Leadership and Business Growth

Taking a step back..

Leadership is about being vulnerable. It’s about going against the grain. 

In fact, many times leadership requires you to put your neck on the line to direct change.

This is a fundamental aspect of leadership.

In order to do this… you need courage.

WHY?

Humans are wired to avoid conflict. That’s a fundamental truth of human nature and how our species evolved. 

And yes, there are many advantages to this wiring.

But many disadvantages as well, specifically when it comes to leading positive change.

So in order to lead, you have to have the guts to push forward in the face of resistance. To put your neck on the line for the betterment of your team and clients. Even if it’s the “unpopular” thing to do at the moment. 

A strong leader has to choose progress over popularity.

And COURAGE is the main ingredient in this formula to success.

This is the bottom line.

My friend, I wish there was a softer and easier way. 

But there’s not.

The good news?

Courage is a muscle that can be developed. 

The more you flex it, the stronger your courage becomes.

My message today?

If you want to level up your leadership, you have to level up your COURAGE. 

So keep flexing your courage muscle, you will develop more of it, and be well on your way to being the leader our community needs.

The first C of leadership is Clarity. 

As the leader, clarity inward for yourself and clarity outward for your team & organization is the first step. 

As without a clear target to pursue, friction and underperformance will set in any organization. 

Thus, as a leader, you must take time to reflect, and go inward often, so you have an understanding of where you are. And most importantly, to get clear on where you want to go.

This is the foundational point of your leadership, as it starts with you getting crystal clear on the vision..

And as the old adage says:  “without vision, the people will perish”.

This is very true and starts with you.

My question for you?

• Does your team know your company goals for the year? 
• Are they dialed on your rocks? 
• Are they aware of your target number of members? 
• Is there clarity of roles within your accountability chart?
• Are they focused in on the big goals you have for your clients and business?

Your action step?

It’s time to create clarity for yourself and your team.

In the coming weeks, we will compound on this to sharpen your leadership. Next week we will discuss the 2nd C which is Courage!

Advice to my former self:

Rewind the clock to November 5, 2012, the day Tatiana & I launched our first Fit Body location, I would have told myself to invest & focus on developing my leadership skills. 

As leadership (more than fitness/nutrition coaching) has been the biggest mover in growing my team and membership base. This is the same for our locations’ businesses as well. 

Consequently and in the 10 years of study, I have developed my own leadership framework which I call the 5 C’s. 

I list the 5 C’s below and over the coming weeks, will unpack them. For now, here is your high-level insight and I hope you are looking forward to the 5 weeks ahead!

The 5 C’s of Leadership 

1. Clarity 
2. Courage 
3. Connection 
4. Communication 
5. Consistency

Simply put, to get people to do what they need to do to support the mission and team.

As when the team wins, everyone wins.

Simple but true.

My question for you..

Are you working towards getting people to support the mission and team?

If so, you are leading..

If not, get to it.

One of the most important but underutilized elements of leadership.

Meaning leaders create & support small teams of leaders who have the autonomy to make decisions to move the mission forward.

As even the best leaders can only truly invest their time and knowledge into a handful of people. 

These people then lead their downline.

This is why its mission is critical to develop a team of leaders and not only followers.

As with a team of only followers, an organization cannot be truly transformational.

True execution happens when you decentralize command and empower others to lead.

The ability to lead yourself.

Sounds basic but it’s extremely true.

When you develop the ability to lead yourself by creating discipline in your life (eating well, exercising, being an early riser and overall highly dependable).

You will be able to accomplish many things from a productivity perspective as its first value point.

But much more than that, you will become a source of inspiration for others who then buy into your leadership.

Discipline is at the foundation of this which is a core value here at Fit Body..

So the more of the story and todays lesson?

If you develop the discipline and ability to lead yourself, you then can develop the ability to lead others.

But remember, it’s an internal game that starts with you and starts with discipline..

In fact and in the words of Jocko Willink…

There are no bad teams. 

Rather, just bad leaders.

That’s incredibly humbling, but also incredibly empowering.

As the greater you lead yourself, the greater you can lead others.

It starts with you.

And once you accept this very difficult reality that your current leadership is the lid on your life and our business, things become much easier.

But you must first accept the difficult fact of life that leadership is always the problem, and always the solution.

So invest in your leadership growth, and let’s get to solving.

Communication is an ally of Leadership.

The better communication skills you develop, the better leader you become.

Why?

At its root, Leadership is about creating clarity.

Clarity for yourself, clarity for your team, clarity for your clients, clarity for your following.

So the more effective communicator you are, the more clarity everyone has and consequently the better leader you are. 

Todays call to action?

Be a student of communication in its various forms (written, spoken, group, 1-1, etc) and your leadership will transform!

Simply put, effective leaders play to win. Thus, in order to win you must have a default aggressive.

To provide some other perspective and in sales, there’s a famous quote saying “Timid Salesmen have skinny kids”.

This is also true of leadership.

This in mind, there’s many times as a leader it’s in the best interest of your team and clients to take the softer approach. There is much truth is this. In fact, this is the challenge of leadership knowing when to decipher between the two.

But as a defaut, effective leaders thermostat is set as aggressive.

Just when you thought we were complete with Jocko’s 4 laws of combat and leadership, I am here to exceed expectations and provide the final 2 and a summary from the notepad.com 

Now on to lesson Number 5!

In Leadership Strategy and Tactics: Field Manual, Jocko Willink compares two of his Platoon Commanders early in his career as a SEAL. One of them wanted complete ownership over planning. The other allowed his reports to do the planning but he would review it.

The leader that wanted complete ownership over planning couldn’t detach from his own plans. He couldn’t take a higher-level look at it. He would blame others when things went wrong: the plan was poorly executed or there were outside factors.

Because they did the planning, the reports felt ownership over it and were more motivated to execute it properly during a mission.

The leadership lesson?

Find a way to detach from your plan. 

Step away from your drafts. Have someone else review your outlines. If you’re leading others, remember that their feeling of ownership is important. 

You’ll always have that feeling because you have other people looking to you to lead. Find opportunities for them to reinforce their own feelings of ownership.