December 10th that’s your settlement date. As a business owner, I never knew these words would be so profound to me. Well, if profound is defined as including stress, anxiety, and manic acts, then yes ……profound is the word!
It’s been a year since we settled,moved, and literally changed our whole business and in that time I learned one thing…..being comfortable with the uncomfortable.
I read an article by Alicia Hyksos about dealing with the uncomfortable and six ways to focus on being a good leader. Although awesome friends/mentors and family have been a huge help for my mental, these six things have guided me through many tough times:
- Localist. Be both in the local market that are also connected to the world. Join local organizations like the ROTARY, The Manufacturers association, and your local economic alliance or chamber.
- Strategic. Be strategic, solve today’s problems with tomorrow in mind, and execute effectively.Listen to the voices of those you hire.
- Be political with high-integrity. Navigate the politics of driving change in your organization without losing your integrity and character. The hardest part of our makeover was the employees and change.
- Tech-savvy realist. Be able to drive technological advancements without sacrificing your focus on your people. Go to your industry convention and rub elbows with vendors and other business owners like you. Take the classes……treat it like work and not a vacation.
- Humble leader. Act confidently and competently in an environment which requires humility to recognize when you need help and when you are wrong.
- Innovator. Have the ability to respect and learn from the past and use it to propel the organization and your team forward into the future, all while creating a culture that does not fear failure but cultivates learning and growth.
One year later, I believe we have a great feel for the direction we are taking and the future direction we will be going. Do we still have a ways to go? YES! Absolutely, but we are better now because we are ok with the uncomfortable.
Change is good! Change in huge amounts with no guidance can lead to long sleepless nights. Get a mentorship board, exercise, listen to podcasts, meditate and use these traits to help you as they did me.
