Over the past several months, I have been coaching many leaders who seem to have one thing in common. They have come to discover that the most significant area of opportunity for them was to stop working in their business and start working on their business.
They want to spend more time translating the insights they have about their customers and marketplaces into strategies and plans to help their teams develop and thrive both short and long term.
Now, it is not a total surprise this roadblock appeared.
It typically occurs at a point in every leader’s career where this type of shift needs to happen. And as you can imagine, this type of change can be challenging because it requires us to think and do things differently than we have done in the past. Especially when those things in the past have gotten us such great success.
Since this seems to be a key area of focus for many leaders, I thought I’d share some tips around some of the points you should be thinking about and doing when you want to make this shift.
Map Out Your Success Route!
The first thing is a big one! You need to develop and execute a strategic plan; this is a plan that will allow you to chart the course for your team, your department, and your organization. A good strategic plan gives you, the leader, the opportunity to set clear priorities to focus your energy, your team’s energy, and resources. It will also ensure that people are working toward a common goal. Additionally, a strategic plan helps you clearly define what success looks like and then allows a process to track against it.
If you are in a large organization, this type of process might already exist. But, if you are in a startup or a smaller mid-size company, this may be something you need to originate on your own. Either way, one task I highly recommend doing as a part of this process is making sure you engage all your key stakeholders. You need to capture people’s views from all the various functions and get their perspective on what is happening with your customers and marketplace. Ask them what opportunities they see for growth in the business.
The Liable Truth
The next thing to be thinking about is making sure you are committed to the strategic plan that you develop. There is nothing worse than a leader who creates a plan and then behaves in a way that is opposite of that plan or is not supportive of the strategies and tactics developed. I know it seems like common sense, but I cannot tell you the number of times I see this happen throughout my career. The leader was functioning in a way that was inconsistent with the overall strategic plan. It is frustrating! So, during this process, REALLY make sure that you walk your talk and hold yourself accountable.
Make Time For This
Lastly, make sure you set yourself up for success when it comes to developing your strategic plan. I have often seen and heard from leaders who do not have the time to put it together. Well, guess what? If you want to make that shift from working in your business to working on your business, you will have to find the time. One key thing that you should be considering here is how you can start delegating more effectively and embracing the fact that you need to delegate. I know the idea of delegation sounds simple, but to do it, you will have to give up a little control and trust other people to get things done. You must accept that when they do things, as long as they meet the end goal, they might perform tasks differently than you, and that is OK.
As I mentioned, many of us come to the point in our career where we need to make this shift. And while making this change might be tough, I promise that if you take the time to develop and execute a strategic plan, commit to it, and walk your talk, you’re going to be able to shift successfully.
If you are interested in learning more about being strategic or delegating more effectively, I’m here to help – please feel free to schedule time to connect with me by clicking here.