Leadership... What is your Next Step?
By Joan Prenger

As the year 2006 becomes history, I am present to growth, commitment and gratitude. I am so grateful for the love of my family, times I have shared with my friends, appreciation of my client’s generosity, and to the dedication, support, and the respect I receive and have for my business team.

For most of my life I have been in a leadership position. For all of us our role as a leader is represented in many ways. My leadership role as a wife, a mother, the owner of a business, and a coach has had its ups and downs. Managing and leading a team whether it is your family team, or your work team is one of the most challenging positions, and at the same time can be on of the most rewarding. In this article we are going to look at your position or role as a leader. First of all do you see yourself as a leader? What type of a leader are you? As a leader, what is your next step?

The concept of leadership is to inspire, motivate, console, and work with others to keep them focused and eager to move forward to reach a common goal. As a leader you know that you are the one in charge, and you know that your job description doesn’t even begin to cover the many roles that you have to fill. In today’s world it is not so much about what we do; it is about who we are being. So, I ask you, who are you?

• Are you a leader who is accountable? Do you take responsibility for and keep promises you make to yourself and others? Or are you quick to find fault and blame the circumstances of life or others for your lack of productivity or effectiveness?

• Do you communicate effectively? When you are in a conversation with others, are you paying attention to what is being said? Do you really listen? Most of us listen with an agenda -- we already have a response to what has been said before the other person has finished speaking. We’re not paying attention to what’s really being said which leaves our family member, client, or team member disappointed, frustrated, or disempowered.

• Are you organized? Do you have balance in life? Are you someone who likes to complain, whine, and repeatedly say, “I don’t have time!” Remember you are the only one who says you don’t have the time to do the things you love. You are the only one who can create the life of your dreams.

• Do you motivate or inspire others to take on the role of leadership? Do you lead by example? Make sure you are not expecting others to do something you yourself have not done. It’s really a simple concept. For example: Don’t ask your children, significant other, or team members to take out the trash if you yourself are not willing to do that.

• Acknowledgement! Is it in your being to look for and acknowledge others for their support, contribution, and talents they give to you on a weekly or daily basis? Saying a simple please and thank you regularly to your family or team is rewarding.

So what is next! Before we can effectively lead others, one of the first steps is to look at ourselves and discover how we communicate, how we relate to our families, our community, our world, and ourselves.

I am a Salon business owner and have been for 25 years. As the leader of my business my goal is to manage a happy and productive team that works together smoothly and provides the best customer service possible. I made the decision to invest in coaching to give me the tools and training needed to support my goal and commitment.

Through coaching I realized I had all the materials and structures available to fulfill my goal, but I was not accountable to my team or myself. I had lots of great ideas, but I was not effective in producing results. Coaching had me realize who I was “being”. I like to be in control. Being in control is not a bad thing, but it left no room for others to contribute to me or to the business. It left my family and my team with a lack of trust and confidence. I really got how I communicated. When in conversation with a family member or a team member, I would pretend that I was listening, when in fact I couldn’t wait to respond. One of the most amazing gifts I received from coaching was getting present to who I am for me. I am powerful! Viewing my personal and professional life from a new prospective has led me to where I am today. I have become a leader who is the cause for others and my self to know that we are the only ones who can make our dreams come true.

What developed out of this coaching is a team that works smarter rather than harder. We follow structures and design systems to achieve our goals. We are a team of leaders who hold each other accountable for meeting our goals. We are a team that asks,” What is the next thing I can do to support this business?” I now have a business that is self-sustaining and has shown an average profit increase of 16 % for the last 3 years. I have time to spend with my family and friends. And best of all, I am able to live my dream of being a Coach, Trainer and Public Speaker.

You can do it too. Be passionate! Make a difference! Look at being the cause. Be the leader who is always looking for what is next! I leave you with this quote from my coach and mentor - Behnam Bakhshandeh:

“Where you are in life, is the outcome of the way you behave and operate. If you don’t like where you are, change your behaviors and your actions. If you are not willing to change, then stop complaining.”