem to have enough of – time.
Extended periods to work on your business rather than in it.
Time to fix any issues and lead your company and teams.
Opportunities to dream again and to plan long term, then recapture your vision for the business.
Certainly, those moments are coming soon, and they're just around the corner. Right?
You keep telling yourself, your team, and your family that it is.
You canโt count the number of times youโve sat in your car outside your office or at home, gathering the energy to go inside. Practicing your smile & being positive, rehearsing the encouraging things you will say, and hiding the extreme pressure you feel.
It feels like you are completely isolated, and you've never felt so alone.
As a result, little decisions have become monumental, and you dwell on them. Indecision rules your day. No one knows.
You thought it would be easier by now, but the workload is still relentless.
You Can Make It Fun Again
Your team is putting in long hours just like you.
How you lead your company is how your team leads.
As youโve grown, youโve seen the culture is shifting away from your dream of a fast-paced, collaborative team.
The ride is getting bumpy. You've begun to notice some internal bickering, lowered standards, politics, and even some finger-pointing.
Youโve given pep talks to your team when you struggled to believe the words you were saying and hoped no one saw through your charade. It always makes you uncomfortable, but after todayโs meetings, you know thereโs a good chance youโll have to do it again soon.
If you let yourself dwell on the overwhelming challenges, it feels like failure is imminent. You know the solution is to focus on the positive, remind your team of your mission, and press forward.
Leading is seldom easy.
Itโs not fun as it once was, but itโs not so bad that you want to quit. You can make it fun again, though. Right?
Sometimes It's Hard To Be Around Other Entrepreneurs
When you meet with other entrepreneurs, they seem to have it all together. They just landed a massive contract with a new client. Theyโre busier than ever and hiring fast.
But you already know this. You saw them featured recently in the local press highlighting the impressive moves theyโre making.
When youโre together, you talk about surface things and donโt reveal your big challenges.
It would help if you had insight, but donโt want to appear weak. You walk away from conversations feeling inadequate.
Sometimes it feels like a slow downward spiral, but you know in your core that success will come for you, your team, and your family.
Your Advisors Tell You to Buck Up
You are confident you and your team will be successful.
Youโve got a great opportunity. Itโs just a few tweaks separating you from these other entrepreneurs. You just didnโt think it would take this long, be this challenging, or be this wildly unpredictable ride.
Your advisors tell you to keep at it. Grit, tenacity, and determination are hallmarks of successful entrepreneurs, they say. Lean in, they tell you.
However, if youโre honest, it feels youโre continually pressing into walls.
You keep hearing the typical answer – you should meet challenges with increasing effort.
But youโre not sure how much effort you have left or how much longer you can keep this up.
Itโs taking a toll on your health and your relationships.
Youโre questioning your dreams.
But you canโt quit.
Even if you did have an exit strategy, youโre in no place to execute on it.
Thatโs a whole other challenge youโre not ready for; thereโs too much else on your mind.
Step Back and Honestly Evaluate
What you are living is the common entrepreneurial experience, not the exception. Knowing how to lead your company and yourself is an ongoing challenge.
You can reach your dream.
There is a path forward: You must become an Intentional Leader.
No, itโs not an easy fix, but starting today, you can change the dynamic youโve been living with for years now and shed off layers of stress.
Positive changes in your company start with you.
Are there habits youโve let slip in that hurt the culture?
Can you name a few times you havenโt allowed a team member to grow because you didnโt want to take your hands off the wheel?
Are you always in a reactive vs. proactive mode?
Do you work on your highest leverage activities every day?
Honestly asking and answering questions like these will help you move forward.
Approach Your Corner Differently To Lead Your Company
As you start the process of upgrading your leadership, you begin to see where you can make changes.
Success is just around the corner; maybe you need to approach your corner differently.
Block off time today and tomorrow and create space to think and dream again.
Cancel that โurgentโ meeting and let go of things someone else can do better than you. Wake up early. Lock yourself in a closet. Do whatever it takes to make it happen.
Focus on how to lead your company and yourself.
Reset the culture based around your values and gain clarity on where youโre taking your business.
You can do it with a pen and a notepad, the key is to start.
You'll thank yourself a few months from now.
If you have any questions about changing how you lead your company, leave a comment, or shoot me a message.
Becoming an Intentional Leader is your choice.
Itโs time to start enjoying the ride again.
It is totally worth it!
You can do this.
Note: This article was also published on LinkedIn and Medium
Photo Sources:
Special thanks to Joel Rogers at CoasterGallery.com for permission to use his photo of The Beast at Kings Island. I've ridden The Beast hundreds of times since it first opened in 1979, and it is exhilarating every single time.
Other Photos:
Cleaner and Paper Towels: Crystal de Passillรฉ-Chabot via Unsplash: https://bit.ly/2WXHbQ9; Boy on Beach: Vanessa Bumbeers via Unsplash – https://bit.ly/2ErE0ck; Office Space: Austin Distel via Unsplash https://bit.ly/2WraCu0; Street: Joacim Bohlander via Unsplash – https://bit.ly/2Esxhii; Woman in Car: armin nosrati via Unsplash – https://bit.ly/2ErZh5J; Meeting: Campaign Creators via Unsplash https://bit.ly/2WlQuJt; UGH Coffee: Nathan Dumlao via Unsplash https://bit.ly/2Wm5JlP; Exit Sign: Hello I'm Nik via Unsplash: https://bit.ly/2WXZFQE; Driver: Samuele Errico Piccarini via Unsplash https://bit.ly/2X00Xuz
