5 Leadership Mistakes that Could Endanger Your Career Longevity

5 Leadership Mistakes that Could Endanger Your Career Longevity

Don’t make mistakes that can endanger you or your business by making these mistakes over time. Here’s what to avoid to ensure career longevity as a manager.

High-achieving leaders and managers are always looking for new ways to become better at what they do. While instincts can be a good way to operate as a manager, they do leave professionals open to some leadership mistakes that can negatively affect your career longevity.

Keep an eye out for a few of these classic leadership mistakes that you could be making and it could be the key to a major career breakthrough. Falling into self-made traps could be a huge drawback to making leaps and bounds on your career path.

5 Common Leadership Mistakes to Avoid

MISTAKE 1: Constantly Putting Out Fires

Managers often make this leadership mistake on a daily basis. As a manager, it can be easier to fill your day with the chaos of daily problems in a business instead of focusing your energy in mindful ways. Training your staff to deal with problems appropriately can save you loads of time. Not only that but delegating solutions to problems can also free up major time.

Don’t take for granted how often getting into the weeds with staff, issues, or customers can affect your daily productivity ability. While it may be exhilarating to operate as a “firefighter” in your organization – don’t encourage sloppy work or project management that leads to fires in the first place. Tackle root causes and not just the symptoms.

MISTAKE 2: Sacrificing Quality for Efficiency

Efficiency is a major buzzword in business these days. Unfortunately, it’s an all too common leadership mistake to prioritize efficiency over everything else (including quality). Don’t push KPIs and goal metrics so hard that your company evolves beyond the point of being recognizable by customers. If you fail to meet their expectations over time they will eventually replace your product or service with an alternative that suits them better. Making this leadership mistake could be a quick way to reduce your overall career longevity.

MISTAKE 3: Crafting Your Identity Solely on Work

Too many small business owners and managers fall into this trap. It’s easy to mold your entire existence around your work identity. You’re a CEO, or a Founder, or whatever other title that you’ve worked so hard to achieve.

However, it’s important not to forget that your identity is rooted beyond a title and your work. Your identity as a great leader should rest in your values, your hobbies, and the other ways that you like to spend your time and find joy.

Getting too caught up in your own role and your corporate vision of yourself can lead to a loose grasp of your leadership style. Don’t make the mistake of forgetting where you came from (and where you’re eventually going).

MISTAKE 4: Letting Small Problems Fester

This may seem to run contradictory to the early mistake about fighting fires – but, hear us out on this point. As a manager, it can be easy to look the other way when small mistakes happen or you sense something is brewing. This could become a major leadership mistake as consistently brushing off the “small problems” can actually fester into bigger issues or resentment over time. Don’t let a fear of conflict stop you from righting the ship when it needs to be put back on course.

MISTAKE 5: Dreaming Big and Forgetting to Keep It Real

Small business owners and leaders make it into their positions by dreaming big. Your aspirations are large and your appetite for success is the same.

However, make sure that you’re surrounding yourself with people who also keep you grounded and self-aware. Hearing real facts and truly taking them for face value is so important. The biggest leadership mistake is losing your grip on the big picture over time. It’s important to see it all clearly and to know you’re being given the right information to make informed decisions.

You’ll appreciate Brunson’s practical wisdom and story-telling whether you are a young adult launching on your own, a CEO or owner of a company who wants to take your businesses to the next level, or you just think it’s time for life transformation.

Click here to order on Amazon or to read more.

We would love to hear your comments.

Gary Brunson
gary@myclearfocus.com

Debra Rider
debra@myclearfocus.com

574.361.2674

Sustainable Growth & Profit Consultant, Coach, Mentor and Counselor/Therapist for Business Owners and Professionals.

September 12, 2023September 10, 2023

Are You a Business Owner or a Business Leader?

Are You a Business Owner or a Business Leader?

This might come as a surprise to you but being a business owner – even a successful one – doesn’t necessarily make you a business leader. Ownership and leadership are two very different roles with distinct responsibilities within a business. There is also a bit of an implied growth trajectory between these two functions, as everyone who owns a company is by default a business owner. But a business leader? Now that is something special.

The first step to business leadership is learning the art of working ON your business rather than IN your business. This means stepping beyond the daily operations (and sometimes drudgery) of running your business to allow yourself to think bigger and more strategically. Understanding that true leadership is so much more than working in the trenches of your company is key to this game-changing transformation.

Beyond thinking at that higher, more strategic level, business leaders also elevate, motivate, and align the people that surround them. They create a culture in which people want to work and perform at a high level. They have a vision and a mission and instill a sense of forward movement throughout the business.

So how do you know whether you are a business owner or a business leader? Or perhaps more importantly, how can you refocus your efforts to become the business leader you want to be?

Here are four distinctions between a Business Owner and a Business Leader to consider:

Business Leaders Think Strategically. Many business owners are trapped in a reactive mode or get mired down in the noise of running their daily operations. Business leaders make strategic decisions based on the well-being of the organization, the team, and the future. They think ahead. They think big. They plan.
Business Leaders Inspire. While business owners usually have an idea of their vision and how they generally want their company to grow, they often lack the insight into how to motivate their team to help them get there. Business leaders understand that there is no success without their people. They foster alignment, promote learning, and encourage innovation. From their management teams all the way down to seasonal interns, true business leaders inspire their employees to do great things.
Business Leaders Adapt. Business owners often learn how to run their organizations one way and then unwaveringly stick to that formula. True business leaders understand the need for adaptability and are open to taking calculated risks when a pivot is needed. These adaptability skills were lifesavers during the pandemic and will always be aces up the sleeves of business leaders.
Business Leaders Build Relationships. Business owners have vendors, employees, and other key players with whom they have transactional relationships. That’s not what we are talking about here, as those connections are founded on a strict quid pro quo dynamic. Business leaders are deft at building strong relationships that exist beyond employer-employee or customer-supplier dynamics. Business leaders foster positive interactions and true connections throughout their organizations and each person their business touches.

Of course, every business owner has a vested interest in the overall success of their organization, but it is in their approach to that success that determines whether they are or are destined to become, true business leaders.

If you are a business owner who wants to develop into a business leader, consider joining a TAB Board. TAB Boards are peer advisory boards comprised of business owners and leaders who are present not just to enhance themselves and their companies, but to elevate you and your business as well. TAB Board Members gain hands-on knowledge on how to improve operations, think more strategically, and lead their businesses and teams to success.

Join a TAB Board and learn how to become the business leader you are meant to be.

Gary Brunson
gary@myclearfocus.com

Debra Rider
debra@myclearfocus.com

574.361.2674

Sustainable Growth and profit Consultant, Coach, Mentor, and Counselor/Therapist for Business Owners and Professionals.

September 7, 2023September 7, 2023

How To Build a Transformational Culture in Your Organization

How To Build a Transformational Culture in Your Organization

Company culture is a major building block of every organization’s success. Transforming culture can take time and some intensive work. Here’s how to go about building a transformational culture at your office.

Big picture office culture is a key piece to a successful business. However, some workplace cultures may need incremental (or serious) change. This change can lead to a boost in overall employee satisfaction, morale, and productivity over time. As a manager, facilitating a cultural transformation can be a major challenge for those who haven’t shifted dynamics before.

Here’s how to implement transformational culture in your workplace.

What is Transformational Culture in a Workplace?

Transformational culture is more than just a temporary phase. It requires a commitment to a long-term shift so that all employees involved in the workplace feel that they belong and that their investment matters. When an employee feels valued and committed to a workplace, their work is statistically more productive and effective.

So, what steps do you need to take to succeed in evolving your corporate culture?

A cultural transformation requires an introspective look at your company. First, you must analyze and consider your current policies, commitments, processes, and behaviors.
Do those things accurately reflect your company’s current values and beliefs? Does it align with your existing workforce and their beliefs?
A well-rounded transformational culture will change the way that your employees think and act. It should be progressional, inclusive, and (mostly) comfortable for your staff. Don’t confuse “comfort zone” with “comfortable”!
The result of any cultural transformation is that your employees (and the public) know exactly what your company stands for.

Principles that are Key To Transformational Culture

Act Accountably: Organizations should blend the need for accountability, dialogue, learning, and growth with the need to protect relationships.

Act Fairly: Systems and structures should deliver equity and hear the voices of their employees and customers.
Act Inclusively: Leaders and managers should amplify inclusive practices, voices, and opinions.
Act Sustainably: Organizations should attempt to minimize harm to the planet while meeting corporate needs and goals.
Act Aspirationally: The people in organizations should work together with a common goal to achieve the best outcomes for everyone on the team and for the corporation.

The Benefits of Cultural Transformation

Cultural transformation can result in some serious gains for your company or organization. Communicating the future benefits to your existing and future team members is a key piece to gaining buy-in on the process of the transformation.

Some benefits to workplace culture include:

Building a better overall workplace environment for employees and customers
Increasing total retention of employees and customer loyalty
Positive mental health benefits for all team members, managers, and customers
Impacting overall employee and customer satisfaction
Boosting productivity for all involved

Are you ready to implement a transformational culture at your workplace?

As a manager or employee, change in the workplace culture can appear scary from the outset. However, those who cannot embrace pivoting and flexibility are very likely not going to be superstar team members through challenging times. Ensure that you set expectations for all employees and team members as to how change should be embraced and dealt with in the workplace. Try to implement small changes over time for some major transformational culture in your office!

Have you taken a look at our new book? Check it out today!

Click here to order on Amazon or to read more.

We would love to hear your comments.

Gary Brunson
gary@myclearfocus.com

Debra Rider
debra@myclearfocus.com

574.361.2674

Sustainable Growth & Profit Consultant, Coach, Mentor, and Counselor/Therapist for Business Owners and Professionals.

September 6, 2023August 10, 2023

Digital Marketing

Digital marketing is often less expense than “old school” marketing techniques like billboards, print, and broadcast. But regardless of price, digital marketing only works if you do it right. And it all starts with your website.

Make sure your website is optimized, not just for SEO, but also for viewing on mobile devices and iPads. Remember, most consumers decide whether they will stay on a site within the first three seconds. Make sure your website is engaging and includes compelling, high-resolution images.

But that’s not all you need to know about digital marketing in 2023. To learn more, read “Digital Marketing Trends that Can Help Your Business” at The Alternative Board.

https://www.thealternativeboard.com/blog/digital-marketing-trends

#tabboards #businesscoaching #digitalmarketingtrends

Have you taken a look at our new book? Check it out today!

Click here to order on Amazon or to read more.

We would love to hear your comments.

Gary Brunson
gary@myclearfocus.com

Debra Rider
debra@myclearfocus.com

574.361.2674

Sustainable Growth & Profit Consultant, Coach, Mentor and Counselor/Therapist for Business Owners and Professionals.

August 25, 2023August 10, 2023

The CEO’s Ultimate Guide to Exceptional Leadership

The CEO’s Ultimate Guide to Exceptional Leadership

We’ve all met managers or C-suite executives that make us question how they got there. If you want to break the stereotype and truly excel as a CEO – there are some very clear and distinct steps that you should take. Here’s how to become exceptional at leadership.

Leadership is a lifelong journey of development, innovation, and growth mindset. Many CEOs often find growth in mistakes, setbacks, and challenges that they face every day. Exceptional leadership is unique to the role and team that a CEO plans to manage.

However, there are some fundamental truths about leadership that can be distilled across the board. Welcome to the big show as CEO, success in this fast-paced realm hinges on your leadership skills and ability to manage people.

Here are 5 ways to become an exceptional leader.

Define your Purpose and Share it Often

A company’s purpose is its driving force. Without a mission and true direction from a leader, companies and staff become lost in the day-to-day tasks. At a fundamental level, employees want to understand how their actions and work contributes to a purposeful vision.

This is where CEOs can stand out – by crafting a healthy, vibrant, and dynamic work culture. Motivation must be found within but can be inspired by leaders through a sturdy vision and direction.

Beyond a purpose for the company, leaders should take time to define their own purpose. An authentic leader is one who truly understands purpose to their own core. A one-dimensional CEO (focused only on work) is boring and cliche to employees. Leave room for vulnerability by sharing your interests, your dreams, and your purpose beyond the walls of the workplace.

A compelling purpose and leader can quickly organize a corporate team into a serious force. Through alignment and collaboration, purposeful teams are able to overcome almost any obstacle that is put in their path.

Build your Dream Team using Clear Communication

What leaders fail to forget is that their communication strategies can set the tone for the entire team. Without direct, engaging, and strong communication, employees may feel disconnected from a leader over time.

Small miscommunications (canceled meetings without notice, poor communication around big-scale initiatives, lack of explanation around purpose) can ultimately lead to resentment at the basic level of a company. Leaders should not be scared to communicate in an open and honest way. Employees who don’t agree with the way that you communicate will ultimately seek employment elsewhere. However, employees who thrive with your direction and style will help you to build a dream team over time.

Value Trust and Accountability

Above all, it is a CEO’s responsibility to ensure that managers and employees remain accountable for their various projects and pieces of corporate work. Ensuring that you are maintaining trust and accountability with your team must remain at the forefront of your leadership style.

Employees who don’t meet their performance goals or targets may need additional support or assistance from you. As a leader, you should foster support conversations before you immediately resort to reprimand. However, when it is warranted, reward and reprimand may be required to maintain accountability across all planes at your company.

Prioritize Culture and Diverse Ideas

While it’s important to define a purpose and communicate clearly – it’s equally important to leave room for ideas and culture beyond your own. A corporate team that feels engaged and involved is much more likely to innovate together. Unfortunately, top-down leadership becomes stagnant and can risk silencing incredibly valuable input from employees at all levels of the company. Exceptional CEOs will always make time and space for diverse culture and ideas at their company.

What are you waiting for? Go be an exceptional leader!

Don’t forget that leadership isn’t cerebral. It’s not words on a page or ideas in your head. As a CEO, it’s mandatory that you take action every day to become better. Employ a growth mindset in your own life to see it reflected in the company that you manage. Don’t wait – go employ those exceptional leadership skills in your life right now! *

Have you taken a look at our new book? Check it out today!

Click here to order on Amazon or to read more.

We would love to hear your comments.

Gary Brunson
gary@myclearfocus.com

Debra Rider
debra@myclearfocus.com

574.361.2674

Sustainable Growth & Profit Consultant, Coach, Mentor and Counselor/Therapist for Business Owners and Professionals.

August 22, 2023August 10, 2023

How to claim your power: Become who you want to be.

Are you ready to get more of what you want? To become who you want to be? To build confidence to make better decisions? If you want to get unstuck and move forward, this book is for you. The framework Gary Brunson leads readers through is one that has brought help, healing, and personal insights to hundreds of people throughout his career, first as a psychotherapist and for the past few decades as an in-demand executive consultant to business owners and entrepreneurs.

The model set forth here provides an avenue to becoming more aware of the filters we default to and the patterns of response we might not even realize we have. It is for those who want to better understand themselves as well as for leaders who want to create more emotionally healthy workplaces.

The overarching frame for this book is three things that we have control of in our lives:
1. How we are going to turn up each day
2. What we decide we are going to be, become, and try to accomplish with the life we have left.
3. How we view all experiences of our past, and what we choose to do with them in our present and future life.

Doing the first two things requires us to intentionally reconnect with ourselves to reclaim the power we already have to be the creator of the life we want from this moment forward to the end of our lives. Then and only then can we execute those first two things, jettison the role of a victim, and live out our power to be the self-determined creator of our own lives.

We have all scripted ourselves to manage our lives in hundreds of ways. We operate daily out of automatic patterns of behavior, and mostly we are unaware of the fullness of those patterns or where they have come from. It pays to examine them when something happens that puts us in a situation about which we feel a strong emotion such as sadness, anger, scare, happiness, excitement, or tenderness. Brunson provides what he calls Golden Questions to gently interrogate those emotions when we experience them, as a means to reveal the existence and source of those patterns.

Click here to order on Amazon or to read more.

We would love to hear your comments.

Gary Brunson
gary@myclearfocus.com

Debra Rider
debra@myclearfocus.com

574.361.2674

Sustainable Growth & Profit Consultant, Coach, Mentor and Counselor/Therapist for Business Owners and Professionals.

August 17, 2023August 10, 2023

A Deep Dive Into AI and Automation for Your Business

Free On-Demand Webinar

A Deep Dive Into AI and Automation for Your Business

You have probably heard about and have played with ChatGPT and other AI-enabled technologies. In this extremely popular webinar, come learn how to effectively use these technologies in your business, how to educate your teams about the future, and what to be aware and cautious of as you start to implement AI in your business and daily life.

Chris Tamm, an AI and robotic process automation consultant and business owner, will spend an hour helping you understand where you are missing out on available efficiencies, and give some perspectives on how this will affect your next 2-10 years of business growth.

This webinar is perfect for business owners and executives that know the world is changing and want a hi-level primer on where they can capitalize on the savings and leverage today.

Watch now, free and on-demand at The Alternative Board (TAB).

https://www.thealternativeboard.com/webinar/deep-dive-into-ai

#tabboards #businesscoaching #freewebinar #artificialintelligence #ai

Have you taken a look at our new book? Check it out today!

Click here to order on Amazon or to read more.

We would love to hear your comments.

Gary Brunson
gary@myclearfocus.com

Debra Rider
debra@myclearfocus.com

574.361.2674

Sustainable Growth & Profit Consultant, Coach, Mentor and Counselor/Therapist for Business Owners and Professionals.

August 14, 2023July 18, 2023

Digital Marketing

But that’s not all you need to know about digital marketing in 2023. To learn more, read “Digital Marketing Trends that Can Help Your Business” at The Alternative Board.

https://www.thealternativeboard.com/blog/digital-marketing-trends

#tabboards #businesscoaching #digitalmarketingtrends

Have you taken a look at our new book? Check it out today!

Click here to order on Amazon or to read more.

We would love to hear your comments.

Gary Brunson
gary@myclearfocus.com

Debra Rider
debra@myclearfocus.com

574.361.2674

Sustainable Growth & Profit Consultant, Coach, Mentor and Counselor/Therapist for Business Owners and Professionals.

August 10, 2023

How to Deploy Successful Leadership through an Economic Downturn.

How to Deploy Successful Leadership through an Economic Downturn.

Economists across the board are anticipating an economic downturn moving throughout 2023. This type of prediction (and constant recession talk) can send a chill through customers, employees, and other C-suite executives alike. Don’t let that fear run your business.

Gone are the days of the stoic CEO who dutifully manages stressors behind-the-scenes on behalf of the whole company. Customers, employees, and other C-suite executives expect a CEO to display true leadership through transparency. During an economic downturn, one of the most important things to remember is that trust can be broken easily but is incredibly hard to rebuild (especially in a workplace).

To weather the storm, CEOs should prepare to be authentic and transparent.

Providing a united foundation and building trust with employees during tough times is incredibly important to the survival of a company through a recession.

Here are some best practices for CEOs to employ during uncertain times…

Remain Consistently Transparent

Transparency is key in times of trouble. Whether it’s monthly or quarterly business updates – provide your employees with honest information about the company (and their career paths). It’s important for everyone to understand how the company is tracking against its goals. This reporting can give your employees a picture of what roadblocks the team is up against and can help to limit anxiety for those who jump to “doomsday” scenarios.

Exceptional leadership means communicating a strategic plan (that’s updated over time) to remedy any issues or bad reports. It’s important to not only develop a plan but to remain consistent with your communication regarding updates of the plan’s progress. Ensure that your C-suite is on board as you work collectively toward the same goals.

Prioritize Accountability

Placing goals on display (especially for yourself and for the company as a whole) is a great way to create transparency. This can also drive accountability and help to channel anxious energy. Those who are worried about job security may feel more inclined to work toward smaller and larger goals collectively versus floundering as they worry about their employment.

Keep in mind that an economic downturn may not be the most opportune time to set an incredibly high bar for success. Providing a roadmap for employees to follow can help your team grow together. Collective goals and accountability may also drive innovative ideas and solutions to challenges that your company may be facing in the midst of an economic downturn.

Allow the Free Flow of Ideas

It may be easier to force the direction forward (against all odds) in times of crisis – but the best leaders leave space for great ideas. Developing new processes during difficult times like economic downturns can mean one company surviving over another.

Ensure that your company is adequately prepared to listen and encourage the free flow of ideas during tough times. Foster mutual respect and open spaces for employees to feel valued when they speak. This will help with overall employee retention during an economic downturn as well.

Don’t Hide Bad News

Transparency and openness applies to the bad news as well. While sharing bad news may be uncomfortable, it can help to build trust and eliminate rumors. Rallying around true and accurate results of a company will unify a team to find solutions moving forward. This style of communication can also help with developing a strategic roadmap.

Embrace Candidates who can Tackle Adversity

Successful leaders will build teams that can weather adversity. Those who are able to identify, interview, and hire the right candidates will better succeed through times of crisis. Employees who believe they can persevere to win are much more likely to foster an environment of success than those who readily play the victim during challenges.

Are you ready to weather the 2023 storm?

Will you incorporate any of these leadership tactics to weather the economic downturn in 2023? Have you already been through challenging times in the past? Do you have mentors that you can turn to for advice during adversity? We’d love to hear from you. *

Click here to order on Amazon or to read more.

We would love to hear your comments.

Gary Brunson
gary@myclearfocus.com

Debra Rider
debra@myclearfocus.com

574.361.2674

Sustainable Growth & Profit Consultant, Coach, Mentor and Counselor/Therapist for Business Owners and Professionals.

August 8, 2023July 18, 2023

Change is hard. Perhaps even more so when it comes to technology.

Fear of technology can thwart the growth of your business, leave you disengaged with your customers and keep you lagging behind your competition. But instead of fearing technological change in your business, now just might be the perfect time to embrace it.

Easier said than done? Well, you can start by reading this article from The Alternative Board titled “How Technology Can Help Increase Productivity.”

https://www.thealternativeboard.com/blog/how-technology-can-help-increase-productivity

#tabboards #businessocoaching #technology #productivity

Have you taken a look at our new book? Check it out today!

Click here to order on Amazon or to read more.

We would love to hear your comments.

Gary Brunson
gary@myclearfocus.com

Debra Rider
debra@myclearfocus.com

574.361.2674

Sustainable Growth & Profit Consultant, Coach, Mentor and Counselor/Therapist for Business Owners and Professionals.