The Foundation is Built in the Weeds

Stay out of the weeds! It’s often regarded as sage advice for all mid- to upper level leaders, but the reality, especially for entrepreneurs, is that the foundation of a business is built in the weeds.

Leaders of young businesses who dwell in the weeds aren’t micromanaging; they’re establishing a foundation. When the foundation is there, they can step out of the weeds knowing that the details will continue on without them being in the weeds to oversee it.

So, how do you build your foundation? Here are four areas to focus on: (more…)

Are there people who do not have a passion for anything? Is passion an essential ingredient for a successful employee? Should our employees bring the passion, or is it up to us to create it? (more…)

Delegating is a skill set all leaders must master. However, if done improperly it can lead to a massive sore spot with your teammates. Today, I thought it would be fun to share some of the most common don’ts of delegating.

1. Delegating Only the Crap

Don’t just delegate your crappy stuff and hang onto all the fun, interesting, and rewarding projects. Sure, the crap is the best stuff to get off your desk, but if you keep all the fun assignments, then there’s no fun in working with you! Delegate fun and interesting projects too, or your teammates will begin to avoid serving you. (more…)

“Just the very act of letting go of money, or some other treasure, does something within us. It destroys the demon ‘greed.'” – Richard Foster

Letting go is hard. As leaders, we can be greedy, struggling to let go of the intangibles that we believe define who we are or the importance of what we do.

  • Decisions – We resist delegating decision-making or trusting others to make decisions for us.
  • Job Duties and Responsibilities – We hoard all the work because it makes us look like the hardest worker. We don’t trust others to do the work because we’re afraid it might not get done correctly.
  • Title and Authority – We hang on to our titles because we believe they define who we are. We find safety and order in them.
  • Influence – We resist giving our influence away or developing the influence of others because we like being admired, needed, or important.

Yet, what would happen if we let these things go?

  • Decisions – We let others learn how we make decisions, then we let them make the decisions. We’re freed up to focus on bigger things, and they’re able to move faster and accomplish more.
  • Job Duties and Responsibilities – The people around us grow by taking on some of our work. We grow by letting go of what we were holding on to and taking hold of the future.
  • Title and Authority – We create an environment where leadership and influence exist without a title. Your team follows you because they respect you and love to serve you, not because your title dictates their unquestionable compliance.
  • Influence –  You develop leaders who are more influential and successful than yourself, which contrary to some beliefs, doesn’t dilute your leadership. It makes you a leader who develops other leaders. What better legacy to leave in business than that?

What are you hanging on to that you need to let go?

Confidence. It’s not only an important leadership element to possess; it’s also an important element to instill in others. Are your followers more confident under your leadership or do you strain their confidence level?

While I believe that a person should be the strength behind their own confidence, I also believe that leaders can build and boost a person’s confidence, or bring it harm.

Here are two confidence busters we may be unintentionally sending to our teams. (more…)