Job Search-The Four Biggest Stresses

It is often said that the four most stressful things in life in no particular order are:

1. Losing your job
2. Moving to a new area
3. Divorce—not just from a spouse but also a business partner.
4. Death of someone close to you.

Job Search-Losing Your Job—The Triple Stressor

You’ve lost your job.  I believe for many this is the most stressful event.  Why?  When you lose your job you inevitably are going to have to move to a new area in terms of work location.  And, you are going through a divorce in a business relationship.  In a way you have all three stressors coming together at the same time.

Even worse because you are not being forced out, you are unhappy in your present position, feel stuck, overwhelmed and don’t see a way out.  If you are looking for a path to low self-esteem and unhappiness punch your ticket every day to doing something or working somewhere you don’t enjoy.

Job Search-Reality-I Must Do Something—But What?

And, now that reality has hit you smack across the side of your face and you are staring at the fact that you don’t even know where or how or both, to begin designing your future to have the job or career you desire.  The skills it took to perform your present job well aren’t going to help you find your next job.   They will be a starting point in that they will qualify you to apply for a job.

Job Search-The Skills You Must Have

But the skills of resume writing, interviewing and creating a job search process are in a word, non-existent or at the very best haven’t been used in a long time.  As a personal business coach who has collaborated with clients on job searches I can assure you that the quickest way to increase your odds of success is to improve these skills.

Job Search-This Is A Competition

A job search or a career change is a competition.  How are you going to stand out from the crowd?  First, you must have a resume that is accomplishments driven.  After all, potential employers are interested in what you can accomplish.  Most of the time, resumes are a chronology of where people have been and their titles.

Think about it, lots of people have a comparable history to yours with similar titles.  It’s your accomplishments that let you stand out from the crowd.  I start by collaborating with them to rewrite their resume.

In subsequent posts I will talk more about the resume and two other important components to a successful job search, interviewing skills and creating an ongoing process to generate leads for job interview.

Developing Leaders:  The Key To Explosive Growth

To have small business growth and success, the first leader you must develop is yourself. Remember, leadership is nothing more than influence.

To extend your influence examine how you can connect not just with the logical part of your business but with your employees emotional needs.  As a business growth coach and as most of you are well aware, a proven growth strategy for meteoric growth is to first to expand your thinking.

Leaders know that their businesses and lives will get no bigger than their thinking.

Leaders:  It’s About Developing A Team

Whether you are running a small business or starting up your own business the quicker you can develop a team the sooner you can put the foundation in place for growth.  Why is this important?

When you develop a team this becomes the training ground for future leaders to help you grow your business.  You will be better able to slot your team members to lead in areas where they use their gifts and abilities.

Leaders:  It’s About the Process

In personal business coaching I have observed many times that a good process can give you a great outcome.  Too often when developing leaders, the self-employed business owner focuses on the outcome instead of process.  The problem with this approach is that you may enjoy some temporary success but the problem is just that, it is temporary.

Good leaders come from a good process.  Make sure that your processes are good.  Process determines outcome.  And, a good process will let you identify and grow good leaders on a continuous basis.

In turn, your small business will grow.  As you develop leaders there is a multiplication process that takes place.  With a good process you know how to identify and promote the leaders who will take you and your business to greater heights.

Growth-It all adds up

Growth…It is a term that we hear everyday.  But how do you achieve growth?  Whether you are seeking personal or small business growth there is a process to making growth a reality.

Yet, too often, the well intentioned self-employed business owner, entrepreneur or solo professional believes that he or she can start a business and somehow it will grow.  They may have business strategies, a marketing business plan as part of their overall growth strategy.

But, the reality is that most of this is in their head and the sad truth is that most of it stays there.

Growth-Write It Down

As a marketing business coach the first thing is to write down your business strategy.  You can share it verbally but most of it will be lost.  There is something magical when the plan gets put down on paper.  Other people can see it.  They can process your thinking.  They can comment.  They can see a clear pathway.

Also, when it is in writing you are giving others an opportunity to respond to what you are thinking in a thoughtful manner.  When the communication is verbal very often you get a reaction instead of a thoughtful response.  Small business success and the growth of business is about thoughtful responses, not knee jerk reactions.

Growth—Develop Yourself

After writing down your business strategies for growth the next thing you must ask is this, “Who do I have to become in order for this growth to take place?”  As a self-employed business owner, whether you are at the point of starting your own business or running a small business, you must realize that the growth you will experience will seldom exceed your personal development.

The phrase, “If it is to be it is up to me” fits well here.  When you develop yourself you will experience personal success and that also spills into your business.

Growth—Develop A Team

There is no organization that can experience growth without developing a team.  It is a must.  If you are a business owner, entrepreneur or solo professional who is truly committed to growth then you must commit to developing a team.

How do you do that?  There are many ways.  The first step, as the leader, is that you must let go.  You must let go of trying to do everything.  You must let go of being responsible for everything.  Only when we give others responsibility and therefore trust, can we build a team.  Oh by the way, then get out of the way and let the team members do their job.

Growth—Develop Leaders

As you build a team you can now develop leaders.  There must be accountability within the team for taking the appropriate actions.  When people are held accountable it is easy to see who can step up and be a leader.  Why?  When someone is accountable and performs, it builds trust and forward momentum.

When you start identifying your leaders then your small business can start experiencing explosive growth because you now have identified the people who can take the growth of your business to the next level.

Follow these steps and you will take you and your business to the new levels of growth.

Leadership: It's In The Stars

In the three previous posts on leadership we have looked at several aspects of leadership.  Leadership is influence.  Also, leadership is caught, not taught.  In keeping with catching leadership it is important to find a model to emulate.

Leadership Review

One of the things to look at is whether the person you want to model deserves a following.  This is about the quality of character.  Leadership without character is causes bad things to happen.  Stay away from flawed character.

Secondly, does the person you want to model have a following?  If they have a following this means they have some credibility.  It is up to you to determine how much credibility.

Third, what is the main strength that causes others to follow your model?  Take a look at strengths and weaknesses.  Be sure to accentuate the strengths and minimize the weaknesses.

Fourth, does your model produce other leaders?  If not, this is probably not a good place to be for building a team.  If you are looking for personal or small business growth you want to be able to produce other leaders.  And, now it is time for the last two questions to the leadership question.

Leadership—Is My Model’s Strength Reproducible?

If you are looking at growth strategies for small business and you aren’t capable of reproducing them then there is no benefit.  Likewise if you can’t reproduce your model’s strengths then there is no benefit.  But don’t be too quick in your judgment.  Most strengths are reproducible.

Leadership—Is The Strength Is Reproducible In Your Life?

If the strength is reproducible in your life the question you must ask is this.  What steps must I take to develop and demonstrate that strength?  As a personal business coach collaborating with self-employed business owners, entrepreneurs and solo professionals I have observed that this is where there is a disconnect.

One of the keys to attaining goals is to have clear action steps.  One of the keys to good leadership is to have a vision with general action steps.  Getting back to you, if you can’t lead yourself it is difficult to be a leader to others.

Whether you are starting your own business, running a small business or are an individual looking for a growth strategy it is critical to have a plan with steps.  Leadership involves many things.  Find a good model.

But, the first step is to master your self.  That is the biggest conquest.  And, when you do you will be taking positive steps to becoming a leader.  Only then can you impart leadership to others.

Leadership is about having followers.

“How do you get started?” they ask.

“How much speaking, teaching or writing do you do now?” I ask.  If they have already started I encourage them.  But most of the time they say, “Well, I haven’t done anything yet.”

Leadership—Start Small

I tell them, “You need to start speaking, teaching or writing.  You’ve got to start small and work up to something bigger.”

The same is true for leadership.  Personal and small business growth is not acquired in one gigantic leap.  It is realized by taking the small steps to attain mastery over a period of time.

For example, a person who has never led before needs to try to influence one other person.  The next step, as you become a person of influence and show leadership, is to build a team.

Leadership—Start Doing What Is Necessary

Start your leadership path by doing what is necessary.  St. Francis of Assisi said, “Start doing what is necessary; then do what is possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.”  Leadership is an important component to personal and small business success.

To be a leader in small business growth start by doing what is necessary; and do it well.  Be the example.  Put in processes to insure that what is necessary is done well.  You can have the best business strategies in the world but if you don’t have the processes to do what is necessary and to do it well you won’t get where you want to go.

Leadership—A Victory Over Ourselves

Whether you are a self-employed business owner, entrepreneur, solo professional or individual seeking more from your business and life, your leadership ability will be reflected not only in what you accomplish but how you accomplish it.

Remember, leadership is not taught.  It is caught.  And leadership is nothing more than influence.  Napoleon once said, “The only conquests which are permanent and leave no regrets are our conquests over ourselves.”

The small responsibilities you have before you now represent the first leadership conquest you must make.   Personal business coaching is about identifying the small responsibilities and bringing accountability to achieve the future you desire.

Take a look at your business and life. What one small, specific leadership step can you take today?

Leader-What Is Your Circle of Influence?

In a previous post we looked at leadership models and the questions you want to ask to find a good leader or mentor.  The power and influence of our associations is an awesome power. And, our associations can have a great impact on what and who we become.

Business Keys To Success:  Finding a Leader for the Leader

Too often in finding a mentor or role model we find certain things that are attractive and can overlook the negatives.  Overlook the negatives at your own peril.

In my personal business coaching practice the primary obstacle that holds back the self-employed business owner, entrepreneur or solo professional from the small business growth they desire is their associations.

Associate with the right people and amazing things will happen.

John Maxwell in Developing the Leaders Around You has some questions that are worth asking to minimize the risk of having the wrong mentors or leaders in our lives.

Is the Life of the Leader Worth Following?

Look at the integrity of the individual.  You may love their thoughts.  You may love their passion.  You may love both their thoughts and passion.  But, without integrity, which is habitual honesty through and through this becomes a very dangerous situation.

A leader without integrity will destroy people.  A leader with integrity will build them up.  Integrity is a must in a good leader.

What Is the Strength of the Leader?

Very often we are attracted to a leader because they exemplify a strength that we desire to have.  Look at the whole leader.  What does this leader have to offer you?  What is his single best trait?

Conversely, all leaders have weaknesses as well as strengths.  Be aware of the weaknesses because you don’t want to emulate them.  This does not mean if the leader has a weakness he is a bad leader.  The key is to be aware.  Awareness can protect us from danger and allow us to grab opportunities as they present themselves.

Does My Leader Produce Other Leaders?

Most small business owners are looking for small business growth.  A growth in business and a growth strategy promoting it are nothing unless you, as the business owner, can produce other leaders.

I encourage small business owners to find a leader who has produced other leaders.  Growth in business is about creating new leaders to fill positions as you experience growth in business.  Find a leader who does produce other leaders and you will learn the pathways to take your business and life to the next level.

Leadership Model-Are your pins in order?

Who’s your leadership model?  In John Maxwells’ book, Developing the Leaders Around You, he emphasizes that you must give much thought to which leaders you will follow.  Why?  The leadership model you follow will determine your course.

Who Is Your Leadership Model?

When I talk about a leadership model what am I referring to?  Whether you are a self-employed business owner, entrepreneur or solo professional seeking greater personal and small business success it is important that you find the right mentors.

Find people who exemplify the emotional, intellectual and character qualities that will take you to the next level.  Out of these three, as a personal business coach, I encourage my clients to focus first and foremost on character.

Why?  You may love their logic, their intellect.  You may love their passion, their emotion.  But without good character you are building the foundation of your leadership model upon sand.  It will not last.  Without good character the rest doesn’t matter.

Leadership Model Questions From John Maxwell

1. Does my leadership model’s life deserve a following?
2. Does my leader model’s life have a following?
3. What is the main strength the influences others to follow my model?
4. Does my leadership model produce other leaders?
5. Is my leadership model’s strength reproducible in my life?
6. If my model’s strength is reproducible in my life, what steps must I take to develop and demonstrate that strength?

Find Your Leadership Model

Throughout my life I have had different leadership models.  What is interesting is that someone who was a leadership model ten years ago may not be a leadership model now.  Leadership models will change.  Why?  As you grow and change your need for a different leadership model will often have to change to support that growth.

Whether you are seeking growth in business, personal growth or just a growth strategy in leadership you must let go of the old in order for the new to enter.  Just as a tree sheds its leaves every year, we too, as humans must shed what is no longer useful.  Unlike the tree you have a choice.

Part of creating a great leadership model is exercising your power of choice.  Part of great leadership is making wise choices.  Choose wisely.  Your leadership model will be as you wish.

Passion-Keep Your Fire Burning

Throughout my business experience I have found that passion is a key ingredient to small business success.  After all, if you don’t have passion about your product, service, company, and most importantly, yourself, it makes it that much harder to achieve personal and small business success.

In my personal business coaching practice I have observed that the clients who have the most passion also have the greatest degree of success.

Keys To Success:  Passion About Yourself

You have probably heard that true success is an “inside” job.  To succeed you must have passion about:

1. “Who” you are.
2. “What” you do.
3. “How” you do it.
4. “Why” you do it.

Lack of excitement in any of these areas will hold you back much more than you may realize. The most important area to be passionate about is YOU.  If you feel stuck or overwhelmed look at yourself and find something to change that will make you more excited about you.

After all, in business and life, we, so to speak, leak who we are.  What are you leaking about you?  How do you think?  How do you speak?  How do you dress?  Do you act with respect, kindness and consideration?

The answers to these questions and your passion about them are important keys to success.

Passion Is Your Value Proposition

In answering Who you are, What you do, How you do it and Why you do it you are establishing your value proposition to prospects, customers and client.  Too often this is forgotten.

I have collaborated with self-employed business owners, entrepreneurs and solo professionals who had the best technology and efficient systems but who fell short of where they wanted to be.

Once they understood that small business growth was not just about a great product or service and its delivery, but the passion with which it was delivered, their businesses and lives started to move forward and up.

Passion:  Look At Your Priorities

In running a small business or starting your own business I see self-employed business owners with passion but lacking clear priorities.  This is a recipe for disaster.

Be a person with passion but also priorities.  Without the right priorities and taking action on them personal and small business success is more likely to elude you.  Make sure that your daily priorities are in alignment with where you want to take your business and life.

With your priorities in alignment your passion will grow and help take you to the personal and small business success you desire.  Your success will be in your passion.

Belief That You Will Win The Race

I once had a client who had very little belief in himself.  He was running a small business that was passed down to him by his father.  He was bright but he had never developed his talent.  His lack of belief in himself was hurting his company, employees and worst of all his family life.

Your beliefs control everything that you do.  They will determine your personal and small business success and growth.

Belief—It Holds You Back

As a personal development coach I have observed in myself and others that what our belief is in ourselves will determine what we expect and what we will receive.  My client did not believe in himself.

Why?  There were many reasons.  The most important one was he was running the business the way his Dad had run it.  He was afraid to put his personal touch on things.  After all, things had worked well or maybe not so well for a long time so why change?

His belief in his lack of ability to make positive change was holding him back.

Belief—It Moves Your Forward

We started identifying small, safe areas where he could institute change.  Most important it was change he believed in.

When you start exercising your “belief muscle” it is best to start with some small things where you can have some immediate success.  Too often I see well intentioned, self-employed business owners, entrepreneurs and solo professionals exercise their “belief muscle” on too big a stage.

Why?  They feel that is some shape or form that they need to make the grand impression.  Remember, an impression can work both ways.  You can take your belief and impress it on others but if you haven’t thought it through it can come back at you in the form of a negative impression.

The key is to start with something small.  Enjoy the small successes from your beliefs. Learn from them.  Once you have mastered the small things then you can work up to some bigger areas.

Whether you are running a small business or starting up your own business begin with the small things and work up to the bigger ones.  This will increase your odds of staying on a success track.

Belief—It Predicts Your Future

More often than not in personal business coaching I am collaborating with others on creating a vision of the future they desire.  Once we have created the vision we start taking steps to make it happen.  It’s a very exciting process.  And, it is all fueled by belief.

Your belief in yourself, what you do and where you want to go is usually a very good predictor of the future you will have.  How come it is a good predictor of your future?  Your belief determines your expectation.

And you have a belief and an expectation you are much more likely to see it become a reality.  Whether you are starting your own business or running a small business identify your beliefs.  Understand your expectations.

If they aren’t leading you to the future you desire, change them.  Change your belief on something.  It will change your expectation.  And, your expectation will change your life.  Today you can start to have the future you want tomorrow.   Start today by harnessing the power of your belief.

Priorities Take You Out Of The Maze

Growing up my Dad was about priorities.  It used to make me angry that I couldn’t go play until the work on our property was taken care.  My Dad truly cared about taking care of the small things before they turned into something big and unpleasant.

Priorities—Staying Ahead Of The Game

His passion was maintenance of our home and all that surrounded it.  And,  his priorities when he wasn’t being with the family, his first love, centered around, as he said, “staying ahead of the game.”

And because he had priorities for maintenance, very seldom did anything bad ever happen.  If a tree limb needed to be cut because it was hanging over the house, we cut it.  If the weather forecast was for snow and ice we would put the chains on the car.  After the last mowing of the yard in the fall we winterized the lawnmower.  In the fall he would check all our snow removal equipment to make sure it was functioning properly.

Priorities—Make Them An Emphasis

My Dad taught me many things about life that I carry with me to this day.  But, his emphasis on priorities is one of the most important gifts he gave me.  Also, he had passion.  He cared.  And he cared about doing things well.

I remember he told me a story that his father had told him.  Back in my Dad’s day they did not have central heat.  The winters in eastern Washington were quite cold.  He grew up in a home that was heated by a wood stove.  What was one of his Dad’s greatest priorities?  If you guessed having enough wood chopped to get the family through the winter you are correct.

Here’s the story.  It was a cold winter night.  A man was sitting in his one room cabin and was angry at the wood burning stove.  The room was very cold and the stove was not producing any heat.  In his frustration the man yelled at the stove; “Give me the heat.  Then I will give you the wood.”

Whenever I got off track with my priorities this story would come to mind.  After my Dad told the story he would say; “Steve, always remember that you have to put something in before you get something back out.”

Happiness & Success—Align Your Priorities With Your Passion

My Dad, as a young boy, chopped a great deal of wood.  Unfortunately, my Dad died suddenly when I was in high school.  It turned my world upside down.  My priorities changed drastically.  I went from enjoying high school working and figuring out how to make it.

As I grew older I always had priorities but at times something was missing.  What was missing was passion.  I could have priorities and do a job well.  I could create a successful business.  Yet, this did not necessarily bring me joy.

It wasn’t until I was in my forties that I began to understand that my talent would be maximized and my potential realized only if I matched my passion with my priorities.  I was spending too much time doing tasks for which I possessed neither talent nor passion.

I knew I had to make a change.  When I aligned my priorities with my passion is when I experienced greater small business and personal success.  Align yourself with what you feel strongly about and what you are doing.  Are you looking for an awesome business and life experience?  You can have it when you align your passion and priorities.