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7 signs that you are a strong leader

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If you’ve ever wondered how strong your leadership is – look to your team.

They are a reflection of how effective we are as leaders, and can also show us where we need to step it up!

Here are 7 things to look for in your team to see where/how strong your leadership is:

  1. They hold themselves accountable and get stuff done with minimal ‘chasing’.
  2. They are clear on their role and ‘stay in their lane’.
  3. They care about your clients, about the business and about each other.
  4. They are always looking for ways to improve how things are being done and freely share their ideas.
  5. They are willing to go the extra mile without being asked.
  6. They stay for a long time (years) and only leave when their career path takes them in another direction.
  7. They tell you how much they enjoy working with you. 🙂

I’m curious how true this is for your team? How many were you able to say yes to?

Anything that is a no (or a maybe) is simply shining a light on a potential area to work on. An aspect of leadership that is calling us to take it to the next level.

If we want to have the best team we need to be willing to become the best leader we can be. <– And that is an ongoing growth edge for all of us!

Tina

It takes time

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Let’s be clear… it takes time.

Despite what you see online when someone is sharing how they ‘made 3 gazillion dollars in 30 days’.

Despite what you expect of yourself when you look in the mirror and wonder why things aren’t moving as fast as you thought they would (and then wonder what is wrong with you or what you are missing…. ugh)

Despite what that coach/trainer/consultant may have promised would happen when you followed just ‘7 steps to making moola in your sleep’

Despite what you might think – or hope – success takes time. Probably more time than you wish it would.

A flower doesn’t spring up the day after you’ve planted it. It needs water, sunshine and nutrients. It needs TIME to become the glorious plant it’s meant to be.

Success takes time.

It takes time to lay out a solid strategy (and then more time to try it, tweak it, and improve it).

It takes time to find and hire the right team, and then time to lead them to do their best work.

It takes time to do great work for your clients. Create new programs. Deliver amazing service.

Success isn’t a race, even though it can feel that way.

Success is a daily commitment.

The commitment to keep going. To show up. Every. Single. Day.

And I promise you – so long as you do that the success you seek will come to life, even if it takes longer than you thought it would. ?

Tina

If you want to create an agency – do this first

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The agency model is one of my favorites for a few reasons:

1) It’s a great way to grow – By hiring other people to ‘do the work’ you naturally expand your capacity to serve more clients (and make more money).

2) It’s a great way to leverage your expertise – The agency model allows you to focus on what you do best, so that you get known as an expert in your field.

3) It’s a great way to free up your time – When you build a solid team around you it frees you up to do more of what you love (and less of what you don’t)

Yes, the agency model is great BUT there is an important pre-requisite before you go this path.

Create success FIRST as a 1-1 service provider

I see too many people wanting to skip this step. They are just getting started in their business and they want to jump straight into creating an agency.

I get it – the agency model is great! But when you jump too quickly into it you miss a few things that working 1-1 brings you:

  • Clarity – working 1-1 allows you to become clear on exactly what you do – and don’t! – want to do for your clients
  • Confidence – when you serve your clients directly you get to see first hand the results that you help create, and can really own your value in the marketplace
  • Clients – when you can fill your business with 1-1 clients, you have proven your ability to make the sale (likewise, if you can’t fill your business 1-1 then you are likely to struggle more as you work to fill your agency)

Do great work as a 1-1 service provider, fill your business with amazing clients and then you will have a strong foundation of success to build an agency on.

Tina

Are you hiring to the task or the vision?

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There are two different ways to approach hiring.

You can hire to the TASK.

Or you can hire to the VISION.

When you hire to the task you – and the person you hire – are focused on WHAT needs to be done. On the specifics. The nitty-gritty. The stuff.

When you hire to the vision you are focused on the WHY. The bigger picture. Bringing the pieces together.

Traditional hiring is very task focused. Create a description of the role. Find someone who has those skills. Hire them and manage them to make sure stuff gets done.

Vision based hiring takes it to another level.

It’s about first being crystal clear on the vision of your business. Why you are doing what you do. Who you are impacting.

And first looking to find people who CONNECT with your vision. People who are aligned with the mission and excited about the possibilities.

Then looking at tasks of the role, and either hiring to the needed skillset OR being open to training someone to the role. (I’m a huge fan of training someone up into a role when they are aligned to the vision and bring the enthusiasm and energy we are looking for.)

When you hire to the vision you hire people who CARE.

Who care about whether or not things get done, because they see the bigger picture and know their part in it. They are willing to go the extra mile when needed. To look at additional ways to support at a higher level.

They bring the best of who they are to the table, because they are plugged into something that matters.

This is the kind of team that rises up and makes a real difference in the world.

This is the heart of my new book Hire Up – where I’m exploring the impact of connection & collaboration in teams.

All things are possible when we come together. Work together. Laugh together. Create together.

Wouldn’t you agree?

Is it you or is it them? (team issues)

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I do a lot of work with people around their teams – and what I’ve come to see is that it’s a 50/50 split when something isn’t working.

50% of the time it’s a “wrong person was hired for the role” issue.

And the other 50% of the time it’s a leadership issue – not leading them effectively so that they can do their best work.

As a leader, it’s easy to default to assuming the first part is the problem – it’s them. Although this can be true, I recommend checking first if it might be a leadership issue.

Vs just saying “this person isn’t a fit” and looking to hire again, which can be costly in terms of time, energy and money!

To come from a place of curiosity and ask ourselves:

Is it possible to take a different approach to leadership that might bring out the best in this person? That might make it work?

Have I been the best leader that I can possibly be here?

The beauty of leadership is that it’s often the little things that can make a big difference. Slight tweaks in the way we engage with our team members can – at times – change everything.

I’m thinking about writing a series on what some of these little leadership tweaks are – if you are interested, comment and let me know k?

Tina

Are you taking ‘stuff’ off your clients’ plates?

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The question is really: Are you taking OWNERSHIP of freeing up your client to do the work they need to and should be doing in the business? If not, then here are few ways to do just that. Free up the client and make yourself indispensable in the process 😉