Are You Honing Your Leadership Skills All Year Long?

Does your business experience seasonal ups and downs? Many entrepreneurs do. Perhaps summer is a challenging time for you, when clients zip off on vacation. Alternatively, summer may mean your phone is ringing off the hook, as customers find themselves with more time than the school year allows to check things off their to do lists.

But even during the best of times, it’s easy for business leaders to gloss over the areas where they struggle with being less effective or impactful.

Add to that any challenge where leaders feel like they are stressed, or strapped, or barely treading water, and the last thing most of them will want to focus on is building their leadership capacity.

And yet, leadership is more important during challenging times than ever. It is the ability to lead capably and confidently that will get some companies through tough times. By contrast, a lack of leadership at other companies could contribute to their downfall.

The best and brightest businesses know that you aren’t born with leadership skills. They are honed year after year to develop top leaders within company ranks. You can do the same thing for yourself as a leader within your own business.

Here are 4 questions to ask yourself about your leadership through good times and bad.

1. How well am I reading the situation and responding??

Awareness is the starting point for thoughtful, conscientious leaders who want to make better decisions. Remaining consciously and diligently aware of your choices, habits, and actions will make you a better leader.

Situational awareness – how well you gauge the moment and respond to it – is particularly important during tough times, but self-awareness and social awareness are critical as well.

If you are not sure you are reading situations and responding with awareness, a practice I recommend my Celeste Giordano Coaching clients take up is actively seeking feedback from colleagues and those who report to you. It’s also a good idea to read and consume business news from a variety of trustworthy sources in order to glean tips from top companies.

2. Do I choose my responses?

After determining awareness, noting how you respond to events, circumstances, and the people around you is the most important introspection you can do when the going gets tough.

With every situation – both good and bad – you have an opportunity to respond. You might feel caged in by tough circumstances, but you still have the freedom to choose a response that is in keeping with your integrity, wisdom, and heart as a servant leader.

Remind yourself of the choice you have in the way that you respond. And enlist your accountability partners (keep reading for more on this topic) to help you focus on the positive aspects of that freedom to choose.

3. In what areas can I continue to learn?

Even in a time of full-blown crisis, it is essential that you make space in your schedule for improving yourself and your abilities. If you don’t hold yourself to that challenge, how can you expect those you lead to do so?

We all have areas where we can learn more, improve our skills, and do better than we have done in the past. Great leaders seek out those areas with curiosity and open minds.

Start by exploring a topic that you find challenging or you are curious about. Read a book, listen to a podcast, or talk to a friend who knows a lot about the subject.

4. Am I acting in accordance with my core values?

This one might be the most important question of all. It’s all too easy to think that in the midst of a challenging situation, your values like integrity, honesty, faith, and loyalty can be set aside while you have more pressing concerns.

On the contrary, your core values will serve you just as much, if not more, in choppy waters as smooth seas. Remember, your values are your guideposts when you make decisions both large and small. They are what set you apart from your competitors and what will bring clients or customers back even during difficult times.

If you are not sure if you’re acting in accordance with your values, remind yourself of the values you care most deeply about and that have guided your business. Post them near your desk as a visual reminder to take into account when making decisions.

I work with each Celeste Giordano Coaching client to excel at running businesses guided by strong core values, a foundation of every Legacy Business.

Even though we are more than halfway through the year, it is not too late to take your business to the next level in 2024. Whether you are in a season of challenge or a time of success, it is always wise to evaluate your growth and plan for the future.

Do not wait to Double Plus your income—connect with me today and let’s work together to make your professional dreams a reality!

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Celeste Giordano’s mission is to help business owners develop the skills, knowledge and attitude necessary to “DoublePlus?” their income and become effective and inspirational leaders in their fields. Whether it’s taking your successful business to the next level or starting a new venture, she will teach you the exact skills and strategies you need to enroll more quality prospects, build a rock-solid team, and break through obstacles to achieve real profit and lasting success. Celeste is a professional business growth specialist, a master sales strategist, and dynamic speaker with more than 40 years experience in direct sales and managing high-performing teams.

To learn more about Celeste, click here.

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