I had the pleasure of catching up with a trusted friend and mentor yesterday who also happens to be the CEO and leader of a broking company. I prepared myself for what I thought would be a depressing lunch, listening to the woes of the almost apocalyptic times and what it meant for his business and the future. Not so. He surprised me!
His take on it, “Oh look, ebbs and flows. Let’s talk about you.”
Really? That’s it?
My mentor’s reaction got me thinking about my own business. Like many solo entrepreneurs, the weight of the economy has felt heavy of late. Being in business on your own means that your finger is on the pulse of absolutely everything so things seem magnified. My budget, for instance, came under scrutiny as a result of the economic climate. But why should it have?
Paying attention to drama is unproductive. Worrying about it is doubly so. You see, drama is interesting rather than useful. Leaders see the drama and simply observe, steeling their gaze on their vision and the way forward, carrying on with the tasks to get there. Their attitude is: keep doing the simple things right and it will all be a-ok.
As business owners, we are our own leaders.
And as our own leaders, we need to steel our gaze on our vision and the way forward AND remind ourselves just how we got to this position in the first place. Your sheer determination, hard work, grit and perhaps a few tears got you this far.
Something I like to do when facing troubled times is look back at the achievements so far: the milestones, the events that have lifted me and propelled me further forward. The very moments that surprised me and gave me the encouragement to keep going because hey, I once thought that was near impossible and look what happened!
Remind yourself that you did it once, and you’ll do it again.
Should I have been surprised at my mentor’s reaction? No. Not really. That’s why leaders are leaders. They remain calm in the face of adversity, realising that it is all temporary. If you want to lead in your business and for it to thrive, keep calm and carry on.
“ Leaders see the drama and simply observe, steeling their gaze on their vision and the way forward, carrying on with the tasks to get there. ”
Lynda Bayada , coach, consultant and facilitator, aims to increase profits and productivity through the development of our young and emerging leaders in our SMEs.
