My Worst Boss Ever
Who is the worst boss you’ve ever had?
Mine was disorganized, inconsistent, and couldn’t close a deal to save their life. They were passive aggressive and didn’t know how to communicate disappointment or frustration with their team until resentment seeped into their leadership.
They had high expectations, talked a big game, and then allowed things to fall through. They took on too much, overcommitted, and thought procrastination was part of their creative process. They bounced between the highs and lows of business and took everything personally.
Sounds awful right? It was.
My worst boss was me.
The Balance of Being Your Own Boss
When you’re a small business owner, you are both the boss and the team on the ground.
You’re the business owner and the creative, the leader and the follower.
So, are you a good leader?
Do you make it easy for the part of you actually doing the work on the ground to follow through with your direction and your vision?
Like in any company, the relationship between the leader and their team dictates the culture that exists in this business, which radiates until it reaches their customer or client.
Yours isn’t any different.
Reflect on Your Current Business Culture
Do you actually honor your values?
I love talking about values and how important they are to a business. But there's a big difference between the values we say we honor and how we honor them in our day to day.
Let's say "being of service" is a big value for you. Are you being of service when you let yourself off the hook? Or when you avoid sending that tough email?
What version of you is saying YES?
If you're a creative like me, you want to say YES to everything because nothing gives me more energy than a new idea or collaboration, and that can really get us into trouble.
So next time you have an amazing new idea or opportunity, ask yourself-- who wants to say yes to this? Is it the creative? The people pleaser? Or the leader who has the bigger picture in mind?
Do you have a clear vision?
Figuring out how to piece it all together is one of the toughest tasks because it means giving yourself permission to WANT something.
Those of us who can articulate what we're building and why have a much easier time dealing with challenge, building resilience, and fighting off overwhelm because we know where we're looking to go. So how clear are you on what business you're building? How will this business help support your life?
Become a Better Boss
Finding any red flags in the way you lead yourself?
Take action now to improve your self-leadership:
Spend the next 15 minutes really thinking about your strengths and weaknesses as a business owner. -Where do you shine? -What regularly falls through the cracks? -What do you avoid? -What do you particularly enjoy doing?
Next, think about your weekly schedule. -How much time do you allocate to your craft or creative pursuit? -How much time is spent doing client work? -What is the balance between working for clients and building your client list?
Finally, make three commitments to yourself based on what you notice. -Start each statement with: "I will..."
Your Business Adventure Continues
Today, I invite you to commit to being an incredible business boss to your creative self because you owe it to yourself, your business, and most importantly, your clients to having an amazing working team.
If you need support for any part of your business journey, I love helping creatives, entrepreneurs and freelancers find the alignment, confidence and sustainability they seek.
I offer workshops every month. Check out the upcoming "How to Land A New Client" event on September 28th!