This week I delivered one of my presentations (titled, “Leadership for SMEs”) to two lively audiences in Brisbane and Sydney.
I talked about managing staff, managing a business and best of all: managing yourself.
Afterwards, my hosts (National Mortgage Brokers, https://www.nmb.com.au) kindly invited me to join them for networking drinks and end-of-year celebrations. I got chatting to members of each audience, where I heard all about their businesses. Both the good bits and what they struggle with. One question that kept cropping up:
“I’m a sole operator. I run my own business. How do I manage myself?”
A good question that taps me on the shoulder everyday. Why? Because I, too, run my own business. And I have one hell of a difficult staff member to manage … namely, myself. I can be so annoying.
Now there are plenty of ideas and tips that I shared with those who asked me this, but perhaps one of the most useful is:
GET YOURSELF AN ACCOUNTABILITY PARTNER
That’s right. Even though you own and run your own business, and largely work by yourself day-to-day, it’s crucial to find someone who is experienced and knowledgeable enough to keep you accountable and thus help you achieve your goals.
But who? Well, if you’re aligned to a group e.g. National Mortgage Brokers, then the answer is easy: one of their team, who already understands your business and is there to provide support and help. But more than that, they can keep you keep you honest and on track, via e.g. a monthly accountability meeting.
One person spoke about being easily distracted. He said, “I love new, shiny things that sparkle and look fun or interesting.” Hey, me too. The challenge is to have the discipline to ignore all that glitters, and instead force yourself to DO THE WORK THAT MATTERS each day.
If you’re not aligned to a group? Engage a quality coach or someone else who won’t let you off the hook if you fail to deliver on your promises. When you’re an employee, that person is typically your direct manager. But when self-employed and a sole practitioner, spend the money to find the best coach you can. I do this for some of my clients but there are plenty of quality coaches and consultants out there who can help you. Whoever you choose, partner with someone great. Someone who knows what they’re doing and understands how to coach, train and mentor properly.
Most of all, find someone who will help transform how you work and the results you achieve. Because that person in the mirror you look at each day has the potential to be the greatest staff member you’ll ever have.
Even if they’re also a difficult bugger to manage.
