I’VE GOT GOOD NEWS AND BAD NEWS — SHOW OF HANDS WHICH DO YOU WANT FIRST? Who wants the good news? Ok, and who wants the bad news?
Well, it turns out it’s the same news… NOT EVERYONE IS A LEADER.
Leadership can be developed, it can be learned, but not everyone wants to take on the work to learn it. And that’s ok. In fact, it’s better than ok — it’s great. Because not everyone is meant for leadership.
But, if you’re on this Zoom call, you’ve essentially chosen in. And it’s even larger than Elevate. So guests, you don’t get a free pass. If you’re here, it’s because you want to make a positive difference in your business. And people who want to make a positive difference in their businesses also want to make a positive difference in their lives.
So thank you, for stepping up and leaning in. For taking your swings. For the successes and the rough stuff. And most importantly for being here.
And showing up is huge. It’s a big deal. In fact, sometimes just showing up is enough. But for the sake of leveraging a networking instrument, and building business as a whole, we all know that it’s going to take a bit more.
So over the next few weeks, we’re going to look at the theme of Leadership. Maybe some of these concepts will seem fresh and new, and maybe they’ll just be reminders. But we can all benefit from becoming reacquainted with the lessons that make us better.
Lesson number one, OWNERSHIP. You cannot grow or transform without commitment, and the highest level at which we can commit, is to treat the entity or endeavor like it’s ours — like it belongs to us. Think about how you show up for your family, your spouse and kids, if you have them. Or tight friendships. Anything that really matters to you has you relating to it — to varying degree — like you own it. Not as a possession, but as if your success comes from it’s success. Whether you actually own the company, run the team, or lead the partnership, relate to it like you’ll stop at nothing to make sure it works, and wins. There’s no possible way that doesn’t make a difference in your business.
So whether it’s in your commercial or in the breakout room, how you show up inside the Elevate community or inside the relationship with your client or customer, own it like it’s yours. And own your word, and the positive and negative consequences of your decisions and actions. This is not to be confused with taking up all the space. But it does mean, “own your impact.” Be a participant, not a passenger.
And for those up for a challenge, and a practice which will make a major difference in your business (and your life), your mission — should you choose to accept it — is for the next thirty days to eliminate all forms of complaint from your life. You don’t have to just go along with anything that happens. You still get to take action. You still get to make corrections as needed. But you don’t get to be victimized or complain about it. No pointing fingers outward, only inward. You get to practice being the difference you want to see. Everywhere. Lead from the front, lead by example.
No matter what stage of your career, take as much ownership as you can and watch your leadership and your business expand.
Tune in next week when I’ll serve up lesson two: RELATIONSHIP.
