Well, we held our annual leadership summit last week with the theme, “Together,” and I must say – for the first time – it has finally clicked!!!! The team was excited, everyone participated, we celebrated wins, we looked at opportunities and we created small individual goals based on those opportunities.
We are embracing small achievements and a small win mindset. It is with the achievement of small goals multiplied by approximately 20 team members that will allow us to make tremendous progress each quarter. Our two anchor goals are the achievement of 5 units per hour and keeping our ethos/values strong.
I must say that it seemed easy to develop this new approach to which the team responded so well. However, “simple,” is the mark of a great leader, an experienced leader, a servant leader, a humble leader. This type of leadership moves from control to trust.
No more carrot-and-stick incentives, or micro-managing.
You must let go mentally.
This type of leader must identify what is essential; in our case, it’s 5 (units) and our ethos. That is it. The goals must be simple and clear; less is more. You must avoid complications such as the financial approvals, project approvals, and managerial road blocks that will quickly discourage the team.
Leaders must embrace a mindset of abundance instead of scarcity – empowering the team instead of controlling the team. This, in my experience, is largely driven by your financial health and positive cash flow health.
This is our 21st year and I find myself reflecting on why it has taken so long to reach this “click” moment. I have begun to realize that many factors have played into us getting here. You have to pay your dues. To become a mature, high-level leader, you must plod through the valleys, demonstrating perseverence, and mentally rewiring your brain to push aside the noise, the distractions, and the catastrophizing to focus on what is essential. For us, that’s 5 (units) and our Ethos.
Another critical realization is the fact that you cannot do this alone!!! You must allow others to share the hard truths, to confront you, to challenge you. (Choose this person or persons carefully.)
I am 52 years of age, and our parents are in their 80s. We are starting to understand that they can no longer effectively advocate for themselves. Whether it is health, financial, or relational decisions, they now need a family member to objectively help them weigh potential outcomes and will challenge them when it is necessary. Sometimes, the family member has to put their foot down and make important decisions for them, despite their disapproval.
The greatest challenge as a business owner is not having a boss as an authority – someone setting the standards, the goals, and the expectations. This is the greatest source of misery and turmoil as a business owner – and it is the reason that business owners seldom encourage others to start a business. “Just don’t do it.” Many times, the attraction to sell your business is not so much a financial windfall but gaining an authority. Sounds strange, but this is the way we humans are built. To be your own God is Hell! It seems great, but it is not.
So, you have to create an “authority.” In my case, this person has been Julie Simpson, a Certified Healthcare Business Consultant. She is my “boss.” She is very experienced with running high-level businesses, she is really good with numbers, and she is empathetic but TOUGH! This person is usually not on your payroll. It is too difficult for employees to really challenge an owner.
You must be willing to trust your chosen authority figure, and do what they say. You can decide how you are going to do it, but the result must happen. I met Julie at a dental society dinner and we hit it off. I told her I need help! Our previous authority figure was Nancy Givens, CPA, who served us very well from 2008 to 2018. She was also really good. But from 2018 to 2024 I struggled in the role of authority – and it was a very difficult time for me as a leader and for the performance of our company.
So ask yourself if you have a person like Julie or Nancy. Be honest with yourself and start the search for the person that can help you do the hard work, and make the right decisions to get you thriving as a business, and more importantly as a leader.
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