Stop Following and Start Leading
Do you have any favourite TV shows? I do and one of them is “The Biggest Loser”. Any show that highlights health and fitness to the nation and how important it is to your well-being, has got to be a good thing.
Sure it’s an ‘unreal’ environment, the exercise regime is excessive and you’ve got to question some of the activities and challenges, however overall it’s very interesting. In an episode this year, one of the team members had to choose the main food supply for the week for his team. The choices were between cabbages and unmarked tinned food.
Now if you were in this situation, had auditioned with thousands of others and made it through to be on a highly recognised prime TV show, and the reason was to lose excessive weight, what would you choose? It was a ‘no-brainer’! Of course he had to decide on cabbages. Who knows what lurked inside those unmarked cans? Many canned goods contain high levels of salt and sugar which are not helpful to losing weight.
Even though they knew it was the right decision to make, some of Shaun’s teammates still became upset.They didn’t moan about the fact that he had made the decision, they were annoyed he hadn’t consulted them first. By the way, Shaun is a great guy so he’d be ‘liked’ by most people. There are times in life, when you just have to make your decisions and get on with it. You can’t please everyone all the time.
I’ve had clients who have been scared to make decisions in case it upset their team. As a small business owner you have to lead from the front and often you’ll need to take control and make your own decisions. No matter who you employ or invest with to help make your business more productive and profitable, it is YOUR business and YOUR money and YOUR lifestyle etc. It is imperative that you trust your own instincts.
Of course there are many times you’ll need input from others, but don’t rely on everyone else to approve what you do first before you take action. This is what you call confidence and if you want to boost your confidence here are 3 easy ways to get started:
1. Get fit and healthy. You’ve heard it so many times before because it works! Regular exercise and a healthy diet will do wonders for your self-esteem, your health and energy levels.
2. Learn how to manage your time and get organised. You’ll feel in control, reduce your stress and anxiety and be in a strong position to make informed decisions. A much better option than being under pressure and making hasty decisions because things have become ‘urgent’.
3. Lead from the Front
Work on yourself more than anything else and make sure you practice what you preach.
Business is crying out for good leaders. Anyone can follow but good leadership is a rare commodity these days. And the reason why many business owners fall short in this area is because they are time poor and neglecting the people issues.
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Lorraine Pirihi, The Productivity Queen, is Australia’s leading Productivity Specialist and creator of “The Productivity and Profit System TM” the complete one-on-one training program for solopreneurs and small businesses that shows business owners exactly how to work less and earn more! To receive your F.R.E.E. CD & Report “3 Steps to Dramatically Reducing Your Workload and Stress While Maximising Your Profit$! ($77 value) go to www.productivityqueen.com.
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