As I've recently finished putting together the Leadership course, and having found time for a little break lately, I have had time to reflect on the past couple of years and how leadership has changed.
The current situation in recruitment shows that there is a lack of resources, the fact that staff are quick to jump ship for what seems a greener pasture and the price war happening to attract the right candidate, we are now entering a very different phase in this pandemic. It’s difficult to understand how we can be the leader of our business when we feel so vulnerable and in constant juggling mode.
When it comes to business coaching, we are dealing with a lot of burnt-out owners who are finding it difficult to motivate themselves as everything seems to be a priority. One of their staff members leaves and it’s only reinforcing the mindset they are currently experiencing. Everything seems like a mountain to climb, and every step towards a bright future can feel extremely blurry.
When I created this course around 6 years ago with Tiphaine Modeste from Expertise Spa Bien être as part of our seminar launch in France, I guess leadership meant something else in those days. As I reviewed it to finally launch it here in the UK, I realised that I still stand by it all.
The issue that we are scared to manage our current staff members because that means we must recruit and “Please Valerie, don’t make me recruit!” isn’t new but is somewhat even more relevant nowadays. So, there are no consequences for actions or non-actions.
The issue of staff being less committed, and you feel that as an owner, you are being interviewed for their job isn’t new but somewhat even more obvious nowadays.
The issue of staff being demanding with their requests on flexibility, again, isn’t new but somewhat even more difficult to entertain with the financial pressure looming.
Since the start of the pandemic, there has been a huge divide between the owners and the team that is becoming more and more apparent. The feeling of having everything on one’s shoulder is more real than ever and the unfairness when the team were on furlough whilst as an owner you were lucky if you could survive, let alone get paid through this adversity, only reinforce the belief that staff are on their own path and it’s lonely at the top.
I want to reiterate that we are ALL leaders.
Your flexibility and resilience have been the 2 soft skills of leadership that got you through, and it’s so fascinating to see how many of you managed difficult situations without realising the leadership skills you adopted for it.
But you are here and I for one, want to celebrate the wins. Because maybe I feel we are not doing enough of it and I know that it shifts the mindset into a more receptive mode but also because we should start focusing on what goes right rather than what isn’t, in order to attract the right people beside us.
I believe that we should focus on our existing team and what we have rather than potential candidates that are not even in yet!
Have you revisited the opening hours? What about The Staff Wellness Formula to entice wellness? Have you enticed and reassured your teams enough that they are amazing, and we love working with them? Have you worked on developing a strong budget so you can reinvest in training that is empowering them?
We go on about the new generation wanting this and that, but do you blame them for wanting wellness before burnout? Wanting to be more self-centred before giving their all to a job that might not go anywhere? They are more loyal if they feel that you are integral to your message, you are leading the business forward and you are transparent in your communication.
I believe that there are some gems out there that we should be shouting about and inspiring the new talents that are coming through.
A mindset is difficult to shift if we don’t feel it, so I won’t be the coach telling you to be positive, which only adds pressure: “I must be positive!”.
But I will tell you that your soft skills as a leader are the ones you should nurture, such as time management, communication, resilience, flexibility and delegation, which to me, are the main ones that will make a difference to your habits and mindset.
By working on smooth procedure and structure you will find that your leadership will prosper.
So, let’s start by celebrating the wins rather than focusing on what isn’t happening.
Let’s review everyone’s individual plan and start empowering them with a yearly focus.
Let’s have fun through adversity as you are the place where, as a customer, I have my pause button and want to feel good.
Let’s believe in Leadership more than ever and reiterate your vision.
Let’s start creating systems that don’t rely on you as an owner but allow for your work-life balance to flourish, as a system isn’t a system if it relies on 1 person. Procedures are still key to your day-to-day operation.
And finally, let’s take that time out of your business once a quarter and reflect, on what needs improving, what was challenging, what went right, what needs adapting and am I still achieving my vision?
After all, to empower others, you must empower yourself first.
When I look at Leadership, I want to see how my leadership skills are affecting my team on their journey with me. The Ultimate Leadership Course will allow you to understand how to grow the team through the staff journey and what it takes to ensure the processes are clear and defined, so you can grow from management with strong structure and foundations to developing your leadership skills each year.