Leveling up Your Leadership Skills
Mar 16, 2022
If you plan to grow your fitness or wellness business even a little, transitioning from the main service provider to the person leading your company and team is an essential move you’ve got to make.
As long-time Generals Electric CEO Jack Welch once said: “Before you become a leader, success is all about growing yourself. After you become a leader, success is about growing others.”
If you are looking to transition from a service provider into the leader you need to be to grow and scale your business, I am going to walk you through the 5 required skills you need to push past this threshold.
Why You Need Different Skills
There is an entirely different skillset that’s required to manage and lead people, compared to the skills it takes to provide services to your customers. Many entrepreneurs, myself included, don’t naturally step into leadership because we are the founders of our companies and have a “hustle and grind mindset.”
This way of thinking probably what's gotten you this far with the success you’ve had. However, it’s not the same mindset you need in order to grow and scale your business moving forward.
The transition from service provider to leader is another important milestone in your business, just like pushing past the $300k revenue mark. And I will tell you, it was one of the hardest things for me to personally work through as I learned what it meant to be a leader, shifting my focus from serving my clients to empowering, leading, and managing my team.
Are you Hitting the Ceiling?
As a business owner, it’s inevitable for you to “hit the ceiling” – meaning you have hit the top of where you can go with the current skills you have. Something is stopping your growth, and you can’t push through. You as a business owner have to level up into a different person to get past these milestones.
To be an effective leader, you must understand how to develop leadership skills in yourself and in your employees. Developing your employees is now one of the most important roles you have in your company! But what skills or abilities are necessary?
5 Leadership Abilities
These are the 5 leadership abilities I like to talk about when you find yourself hitting this ceiling. It can feel so frustrating when you feel like your business isn’t growing anymore. It’s helpful to reflect and think about which of these disciplines you need to improve to become the leader you need to be and take your business to that next level.
1. Ability to Simplify
How can you simplify the systems and processes it takes to keep your business running? I love the acronym – KISS: Keep it Stupid Simple. How can you work smarter rather than harder and eliminate complexity within your business?
2. Ability to Delegate
Are you able to free and elevate yourself to do what you do best and then doing the same for every person on your team? As CEOs, we should spend 80% of the time on the 20% of the tasks that drive revenue to our business. Delegating will give you more freedom to spend your time on the right things to grow your business while empowering your team to be more effective.
3. Ability to Predict the Future
How well are you able to look to the future and think about your short and long term goals? It’s crucial to make sure your entire team is on the same page, following your processes and prioritizing the right initiatives. Rather than being in “reaction” mode, shift to a proactive approach to your business.
4. Ability to Systemize
To systemize the essential processes in your business, document the tasks that bring you the bulk of your results. Then, simplify those processes and teach your team! Your business will be more efficient and way easier to manage.
5. Ability to Structure
Take a step back, rise above your organization, and see the big 30,000 foot view of your business. This will help bring clarity so you can get the right people on your team in the right seats, doing the right tasks and responsibilities.
Develop the Leader Within
Your company’s growth is directly proportional to your own personal and professional development! You can’t lead your team without first developing and leading yourself. I know I became a better person as I became a better leader – it transfers to all the other roles you play!
Are you ready to step into the role as leader compared to service provider? Apply for the Inner Circle, and together, we will push to grow your business past $350k in revenue while cutting your client facing hours in half.
We tackle hard things like:
- Leveling up as a leader
- Creating systems and processes for your business
- Learning how to implement those systems with your entire team
- Exploring your own strengths/weaknesses
- Hiring better team members