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Welcome to the last episode of November. If you celebrated Thanksgiving, I hope you had a wonderful holiday with family and friends.

As you know, we have spent this month learning about the “Earning It” Mindset.

We have identified what it is, why it matters, how it has helped us succeed, and yet how it can hold us back and damage our executive careers if we aren’t intentional about how and when to apply this mindset.

It's time to close out this mini-series with the last key aspect of this mindset; finding the balance.

The secret is not to eliminate the mindset but to make a few adjustments.

Pivot the definition of this "rule."

Instead of thinking, "I must do something," shift it to "I must add value."

Instead of "do" it is "add."

If we shift our definition, it doesn't mean that we don't strive, work hard, or perform.

It simply means that we do all of those things in a way that allows us to compete with ourselves and provide more thoughtful, intellectually focused contributions instead of physical contributions.

When we are focused on adding value, there is no measuring stick for which we can compare ourselves to others.

Meaning, we can't get frustrated when someone doesn't carry their weight, because how do you measure your "value-add" vs. someone else's?

Everyone plays a different role, has different gifts, and may have been asked by the company to add value differently.

This new definition frees you from comparing yourself and measuring your performance to others.

When it comes to adding value, you will generate your specific results and earn your reward for it. Moreover, you will know you earned it because you know you added value in a way that is unique to you.

Adding value will ensure you focus on doing the right work for the role, feel worthy of the reward, and will allow you to succeed in the role overall.

In other areas of your life, housework, yardwork, etc. adding value will still mean physical labor. But as an executive, adding value will mean mental work.

Make the shift.

Change the definition of the function you perform (adding value). This is how you reap the benefits of the “earning it” mindset in all areas of your life.

Would you like for the team to learn more about the "earning it" mindset? Send an email to info@legendleaders.com.

Be Legendary.

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This episode is going to be amazing and I am excited to dive into this topic with you!

Last week we talked through the fact that the "Earning It" Mindset is a double-edged sword.

It has very much served us in our careers because it helped us succeed and achieve in school, college, and as we climbed the ranks in our careers.

Yet for all the ways it has served us, there have been instances where it has actually held us back.

When we have looked at others who haven't "carried their weight" or performed as much work or action as us, we have felt resentment and frustration.

When someone has taken our ideas and shared them as their own, we have felt betrayed.

And now that we are executives, this mindset could hold us back even further.

This is where I see top-talented leaders start to falter and where this mindset goes from being helpful to being a hindrance.

How?

Walk down this mental pathway with me:

As an executive, are you performing tasks?

Are you rolling up your sleeves and getting work done?

Are you solving problems and putting plans in place?

The reality is that for the majority of executives, the answer is no.

As an executive, you are contributing to the business in a very significant way, but not in a way you are used to. Not in a way that you define as "earning it."

Executives aren’t doers in the sense that we would define a “doer” in our careers. They are thought leaders and people leaders.

Throughout our careers, before being executives, we had to do the work. Whether that was truly doing the physical work to start, or whether it was overseeing people doing the physical work and putting plans in place to get more productive work out of them for example, we did the work.

As an executive, you’re no longer expected to "do" the work. You are now expected to bring all of your knowledge, experience, expertise, and judgment to the table to help the company strategically grow, navigate both industry and economic risks and move the business forward.

While these actions are beyond valuable to the business and organization, if we have an “earning it” mindset, we aren’t going to see this type of contribution as valuable.

This is going to cause struggle and conflict within ourselves.

If we do not move past it, we will delay and even damage our careers.

If we take the belief that the only way we can add value is if we do the work, sacrifice, put in the time, go the extra mile, and labor over the task at hand, then we are only going to be looking for those functions in our executive role.

When we don’t find them, we will create them.

The problem with this is again, the company doesn’t want that behavior from its executives.

So here is the golden nugget: if you can’t pivot your “earning it” mindset as an executive, you will focus on the wrong actions, which will damage your career.

It’s a pivot you must make if you want to succeed.

Join me next week to discuss how to keep this mindset or belief in check. When do we apply it vs. not? How do we pivot it?

Send your questions, comments, or requests for onsite training to: info@legendleaders.com.

Be Legendary!

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Welcome to the third episode in this mini-series on the “Earning It” Mindset.

Today is all about how this mindset has served us in our careers.

That's right! The "earning it" mindset has served us quite well throughout our lives and it's time to give credit where it's due.

Before I dive in, I want you to understand that most behaviors and mindsets that we have tend to serve us in some capacity. If they didn’t, we would have already gotten rid of them by now.

So when it comes to the “earning it” mindset, know that it has absolutely served you in your career.

Our parents were not wrong when they taught us to work hard, give a little extra, etc. It worked for them, their parents, etc. So of course it’s going to work for us.

Putting in the hard work helped you earn the degree, get the amazing job you stepped into after college, and help you earn your promotions, pay raises, bonuses, etc.

This is why as we have been talking through this mindset you may have felt a little bit of confusion. "Is this mindset one that is good for me or bad?"

Know this, it has served you.

Recognize it. Celebrate it. Appreciate your parents or family who taught you to work hard and put in the effort that generates the results you want to see in your life. They have helped you succeed.

This is the positive edge of this double-edged sword that is this mindset.

It is a prime example of a value or belief that has served you in the past or may even continue to serve you in life. Yet we have to realize that it won’t serve us in all parts of our lives.

This is the distinction we must make here.

Has it served us?

Yes.

Will it serve us in all parts of our careers?

The answer is no.

Next week we will dive into the areas of your career where the “earning it” mindset will hold you back from professional success.

Questions or comments?

Send me an email: info@legendleaders.com and let's talk.

Be Legendary.

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Welcome to another episode. We are diving into the topic of “earning it” this month. When I say “earning it” I am defining that as a believe that an action must be performed to not only receive a reward but more importantly, feel as though we are worthy of that reward.

Did you do your homework from last week? Did you think about your current mindset and the association you have between your actions and mindset?

If yes, good for you. If not, take a moment now to navigate this concept.

Because today, we are diving into the next phase of this discussion. We must understand WHERE this mindset comes from. Surely the majority of us didn't just come up with it on our own.

So where did this come from?

While there are many pathways for this mindset, there is a common one that I will share with you today.

Transparently, for most of us, this mindset originates from our family. It comes from being raised in a middle-class household.

Now look, this is not an attack on the middle class. I grew up in a middle-class family and I'm grateful for it.

The middle class is a hardworking class of individuals and is the largest class in the US.

Let’s think about the characteristics of the middle class.

• Hardworking
• Independent
• Doesn’t ask for handouts
• Not everyone gets a trophy
• Hard work results in money earned and money earned pays for the car, the house, the food, and the clothes that I have

In other words, the middle class “earns it.” They put in the effort to get the results. They have consistently learned through personal experience that if I work this job and show up in this capacity, I will earn my paycheck. When I earn my paycheck, I can purchase these other items.

Think about your family. I watched my parents work hard, sacrifice, give, serve, and “do what needed to be done.”

There was no ability to question why it had to be that way or why it was that way, it simply was.

So when you went to school, did you expect to just show up and be given an A? No, you earned that A.

You earned that degree.

You earned that paycheck.

You earned the money to buy your first car, house, vacation, etc.

You learned to do that from your family and the way you were raised.

What I’m trying to say is that for most of us, this “earning it” mindset has been ingrained in us as a way of life.

If we want to be successful in this world. The only way that will happen is with an “earning it” mentality.

While that can be great in some areas of our lives, it can be detrimental in others.

If I only feel like I am worthy of the raise or the promotion or the bonus if I “earn it,” and earning it means I sacrifice, I miss out on my family time, and I have to give to be worthy of receiving, then the work-life balance is going to suffer.

If I feel like I have given everything above and beyond and am not rewarded for it, I’m going to feel resentful and maybe even disrespected.

We are going to talk about the impacts of this mindset over the next few weeks. What I want you to walk away with today is understanding that for the majority of us, we didn’t sit down and think to ourselves, “OK, I want to have an earning it mindset.”

We simply learned it by watching our parents, by being taught how to be successful in this world through conversations with parents and mentors, etc. And they all taught us the “earning it” mindset because it’s what they know and it is what has worked for them.

Now that you understand what it is and where it came from, you have the power to change it. The question is, do you want to change it?

Join me next week when we talk through how this mindset has served us at various times throughout our careers.

Do you have questions or want additional training?

Send me an email: info@legendleaders.com and let's talk.

Be Legendary!

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Welcome to November; the month of the “earning it” mindset.

80% of success is due to mindset.

If you believe you can, you do, am I right?

We all know how conversations go when we are confident vs. when we are meek and doubtful.

So let’s spend the month talking about what I call the “earning it” mindset.

This is the time of year when you are setting budgets, talking about bonuses, and in active negotiations and discussions for yourself, your team, and the business.

My goal is to ensure you have the right mindset and perspective when you go into those conversations so they go in your favor.

When it comes to the "earning it" mindset, we are going to dive into what it is, why it matters, how it has helped you in your career, how it could hurt you, and then we will wrap it all up with how to find the balance with this mindset so it serves you at the highest level. That’s the plan for the month.

So today, let’s get into the topic by talking about what the “earning it” mindset is.

Earning it essentially means you did the work to generate the reward, right?

You performed a task or did an action that resulted in a reward of some sort. It could be as simple as playing a card game and winning the hand, to showing up to work and contributing to earn your paycheck.

Every single day we are performing actions that generate results. They could be good results or bad results, but we are generating results.

The key to this discussion is our perception of the relationship between actions and results.

Is it cause and effect?

When I do X I generate Y.

That’s what the earning-it mindset is founded upon.

From a career perspective, it is:

I did these actions within my role, therefore I have earned my paycheck.

I took on this extra project, I sacrificed, and I gave above and beyond, therefore I have earned this promotion.

The link we have within our brain matters because it is part of the definition of this mindset.

Ultimately an “earning it” mindset means I must DO something to get the reward.

If I don’t do the action or perform the function, I may receive the reward, but I didn’t earn it.

So no doubt, as you are thinking through this, you’re already asking yourself the key questions as it relates to “earning it.”

Which is good, because that’s your homework from this episode.

I want you to take some time to self-reflect. Do you believe that you must actually “earn” the paycheck, the award, the bonus, the promotion, etc. to be “worthy” of receiving the reward?

That’s what it comes down to. If you didn’t do the work but got the reward, are you ok with that or do you feel like you need to work harder and longer to make up for it?

Think about it. Next week we are going to dive into the most common reason many of us started off our careers with this “earning it” mindset.

This is a concept I am sharing in my book that will be published next year. If you want to learn more about it, send me an email (info@legendleaders.com) and I will happily share more with you and your organization.

Be Legendary!

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Welcome to the last episode of this series. We have been talking about some of the common roadblocks of career success.

Today, let’s wrap this up by talking about the warning signs.

How do you know you have hit a roadblock? How do you know you are living in the space of career decline vs. career momentum?

1. You're not hitting your business metric(s) target(s) and you don’t know why.
2. This is a clue. No doubt we have all had had times in our career where the numbers didn’t align. Why?

3. It may an external issue or it may be due to internal issues (your mindset, leadership and/or actions). We need to investigate further to find the root cause. Are you adding value or are you trying to be valuable? Are you blinded by your efforts? See the clue and follow up on it.

4. You find yourself saying, “I’m not doing that, I’m going to do it this way.”

5. Again, this is a clue. It doesn’t mean you’re doing anything wrong or that sometimes doing it your way isn’t warranted. You’re in a leadership role to help set the course of direction from time to time. Sometimes you have to do things your way. But if you’re constantly saying, “Nope, that’s wrong. I’m doing it this way,” I would challenge you to pause and ask yourself why.
6. Are you doing it because you’re being asked to forge the path or are you doing it because you don’t like the way the organization is asking you to execute? You can’t dig in your heels and win in the long run.
7. Bitterness and frustration.
8. If you resent your organization, are bitter because you believe you’re giving more than you’re receiving, and are frustrated with the lack of rewards you’re being given–stop and take a look.
9. Are you sacrificing unnecessarily? Are you blaming the company for your decisions?

These are the top 3 warning signs that you’re sitting at a roadblock in your career instead of driving forward to a successful path.

If you believe your team or organization is stuck behind one or more success roadblocks, email me and let's chat about it (info@legendleaders.com).

Be Legendary.

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We have been talking about roadblocks that prevent career success this month. Today, let’s dive into the concept of "valuable vs. value-add."

While this week's topic and last week's topic are separate, they do tie together to a degree.

Last week we talked about the concept of “I gave you everything" or "I've tried everything."

If you listened to last week's episode, you will recall that we talked about giving what we wanted to give, what we felt safe to give, or what we felt like we should give and then called that "everything." The problem with that is that giving those things may or may not create success for us in our careers. It depends on whether the company values that behavior or not.

So today, let’s talk about value.

As you know, I talk about The 1 Rule of executive success. The 1 Rule is to add consistent value within your career.

Who defines value?

The company is the entity in this relationship that defines what is valuable vs. what isn’t valuable.

Therefore, if we are going to add value, we must do so as defined by the company.

This means we must give what the company asks us to give and perform in the ways the company asks us to perform.

We can’t sacrifice in ways that we feel comfortable sacrificing. Nor can we sacrifice in a way that seems appropriate to us but is not appropriate in the eyes of the company.

It all boils down to value.

What does the company value?

What does the company define as valuable contributions to the point that they promote individuals for those contributions?

What does the company value when it bonuses individuals for those contributions?

The company shows what it values by promoting and bouncing those behaviors and contributions and "value-adds."

A common roadblock to success is the desire to be or feel valuable vs. actually being a value-add.

These could potentially be the same thing (being valuable and being a value-add), but when we are talking about a success roadblock, these two are not the same.

When we focus on being valuable, it’s mostly a selfish act. We want to feel safe and appreciated. We are seeking something to serve ourselves.

Being a value-add on the other hand is a selfless action. When we add value, we focus on contributing and meeting the needs of someone or something (in this case, the company) in a way that best fits that situation.

Most people mix up valuable vs. value-add. When you are adding value, you become valuable to the organization.

However, when you are focused on being valuable, you are focused on self-preservation. This is a self-centered act that rarely leads to value-added contributions.

Careers fail when people focus on being valuable over being a value-add.

We can’t be selfish. We must focus on serving and adding value at the highest level. Then we will have career success both defined by us and defined by the organization.

Be Legendary.

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Today is what I call, “I’ve tried everything!” or "I gave you everything!" When we are trying to create career success, this mindset is one of the most common roadblocks preventing us from moving forward and being successful.

Inherently what we like to say are things like, "I don't know why I'm not successful. I give that company everything! I sacrifice, I work extra, I do all the things!"

It sounds like a relationship gone bad, doesn't it? "I gave him everything!" The reality (in both your career and your relationship) is that you gave them everything except what they wanted or needed.

If you met all of their needs, your career/relationship would be successful.

It's seriously that simple.

So why is it that we feel like we gave the company everything and yet we aren't being rewarded for it?

When I have conversations with leaders who have been laid off, let go, demoted, or moved to another department, most of the time they are completely baffled by the situation and this mindset is the culprit.

When we are giving and sacrificing and yet not being rewarded for it, the honest truth of the matter is that we are doing the actions and functions that we value or that we feel comfortable doing. However, those actions and functions are not what the company needs from us. Whether we agree or disagree with that doesn't matter. The reality is that the company decides what it rewards and if we aren't doing the actions that the company appreciates, we will not succeed.

Have you ever spent your time sacrificing your evenings and weekends for your company, only to not get a thank you or an acknowledgment for your sacrifice? And then you get angry because you’re like, “I gave you my life for you!”

Think back to that moment.

Then I want you to seriously ask yourself, did the company ask you to sacrifice your time or did you simply do it because that’s who you are? Did the company ask you to work late or did you do it because you felt the pressure to get the job done?

Sometimes companies will ask for extra hands, set expectations for extra work outside of the norm, etc. And most of the time those companies will come back and recognize those employees and appreciate their efforts. Even if it’s just a verbal acknowledgment, it’s done.

When you don’t get the recognition, realize you either have 1. A crappy boss or 2. You actually created the situation to sacrifice yourself without being asked.

In other words, you gave the company everything but it wasn’t what the company wanted.

Yes, the company wanted the end result, but the company may not have expected you to sacrifice yourself and your personal life to get there. There are some companies that would actually consider that poor performance and bad leadership.

The key here is that you must understand what the company values and how it wants you to deliver that value.

We can’t give it in the way we perceive we should. We can’t sacrifice and slog away and suffer and hope that they will recognize the sacrifice. If it wasn’t requested, why would they need to acknowledge it? If anything, they might reprimand your poor judgment.

So, before you say, “I gave that company everything,” ask yourself if you gave everything you WANTED to give or if you gave the company everything it valued.

So how do you solve this?

The first action is to recognize that while you may be working hard, you're doing work that the company doesn't value.

Instead of continuing to do that same work and demanding the company take notice, stop.

Instead, open yourself up to understanding exactly what the company is asking of you and pivot your focus and actions to deliver on those asks.

Be Legendary.

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This month we are focusing on a topic that we all think about and talk about, yet many of us avoid actually learning about, it's the roadblocks of career success.

I know it's not fun, but know this, if you know exactly what the roadblocks are you can avoid them and get yourself around them if you are currently stuck behind one of them.

This month is not meant to be negative but is meant to be empowering!

Over today and the following 3 Wednesdays we are going to spend time together defining the details around the roadblocks, the what, the why, and the how, and then we will spend some time discussing how to get around them.

Today's roadblock: understanding success.

know that may sound crazy, but we must understand how we define success and, equally important, how the company defines success.

For you, success may be reaching a specific position in the organization, having a specific set of hours, a certain pay amount, or even a defined number of weeks of PTO. None of these reasons are wrong. The point is that how I define success could be very different from how you define success. So don’t look to my definition to measure yourself, create your own.

Second, we need to understand how the company defines success. This will be clear in the organization's policies, core values, expectations, and culture.

If the company wants you at work at 8 am for example, and that’s how it defines success, you must be at work no later than 8 am. Period.

The company as a whole will use language like attendance, punctuality, “on time,” and so on and so forth to convey its definition of success. It will drive home points about reliability and starting the day off correctly by being on time and being someone the team and customer can count on.

Whether I like being at work by 8 a.m. or not, it doesn’t matter. The company has defined success in this capacity and therefore I will either achieve those measures or I will not be successful in the company.

I know that’s a basic example, but it is an example that we can relate to and we can clearly understand how the company defines success for its employees. We see the definition in policies, language, and culture.

Additionally, understanding your definition of success is critical for you to feel satisfied and fulfilled.

Understanding the company’s definition of success is critical for you to actually be successful in your role.

Your homework today is to define success for yourself and get abundantly clear on how your organization defines a successful employee. If an employee does what actions, they should be successful. Define “what” in that instance and see what you come up with.

You may find that you’re doing all of those actions. You may find you’re doing none of them. You may find you’re doing some of them but don’t want to do all of them.

Whatever you find, face the truth of how you’re performing and what that means to your overall success and longevity in the organization.

Be Legendary.

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Welcome to the last episode of our monthly mini-series focused on burnout. As we wrap up the month, we can't close out the topic without talking about what I call life-preserver techniques. We already know the clues of a potential burnout situation. How do you handle one of those situations? What if you find yourself moving towards burnout?

The first action you must take is to do what we said a few weeks ago, accept the truth.

The truth of the matter is that you have seen one or more clues that this is a marathon or "Groundhog Day Perfect Storm" situation.

Yes, you are amazing, yes, you are strong, yes, you are an overcomer, but in this situation, you do not win by pushing through. You win by being strategic.

We can’t be strategic if we aren’t accepting that this is a situation where “pushing through” just won’t cut it.

So again, step 1: accept that this is a Groundhog Day Perfect Storm situation. The way you thrive in the space is not by pushing harder, it’s by working smarter.

This means step 2 is to get strategic. The company is facing a pretty tough situation, right? That’s why you’re living through this insanity. If we go back to The 1 Rule of business success that we teach here at Legend Leaders, then we are reminding ourselves that our job is to add value to the organization.

In this instance, you must ask yourself, "What are the best ways for me to add value?"

The answer won’t be slogging through the mud and pushing harder, the answer is coming up with strategic solutions to work smarter. This could be creating internal programs to grow in other areas of the business while one sector is being negatively impacted for example.

The point is that we must find a way to keep adding value and we can’t do that if we just put our heads down and push forward. These Groundhog Day Perfect Storm situations tend to redefine what the company values. To stay out of burnout, you must acknowledge that and pivot accordingly.

The third action is to be intentional with your time. If you have faced the truth, and realigned yourself with what the company values in this situation, then you have to be the leader who spends his/her time where it matters.

Meaning that you can’t be involved in peer-to-peer gossip or complaint/frustration sessions for the bulk of the day. While those conversations may seem to make you feel better, they actually create negative momentum in your performance.

Overcome that mindset and the desire to belabor the problems by taking your calendar and getting intentional with who you’re talking to, and what you’re talking about, and ensure everything you’re spending your time on is helping to add value in this phase of the organization’s life cycle.

When you do this, you will be surprised with the time you get back that you can then use to still have your downtime, take those mental breaks, enjoy your family time, etc.

Said differently, trade the non-productive conversations for personal downtime and you will be better off for it. It will ward off mental exhaustion and allow you to be even more strategic and intentional in your dealings.

So again, 3 steps:

1. See the truth of the situation

2. Get strategic to add value

3. Spend your time productively

As always, if you’re uncertain about any of this, send me an email, and let’s talk through it (info@legendleaders.com).

Moreover, if you want your entire team/company to learn how to avoid burnout, send an email with the details.

Be Legendary!

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I hope that you are enjoying this series as much as I am. What a feeling of empowerment we have when we learn how to take control of our lives, our emotions, and our future.

At this point, we have spent time defining burnout, and understanding why it happens, and last week we did some internal reflection to ensure we start to see the reality of the situations we are in so we can best cope and navigate them.

Last week we talked about "giving the extra." Is part of your brand giving that little extra push? Where are you right now when it comes to sprint, marathon, or typical work?

This was your homework from last week. If you didn't tackle it, I would encourage you to do it.

Now, I heard from some of you that you think you look for the signs as to what is a sprint vs. a marathon but you would like a little clarity on that. So with that, we are going to dive into today’s topic, which is "Look for the Clues."

That’s right. Look for the clues.

What are the signs of a marathon vs. a sprint?

Remember in the first episode we called those marathon days the "Groundhog Day Perfect Storm?"

How do we know the difference between an exception vs. a Groundhog Day Perfect Storm situation?

Let me give you 3 clues to look out for:

• The company, leadership, the industry, the world, or a combination of those entities are telling you there is no end in sight.

When you hear industry experts, internal company leadership, or others with knowledge and authority telling you you are in the middle of a situation that they cannot control nor can they predict when it will end, that’s your clue! Do not ignore it. That is the sign of a marathon/Groundhog Day Perfect Storm.

• When the tools or resources are not available to solve a problem.

You are responsible for a portion of the business. You have been given performance targets, financial targets, etc. However, the resources/support promised to you and your team is no longer available. Without these resources, the likelihood of achieving the result is slim to none.

If resources were promised that were necessary to achieve a result and those resources have been delayed or removed, accept that your results will also be delayed or unachievable.

That doesn’t make you a bad leader, recognize the limitations of the situation.

• When work hours exceed your typical weekly time investment for longer than 2 weeks.

This is a big one.

We all have an internal number of hours we are willing to work each week. If not hours, we at least have times throughout the week and weekend that we expect to have downtime.

When those downtime moments are sacrificed for more than 2 weeks, that’s a clue.

Remember, most sprints or Perfect Storms last a week or two. So to have two weeks of insanity could be a normal exception in the workplace.

But going into week 3 without a defined end date by the organization, that’s a clue.

The way we avoid burnout is to replenish ourselves. This is done with rest, exercise, family time, mental breaks, healthy food, etc.

We cannot expect to get out of a state of exhaustion if we stay in a space that perpetuates it.

That’s a recipe for burnout.

So if you are entering into week 3 or more of a Perfect Storm, realize it’s probably a Groundhog Day Perfect Storm (i.e., a marathon not a sprint) and you need to stop sacrificing and start taking care of yourself to prevent the burnout and last through this demanding time.

These are the big 3 clues to look out for.

Are there more? Of course but these are the most common. You may not see all 3 in a Groundhog Day Perfect Storm, but you will see one of them and one is enough to help you see the truth of the matter and prevent burnout.

Your homework is to look at either past situations where you felt burnt out or your current situation and determine if one or more of these 3 clues existed then or now.

As always, if you want support for you and your team, send me an email, and let’s jump on a call (info@legendleaders.com).

Be Legendary!

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Today we are diving into the truth, because the truth will set you free.

How often are you facing the truth at work?

I would say as a high-achiever, you're great at facing work problems.

Now, personal problems . . . not so much.

What does that mean?

It means that we are so committed to being the problem-solver in our careers that that commitment can blind us from recognizing the fact that we are headed toward or are already in a state of burnout.

Remember last week's analogy of a sprint vs. a marathon?

When we do not face the truth or the reality of the situation that we are currently in, our default assumption is that we are in a sprint.

Sprints mean we can push through, give more, and "make it happen."

What's worse is that even when we realize we are in the middle of a marathon, instead of putting self-care and self-preservation techniques in place to keep us from burning out, we convince ourselves that the finish line is on the horizon and we are almost there.

We tell ourselves that "Surely the end is near. I just have to push a little longer."

Never have you had to strive this hard, push this long, etc. so the end must be close.

It is in this moment right here that puts so many talented women into a state of burnout.

Instead of looking for the signs (sprint vs. marathon) and finding evidence to validate that state, they assume.

They assume it's a sprint and that they can hang in there just a little longer.

That assumption comes not because they are bad leaders. We aren't bad leaders, we know this. This assumption, this desire to believe the end is near, comes from both experience and hope.

First, we have never had to push hard for more than a few weeks or a month, so experience tells us that most events like this truly are sprints. Naturally we are going to say that is what we are facing because that's what we know.

Second, not only is this our most common experience, but on a personal level, we need this situation to end soon.

“The end has GOT to be in sight because I seriously can’t do this much longer."

Because of these two human emotions/experiences, what do we do?

Instead of taking stock of where we are and seeing the truth of the situation, we rally and we push.

After all that extra rally, that extra push, that extra “extra” is what got us where we are in our careers in the first place.

It’s part of our brand.

So then how do we combat our professional identity and human emotions to face the truth of the situation?

The first step is to eliminate the thought that if we don’t push, we aren’t worthy.

I know that sounds crazy but listen to me.

If part of our professional brand is to give a little extra. Then naturally we are going to always be looking to give the extra.

If we are running a sprint, that works, but if we are in a marathon, it doesn’t.

So again, the truth will set you free.

We must be willing to recognize that there’s a time and a place for the extra push. And if we want the chance to add those "extras" during the sprints and be able to be the leader that hunkers down and leads our teams through the slog of a marathon of hard times, we must be willing to see the truth in both the situation we are facing as well as the reality that the “extra” isn’t the only part of our brands that make us great.

Today’s homework is to take a second to look within yourself.

Is part of your brand pushing through and giving the extra?

Are you doing that all of the time or only during sprint moments?

Do you know the difference between a marathon and a sprint moment?

If you’re uncertain, send me an email and I will send you my calendar link so we can chat through it (info@legendleaders.com).

Be Legendary!

P.S. If you're interested in having us speak to your organization or team about burnout, please send us an email. We would love to serve your organization/group! (info@legendleaders.com)

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Let’s dive into a topic that we are all keenly aware of . . . burnout.

We are about to enter the holiday months and that means competing demands.

So before the holidays are upon us, let’s put together some strategies to help us avoid or even get out of the state of burnout so we can enjoy the last few months of 2023.

Will you commit to spending this month with me learning these strategies?

Before we can talk about the strategies for resolving or avoiding burnout, we must understand what burnout is and how we end up there.

So what is burnout?

It’s a level of exhaustion that reduces your performance and attitude. This exhaustion can be physical, mental, emotional, a combination of these 3, or even all 3.

Do you feel exhausted right now?

I’m not talking about you being tired because it was a "Perfect Storm" week. A "Perfect Storm" week are those weeks where life, work, and self collide and demands are hitting all at once.

Those are exceptions in your normal flow of life.

We all have those exceptions from time to time. That’s normal and we will 100% be exhausted and not be able to give our all by the end of that week.

What I’m talking about are the "Groundhog Day Perfect Storm" weeks.

Those weeks are when the demands continue day after day after day and you feel further and further behind, and no matter what you do, you can’t get caught up or ahead.

It’s almost a feeling of hopelessness at this point because the exhaustion is there and there is no end in sight.

Do you see the difference? The Perfect Storm weeks have an end. They are short, a week to two weeks max. Whereas Groundhog Day Perfect Storm weeks do not have a finish line on the horizon.

That's how we get into a state of burnout.

As high-achieving, high-performing female leaders we tell ourselves, “We just have to push a little harder, and then the peace will come. Then the break will be here.”

We tell ourselves this because we think we are dealing with a Perfect Storm week. Because Perfect Storm weeks are like sprints.

You can push hard, give everything you've got, and the finish line is right there within a 2-week period.

But the Groundhog Day Perfect Storm is not a sprint, it's a marathon.

Where we get into burnout is that we do not stop to ask ourselves if the situation we are experiencing is a Perfect Storm week (i.e., a sprint) or if we are in a Groundhog Day Perfect Storm period (i.e., a marathon).

We don't stop and ask the question, we just assume it's a sprint, because that's what we are used to dealing with. And we know how to overcome sprints.

We can't assume.

So today’s homework is this, where are you right now? Are you in a Perfect Storm, a Groundhog Day Perfect Storm, or are you in a good flow of work and life?

Are you living in burnout, on the edge, or feeling good?

You’re in one of 3 places. So be honest with yourself.

If you want to talk through it and identify where you are, send an email to info@legendleaders.com and let us help you.

Be Legendary!

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It’s the end of August. We are approaching Labor Day weekend. Maybe some cooler weather is on the horizon. Who knows, right? But what we do know is that we have spent this entire month focused on adding value. We know that adding maximum value in our executive roles ensures we are assets to the organization and assets are very valuable to the organization itself. We want to add value to be valuable!

What’s the fastest way to add value?

Answer: Understand what the organization values and do that.

But what if you can’t do that?

What if the company says it wants one thing but actually rewards another?

What if you fully believe you are adding value per company expectations but you’re not being rewarded or recognized for it?

What if there is a breakdown between what the company is asking of you vs. what is being rewarded?

This is a hard place to be. It’s the, “what am I doing wrong” place.

The unfortunate reality is that sometimes this happens.

It occurs due to one of two reasons:

1. We aren't performing like we think we are.

Sometimes we have blindspots that prevent us from seeing the truth.

Sometimes we need someone to guide us in order to get the clarity we need so that we can add value.

1. What the company says it values and what it is rewarding are two different things.

I can sit here and tell you to look at the 3 guiding documents to help you get clear on what the company values. But if you know you're delivering on those aspects of your role and yet your performance reviews, your annual bonus, etc. do not correlate with that effort and result, there is a gap.

The solution for this is the same as the solution for #1, you have to get some help.

Sometimes we need someone to help us, guide us, and show us the way.

You must learn to steal shamelessly to succeed.

How?

Stealing shamelessly means you find a mentor, you find someone who has done what you want to do and can thoroughly teach you how to do it.

Whether it's eliminating blindspots or deciphering what the company truly values, a mentor can help you.

A mentor can be someone inside of your organization or outside of it.

The key is to find someone to guide you!

If you want outside support, know that we are here to do exactly that. We have a program here at Legend Leaders 100% designed to help you add value to the organization in 60 days.

We have small group cohorts launching monthly and we offer 1:1 coaching if you don’t like to be in a group.

Connect with me and let’s get you adding maximum value!

Be Legendary!

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Have you been adding value this month? Did you do the work last week (rating yourself and getting feedback)? If not, definitely go do that. Today's episode builds on last week's work. Because today, we will be getting down to business and ensuring that when you're "working," you are doing the functions and actions that add the most value.

So let’s roll up our sleeves and do it.

Last week we identified how we are performing as it relates to the actions the company values.

This week we are going to take those lists of activities the company is asking us to do and we are going to compare that list to our calendar.

Now, if you remember the work from week 2, week 2 we simply looked at the calendar and said, "What am I putting on the calendar that makes me feel valuable but isn't actually adding value?"

In that exercise, we should have eliminated the emotional, "feel better" work that we had been spending time on.

Today we will be looking at everything on the calendar, even special projects, volunteer work for the company, etc., and asking if each action is time well spent.

Grab your calendar. Look at each function or activity the company is asking of you. Then find each of those items on the calendar.

Are you spending time on those functions?

If not, add them to your calendar.

Once you have everything on your calendar that the company is asking you to execute, ask yourself what you can remove from your calendar.

What must you add to your calendar or spend more time on that your company values and what must you remove such that you have the time to focus on the right value-add activities?

Note, I'm not saying you remove family events or self-care activities, etc. I'm talking about work functions on your calendar that simply don't need to be there anymore.

This is how you double down on your efforts and add maximum value.

If it’s on your calendar, it’s done. So ensure your calendar is a reflection of where you must spend your time.

If you want another set of eyes, schedule some time with me, and let’s look at it together.

Be Legendary!

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We must add value if we are going to be valuable to the organization.

Think about it for a second.

How many people actually know that adding value is the secret to success?

How many people, if they would just add value instead of living in fear as we talked about last week, would have an amazing career?

Adding value is the space where you must live if you want to create executive success and that's why we are diving into this topic this entire month.

Are you ready for today's topic? Today we are talking about how you can truly identify your contributions.

If you think you're adding value, how do you know for certain? Let's walk away this week knowing for certain the level of value we are adding to the organization.

If you look at the 3 components of how your organization defines value, your job description, performance metrics, and bonus targets, how are you doing?

It’s self-assessment time.

I asked you in the first episode to define if you are raising the bar on your current performance or if you are starting from zero.

Today we are going to get abundantly clear on this.

You’re going to do the two actions I am constantly pushing you to do:

1. You’re going to look at the 3 components the organization provided to you and you’re going to rate yourself. On a scale of 1 -10, how are you doing on each of the 3?

2. Don’t give yourself a score to feel better about yourself or to give yourself a hard time. Be honest.

3. Once you do your self-assessment, you're going to ask others for feedback.

a. Ask someone you trust who will give you the honest truth to tell you how you’re performing on each of the 3 components. If they rate you higher, know that you’re hard on yourself and it’s a raise-the-bar moment for you. If they rated you lower than you rated yourself, chances are you are starting from zero and you need to reset your focus and priorities.

Once you have done these two activities you will know with full clarity how you are performing.

Are you adding value or keeping yourself safe?

Could you be doing more or are you doing too much?

Do the work this week.

Reach out and let’s chat through it if you need some support.

Be Legendary!

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The month of August is all about adding value and mastering this critical, yet simple, concept. The reality is that adding value is the driver of executive success. If we want to have success, then we must add value. It's cause and effect. If we understand that relationship, then what prevents someone from creating success? Fear.

Fear is the most common reason why leaders do not add value in their executive roles and therefore why they do not succeed.

Now I get it, you’re probably saying, Katrina, if we are meant to add value as a means of not only being successful, but minimally, maintaining our position in the organization, why would someone NOT add value?

It’s sort of like saying, why don’t people save their marriages? Why don’t people save money? Why don’t people make good decisions?

It’s not because they intentionally decide they don't want to do these things, it’s because their desires and their actions aren't aligned.

Someone must take the right actions if they want to have career success, a successful marriage, money in the bank, etc.

The primary driver preventing these actions from occurring is fear.

Where does the fear come from?

As a first-year exec, fear comes from the step growth curve you must navigate in order to perform in the role combined with needing to generate results and an uncertainty of how to do that.

Does that make sense?

It's hard to feel like you must learn how to be successful and do it quickly before you tank your career.

Combine this with the fact that most new execs are so used to generating results quickly and almost effortlessly that the inability to do that in the executive role has them thrown for a loop.

This situation is ripe with fear.

In any new role, we need security. We need to feel like we are safe to grow and learn and we need to feel like we are still making a difference while we're doing it.

How do the majority of first-year execs do that?

They fall back on what they know.

Fear drives them into performing tasks and displaying behaviors that may have served them well prior to the exec role, but will not add value in their current environment.

Yet there is this rationalization that if "I keep doing what I have always done while I’m learning what to do next, the company will appreciate it and I will be safe."

Is that the case?

What the organization values vs. what makes you feel valuable are two different aspects.

No matter the situation, we must always go with what the organization values if we are going to be successful in our roles.

This week I’m challenging you to do another gut check. Look at the actions you are taking. Are they valuable to the organization, do they make you feel valuable, or both?

If you want to talk through it and validate some of your actions, schedule some time on my calendar, and let’s do a quick assessment together.

Be Legendary!

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Let's kick off the first episode in this mini-series focused on adding value as a female exec.

I say it in a thousand ways, but ultimately, at Legend Leaders, we help you create the professional success you desire so that you can have the personal freedom you deserve, right?

But how do we help you achieve this?

How do you achieve professional success?

Here is the answer in a nutshell: add value on a daily basis.

It's what we call The 1 Rule here at Legend Leaders. The 1 Rule of business success is that you must add daily value. When you do that, you become an irreplaceable asset in the marketplace.

So this month we are going to dive into the topic of adding value, executing The 1 Rule, and becoming that irreplaceable asset.

It’s the ultimate pathway to creating career success and therefore personal freedom.

Ready for the first truth?

If you’re not focused on adding value, you’re not creating success. You’re simply delaying success.

How do you know if you're actually adding value or not?

To answer that we must understand who defines value.

The person who defines "value" is the customer.

As an employee, your customer is your company.

The company defines what it values.

This is critically important. We can say the company is wrong, we can say that we should define value, we can argue it all day, but it doesn't change the reality that the company you work for is your customer and therefore you must add value as defined by the organization.

So if you align with that concept, then you must seek to understand the definition of "value" as defined by your company.

How do you get this information?

Through your job description, your evaluation criteria, and your bonus metrics.

Those 3 resources are how the company provides you with the answers to the "success test" as I call it.

If you deliver to those 3 areas of your role, you’re adding value in the eyes of the organization.

So my question for you is, are you adding value based on your company’s definition?

Take the time this week to find out.

If you’re uncertain, if you want to add value but don’t know how, etc. then hit this link and schedule a call so we can talk through it.

Be Legendary!

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It’s the last episode in the series and I think it's the best episode because we are going to bring everything together and we are going to outline how you can drive change and have an impact in your role today.

As we have already discussed, owning your seat is a must as an exec.

This ownership is how you add value to the company and adding value is why you exist in the organization.

Now, we know that fear is powerful and that fear can hold us back from owning our seats, driving change, and having an impact. The key is to push past the fear.

How do you do that? By drawing upon the years of experience that got you into the role and using that knowledge when you speak up.

Share insights, ideas, perspectives, cautions, anything and everything that will help the company and the customer.

Remember, add value.

Remember, growth and value happen concurrently not sequentially. So add value and grow into your role at the same time.

Let’s take it one step further. As a new exec, the second major component of owning your seat (in addition to using your voice) is reading the room and the cues.

You must know who is in the room, how they are feeling, what they are thinking, and learn their tells.

Remember how we talked about patterns last week? You must observe and note the patterns of your role model so you can mimic their behaviors and grow into using your voice, right?

You must not stop there. Make notes about the key players in your meetings. Learn their expressions, body language, keywords, etc.

This isn’t to manipulate, this is to simply prepare you to be a top-notch negotiator as you continue to grow into using your voice and owning your seat.

Get the workbook to help you make notes of your colleagues as a means of driving change in a meeting.

If you are ready to have some support in getting executive performance results in 60 days, join the next cohort.

Be Legendary!

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Last week we agreed that the best way to own our seat at the executive table is to use our voice. So if we know this, why don't we do it?

Answer: We are afraid we are going to screw up and damage our reputations or brands.

So then let's spend today talking through the best way to overcome that fear, create a process to prevent that damage, and then take action.

Let's define success when it comes to owning your seat at the table.

How do you know when you successfully own your seat by using your voice and adding value? What does good look like?

There are two ways to know:

1. Look to a key leader who has the respect and appreciation of the room. How is he/she adding value by using his/her voice?

Observe them. Listen to how they interject, how they provide feedback or suggestions, etc. Make a note of what they do well, behaviors and actions you would like to adopt because they fit your leadership style, etc. Steal shamelessly.

1. Get feedback. Ask your supervisor or peer how you’re doing. If you speak up, ask how it landed in the room. If you didn’t speak up, ask if that was the right action to take at that moment.

In other words, learn from someone else’s patterns as well as your own. Find a role model and model them. Then look in the mirror and identify the behaviors that you want to keep and those you wish to eliminate.

This can take some time as you are waiting to observe and model someone you may not interact with on a regular basis. Don’t get discouraged. Give yourself some grace and recognize that you can work with someone outside of your organization to speed up your growth curve.

Show up and use your voice like you already know how to do. Perfect that behavior and performance by modeling and adjusting.

Get the workbook to help you take action on today's topic.

If you want to learn the strategies now instead of waiting to observe and model, join the next cohort of our 60-day executive performance program.

Be Legendary!

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We are diving into the much-needed topic of “owning our seat” as a first-year female executive. In short, owning our seat is how we succeed as an executive and yet it's the action we try to avoid the most when we first get promoted. This month we are diving into the psychology behind that avoidance and we are pushing past the fear and doubt in order to create our own executive success.

If you recall, last week we talked through what owning our seat means in a bit more detail and why we end up abdicating our chairs so to speak. If you missed it, go check it out. This week we are diving into the main method of owning your seat: using your voice.

That’s right. I alluded to it last week but let’s be direct about it today.

You are on the invite list to a specific meeting, conversation, or presentation for one reason only, to share your insight and knowledge.

Not for politics or kindness or because someone got confused about who needed to attend.

No.

Again, you're there because you are expected to share your knowledge, opinion, and insight.

Use your voice.

While you may be fearful because you think you don’t know how to exec, know that you still have at least 10 years of experience and knowledge to help you.

Speak up.

No one is looking for perfection, they just need a solution.

They don’t need all of the answers they just need help making sure the path they want to pursue isn’t going to end up as a crap show with them as the headliner.

You can help because your knowledge and experience have prepared you to weigh in and provide insight.

Period.

Maybe you feel like a fish out of water in this situation because you’re growing into the executive ranks. But you can still have an impact while you grow. It’s not a “this/then” statement. Learn this, then speak up. No. You can do both simultaneously.

So that’s your answer.

Speak up. Share your thoughts. If you see an issue, speak up. If you like an idea, speak and share factually why it’s a good path.

Add value!

As always, I create a workbook with the mini-series to ensure you get the most out of the training and have the ability to apply what you have learned. So get the workbook here.

If you are ready for help in using your voice and getting results with speed, click here to join the next group cohort.

Be Legendary!

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You’ve always been an owner. That attitude is one of the fundamental reasons you are now a first-year female executive. But now that you’ve made it into the executive ranks, has that mindset changed? As you look at your actions, are you owning all aspects of your new role?

Unfortunately for most new execs, the answer is no. And yet, ownership in this role is just as critical as any other role. So what are you not owning and how do you start?

If you had to start owning one critical aspect of your role, what would that be?

The answer is: your seat at the table.

I know that may seem cliche but there is a reason you hear "owning your seat" quite regularly as a new exec.

Owning your seat is required if you are going to be successful.

Owning your seat is exactly how you have influence and impact in your role.

So if we are aligned with "owning it," then let's define what "owning it" means.

It means in every leadership meeting, every Zoom or Teams or Meet, every discussion with a peer or a leader more senior than you, you freaking own the seat you occupy, you engage in the discussion, and you have an impact.

Of all the ways you could lead, why is this one so impactful?

The seat you occupy is meant to add value to the organization. If you don’t add value, you don’t get to stay!

You wanted this role for many reasons, one of which was to impact the business and the customer. This impact is exactly what the company wants from you as well.

Impact and influence occur when you own your seat and use it actively to share insights, strategies, concerns, pitfalls, and solutions.

So if you find yourself sitting in meetings without speaking up or without weighing in when you have an opinion, idea, or concern, recognize that you’re not adding value, you’re just taking up space.

How many people did you not appreciate working with when they just took up space?

If you are taking up space, it's time to shift into owning it and adding value.

It's time for you to step back into the owner mentality by eliminating the natural fear and doubt that comes with a new position.

When we are in a new role, especially an executive role for the first time, there is a large amount of growth, shifting, and learning/unlearning that has to occur to generate results and ultimately success.

You feel like a fish out of water in this new role and you’re probably telling yourself you just need to get your bearings and then you will be back on track.

Recognize this fact, getting your bearings is fine but it must be done quickly!

It takes the typical exec 12 months to generate results. We can’t take 12 months to get our bearings and level out. That doesn’t work!

Let’s spend the next few weeks talking through how to own our seats and get back to our position of confidence and strength in our careers.

Get the workbook here and if you’re ready for some support and guidance as you learn to own your seat, check out the group program kicking off monthly that is specifically designed to help you exec correctly!

Be Legendary!

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It’s our last episode in this mini-series designed to help first-year female execs bypass the insanity of a 12-month ramp-up period and start generating performance results with speed. Are you ready to talk about the actions to take to produce results?

Before we dive in, let's go through a quick recap. We have identified and discussed the 3 primary reasons for the typical 12-month ramp-up period.

1. We derail our focus when we blame ourselves for not being ready for the role, 2. We play the trial and error game instead of getting and following the recipe for success, and then 3. We perform functions that make us feel safe instead of functions that get us closer to the results the company wants to see from us.

The most wonderful news in all of this is that we can actually overcome all 3 of these components.

That said, is the 12-month ramp-up period even necessary?

Not at all.

At Legend Leaders, we teach you to create consistent performance results in 60 days!

We help you create something called The Execing Blueprint (TM). Inside that blueprint, you have your own personalized strategy for how you create results.

At a high level, this is The Execing Blueprint(TM):

Step 1: Get your mind right by giving yourself some grace. Realize you are still amazing and you can do this.

Step 2: Determine what the company values and the results they want you to achieve.

Step 3: Look at what in the heck you are currently spending your time on and if it aligns with what you identified in Step 2.

Step 4: Perform what we call keep, stop, and add. Of all the things you are currently doing in your new role, what do you need to keep doing, what do you need to stop doing, and what do you need to add to your routine to ensure success?

Step 5: Go execute and tweak/adjust along the way.

It’s seriously that simple and it is the proven blueprint to getting success with speed.

Access your workbook here to execute the 5-step process and create your own blueprint.

If you want our support in creating your own personalized blueprint, we are here to support you! Join the next cohort HERE.

Be Legendary!

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We are continuing to dive into the speed of success for a first-year female executive. To date, we have discussed why speed is critical, and yet even though speed matters, it still takes the typical exec 12 months to generate consistent performance results. Last week we talked about eliminating the guesswork if we want to succeed with speed. Let's talk about clarity today.

If we want to go somewhere, most people start focusing on how. How do I get there? Am I going to drive or fly? Am I going to take my car or rent a car? Am I going to fly first class? We get so bogged down in the details of the travel that we miss one critical component. Where are we actually going?

If I know my final travel destination, the “how” becomes significantly clearer for me. For example, let’s say our destination is Disney World. Well, I’m in Charleston, South Carolina so I can drive just as easily as I can fly. So the method of transportation has been resolved for me. Now I just have to decide if I’m driving my car or renting one. Who will be driving? When am I leaving and coming back? Who is going with me? You get the picture.

As new executives, we cannot miss the fact that once we get clear on WHERE we are going not only does the “how” get clearer, but anything that doesn’t support the “how” is easily identified and removed.

If for example, I want my parents to go with us on our Disney vacation, I cannot let that “want” overtake the overall goal. The goal is to go to Disney World. I will achieve that by taking a car there.

If I get so distracted by the fact that I really believe the trip would be so much better with my parents there that I decide to drive to Asheville, NC to get them (a 4-hour drive in the opposite direction), and then drive all the way to Orlando, what has happened? My "how" is now not the most efficient in achieving my goal.

When I share this example, you’re like, “Yeah, I get it, Katrina, you’re obviously distracted and not focused on your end result.”

So then why are so many of you doing the same thing as first-year executives?

You want to achieve results in your new role, that’s the mission or the goal, right?

The company has made it abundantly clear as to what those results need to be, i.e., they have set your destination for you. Yet, you’re getting so distracted with what would make you feel better on the trip that you delay your arrival by months!

Just like it made me feel better to take my parents with me to Disney World, you are focused on doing things that make you "feel better" or more secure in your new role.

What are those functions that make you feel better but delay your results?

Doing the tasks and functions from your old role because in your mind, if you’re doing those things, at least you’re doing something “successful” or even "valuable."

Stop.

The company has told you what your Disney World is. Stop trying to go pick up your parents along the way.

Focus on the end result the company has provided you and at each turn ask yourself: Am I doing these actions because they are getting me closer to Disney World or am I doing them because I want to feel safer/more secure on the trip?

Many new executives waste time and energy doing what makes them feel safe instead of what gets results. This is a critical factor in the 12-month ramp-up period for most executives.

Clarity around your endpoint is a key component to speedy success.

Don't delay. Get your workbook and start getting clarity on your endpoint. Access the workbook HERE.

Ready for next-level clarity? Learn about the Career Confidence program HERE.

Be Legendary!

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This month is all about speed to success. If results are everything, and the speed at which we get them is critical, then how do we get executive results quickly and consistently?

Last week we talked about what holds us back from getting consistent results. Do you remember the 3 factors?

1. Definition of results: The definition of results changed on us as we moved from mid-level to executive and we are distracted by that instead of embracing it and moving on.
2. Unprepared: We didn’t spend time preparing to exec correctly so we are now guessing and playing the trial-and-error game with our careers to determine how to get executive-level results.
3. Security: In our need to feel safe while we are learning to exec, we do things that are valuable to us and our internal needs instead of actions that are valuable to the organization. In other words, we waste time on the wrong work.

We’ve talked about the distraction and the fear that slows us down. Let’s dive into the guesswork and the trial and error.

You get the obvious here but let’s talk through it for a second. If we had been prepared for the definition of “results” changing when we changed roles, shifting from tasks and measurable KPIs to now strategic ideas, collaboration, negotiation, and people, then could we have prepared ourselves to be this new leader?

Yes, we could have. But we didn't know so we didn't prepare.

What happens next?

We all get frustrated with ourselves because we didn’t prepare. And we know that you are a prepper so the fact that you didn't prepare is just not cool.

Now, you may not be the “end of days” type of prepper, but there are certain areas in your life that you prepare–it could be having enough food in the house for the kids, it could be packing all of the necessary items for a trip, it could be keeping your car maintained so you’re never on the side of the road.

Whatever it is, you have an area of your life where you refuse to deal with the penalties of not being prepared.

The other thing I know about you is that while you may not be a prepper in all areas of your life, you are definitely a prepper in your career.

You like zero surprises on the career front, am I right?

Those are two words you live by. I used to tell my team, “No surprises. I don’t want surprises in the business, I want to hear it from you ASAP.”

So here’s the deal, you didn’t prep for your new promotion. That’s the reality.

Now what?

Most high-achieving women I know tell themselves they need to “fix this.”

They say something like, “Yeah, I wasn’t prepared but I’m going to fix this!”

And they want to fix it by earning knowledge. They feel like they have failed, so to recover, they are going to solve this problem on their own.

But here’s what you must realize.

First, accept that you’re not prepared. Yes, results matter and the speed at which you get them, but being upset that you’re not prepared to get those results won't do you any good.

Next, stop believing you must earn the knowledge (and therefore results) on your own. This is the biggest falsity I see in this phase of executive development. Shift your view of results and this should shift for you too.

What I mean is, if results at the executive level are tied to people and ideas, then realize you “earning” the knowledge is just another check-the-box task that won’t serve you at the executive level.

Find someone, a mentor, a leader, a coach, a program, find the answers. Eliminate the guesswork.

If you want to make a meal at home, do you craft every meal from your head, trying various combinations over days and weeks until you create the perfect meal? Or, do you find recipes to follow because they are proven?

Find someone to give you the recipe for executive results. Don’t waste time figuring it out. Get the answers and move forward.

Download the mini-series workbook here.

If you're ready for speed, learn more about the 2-month program (Career Confidence) here.

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As successful career women, we know that getting results as quickly and consistently as possible is critical. There is constant pressure to deliver both performance and business results at each phase of our careers. That isn't new. We have focused on getting expedited results from the time we were in grade school to now. So why do some newly promoted execs take a year to generate the necessary results?

If results matter, because they have always mattered, then why does the speed of success decline in a new executive role?

Because there is an unknown problem that we identify once we step into the role. Once we become an executive, it becomes abundantly clear and it goes from unknown to unspoken.

The problem is that the definition of “results” has changed from that definition you knew so well as a mid-level leader to the new executive definition.

"Results" has shifted from "doing, executing, being the subject matter expert on all things, rolling up your sleeves and getting it done yourself, etc." to now being a thought leader, focusing on strategies, influencing, negotiating, leading through people, etc.

This is a big shift; an unexpected shift.

So now what?

Ladies, this right here, this shift in the definition is where we struggle. If we can't quickly accept this reality of the shift and start growing into a leader who can generate results at the executive level, we won't make it.

So how do you navigate the shift?

You do what you have always been good at doing, you see the problem in front of you and you hit it head-on.

You and I both know that you have always had this certainty, this belief inside of you that you can do anything in your industry because you have trained for it, you have learned how to do it, and you have this track record of success. That hasn't changed!

As a first-year female executive, you have two choices: you can become fearful and slowly grow into the role or you can rip the bandaid off, grow quickly, get results, and thrive.

The majority of new executives choose the path of slow growth, which is why it takes new executives on average 12 months to get consistent performance results.

TWELVE MONTHS.

Has it ever taken you that long to get results in a prior role?

Definitely not.

The delay is due to 3 major factors:

1. Our fear around the definition of "results"
2. Our lack of preparation to effectively generate results in the new role (we aren't prepared to exec correctly)
3. and our desire to feel safe vs. grow through it quickly

This month we are going to dive into the speed of success because what I know and what we have proven time and again here at Legend is that it doesn’t take 12 months to get results as a new exec, it takes 2. If we can quickly navigate the 3 major factors we outlined above we can generate results at the pace we are used to as high-performers and get ourselves back on track.

Let’s go on this journey together to get results in 2 months so you can get back to your high-performance self, have the impact you want to have in your executive role, and get rewarded for the results you are going to generate (like earning your first-year bonus, getting your annual pay raise, etc.).

Ready to do this? Download the workbook here.

Learn more about the Legend Leaders 2-month program HERE.

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It's the 5th and final episode in this series focused on Executive Negotiations. Today we are going to tackle two subjects in tandem. First, how do you actually master the skills of being an effective negotiator? Second, now that you get the concepts of negotiation and why they matter to you as an executive, what is the framework necessary to successfully negotiate?

Step 1: How do you become a master negotiator? There are 4 main actions we must execute in order to master this skillset and make it a functioning component of our executive brand:

1. Recognize it’s a required skill
2. Understand what negotiation is and isn’t
3. What does good look like
4. Practice, practice, practice

Last but not least, find someone who can teach you how to master the skills of negotiation with minimal trial and error, and minimal guesswork, and who can give you feedback to guide your success. If you do not have someone, please let us help you. Teaching you negotiation is one of the many leadership components we teach in creating and strengthening your high-performance executive brand.

Step 2: Learn the 3 guiding principles of effective negotiation.

1. Define your outcome. Get clear and specific.

2. Establish what you are willing to concede vs. what are hard boundaries within your negotiation.

3. Do not give up too soon in the discussion.

Use these 3 points to help you negotiate effectively, practice the 4 actions to start mastering the art of negotiation, and definitely find a mentor or a program to support you so you compress your learning curve and get results quickly.

If we can support you, please connect with our team. (Helping new-to-role female execs master executive leadership strategies is exactly why we exist!) Do not forget to download the workbook that aligns with this episode to support you in your mastery of executive negotiations.

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This month we have been diving into the components of executive negotiations. We know what negotiations are and why they matter. If we want to be successful executives and negotiate effectively, what does success actually look like? What are the attributes of success so that when we see it in ourselves, we know we are on the right track?

Before we look internally, let's look externally. When you think about other leaders who are master negotiators, what are the key attributes that come to mind?

1. Calm and confident
2. They ask questions; they don't demand or dictate.
3. The master negotiator teaches, guides, and influences for the good of others.
4. They support other people's ideas more than they support their own.

Think through those attributes for a minute.

When you are a skilled negotiator, you are focused on speaking when you can add value, not make yourself feel valuable. That's a key distinction. A master negotiator adds for the betterment of the situation and the empowerment of others.

So what does good look like?

Excellent executives are excellent because they know how to use the tool of negotiation effectively.

How are you showing up in your negotiation mindset?

What does it look like for you right now?

What should it look like?

Get clear. Set your definitions. Strive to step into that portion of your executive brand.

You can do it!

As always, don't forget to get the workbook to support you.

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As a new executive, you may have been shying away from being an active negotiator. You may be telling yourself that other people know more than you, that they are going to see through your arguments and shoot you down, that everyone is going to see you don't belong in this role once you step into a negotiation, etc.

If that's how you currently feel, then how do you become a skilled negotiator?

The short answer? As Nike said, you just do it!

You negotiate, negotiate, negotiate. You practice your skills until you master them.

In the same way that we cannot let our fear of being a manipulative leader hold us back from being a sound negotiator, we cannot allow our fear of our current inexperience to hold us back either.

Negotiation skills are value-added skills in our executive strategy repertoire. As we talked about last week, being a skilled negotiator is synonymous with being a successful executive.

Think about this, learning negotiation skills and applying them on a daily basis will actually cause you to negotiate less once you master the methods.

Why?

Because part of the mastery is knowing when to negotiate vs. when to support someone else's idea and move forward.

Negotiation skills are a solid weapon. Only the best leaders can master the use of that weapon and with the mastery comes the understanding that the weapon is only used in appropriate situations.

When the skills are used in inappropriate situations, that becomes manipulation, right?

I know we started off with this mental battle of not wanting to be a negotiator because we equated that skill set with negative intentions. I’m going to continue to push you throughout this month to embrace the skills of negotiation if you truly want to be a successful executive.

Negotiation skills must be a part of your executive brand.

The more you practice, the better you will become. The more you practice and the better you become, the more responsible you will be with this skill set. The more responsible you become, the more you will only use your skills for good and will truly be focused on contributing and serving others.

Negotiation skills are a value-add to your executive brand.

Get the workbook to learn more about the value-add concept and schedule a call with the Legend Leaders team to learn how your Executive Brand is fairing when it comes to delivering your executive success.

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Last week we spent time defining "negotiation." This discussion also taught us the key distinction between negotiation and manipulation and why if we do not recognize the difference between the two, we are going to avoid negotiating instead of leaning in and using this skill set to get results. Now let's dive into understanding why executive negotiations are a critical skill to create executive success.

If you recall, negotiation actually means the interaction between two or more people where you reach a mutual agreement. Let’s take it one step further, not only is it an agreement, but it’s an agreement where both parties feel comfortable with what is agreed upon. If we go even one step further, we could say that the majority of the time, both parties actually feel good about the end result.

Why do they feel good? Because both parties got something they needed or wanted in order to move their portion of the business forward.

Isn't the point of a negotiation to move the business forward for the betterment of both parties?

Let's think through that for a second.

As an executive, you must work through people in order to move an idea, a process, or a program forward that is truly in the best interest of the company and the customer. The result you're focused on generating is a result that serves everyone, not just you. (Go back to our discussion on manipulation vs. negotiation to remind you of this difference.)

Isn't the concept of "working with people and through people to achieve a common goal" the epitome of being an executive?

So then couldn't we say that negotiation is the key skill of being a successful executive?

You are negotiating as an executive every single day. You’re asking questions, you’re learning, you’re challenging, and you are moving the business forward through active discussions with other leaders.

If you cannot collaborate, influence, and take decisive action, you will not succeed in the executive role.

What are influential conversations that involve collaboration and result in decisive action?

Negotiations.

Is it coming together for you?

Get the workbook to work through today’s questions and solidify why the art of negotiation is a must for any successful executive.

Ready to strengthen your brand? Schedule an Executive Brand Strategy call with the team.

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This month, let's talk about all things related to negotiations. As a new executive, your day-to-day activities will require you to negotiate effectively. So what does that look like? Where do you even start? How do you master it?

Before we just dive right in, let's pause for a second. Let's pause and let's be honest.

Did you cringe at the word "negotiation?" In my experience, the word negotiation is typically linked to the concept of "sales" in the majority of people's minds.

What do we link to sales? The slick, slimy, used car salesman mentality.

We think negotiation means “I’m going to make you do what I want you to do, even if it’s not in your best interest.”

Know this, that isn’t a negotiation, that is manipulation.

As an executive, our goal isn’t to be sneaky, shady, or manipulative. That attitude is 100% self-serving, and that’s not how leaders behave.

Instead, we want to learn the art of negotiation so that we can use our knowledge, our compassion, and our strategic mind to help move the business forward while also exceeding the customer’s expectations. We are focused on the customer and the company, which means we are focused on serving, not selfishness. That's why we are going to learn the art of negotiation this month (not the art of manipulation).

That’s the key difference between true negotiation, to find a compromise where everyone wins, and manipulation, where only the manipulator benefits.

So if you have any fear of being a good negotiator, let’s focus on eliminating that fear this month, learning the proper strategies for serving at the highest level through compromise, communication, and therefore negotiation. It's time to be the executive you are meant to be.

Sound like a plan?

Get the workbook to support you on your journey this month as you become a skilled negotiator.

If you want a free executive brand assessment, they are always available to you, simply book a call with the Legend Leaders team.

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We are wrapping up this series of common executive pitfalls with one of the primary culprits that cause delays in executive-level performance. Just like self-blame, facts over people, and earning your seat before you speak, the concept of prioritizing "doing" over "leading" is an action that will derail a promising executive career.

So what is this pitfall?

As we have already discussed, it takes 10 years for a woman to reach the executive ranks. We have acknowledged that those first 10 years were all about being the subject matter expert, being the problem solver, and removing barriers so the business machine could keep operating. Another way to look at that is that you were a doer, or an executor.

An executor is someone who rolls up their sleeves and gets the work done. It could be actually doing the work or it could be in the trenches with the front lines observing behaviors, correcting performance, teaching, training, etc. All of these actions and more are what we would consider actions of a doer or an executor.

When you transition into an executive role, what you used to do in order to add value and improve the organization is no longer what the company needs from you. You have gone from a mid-level manager whose value is found in the act of execution, to an executive, whose value is found in leading other people and getting work done through others.

No longer are you a doer, you are now a leader. You must lead through people. You must value relationships over day-to-day business facts. This means you must use your skills of communication and influence, and own your seat/voice to improve the business.

This pitfall gets in our path for a very simple reason, you spent 10 years being an executor and it's a hard habit to break.

We rationalize that we will just keep “doing” and executing while we learn how to exec correctly. We tell ourselves that surely we will be safe and all will be well because we know the company appreciates doers. I mean, that’s how we got to this seat in the first place.

However, all of those rationalizations and stories exist in our brains to simply mask our fears and keep us from facing the truth. The truth is that we must prepare to exec. We must step out of our comfort zone of being a doer and fully embrace being a leader.

It’s the only way to generate true executive success.

Are you still trying to be a doer? Are you telling yourself that you will add value by doing vs. leading while you learn how to own your seat and use your voice?

If you are living in any part of this space, today is the day to change this.

Get the workbook to support you.

Schedule a call with the team so we can help you avoid the pitfall and help you start performing in your executive role in 60 days.

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As a new exec, do you feel like you haven’t yet earned the right to speak up? Yes, you got the seat at the table when you took the role. But as we mentioned before, if you haven’t prepared to perform, you are feeling both shame and self-doubt.

You may be thinking, “If I missed the preparation portion of execing correctly, how can I even hold down my seat at the table?” This combined with what we talked about last week, prioritizing facts over relationships, and you have a recipe for disaster.

Know this, if your role comes with a seat at the table, and most executive positions do, you are expected to fill that seat on day 1 and use that seat to influence the path of the organization.

Filling the seat is not a perk, it’s an expectation.

Let’s be very clear about that.

Many women feel like they aren’t yet ready, haven’t earned the right quite yet, maybe feel the need to prove themselves, or simply want to know a bit more about the role before they speak up.

While I can hear the rationalization in all of those concepts, do not step into this pitfall.

Speaking up, adding value, and owning your seat is an expectation of your role. Period.

The longer you delay in owning it, the longer you delay your performance results.

As a new executive, you have a small window of time to generate results or you will be asked to vacate the seat and maybe even the company.

Take your seat, use your voice, share your knowledge and insight, and move the business forward. You will learn as you go. You will gain insight from others in the room as you speak, ask questions, share concepts, and add value.

Do not hold back.

Get the workbook to help you with this pitfall. Schedule a call with the Legend Leaders team if you want additional support.

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Last week we talked through the common pitfall aka the momentum killer called self-blame. If you didn’t listen in, go check it out and get the workbook to help you avoid self-blame going forward.

Today, let’s dive into the concept of facts vs. people.

When you were a professional, a manager, a director, a team leader, etc. you spent your time focused on what?

Facts.

It was your job to be the subject matter expert in your field or area of business and your knowledge was your most valuable asset.

You had to know the ins and outs, the ups and downs, and the facts as it relates to your area of responsibility. The reason is that your job was to fix any problem that arose.

As a manager or team leader, you had to keep the machine running. To do that, knowledge of the process and possible problems were the keys to your success.

As a new executive, the knowledge that you bring with you is important, but in this phase of your career, relationships trump knowledge.

Yes, it sounds crazy, but it’s true.

It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.

Your job as an executive is to use the sound judgment you created within yourself over the past 10 years and influence others to move the business forward.

Think about it this way.

As an executive, you have a team of people who are subject matter experts, learning the processes, keeping an eye out for problems, fixing issues as they arise, and they are keeping the machine functioning.

You don’t need to worry about that anymore to the degree you used to. Now you need to let those individuals do their jobs while you take your skills and knowledge and use those assets to influence others to grow the business.

It’s really that simple.

The pitfall in all of this is that because you spent 10-plus years learning facts, you think you must learn all of the facts before you’re a successful executive. Don’t get me wrong, knowing facts are important. But spending 6 months to a year to learn all the facts before you develop relationships and use them to move the business forward is detrimental to your career.

Do not let facts trump people. You are dealing in the world of relationships as an executive, not fixing and repairing the functionality of the business.

Do not confuse your old job with your new job. Prioritizing your personal need to learn the facts over the business need of building and using relationships is a pitfall that must be avoided.

Get the workbook to answer key questions about this topic, schedule a call with the team to learn more, and focus on people, not facts.

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Last month we spent 5 episodes creating your executive brand. In one of those episodes, we discussed the common pitfalls new executives step into while creating their brands. That one episode generated so many questions and inquiries that I decided to spend this month diving into the common pitfalls of new execs. So here we are. Are you ready to spend the month discussing common pitfalls?

While you may already be thinking about various tripwires, hang-ups, and frustrations that you are facing in your new executive role, I'm going to share with you the 4 of the most common pitfalls new executives unknowingly step into as they are learning to exec correctly. Lets's dive in!

The number one, most common, most dangerous pitfall new executives make, especially women, is the pitfall of self-blame.

We have talked about this one indirectly, so let’s just call it out and discuss it.

As you know here at Legend Leaders, we talk about the 4 Ps of executive success.

Promotion. Preparation. Performance. Permission.

Self-blame rears its head when a new executive hasn’t prepared to exec correctly.

The majority of women I work with have found themselves sitting in the executive role of their dreams, crying in the shower, working insane hours, and living in hell with the thought that they just tanked their careers. All of these feelings, actions, and reactions are self-blame.

Why are they living in this space?

Because they didn’t prepare to exec correctly.

While it’s not career-ending to not prepare, it can be career-ending if you NEVER prepare.

Yet as high-achieving, high-performance women and find ourselves in a situation where we feel like we have made such a serious mistake, that we missed seeing the signs in preparing to be a good executive, and we can't forgive ourselves. We beat ourselves up relentlessly.

Self-blame is a pitfall for new executives. Why? Because self-blame is a momentum killer.

It reduces our likelihood of success because we are so focused on what’s wrong and how reckless we are in our careers, that we stop looking for ways to win/ways to perform and start seeking evidence to prove how bad we are in the moment.

We don’t have time for that!

Should we have prepared before we stepped into the role or as we were stepping into the role?

Of course, we could have.

But we can't change the fact that we didn't so let's do it now.

Let’s shift the focus from self-blame to action and resolution.

Are you a newly promoted female corporate executive who is blaming yourself for not preparing yourself for the executive role?

Get the workbook and work through the questions to stop blaming and start preparing.

If you want additional support, schedule a free call with the Legend Leaders team.

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Welcome to the very last episode in this series: Creating Your Executive Brand. Today we are going to wrap this up by discussing how we know when we’ve got our brand just right. You know last week we talked about the pitfalls, i.e., the actions and activities we want to stay away from. So if we've talked about the pitfalls, it’s only fair that we talk about how we know we are on track, right?

Well again, I’ve shared some of these pieces in other episodes but I want to take a few minutes to pull these concepts together so they are super clear.

How do you know if you have a high-performance executive brand?

Ultimately, you know because you are earning your bonus, getting positive feedback, getting results in the business, are being considered for the next promotion, and you’re earning your pay raises.

Said differently, the company is benefiting from your brand because the business results are there and because of those results, you are being rewarded.

Remember how we talked about adding value to the organization? This is the key to knowing you have a solid executive brand. When the company is telling you that you are delivering, you’re on track, they need what you’re providing, they want you to keep giving them what you’re offering, etc. then you have a phenomenal brand.

Think about it like a product brand that you support. Be it a soft drink, a shoe line, or a purse. You support those companies because they have a brand you know, like, and trust. Each time you purchase one of their items, you know you’re not going to be disappointed. You can count on them to deliver at the highest level, which is why you keep going back and buying more.

It’s the same for your executive brand in your organization. You want your brand to be THE brand the company keeps coming back to because you deliver consistently, at the highest level, and in a way the company respects and appreciates.

Now I’m not saying you work yourself to death or you drop everything whenever the leadership team calls, you, etc. No, that is not an ideal executive brand. Even the product brand you’re thinking of right now doesn't respond 24-7. They don’t have the product in your hand instantaneously. We aren’t talking about on-demand services here, we are talking about consistency and quality. That’s what your brand should offer.

If you notice, the brand you’re thinking of also changes with the times to stay up to date with the last trends in the industry and the economy. So too should your executive brand keep up with the changes, but never should those changes negatively impact consistency or quality.

If at any point the company stops calling on you and your brand, you need to quickly assess what occurred so you can continue to add value at the level the company expects and get back to being the preferred “brand” in the organization.

This is how you know your brand is tracking, is preferred, and is desired by your company. Get the workbook to do the exercises and ensure your brand is tracking.

Ready to start getting it right? Schedule a call with the Legend Leaders team today!

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Welcome to another episode of our Creating Your Executive Brand series. I’m getting some great feedback on how this series is helping you think about your executive brand, even for those of you who aren’t executives yet, you're letting me know how this is helping you prepare for the next level and I love it. Congratulations on the growth and development of your executive brand!

This week we are talking about common pitfalls newly promoted executive women face when creating their brand. We have talked through a few of them over the previous weeks, but let’s take this week to be fully intentional about this topic.

Last week we talked about what an ideal executive brand is, today let’s talk about what an executive brand is not. The way we are going to talk about what an executive brand is not is by discussing the common pitfalls a new executive faces that actually prevent them from stepping into their ideal executive brand.

I mentioned earlier in the month the difference between a professional brand and an executive brand. The professional brand is one of doing and execution while the executive brand is one of influence and people leadership. If you stay in a doer mentality, this is a sure way of not developing an executive brand. Yet many new executives try to stay in this space because it’s where they feel comfortable, they already know how to succeed in this space, and they feel safe being a doer. Yet none of those personal fulfillments are adding value to the company. This is the same type of example that I gave last week when I referred to doing a job that isn’t yours.

Another common pitfall is thinking you must know all of the facts, concepts, and ideas of a situation before you speak up and truly own your new seat at the table. This perspective couldn’t be further from the truth. While you were being that manager or that executor, you learned a significant amount about the customer, the processes in the company, and how things work in their current state. This knowledge is valuable in a strategic meeting to ensure the success of the proposed strategy. Of course, you don’t want to be the first person to say, “that won’t work,” but if you know that’s the answer, it’s your obligation to speak up. It’s why you’re at the table! So speak up!

The third pitfall is one where we believe that our knowledge of our new role is more important than building relationships in the role. That couldn’t be further from the truth. You should have a good idea of what is expected from you. You have a job description, a copy of a performance review, how your bonus is calculated, etc. All of these pieces and more tell you how to add value and how you will be rewarded for it. Stop valuing knowledge over people and start building relationships.

Now, are there more pitfalls? Yes. There are over 10 common pitfalls that hold women back from creating and executing a high-performance executive brand. But these are the top 3.

Get your workbook and do the activities to identify if you are actively in some of the pitfalls and let’s get you out of them if you are.

Schedule a call with the Legend Leaders team to avoid all 10 of the common pitfalls: Schedule HERE!

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I’m glad you have come back for episode 3 in our series Creating an Executive Brand. Last week we dove into what an executive brand is and why it matters. This week let’s talk about what an ideal brand looks like, shall we?

What does an ideal brand look like? Now, if you did the work in the workbook last week you'll remember that I asked you an important question. Who do you admire and what characteristics do you see in their brand that causes you to admire them?

That question was one designed to get your brain thinking and mulling over what an ideal executive brand really looks like. So if you answered the question, you already have some ideas.

Ultimately, the ideal executive brand is one that delivers the highest value to the company based on the role that you hold. What does that mean?

It means if you are a VP of marketing, you don’t need to focus on adding value by driving operational execution. While the company needs operations to execute, the ops leader has to drive that while you focus on marketing. Right? It’s sort of a basic no-brainer example, but you would be surprised at how many new executives focus on what they feel comfortable doing, even when it’s not their role.

Of course, if you were in marketing you wouldn’t want to go into operations. So let me bring you an example that is much more common. If you were the editor, designer, and relationship liaison in marketing before you became the VP, you can’t revert back to your old job and keep doing those functions. You know how to do it, it’s what helped you step into the VP role, but it’s no longer your responsibility.

An ideal executive brand ensures the owner of the brand execs correctly. This means they perform at the highest level of their specific executive role; they own their seat at the table, speak up, influence the course of the business, generate strategic plans and initiatives, focus on the who not the how, and lead through others. All of this and more are actions organizations value from their executives, which leads me to my second point.

A key component of an ideal executive brand is knowing exactly what the company values in its executives. What does the company want from you? The question is not what do you “think” they want, but what do they actually want from you? How do they want you to show up? What do they need your leadership to tackle and solve and drive forward? What are your skills and talents that they need you to bring and share?

An ideal brand displays consistent executive-level leadership in a way that highlights the talents and gifts of the owner of the brand with the singular intention of adding daily value to the organization.

Why focus on daily value? Because when you do that, your success is a given!

So this week, get the workbook if you haven’t already. Answer the questions around an ideal brand and I will see you next week when we will dive into the common pitfalls of an executive brand.

Schedule a 30-minute Executive Brand Assessment with the team HERE!

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This is the second episode in our Creating Your Executive Brand series. Did you get your mind right last week? Did you prepare yourself to take in the knowledge we are going to share this month? If you did, awesome. If you didn’t, get the workbook and do the work from last week.

This week we are going to dive into the purpose of your executive brand. We cannot get to “how” we create one if we don’t first understand what it is and why it matters.

What is an executive brand? It’s your professional brand for sure, but not just any professional brand, it’s the brand you have created and continue to maintain as an executive.

Now that may not sound like much of a distinction but let me tell you that it very much is. A professional brand is how you show up as an employee, a manager, or even a director. That brand is one of a doer and an executor. An executive brand is one where you show off your executive level leadership, meaning you are leading through people, you are managing relationships, and you are creating strategies. You are not the doer, you are the leader. No doubt you can carry a professional brand into an executive role, and many newly promoted executives do just that. But those newly promoted executives don’t last long if they don’t quickly change their brand from a professional one to an executive one.

So that’s what an executive brand is. It’s the embodiment of how you deliver executive-level value each day in a way that is unique to you, using your gifts and talents.

Now that we know what an executive brand is, let's understand why it matters.

I think you probably figured that out as we have been walking through this today. Your executive brand ensures you perform at the highest level in your role.

How?

By ensuring you are adding value each day in a way that only you can. This is what the company needs from you. It’s why you exist in the organization. Your brand is how you show up, lead, get results, and move the business forward.

Think of an executive that you admire. Why do you admire them? Because of the qualities they display in their leadership and their personal character, right? That’s their brand!

If you want to perform at the highest level, have an impact in your role, secure your bonus each year, get promoted, and earn your raise, you must have a high-performance executive brand. It’s that simple.

Now that you understand the what and the why behind an executive brand, get the workbook and answer some questions to further understand your what and why.

I will see you next week when we dive into the topic of defining an ideal brand.

Don't forget to schedule a call with the Legend Leaders team in order to get your free executive brand assessment: Click HERE to schedule your call now!

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Since it’s the first day of a new month you know what that means, we are kicking off a new series for the month of March!

What are we diving into this month? It's the foundational topic we teach here at Legend Leaders, creating your executive brand!

While it may not sound like a fun topic, I think we can agree that it is a necessary topic.

Now, if you read the topic in the title of this episode and cringed or you cringed when you heard me officially announce the topic, I want you to ask yourself why.

Why are you feeling some angst, hesitation, or maybe a bit of frustration when it comes to your executive brand?

That’s a powerful question, isn’t it?

Instead of avoiding the topic or stopping the podcast episode, ask yourself why.

Why are these emotions popping up?

Why are you potentially unwilling to listen to this episode and participate in this topic this month?

If your brand was on point, you would still be willing to listen, right? No doubt your overall attitude is typically one of professional growth and being open to new ideas. So if that's not the space you're in right now, ask yourself why.

On the flip side, if you are listening to this episode and you're saying, "I’m all in Katrina! I want to learn more about creating an executive brand. I’m not pushing back. Don’t worry about me. That’s great news! I desperately need the help!" I still want you to answer the same questions but from the opposite side of the spectrum. Why are you so willing to adjust your brand?

The point of today is two-fold:

1. Bring you into this month’s topic.

2. Identify any personal barriers you have created in your mind when it comes to your executive brand.

Whether you don’t want to talk about it, due to fear, imposter syndrome, or the like, OR you want to discuss it right this second because you’re not giving yourself enough credit, we need to acknowledge where we are.

Our brains have to be ready to receive this knowledge and it can’t be closed nor can it be so open that we try every idea I share with you. We have to find the balance before we start.

So that’s your assignment for today. Prepare yourself to learn more over the coming weeks about creating an executive brand by identifying where you stand mentally in receiving this information and applying it.

Get the workbook to help you do the activity for this week and the following weeks. If you are already saying you need help with your brand, schedule a call with the Legend Leaders team and let us provide you with an Executive Brand Assessment at no charge. Schedule that HERE.

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Welcome to the last episode of this series: performance vs. permission. We have been diving into both of these concepts as it relates to our professional lives; what they are, why they matter, how they work together, and how we become consciously aware of these two components so that we can use this knowledge to get what we want out of life. Today we are tying it all together to understand how performance drives permission. Don't forget to get the workbook to support you as you work through these details today.

As you know, we defined performance as adding daily value to the organization in order to exec correctly. If you remember, we said that value is defined by the company or organization, not us. We cannot be successful in our role until we understand how the company defines value and then we add value through executive-level performance.

Once we believe we are performing, then we can move into the phase of giving ourselves permission. Specifically, permission to stop sacrificing and start living. However, we can’t get there until we confirm without a doubt that our performance is on point as defined by the company. How do we know we are on track and performing? For most of us, that measure is a bonus, a good performance review, a pay raise, a promotion, etc. Tangible points of feedback tell us we are performing and we are on track.

Now, as high-performing women, permission is critical in our lives. We have set professional targets that once achieved, allow us to be better moms, spouses, and friends.

Said differently, when we feel we are execing correctly we then allow ourselves to mom correctly, wife correctly, and friend correctly.

If you’re ready to create your brand so you can perform, now is the time to take definitive action. Not by listening to another podcast program, not by grabbing a book someone told you to read, and not by saying “I’ll get to that later.”

No.

It's by taking action. It's by learning what performance looks like in your company and doing it. It's by ensuring your performance is on point and leaving no room for error. It's by locking in your bonus this year and beyond.

Now, you can do that on your own and that's fantastic. You can also do it with a group of like-minded women who will help you learn the proper strategies, execute with speed, and walk alongside you as you do it. That second pathway is achieved by joining The Executive Way program. This program is a 2-phase, 14-month program designed specifically to get you performing so you can give yourself personal permission.

You will spend the first 60 days creating the foundation of your high-performance executive brand and start generating immediate results. This will give you the confidence, clarity, and certainty to grant yourself that personal permission and continue on the path of strengthening your brand. The 12-month portion of the program is where the magic happens because as you strengthen your brand, you start stepping into giving yourself more and more permission to live. Not only that, you will lock in your bonus while preparing yourself for your next promotion/pay raise.

We have perfected the methods so you can step into the life you want.

Schedule a call now to learn more.

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Welcome to the third episode in the series I'm calling Performance vs. Permission. Last week we dove into the concept of performance. At this point, we have a clear understanding of what performance really means, who defines it, and how we actually achieve it. If you didn’t listen to last week’s episode, go check it out because we are about to build on those concepts in today's episode. What are we talking about today? Permission!

Now, as a high-achieving, high-performing woman you are saying to yourself, “I don’t ask for permission.”

OK, I hear you. I used to tell myself something similar.

That said, let’s walk through this, shall we?

When we talk about permission here at Legend Leaders, we aren’t talking about asking an external source if we are allowed to perform a specific action or task.

Because you’re right, you don’t ask for permission from your work team, your family, etc.

However, you DO ask permission from yourself.

No one holds the bar higher than you when measuring yourself, your performance, your professional success, your personal success, etc.

You are much harder on yourself than anyone else ever could be. So if you asked the external world where the bar is, it wouldn’t even come close to how high you have already set it for yourself. So for that reason and more, you don’t ask for permission from the world.

But because you are the one measuring your own success and performance, you have a very specific rule in your brain.

That rule goes something like, “When I achieve THIS, when I get to THIS place, when I have THIS title, when I’m making THIS much money, when I’m having THIS much impact, when I get to THIS place, then I will allow for these other things in my life.”

That’s what permission looks like for us.

We set the target and we refuse to waiver until we hit it.

Most likely, you’ve been sacrificing a large percentage of your personal life up to this point. You have worked early mornings, late nights, weekends, vacations, etc. You do that and you justify it by saying, “I just can’t sit still, this is who I am.”

Let me be clear. This is who you are making yourself be because you refuse to give yourself permission to be any other way. This is not WHO you truly are, this is who you MUST be to get to where you want to be in life.

This sacrificial mindset exists to ensure you perform so that once you hit a personally defined mark of performance, THEN and only THEN will you give yourself permission to be anything otherwise.

Do you understand the concept of “permission” as a high-achieving executive leader?

Get the workbook to help you take action on this episode.

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Last week we kicked off this mini-series by defining the 4 Ps and how they work together. This month we are diving into phase 2 of the 4 Ps: Performance vs. Permission.

Let me ask you, what is performance really? What do you think about when you hear the word “performance?”

I would wager a guess that for you, the word performance is almost synonymous with the word success.

You are performing in order to be successful.

What I want you to catch here is that performance actually generates success, they are not one and the same. You cannot assume that performance means success.

This may sound silly that I am driving this point home but this is a big deal.

Many top performers assume that their performance and success are synonymous.

The reality is that if you perform FIRST, you reap the benefits of that performance, which is success.

Why does that matter?

Because many times we’re not successful. We believe are doing what we think we must do, yet we aren’t experiencing the internal confidence or outward signs of praise and appreciation that align with success. We wonder why we aren’t successful because after all, we are doing something.

The key here is that while we are doing something, we aren’t actually performing.

Performing at the executive level means we are execing correctly. It means we have created a strong executive brand by learning exactly what the company needs from us, and how the organization defines value, and we are showing up each day to add value to the company. Each day.

Execing correctly is adding daily value. When we add daily value, we are performing as expected in our executive role.

When we perform, then we are successful.

Are you with me?

Don’t confuse performance with success.

Don’t confuse action with performance.

You must exec correctly to truly perform as an executive. And when you do that, you get to move to the next P, which we will discuss next week: permission.

Get the workbook to help you take action on today’s episode. When you’re ready to truly perform at the executive level, schedule a call with my team, and let’s help you strengthen your brand and start performing so you can have true success.

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Last month on the Legendary Leaders podcast we focused on phase 1 of the 4 P's, Promotion vs. Preparation.  This month, we are moving into phase 2 of the executive success pathway which is Performance vs. Permission.

Did you just go, "Performance vs. Permission, what in the world is that?"

If you did, I get it.

I get it because I’ve lived it and I have helped a large number of other super-talented executive women move through this as well.  

The reality we are facing together this month is that performance is a requirement that must be met before we give ourselves permission to live the life we want to live.

Take a second to digest that if you need to.

If we don't feel like we are performing professionally, we withhold our personal permission to enjoy a date night, self-care routines, weekends off, etc.

The 4 P’s here at Legend Leaders is the defined pathway we follow to get the life we want to live.  So let’s spend this month diving into and defining what performance actually means, what permission actually means, why both are critical to our professional lives, and then how it directly influences and impacts our personal lives.

Next week we are diving into the concept of performance.

Get your workbook now and start taking action!

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This month we are talking through the concept of promotion vs. preparation and why these two concepts must be understood and applied if we want to create a high-performance executive brand as a new executive. Today we are solving the conundrum of what we feel like are competing forces: promotion vs. preparation.

As a high-performing, high achieving, female leader, you are either in two situations right now.

1. You’re newly promoted and you are suddenly realizing through this promotion that you are not prepared. When you’re not prepared you can’t do what? You can’t perform.

We must perform! So we need to prepare to exec correctly, i.e., perform at the executive level.

How?

By learning the methods and strategies of successful executive leadership and applying them quickly to get results. Speed matters. You have a small window of time to perform. You’re career and your professional brand are depending on your ability to learn, apply, and pivot accordingly.

1. You’re on the fast track to promotion into an executive role and you are seeing the warning signs that tell you you may not be prepared to exec. So you are looking around, telling yourself you will sacrifice even more of your time for your career right now because you cannot afford to screw this up. Speed of both learning and applying your new learnings are critical for you because there are only so many hours in the day and you can only run on fumes for so long before you burn out.

To solve either of these scenarios you must do what executives do best, steal shamelessly. You must seek to find proven solutions or strategies. That looks like the following (download the workbook to access these questions):

1. Ask a mentor for feedback regarding your personal development into a high-performing executive.
2. Ask your supervisor for feedback.
3. Look into the developmental training programs your organization has available to support you.

If you don’t feel comfortable asking or you don’t have access to internal training programs, the bottom line is that you still must solve this gap between your current performance and executive performance. Your professional brand depends on it.

The gap must be eliminated. So no matter your situation, let’s get you into The Executive Way program here at Legend Leaders. Email us at info@legendleaders.com to schedule a call and let’s get you prepared to exec correctly!

Be Legendary!

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This month we are talking through the very real stages of "promotion vs. preparation" in our executive careers and why understanding and acting on each of these components is critical if we want to create a high-performance executive brand. Last week we dove into the concept of "promotion." Today is all about acts of preparation.

Why must we prepare to exec correctly?

The short answer is, being an executive requires leadership skills, actions, attitudes, and mindsets that we haven't learned or applied up to this point in our careers. Executive leadership is very different than middle management leadership.

Now I know you want to say that you have mad skills and those skills are going to help you succeed. Let me put it to you this way. If you are a triathlete, you must be able to swim, bike, and run, right? In your career, you learned how to swim exceptionally well. Learning to swim got you promoted into the executive ranks. However, in the executive ranks, you must bike. Swimming got you to the biking phase of the race, but you can't use the same techniques to complete the cycling portion of the race. You'll lose. You must use new tools and different muscles.

In general, managers are doers. Yes, they can lead small groups of people, but they are focused on short-term plans, short-term results, and pushing the team to generate those quick wins.

Most commonly, we get promoted because we did our current job exceptionally well. We researched, we created execution plans, we executed, we followed up, and we kept raising the bar. It didn’t matter the project, the size of the team, or the business focus, these were the steps that when done properly and consistently, lead to promotions time and time again.

Now notice I didn’t say: emotional intelligence training, mastering influence, strategic planning, visionary leadership, executive presence, or personal leadership.

In my career, none of those pieces of training were expected or prioritized in my development and I didn’t even know to ask for most of them because they weren’t needed in the management roles.

So if you only have 10 hours in a day to do your current job well and get results, realize that to actually do that it takes 15 hours in a day. You are already trying to get more done than you have time for. Where would you squeeze in these developmental actions?

You would sacrifice even more of your personal time if you felt certain they were needed. But who is telling you that you need those skills? Who is encouraging you to learn them? Who is providing you with the training?

If the answer is no one, then we can easily see why promotion overtakes preparation in our careers.

However, we can also see why preparation is critical and why it must be prioritized. We don’t want to spend 10 years of our lives developing our careers and then fail in the one role we were dreaming of having.

No. We must succeed. It’s what we do. Which means we must prepare.

To do that, you must find resources to help you with your growth. You must learn proven strategies, constantly improve what you’re doing, and you must have someone to support you and guide you along the way.

Check out The Executive Way as a solution to this gap.

Grab the workbook to answer some questions on how to create your executive brand.

If you want to learn more about The Executive Way program and how we can better support you, please send an email to info@legendleaders.com and we will book a call with you!

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As a high-achieving female corporate executive, today's topic should be one you are very familiar with: promotion. No doubt you have been promoted multiple times throughout your career and you are either about to move into the executive ranks or you have done so in the past year.

Now let's get honest with each other for a second.

Because we have experienced it, we believe we have a good understanding of what promotion is; the advancement of our careers. Right?

Promotion is the progression of our compensation and title to match our professional growth and contribution.

Now, I don’t know about you, but when I was on the promotion pathway, I didn’t feel like I was doing a lot of growing. Or, at least a lot of growth that would help me perform well in the future. Yes, I was growing into the person I needed to be for my current role or my "job" at the time; however, I wasn't growing my executive leadership skillsets.

What about you?

As is common in most operational positions, I got promoted because I did my current job exceptionally well. Similar to you, I researched, I created execution plans, I executed, I followed up, and I kept raising the bar. It didn’t matter the project, the size of the team, or the business focus, these were the steps that when done properly and consistently, lead to my promotions time and time again.

The rule is: perform in your current job to keep advancing.

Advancing was my focus. I wanted to get out of the trenches and into the driver's seat. I watched other leaders in their executive roles. They strolled into meetings, asked hard questions, gave directions, and went on with their day.

That sounded like a dream! I wanted to be promoted to that. I wanted my life to be easier.

I thought the only way to get there was to earn it. So "earn it" is what I did.

Does this sound familiar?

Are you focused on the concept of “earning it?”

Know this, with your focus on promotion and "earning it" combined with the company’s primary desire of getting maximum value out of you and getting results, no one is going to intentionally prepare you for the executive role.

If you're not asking for the preparation and prioritizing it, you're not going to get it.

When we are focused solely on promotion, we are focusing on our “jobs” not our careers.

To get what we want, we must be able to execute our jobs and prepare for our careers.

Today I want you to think about where you are in your career. Are you a new executive or do you want to be?

How do you shift from promotion to preparation?

What key aspects of professional growth must you experience to create your executive brand?

Listen in next week to learn more about the preparation aspect of this process. Download the workbook and answer some of these critical questions.

And if you’re ready to take action and prepare, either before your promotion or after, let me invite you to join the next group of women participating in The Executive Way program here at Legend Leaders.

Email us at info@legendleaders.com to schedule a call!

Be Legendary!

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Welcome to 2023! We are kicking off the year by discussing the concept of promotion vs. preparation.

Why must this be understood and overcome as a new executive if we want to create a high-performance executive brand?

It takes women on average 10 years to get promoted to an executive seat.

That’s 10 years of doing what?

Focusing on the next promotion. We are constantly given advice to “get really good at the job we are in because that’s the fastest way to get promoted.”

We are told at every turn and angle: excel where you are to get ahead.

So what do we do? We focus on the job at hand.

We focus on the concept of promotion, not preparation.

I have found, through both my own experience as well as supporting other amazing women, that when we set our sights on that executive role,

the one that was going to make our lives easier,

the one where we said, “When I get there, I will have it all and then be able to do it all,”

the one we believe is the answer to our prayers,

the answer to the late nights, early mornings, the personal sacrifices, and the damage we have done to the relationships we say we care so much about.

That executive position is not just the career success we have been seeking but the life balance we have been longing for.

To get into that executive seat makes all of those sacrifices worth it.

That’s what we tell ourselves.

But when we get there, what happens?

It’s not the answer to our prayers.

Why?

Because we didn’t prepare.

We were so focused on a promotion we didn’t ask ourselves what we would need to change, learn, or grow into in order to exec correctly.

And now 10 years' worth of career execution, sacrifices, and personal brand development is at risk because we haven’t prepared.

That’s what this entire month is about on the Legendary Leaders podcast.

We are going to spend time really understanding the “why” behind this concept and then we can quickly do about it as a means of not only saving our brand but creating our executive brand.

I look forward to working through this topic with you this month. Grab the workbook and get started!

Be Legendary!

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It’s the last Wednesday of the year and you have done a tremendous amount of work this month to ensure that 2023 is the best year yet! You've been kicking butt in "Preparation Season" and I’m beyond proud of you! You are on the very last step to building the correct plan and proper momentum to hit January 1st with some speed! It's time to set your milestones and start taking action!

Now, if you're getting a bit nervous or feeling some hesitation, let's go through why you're ready to go! You have created a crystal clear picture of what you achieved in 2022. You now have clarity on what you want to achieve in 2023, why achieving your targets is a must, and any resources/support/help you need in order to get there.

Everything has been defined at a high level. Because you have your overall endpoints or goals, you now need to create the milestones you will achieve along the way that will ultimately lead to our endpoints. Today you will drill it down and decide what you need to deliver each quarter in order to celebrate the achievement of your targets next year.

Create your strategy today. Download the workbook to help you.

Define what must be done, by when, and with which resources/tools, and schedule the time on your calendar to take the proper action in order to achieve the milestones.

Once you have your milestones defined, be sure to schedule a time next week to reach out to all of the support systems, people, groups, coaches, mentors, etc. you will need to call on this year in order to achieve your end goals.

Happy New Year to you! May this year be the best year of your life and career!

Be Legendary!

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It’s Preparation Season! We are going to make this next year THE BEST YEAR of our lives. How do we do that? You've been working through it if you have been listening to the previous episodes. Last week you assessed how you did this year. You also determined why you got the results you delivered. No judgment. No harsh words to yourself about yourself if you didn’t hit the mark. Definitely, some celebration and reward for showing up, right? Now it's time to look forward and cast your vision for 2023.

That means it's time to establish a clear definition of what 2023 will be so that we know exactly what we will be celebrating this time next year. It’s time to set your targets for the next 12 months.

What is the process?

First, allow yourself to dream. You can’t create BHAGs (big, hairy, audacious goals) if you don’t dream big. So don't hold back. Don't play small. Set your goals.

To do that, answer this question: It’s 12 months from now and you and I are having a great conversation. I ask you, how did this year go for you, and you say, “It was the best year of my life, Katrina!”

Awesome!

Now tell me why. What are all of the things that you accomplished in your professional life and your personal life?

Now that you have that list of goals, I want you to tell me, what would it mean to you if you hit these targets this year?

What would it mean to your family if you hit these targets?

Last but not least, answer this question: What type of support, community, and accountability would you need in order to reach your goals?

It's time to set your goals/targets. It's time to get clear.

It’s time to BELIEVE!

As always, get the workbook to help you define your targets and the necessary resources to get there.

Be Legendary!

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We are in the midst of Preparation Season! What's on the agenda for today? Today is the day we perform a self-assessment of 2022.

No doubt you set goals for the current year.

This week we will look at your performance toward those goals, did you overdeliver, underdeliver, or hit the bullseye?

And you want to identify exactly what you did to get you where you are today.

Let me share an example with you so we are sure to be on the same page.

Let's say you set your sights on promotion in 2022.

The first question you must answer is, did you achieve it?

--If yes, what actions did you take in order to earn it? What worked and what didn't?

–If no, what happened that caused the delay in your career progression? Was it a change in the company landscape? Was it because you weren't quite ready? Maybe it's because you declined the promotion. No matter the reason, identify it and call it out. Then identify exactly what you did (or what happened) that created that result.

The key to this exercise is to not judge yourself but to be honest with yourself. What did you want to achieve? Did you do it, yes or no? What caused the results you delivered?

If you underperformed vs. your targets for 2022, your goal is to understand why. If you delivered or exceeded your goals, again, understand why.

Then, your last goal is to celebrate. Celebrate what you have achieved, even if you didn't hit or exceed your target, celebrate the fact that you grew over the past year and you got closer to your ultimate target.

Then last but not least, identify the tools and resources you used to help you get to where you are today. Did you have a peer group that held you accountable? Did you have a coach or someone teaching you strategies and holding you to your goals? What helped you get to where you are? Conversely, what should you have tapped into that would have helped you get further faster? (The good news is that it's not too late! You can use those resources in 2023!)

The goal of this self-assessment is two-fold.

First, to see where you are currently so that you know your 2023 starting point.

Second, you must learn the lessons 2022 existed to teach you. This ensures you don't repeat those lessons in 2023. Let's move forward!

If you want some support in working through this self-assessment, get the free workbook to help you do this process with ease.

Be Legendary!

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It’s December 7th, and while many times we want to spend the month of December on self-reflection, we're not doing that this year. We must prepare to move forward. I want you to hit 2023 with momentum, clarity, and confidence. So while everyone else is spending January “preparing” for the year we are already in, you will be getting results. It's time to step into Preparation Season!

What is preparation season?

It’s the time when we commit to making 2023 the best year of our lives and then we do the preparation and planning so that we have no choice but to make that happen!

Ultimately, we will spend this month getting rid of the "I'm going to" mindset and stepping into the "I've got this" mindset.

We are not going to be one of the millions of people who pick a "focus" for 2023 several hours before midnight on the evening of December 31st.

We are high achievers and we have a life we want to live, contributions we want to make, and professional impacts to make.

Instead of hoping, winging it, or "getting to it later," we are going to make it happen now.

You have spent probably a week's worth of time preparing for 2023 at work; finalizing the vision, the strategy, the milestones, the methods, etc., right? So why wouldn't you intentionally invest time preparing for your year?

The challenge I'm leaving you with this week is answering this question: What is preparation season and why is it a must for me to participate as a means of making 2023 the best year of my life?

As always, grab the workbook as an additional layer of support during Preparation Season.

Be Legendary!

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It’s the last episode in the series so let’s tie this thing up, shall we?

We know what execing correctly means, why it matters, what burnout looks like, and why hesitation isn’t the answer if we truly want to succeed. Today we are going to finish this series by talking about exactly what execing correctly looks like when you live in that executive performance space.

We are going to formally answer the question: How do you exec correctly?

The fact is, you already know the answer because we have already talked about it. Execing correctly is the act of moving from the doer position to the leader position.

It’s spending more time teaching your team, educating your peers, influencing the organization, creating the strategy, and leading through people.

It’s looking at least 3 years into the future and plotting a course for success while steering the tanker around unforeseen, unplanned industry landmines, economic storms, and overall risks.

As an executive, you’re not the first sergeant anymore, you’re the captain. This means you’re teaching the team how to be effective while at the same time watching the horizon and using all of your knowledge to get the team to its destination safely and successfully.

Execing correctly is being a thought leader, an influencer, and a servant to your team.

As an executive, you have the important role of keeping one foot in the "now" to help the team successfully execute today, and one foot in the future so that what they do today takes them down the right path in order to win tomorrow.

It’s not an easy role.

Being a doer is much easier.

But the executive role is where you will find your purpose of serving, leading, and achieving at the highest level in your career.

If you look at your calendar and more than 30% of the time you are in “doing mode,” you must learn to master the strategies of execing correctly.

Grab the workbook to help you with this last phase of learning to exec correctly.

Get free access to the Recession-Resistant Executive Career Builder and start applying the strategies of success.

If you have questions and need support, reach out to me at katrina@legendleaders.com

Be Legendary!

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Over the past few weeks, you have been learning the ins and outs of the psychology around "execing correctly." We have talked about the fact that as executives, we are leaders, not doers. We are owners, not operators. We have discussed why learning to perform at the executive level is critical to your next chapter in career success. If you want to continue to succeed in your career, you must exec correctly. It's not optional.

Last week we spent some time on burnout and we understand the fact that burnout could either be the reason we aren’t mastering the executive functions OR it could be the fact that we aren’t performing the executive functions that are causing burnout to occur. In other words, if we aren’t burnt out, we could get there quickly if we don’t change.

Now we must talk about hesitation.

This topic is the natural next psychological barrier that could be holding us back from execing correctly such that eliminating it could be the key to our executive success.

Hesitation in learning how to exec correctly is normal. It’s been a common thread in all of our previous episodes.

But as we said, we are going to call out the truth and make it a known reality.

Hesitation at this phase in our careers is COMMON! It’s normal. You’re not alone and you’re not crazy if you are hesitating as a new executive.

Remember, we said burnout could be a reason that we are hesitating. We are just tired. We can’t keep the maniacal pace we have been living in. We can’t mentally handle the fact that we did all of the work to get to the position, only to now realize we have more work to do.

This is what I call a crying-in-the-shower moment, ladies. For me, when I am just exhausted, the day has taken its toll, and I feel like I can’t take anymore, I have to let out all of that emotional insanity. So I go take a hot shower and cry it out.

Maybe you need to have a crying-in-the-shower moment this evening.

We both know that you didn’t expect to be exhausted and simply tired of being tired!

We didn’t plan for this. And so while we feel stupid for thinking this role would be the solution to our personal sacrifice, we are also angry that we believed we could have all that we wanted in life if we just got to this position. Now we can’t even focus on enjoying or performing in the position because we are just done. Mentally and emotionally done.

The reality in all of this is that we actually can have the life, the success, the achievements, and the happiness we have been seeking. We simply have to stop hesitating in order to get it.

We have to solve the next problem in our path, which means we must stop hesitating.

I know you don’t want another problem. I know you didn’t prepare for another problem. I get it. I understand more than you know.

But the reality is that you must solve it if you are going to start execing correctly and enjoying the hard work you put into getting here.

Stop hesitating and digging in your heels on this one. You will only delay your growth, the growth of your team, and the value you are adding to the organization.

Am I telling you to suck it up and keep living with burnout? NO! All I am saying is if you’re burnt out, solve it. Don't keep doing what you have been doing. Make a change.

Taking action and learning to exec correctly.

If you are just angry that you have a new problem to solve, stop hesitating and solve it. This is the straightforward path to get you from career fear to career confidence.

Don't delay, download the workbook and take action on today's episode.

Be Legendary!

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It's almost Thanksgiving, which means most female corporate executives are stressing right now. The reason is pretty simple. If we don't believe we are execing correctly, we refuse to give ourselves permission to enjoy the holiday. We must feel on track professionally before we can enjoy ourselves personally. So we're stressing!

That's what we are working on and working through the process of going from doer to leader. We know that's the skill we must master because simply put, we cannot squander the hard work and sacrifices we have made over the 10 years by getting into an executive seat and then failing miserably.

It just can't happen!

This is where burnout comes in. Burnout can be both the result of not execing correctly OR it could be the cause of it.

Interesting concept, right?

Either way, we must address burnout.

Burnout can happen and actually does happen often during our push to reach this coveted role in our careers. We sacrifice ourselves, our health, our personal time, our family time, the memories we could have made with our kids, and more.

We make these sacrifices for two reasons: 1. because we hope that by sacrificing we can get to our executive seat faster and 2. we believe it's the only way. We aren't deserving of the good life until we have reached our end result.

With this mindset, we have pushed so hard, given so much, that when we do arrive, we are a bit ragged. If we think about our careers like a marathon race, we have toenails that have pulled off and are rattling around in our running shoes. We have a bloody leg from falling at mile 19. The mental focus that got us through all of that was the idea that once we got to the executive role, we could rest.

We convinced ourselves of it. It was what got us through.

The idea of having to do more work, different work, work that we have to now learn how to do . . . how do we wrap our arms around that? Our bodies/minds need time to recover and yet, our careers cannot afford the downtime.

Or, our legs are feeling ok, we made it through the marathon. But instead of taking off our running shoes and becoming the coach to the runners in the next race, we put our shoes on again and start running. We become a marathoner again instead of a coach because we believe that's the safest role for us to play.

We know how to race and so we do it. But you can't be a runner and a coach at the same time. Just like you cannot be a doer as an executive. Yes, it feels safe. Yes, you know how to do it well. But the executive role is all about leading and teaching others how to successfully run the career race. Not you being the runner.

You cannot fall back on what you know or you will burn out, be unsuccessful in your executive seat, and will be so mentally drained from trying, that you will put your career at risk.

You see, the only way to get past burnout is this:

1. Gut-check yourself. Are you burnt out? Grab the workbook for some questions to help you answer this.
2. Take some vacation time, take some personal time, and adjust your schedule to allow for some decompression and realignment.
3. Set clear boundaries in being a leader, not a doer.
4. Learn how to be a leader, don’t stress yourself out trying to guess or do it on your own.

Burnout can happen to all of us. If you’re there, let’s solve it. If you’re approaching burnout, let’s prevent it. And if you want to avoid it, let’s ensure you learn how to lead and stay away from the “doer” role from this point forward.

Download the workbook and do the activities with today's episode to keep you moving forward.

Be Legendary!

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We are in the second episode of this month's mini-series focused on executive performance and ensuring we are performing at the highest level. Are you execing correctly? Do you know if you are or aren’t? Why does it matter? Today we are focusing on defining “why mastering is a must.”

When you think about your executive career, at any point have you found yourself saying something like, “I’ll wing it . . I made it this far, I can figure it out.”

Usually, we find ourselves saying that when we have just been promoted. But after a few months, if we are still saying this, we haven't yet made the transition from "winging it" to mastery.

Why wouldn't someone make that mental transition?

Typically it's because they are tired.

Why?

Because you have worked yourself almost to death: extra hours, extra meetings, extra projects, extra everything because you told yourself that you could rest once you got into the executive seat.

Now you want to enjoy the fruits of your labor.

But guess what, that’s not what an executive role is about.

While the "execution" work is done, the leadership work has only just begun. Yet many of us don’t realize that, or better yet, we really don’t want to realize it.

You’re tired.

And if you have to admit to yourself that now you have yet another mountain to climb, you seriously don't know if you can handle that reality right now.

Am I right?

But here’s the truth, learning how to exec correctly, or perform at the executive level, is critical because it’s the clear next step in your career journey.

You worked for years to get into the executive role, why would you then not spend the time mastering it and achieving ultimate success?

Otherwise, the years you put in will be nothing but wasted time.

Now is not the time to stop striving, growing, and expanding. It is time to transition into the next phase of your career.

This week your challenge is to spend time reflecting on how you embracing the next phase of your executive career.

Are you mastering or avoiding?

Download the workbook and do the activities associated with today's episode to help you take definitive action.

Be Legendary!

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Execing correctly; means we are performing solidly to exceptionally in our executive role. The problem we face upon being promoted into the executive seat is that the majority of us are uncertain as to what "execing correctly" really means. How do we succeed? What does success look like? What must we learn? What must we keep doing vs. stop doing?

We have a lot of questions, but let's first seek to understand how we ended up in this position.

When you started your career you looked at the promotional paths and you said to yourself, I want to be THERE. It could have been a specific position and title (for example: SVP of Operations) or it could have been a simply a level of responsibility (SVP or EVP).

Upon establishing your target, you then started to work towards reaching your career goal.

The positive news is that now you're there! You've made it!

So what's next?

That is the exact problem.

You're not sure.

You see, it takes about 10 years for women to get to that executive seat, so for the previous 10 years you have been promoting not preparing.

What does it take to get promoted?

Execution.

You have been a doer of the work.

Because execution drives promotions. But promotion doesn't equal preparation.

We haven't actually spent any time preparing to be an executive!

Have you ever noticed that the individuals who get promoted in an organization are the best “doers” of their current role and not necessarily the best person for the next level?

If you want to ensure you are both excellent in your current role and the best person for the executive seat, you must exec correctly.

To exec correctly means you are a leader, not a doer. In its simplest form, that’s what execing correctly means.

But if you are a great doer, how do you exec?

We are going to work through all of this month. The key is that you must first realize there is an intentional transition you must make within yourself in order to step forward and start performing in the executive role. It's very different than "doing" or executing. It's leading and acting strategically.

This week, your challenge is to start understanding why promotion doesn't equal preparation.

Download the workbook to get access to today's questions and start moving forward.

Be Legendary!

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We are in the last week of this mini-series which means this is the last step of this process in preparation for our "no regret" holiday season. If one of your holidays on the list was Halloween, we are less than a week away from that holiday so we really need to close this out this week.

So hopefully you’re thinking, “Katrina, give me the last step!” Let’s do it.

As it always is, the last step is to involve your teams. The word "teams" is plural by design because you have two sets of teams.

You have a personal team that supports you in your personal life. That team probably involves your spouse or significant other, children, parents, siblings, and friends. These are the individuals that you spend time with on the personal side of your life.

Additionally, you have a work team. This is the team we typically talk about quite often so you are very familiar with talking about them.

In creating a “no regrets" holiday experience, we need to get both of our teams on board.

What does that look like?

For the personal team, do you remember the details you created two weeks ago about your dream holiday events? You created a list of people you wanted to involve. Those are the individuals you must bring into the conversation now. With this personal team, you are going to perform two actions:

1. Tell them about your goals/dreams for the holidays and the roles they play. Confirm they are willing to participate at that level.
2. Find out what their goals and dreams are so that you too can support them.

For your work team, you are going to take two actions as well.

1. By looking at your career details from last week, is there anything you can or should delegate to the team in order to free up your time? Could you also help them eliminate busy work or non-value-add work?
2. What do they want for the holidays? How can you support them to ensure they aren’t working hours that don’t support their wants and goals?

As always, grab the workbook to help you with these questions so you can take action and move forward.

Once you have involved your teams and have aligned, you’re ready to start creating your “no regrets” holiday experience. And as always, if you would like some additional support, send me a Facebook DM with the word "HOLIDAYS" and let's talk.

Be Legendary!

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We are setting ourselves up for holiday success this year! This is the year of no regrets! No longer will we be working at our computers listening to our family's laughter in the next room. No longer will we be physically with our families but mentally stressing about work. No more! To get ourselves to that place, we are working through a process. Last week you did something that maybe you rarely let yourself do, you allowed yourself to get specific and dream about how the holidays will look and feel on a personal level. Now it's time to look at the holidays relative to our careers and find that balance.

The reality is that for some of you, dreaming about the holidays caused a little stress. As you were dreaming and setting goals a part of your brain started screaming, "What about work?!"

How about we silence that scream and reconcile your personal and professional lives?

It's going to take a bit of work but if you want a "no regrets" holiday season, I know you're not afraid of a little work. And I also know that once you do this work, you will feel even more confident about making your personal dreams a reality.

So let's get to work!

Grab your calendar, look back over the past week, and start classifying the events on your calendar. (Get the workbook to find a resource that will help you map out your time more effectively.) Here’s how you are going to classify the work:

1. Value-Add
2. Security
3. Filler

If the work is truly required because it is something that only you can do, put a V beside it. Inherently if it's work that only you can execute in the organization (either because of your training, title, or both), it must be a valuable addition to the company.

If the function you performed and the time was spent primarily to make you feel more secure in your role, meaning no one asked you to do the work, no one expects you to do the work in question, but you’re doing it because you think that specific action helps you be more successful and makes you feel secure, put an S.

If you spent the time simply filling up the day, it wasn’t work the company needed, it wasn’t anything that made you safer or more successful, you simply just felt like you needed to be working during that time of the day and so you did some sort of work, put an F beside it.

After you do this time assessment, total up the hours for each work type and see where you’re spending your time. Make some distinctions as you review.

The only type of work you must continue to do is which type? Value-add.

Knowing this, are there specific blocks of time that you can take back? Actions and work that are classified as "security" and "filler," right?

How much time can you get back into your personal schedule from the security and filler buckets?

Take some time to start adjusting your schedule accordingly.

If you want direct support, don't forget to DM me on Facebook or send me an email at katrina@legendleaders.com with the word "HOLIDAYS" and we can chat.

Be Legendary!

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Welcome to the second episode in this series focused on helping you create a "no regrets" holiday experience! If you don’t listen to any other episodes for the rest of the year, I'm proud of you for listening to this one. As a mom and a business leader, you can have career success and personal happiness without sacrificing one for the other. If you're ready to create that for yourself, then let's start by defining our ideal holiday experience.

Let’s DREAM.

Do you know that the majority of corporate executive women I work with refuse to let themselves think about something they want for fear that they won’t get it? They rationalize that if they never really want something, they can't be disappointed if they don’t get it.

Does that sound familiar?

However, if we never create a want (or need) within ourselves, then we will never take the action necessary to make that dream a reality.

So if you are telling yourself you want to create a holiday without regrets, then you must intentionally define what a "no regret" holiday season looks like to you. Only when you paint the mental picture of what this holiday season will look like, can you start making it come to fruition.

Today's action item is to allow yourself to dream and define what a "no regrets" holiday season would look like for you.

Think about each upcoming holiday, including birthdays you want to celebrate.

For each event ask yourself questions like:

• What would I do?
• Who would I spend time with?
• What traditions will I keep or create?

Get specific.

The workbook has a full list of questions and an organized chart to help you create clarity around what you want and how you define your "no regrets" holiday season. Get it now.

Next week we will spend time thinking through your wants and goals relative to your career.

If you find yourself wanting a more personalized level of support as you work through creating the balance in your life, DM the word “HOLIDAYS” to @makinglegendaryleaders and we will chat with you one on one.

Be Legendary!

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It's that time of year again—the holiday season.  Oh yes, it is knocking on our doors, like a door-to-door salesman that we simply aren't ready to let in.  If you're staring at the calendar and asking yourself "How can it be here so quickly?!"  You're not alone.  I believe executive moms around the world are doing this exact same thing.  To help us all prepare, and most importantly, to empower us to look back and say, "That was truly the best holiday season!" we must have a plan.  Welcome to your "No Regrets" Holiday Season mini-series.    Let me walk you through why this series is called "no regrets." I know that for most of us working in our executive careers, we simply accept that life is crazy, we are going to work 60 plus hours a week, and this is just how it is if we are going to be successful.  We see it as a fair trade-off for what we have or even as "the rules" of the executive game.    However . . . we start to question this just a bit during the holidays.  If anything, we tell ourselves we have worked hard, and we deserve to enjoy our holidays.   We also tend to think back to our holidays as children, and the memories we created, and we want to ensure we are the moms our children "deserve" by giving them some great holiday memories. Taking it one step further, we not only want our children to have those memories, but we also want to create some amazing memories for ourselves too. Again, we have earned it, right?  So with that, we start to think about how to have a little personal happiness without damaging our careers.  It starts with Halloween; getting the costumes, the candy, the decor, and preparing not only the kids but the house and the events.  Then it goes to Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and all of the December holidays.  From mid-October to early January, we feel as though we must deliver at work and at home with equal levels of success. If you work in a company whose fiscal year follows the calendar year or even one that has a fiscal year that ends in January or February, you are dealing with equal amounts of stress and the same number of demands. You want to deliver at work. Heck, you NEED to deliver at work because you need that security.  And yet you equally want to enjoy the holidays with your family and friends.  You tell yourself, “The reason I work so hard is so that I can enjoy this time of year.  Why am I not enjoying it?” It's time to learn how to have a little career success and personal happiness, what we here at Legend Leaders call a Legend Life. Where do we start? We start with how I always encourage us to start; we recognize our current reality. How is work going for you? How do you feel about work and the time you spend working each week? How about your personal life, how is it going? Are you satisfied/happy with the amount of time you spend away from work doing the things that make you happy? Take an honest look at your career and your personal life.  What’s good, what’s not so great, what do you keep doing during the holidays, and what do you think must change? Grab the workbook to help you work through these questions and more. And if you are already saying to yourself, “I can already see I’m going to struggle with making the changes in preparation for the holidays.  I’m going to need help.”  Send me a DM on FB (http://m.me/makinglegendaryleaders)  with the word “HOLIDAYS” and I will send you some information on how we can help you. Be Legendary!

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It’s the last Wednesday of the month which means it's time to take everything we have learned thus far and deliver the feedback to our teams in order to get them running and delivering in Q4.

How do we do that?

How do we effectively deliver the feedback in such a way that the team is motivated to take proper action?

Answer: by tapping into their 6 human needs.

Said differently, we must identify and understand each teammate's specific order of human needs and how they want those needs met in order to motivate them.

If you haven’t identified their needs, now is the time.

Here is what you must do:

1. Refresh your knowledge on the 6 human needs and how they manifest (check out previous episodes and look at the workbook for a quick review.)
2. Identify the primary human need that motivates each of your team members. Which need must be met first for each person?
3. Create a few bullet points and phrases you will use in your discussion to address and help meet that need.
4. Schedule the meeting with your team member.
5. Deliver the feedback.

Between sharing your expectations, providing regular updates on what those expectations are and how your team is performing to them, and supporting each team member in meeting their own personal needs, you are on the leadership path to getting the ideal results from your team.

So where could it go wrong? If you follow the 4 steps we have walked through this month, it will truly be up to each of your team members to get the results. If someone doesn't perform to the level you have set, it will be due to that person not having the will or the skill to deliver. No matter how clear, candid and supportive you are, at that point, their failure to perform will be on them. If this is the case, you must remove this person from your team as they will prevent you from creating an irreplaceable team. That action must be decisive and quick.

Q4 starts on Saturday for the majority of us. Let’s ensure our teams are ready to deliver and close it out strong! Complete this last activity in your workbook to get the results you need.

Be Legendary!

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This month's mini-series focuses on Our Team. In order to close out 2022 on a high note and deliver to the company's established targets, our teams must be ready and able to help us achieve the financial and business metrics we have been assigned. We have already started on this journey by ensuring we are ready to be the leaders our teams need us to be and we also created an unbiased assessment of performance so that we can set expectations, determine performance, and provide feedback to each team member as part of our Q4 preparations. Now that we have our team assessment form created, it's time to use the form and assess your talent.

For each competency or attribute you created on your form last week, rate your team member on a scale of 1-10. How are they performing?

Define which measures you used to help you generate this score so that you have data to share when this performance discussion occurs.

For example, if you rated a team member at a 4 on judgment, you would then list the examples, situations, and any metrics that helped you create that rating.

Take the time complete the assessment form for each of your team members.

Once you have completed the assessment portion, ensure you add details you will share with the team member regarding how to improve, what to do next, etc.

In the workbook, you will see that there is a section on the form for you to add "suggested next steps."

By completing this assessment form, you are creating a personalized success map for each team member to follow. For them to get to the X on the map (with X being defined as "successful in their role"), they must know:

1. Where they are (current performance--which you will provide on the assessment form)
2. Where to go (3-5 value-add targets created for your team to deliver in 2022)
3. How to get there (areas of growth/improvement--which you also placed on the assessment form)

Grab your workbook and start completing the assessment form for each person on your team!

Next week we will discuss how to deliver this information to each team member in a way that motivates them and has them actively wanting to perform in order to be successful.

Be Legendary!

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It's the time of year when we start thinking about the end of the year. We start saying things like, "Where has the time gone?" And then we start scrambling to close the gaps, get everything back on track, and deliver the year. This month we are helping you do just that. If you listened to last week's episode, you know that we looked in the mirror and performed a self-assessment. We asked ourselves how well we have been adding value to our teams. (Are we being the leaders we need to be? What have we done well? What could we do better?). Now that we know how to improve our own performance, it's time to pivot our focus and start helping our teams. Today we are going to create your team assessment.

I am sure you already have documents and guides to help you when you are hosting your weekly to biweekly touch bases with your team. However, for this exercise, I want you to create your assessment as if you were starting from scratch.

I want you to answer the following questions (download a copy of this month's workbook to help you):

1. What are the 3-5 value-adds you committed to delivering that only your team can deliver?
   1. What attributes are you looking for them to display as part of the overall performance metrics and competencies in the role?
   2. How are you measuring each team member's performance relative to each attribute?
2. How often are you giving each team member regular feedback regarding their performance?

These are your questions to answer that in turn, will help you generate your assessment form.

At the end of this episode, you will walk away with the answers to: what should you be delivering this year in the business, how will a successful person deliver to those commitments, how are you measuring those behaviors and results, and how often are you giving candid feedback on their performance?

Spend the week looking at your business and creating objective categories and measures.

Next week we will actually use the assessment form and evaluate each of your team members.

Be Legendary!

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Are you ready to close the year strong in your organization? Q4 is upon us if your corporation's fiscal calendar follows the calendar year. What better time than the last month of Q3 to realign yourself and your team around the targets and value-adds the company needs from you?

As you know, our focus here at Legend Leaders is to help executive leaders become assets. How? By adding daily value to the organization.

One such way to add daily value is to develop not just yourself as an asset but to develop an entire team of assets. Our teams should be focused on the right actions, at the right times, to contribute to the organization in a way that the company values, recognizes, and appreciates. When you achieve this as a leader, you have added exponential value to the company. This concept is critically important to your career success and security. When the company wins, you win.

What better time than the month of September to focus on the fundamentals of getting your team clear, aligned, and on track such that you exceed expectations in Q4 and deliver to your annual targets?

So how do we get started?

Today I simply want you to ask yourself: have I been giving my team enough support and guidance?

We must always start any team development process by first looking at ourselves and understanding where we are in our personal leadership journey. We have either been leading, serving, and adding value to our teams in an effective manner, or we have not been underperforming. The key here is that we must honestly acknowledge how we have been serving our teams. If we have been delivering, the lift we have isn't quite as large. If we have been missing the mark, we must change our focus, attitude, and execution in order to help our individual teams thrive.

Know this, we can't get to our endpoint (creating a high-performing, valuing-adding team) if we don't know our starting point. Your challenge today is to define your personal starting point. Where are you right now when it comes to effectively setting expectations, communicating, and guiding your team?

If you're on track, that's fantastic. You will continue to lead as you have been. If you are off track, you must set a new routine for yourself so that you become the leader you must be for your team in order to help them add the value necessary to deliver in Q4.

Grab your copy of this month’s workbook so you can listen and take action!

Be Legendary!

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We are on the last step of "how" to execute as an innovative leader. Step 3-involve your team.

Once you have learned how to execute steps 1 and 2, you can teach your team how to execute them.

We intentionally leave the "involve your team" step to last in this process to allow you to learn first.

That said, are you ready to teach?

The first step in involving your team is to ask them to look at the data and give you their feedback. Listen to what they come up with and determine if you are aligned with what must be improved.

What would be considered a positive outcome of this first step?

That your team will see things you didn’t so that with your feedback and theirs, you will have a robust list of areas that need improvement.

Second, create your master list of experiments you could execute to improve each item on the improvement list.

No idea is off-limits.

The best way to accomplish this brainstorming experiment meeting is as follows:

• If you are in person, meet in an open room. No table or desks.
• Put your chairs together in a tight circle. Your knees could even be touching if you are comfortable with that.
• Kick off the discussion by picking one of the areas of needed improvement.
• Each person is expected to suggest ideas (or innovate). Once the dialogue starts, the comments can only be ADDED to, not retracted or closed down. In other words, when someone comments after a person speaks, they must say, “yes, AND what if.” The word AND must be used. The circle cannot use “but.” The word "but" is off-limits for this innovative discussion. Keep the dialogue going using “and” until you all reach a point where you are satisfied with the experiment or experiments you are going to try for that portion of the business. Then move on to the next topic.

Third, decide your framework of how you will experiment. Who will own what? What are the rules for experimenting?

Fourth, determine how often you will have innovation meetings within your team. How will you share the results? How will you follow up on the action? Where will you store your “master list” of innovation experiments and their results?

Fifth, share your plans and your monthly results with your supervisor and your organization to see if they have input, ideas, suggestions, etc. Perspectives are valuable. You don’t need to share with others solely to say, “Look at me.” Others will already be looking at you because what you are doing is rare. The process of being innovative is what makes you an irreplaceable asset.

So go meet with your team. Build out the framework for how you will innovate. And go do it!

Be Legendary!

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You are on the path of learning how to be an innovative leader. Now is the time to tackle step 2 of the process: check and reassess.

In step 1, you identified what you can do better based on your responsibilities and areas of ownership in your organization. Now it’s time to get to work.

Where do you start?

Go and do what you have already thought about doing.

As you look over your metrics and responsibilities, your brain will automatically start to innovate and come up with new solutions.

Now, whether you had amazing ideas or you have some that you think might work but consider risky, you've got to try them. You must experiment.

Some experiments will be big. Your entire team will participate because in those instances you have enough knowledge, experience, and data to tell you to go all in.

You know this new pathway is your solution.

You will also have very small experiments. Little ideas you want to test out but you don't feel 100% certain or that may feel a bit too risky to go big.

These small experiments are programs you will try with one customer or one process for a set period of time, and then you will assess the results.

Your goal is to become a scientist in your business.

See if you can run 3-5 small experiments at all times. Don’t break the rules of the company or the industry. Don’t damage the business, that’s not what small experiments are about. Small experiments let you try out ideas without the risk.

The concept of small experiments is where most leaders fail.

Why?

They don’t like to take risks, they think they don’t have time for experiments, and they don’t want to make their teams try new things.

Know that when you don't experiment, you're not following the path of an innovative leader.

Innovation is fun! Innovation is all about trying out ideas on a small scale just to enjoy the test and the freedom to see if you can make it better. When you approach it from this perspective and educate your team on this perspective, everyone should be on board.

Create your framework for what those tests will look like. Who gets to do them? What will they look like? What’s the standard timeframe you will run a small experiment? Create the rules.

Then come up with your 3-5 experiments and start putting them into play. Running experiments is part of adding daily value. It's part of being an irreplaceable asset.

Imagine if you ran experiments throughout the year, and what you would have accomplished at the end of the year. You would have a list of items that either worked or didn’t, but now you have a clearer path of where to take your team, where to take your portion of the business, and where to not waste your time. Your team and business will be stronger for it, the company will be appreciating your efforts, and you will be the irreplaceable asset we all strive to be in our careers.

So download your workbook if you haven't already and start working on creating your experiments!

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Over the past few weeks, you have become an innovative leader! But I knew this day would come. You’re out there, you’re confident that you can innovate, you have been learning what innovation means to your company and why you must innovate daily, but then the big question comes that stops us in our tracks. That question is, "Am I doing this right?" And then we take it one step further, "How should I be innovating?" Let’s spend the next 3 episodes breaking down the "how." Today let’s tackle step 1, which I call "do it better."

We already said that innovation is all about doing it better than it has been done before, right?

So that’s where you start. Look at your team right now and answer the following questions:

• What does your team do for the organization?
• Why does your team exist?
• What is your team’s purpose?
• What does your team do that no other team does in the company?

Make your list of responsibilities. Then look at your list and realize that if you do not deliver on the items on this list at the highest level, the company suffers in this portion of the business.

Do you see that?

Now, as you look at the list ask yourself, "What needs to be done better?"

Compare your list to the KPIs that measure your team's performance. Where are you lagging? Where could you exceed expectations?

Now let me stop for a second. If you have a list of responsibilities and you aren’t measuring each responsibility, that’s where you start.

You must measure.

That metric or KPI doesn't have to be a line on the P&L, but it has to be something that will give you precise, subjective feedback so you can say, “Yes, we are on track” or “No, we have to get better.”

Then once you have your metrics created for every action or item you must impact in your role, go back and fully assess your performance. Where can you improve? What are ways you could improve?

Once you finish looking internally, look externally. Look at your industry. Who is doing it better in your industry? How do you leap frog them? What is one thing you could do that if you did it, you would bypass that team?

The way you "do it better" is by delivering inside of your company and helping your company do it better than your competitors.

Step one is all about understanding what you must do better. Identify the areas of improvement. Now it's your turn. Go execute step 1: do it better by identifying what you must do better in your role. Grab your free workbook here and start making your list.

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Last week in the innovative leadership mini-series, we reset our definitions of innovation and claimed our new identities as innovative leaders. Today we are talking about why our companies need us to be innovative leaders and how that helps us in becoming irreplaceable assets.

Let’s do a quick refresher. I say the term “irreplaceable asset” all of the time because that’s what we focus on teaching you here at Legend Leaders. In order to step into life on your terms, you must feel secure and safe to do so. The fundamental way to make you feel safe is to ensure you are safe and secure in your career. The only way to do that is to become an irreplaceable asset in the marketplace. Think about it, an irreplaceable asset is an asset so valuable to the company or to the market it serves, that there is zero chance you could leave or go out of business. Period. You are a valuable fixture. This status allows you the time and mental freedom to then live your life. Crazy, right?

So how do you become an irreplaceable asset? Great question. By mastering The 1 Rule of success, which is adding daily value. You must add value on a daily basis to be that asset. What value do you add? There are several components, but one is innovation.

A company needs innovation. As a leader, we must always be looking around, assessing the markets, and the economies, understanding which new resources and tools are available, and staying connected with our customers (internal and external) to know what they need and how they need it. Then what?

Then we take that knowledge and we innovate. We do things just a little bit better than we did last time. And we do it better than our competitors. Innovation is what keeps companies at the front of the line. Without it, a company dies.

Being an innovative leader ensures your company thrives and is always one step ahead. Knowing how critical innovation is, how to innovate, and being committed to actively innovating on a daily basis is why innovation is part of the overall process of being an irreplaceable asset.

Spend this week understanding why your company needs daily innovation and what that looks like. Then start innovating! Grab your workbook here to help you do the work!

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Are you an innovative leader? To answer that, we must first be able to answer the question: what is innovation?

In the past, I used to hear the word innovation and I would shut down a bit. Seriously. I never considered myself “innovative.” I would call myself a problem solver or someone who could brainstorm, but I wasn’t innovative.

Several years ago I realized that I had the wrong definition of innovation.

Today we are going to clear up the confusion and misconceptions we all have about what innovation truly is. Then over the course of this month, we are going to talk about why innovation is valuable to your organization and the 3 steps you must take to consistently innovate in your role.

The first thing we must do is eliminate any preconceived notions we have about the word “innovation.” I don’t know about you, but when I used to hear the word, I would think of the inventions that have changed our lives. From the lightbulb to the automobile, to the iPhone, this is where my brain immediately went. From that point, I thought, “Yeah that’s not me.” I quickly told myself I was not innovative and I moved on.

I got it wrong.

Innovation isn’t solely the ability to create something brand new that no one has ever created. It’s simply the ability to make something better. If you think about it the lightbulb was simply a new way to create light, we always had candles and lamps prior to the lightbulb. For automobiles, we had horse-drawn carriages. For the iPhone, we had the mobile phone and the wall phone.

I realized that something else always came first.

Remember that an invention or new innovation came about because someone had an idea simply to make a current product better.

Once I adopted this new definition, I realized that I was an innovative leader; which means so are you. You make things better every single day. You look at data, get feedback, understand the changes in the industry and customer landscape, and you try new things. That, my friend, is innovation.

It’s time to embrace this new definition and step into your identity of being an innovative leader. Spend this next week looking around you and confirming that yes, you are innovative. You do focus on making things just a bit better each time you make adjustments at work.

Next week we are going to talk about why innovation is critical in your organization. Why you want to be innovative, why you must be seen as innovative, and why you must do this process consistently.

Ready to step into your new identity of being an innovative leader? Start by grabbing your free workbook here!

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We are wrapping up our mini-series on creating your "And Life." If you haven't yet downloaded your free workbook, get it now so you can close out the series and take action. How do you take action and create your "And Life?" By mastering The 1 Rule.

Know this, you deserve a life of success and happiness.

Through this series, we have learned that success and happiness are not the same and that success doesn't create fulfillment and fulfillment doesn't create success. You can have both but one doesn't depend on or negate the other.

So how do we create an "And Life?"

Last week we said we had to learn how to achieve and we have to learn how to create a life on our terms.

How do we learn those strategies and better yet, how do we apply them and get the life we want?

We master The 1 Rule.

The 1 Rule teaches you both career success (what you need) so you can live life on your terms (what you want).

By adding daily value at work, which is what The 1 Rule teaches you to do, you get career success and security. This is the strategy of achievement. No longer are you unsure of exactly what you must do to be safe and successful in your career. For once, the career fear is gone. You have resolved it by knowing exactly what to do in your professional life.

Once you have that level of career security and confidence, you will have the freedom to dive in and start defining what personal fulfillment means to you. Then you can start creating happiness, joy, adventure, and fun in your life on a daily basis.

This is your "And Life."

No stress. No headache. No guessing.

In our program called The 1 Rule, we teach you the exact steps to take to create a secure, successful, career. Once you master the methods of adding daily, consistent value at work, you have the confidence and freedom to start exploring what happiness means to you.

This is the answer you have been seeking!

Download the workbook for this mini-series and start creating your "And Life."

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As corporate women, we tend to struggle with creating a life of both success and happiness within our careers and families. We want the "And Life," a life of success and happiness, but we don't know how to get it. In this mini-series, we have talked about why we feel trapped in our current lives and why we want more. Now we are diving into how we break free of the negative, self-defeating emotions, how we break free of the cycle of doubt and guilt and step into the life we deserve.

Are you ready to step into the life you deserve?

Remember, what we talked about last week? We agreed that it’s fine to want more because success and happiness are not the same things. You can have either success or fulfillment or you could have both, but one doesn’t guarantee the other.

As much as you have strived to be successful you must also strive and give intentional focus to being happy and fulfilled!

So how do we do it? How do we intentionally create a happy life?

1. Get our minds right. Accept that happiness and success don't depend on the other.

2. Accept that what keeps us trapped in the “not knowing” when it comes to both success and happiness.

3. "I don’t know what makes me successful."

4. "I don’t know what a happy life or life on my terms looks like."

5. In a world where you try to come across as you know it all, i.e., your career, it’s scary to admit that you honestly don't know the exact steps that generate career success much less the steps to personal fulfillment. The reality is that this is exactly what you must do, learn those steps and strategies.

6. You break free by learning!

You must learn the exact actions that result in corporate success and the exact actions that define happiness for you.

If you have not already downloaded your workbook for this mini-series, get it here and start creating your "And Life."

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Welcome to the 4-part mini-series dedicated to helping corporate executive women create their "And Life," a life of career success and personal fulfillment. Last week we identified why we have started feeling trapped in our current lives. Today let's address the elephant in the room, why we want more out of life.

Why do you want more?

Now if you immediately said to yourself, “I am grateful for what I have, I don’t want more” then listen up.

As high-achievers, we don’t say “we want more.” We say “I am working for more, I am pushing for more, I am striving for more.” We don't "want" for things, we put it in achiever terms and we go after more. So Step #1 in this process, answer these questions:

• Do you look at your life and wish you had more time to spend with those you love?
• Do you appreciate all that you have and more but tell yourself this is as good as it gets because you can't selfishly ask for more?
• Do you never feel satisfied, to the point that you are always striving for the next promotion, next project, etc.?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, then the reality is that you want more.

But here's the key point to this, which is actually step #2, consciously acknowledging what you're asking for more of.

You're not asking for more success, you're asking for more happiness. They are not the same things!

You can't feel frustrated, ashamed, or ungrateful for wanting more when you're asking for more of something you don't already have.

Success and happiness are two separate life events.

So when we want more, we tell ourselves we don’t deserve it because we already have so much. But know this, wanting more doesn’t mean:

1. You failed
2. You signed up for this life of success without fulfillment
3. You’re the only one
4. People who love you want you to be miserable (they just don’t understand why you are not happy already)

Wanting more is normal. Wanting happiness and fulfillment is normal. Your goal is to let go of the internal conflict that you can't "want more" happiness because you're ungrateful.

Remember, you're asking for something you don't currently have.

Ready to take action and start working toward career success and personal fulfillment?

Get your workbook for this mini-series and start creating your "And Life."

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This month we are focused on helping you create your "And Life." As corporate executives, we have a life full of achievement and success. We have worked diligently to earn this life and yet when we reach our late 30s/early 40s, we realize that something is missing. We also want fulfillment. How do we get it? How do we create an "And Life" of both achievement and fulfillment? We're not quite sure, but we do know the life we have right now is causing us to feel trapped.

It sounds crazy. To the outside world, you have it all. You have a life most people envy. The success, the high-paying job, the status, the money, the house, the car, the family, the kids who are smart and talented in sports, art, music, or all of the above. People look at you and think, “I’m sure she’s just living her best life.”

But is that your reality?

Deep down you know that you’re not living your best life. Far from it. Because you have realized over the past few years that success and fulfillment (or happiness) are not the same things.

You see, when we were kids we were told that we could have it all; a successful career, a beautiful family, and a happy life. But no one taught us HOW to have it all.

We were told to get good grades, get into a good college, get a good job, have a nice family, and buy a good house, and that when we did all of those things, we would have happiness.

However, over the past few years, we have realized that being successful isn't making us happy. Because we have done all of those things and yet the voice in our head is saying, “Seriously, this is it?!”

Success makes you feel secure, it makes you feel good that you can provide for your family, but it doesn't make you feel fulfilled and happy.

How do we start to feel fulfilled? We need time back in our day to start exploring this part of ourselves. We are ready to stop giving everything to our careers. We want our time back. But then the fear sets in. We honestly have no clue what we can stop doing at work and what we must keep doing to maintain our level of success and security.

The idea of pursuing changes that could jeopardize our careers is unthinkable. We've worked too hard! We have already sacrificed so much! And, we also can't be selfish and damage the income that helps support our families.

These negative emotions, combined with the lack of clarity on what actions we must take in order to maintain our careers has us trapped.

Do feel trapped right now?

Are you tired of sacrificing every part of yourself and your life for your career and yet living in a place of uncertainty as to how to maintain what you have and create fulfillment and happiness?

Are you thinking, "Maybe this next promotion will result in happiness?"

Here's the truth, it won’t.

It's time to acknowledge what you already know, success doesn’t equal happiness.

The first step in getting happiness is to believe you deserve it. Then you must acknowledge the fact that you have done nothing wrong on your current path to "cause" this. There is no failure here, only growth.

If you want to create your "And Life," it's time to take the first step and understand why you feel trapped.

Click here to get access to the July mini-series workbook and start creating your "And Life."

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You have stepped up your leadership game these last few weeks, learning about the 6 human needs, how to recognize the need requests in others, and how to respond in order to help meet those needs. But what about your needs? What are they? Are they serving you and your team or are your needs getting in the way? Today we are diving into influencing your needs as a means of allowing you to show up and be the servant leader you want to be.

Recall the exercise we did at the beginning of the month? You did the gut check and assessed your leadership at that moment. I asked you to look at the stories you are telling yourself to support the type of leader you believe yourself to be. Recall how I shared that we will even lie to ourselves to meet our primary needs? Were the stories you were telling yourself simply stories that justify and meet your top two needs?

It's time to be honest with ourselves.

If we are saying we are servant leaders, and yet we are focused on our own job security or level of importance first and foremost, then we are not acting as servant leaders. Servant leadership comes from consistently putting the need of "contribution" first. (Your desire to give and serve simply to help someone else.)

What are your top two needs?

What has been driving you and your leadership style up to this point?

Do you need to change the order of your needs to be a better leader for your team; to be a servant leader?

Book a no-fee call now and let's talk about how to help you step further into being the servant leader you want to be.

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We have been diving into the methods of supportive people leadership. In other words, we have realized that when we focus on ourselves, we aren't focused on serving others. So if we truly want to be exceptional people leaders, if we are focused on mastering The 1 Rule, then part of "adding value" is adding value to others. In order to add value to others, we must truly understand what the other person wants or needs. Over the previous episodes, we learned about the 6 human needs. Now let's focus on identifying and meeting their needs.

Each time I teach the 6 human needs, the question at the end of the training is always: "How do I know which need to meet at which time?"

While we all have the same needs, what makes us different is the order in which we place these needs. Most people put the 4 primary needs first because 1. they are primary after all and 2. they don't have the knowledge to intentionally change the order of the needs. They set the order of their needs based on experiences and didn't have the knowledge to change their order. Know this, you had the same 6 human needs and you were getting them met/fulfilled well before you listened to these episodes. Knowledge and understanding don't create the needs, they simply allow you to understand them and take more consistent action to meet them.

That said, let’s talk about how to interpret information from our teams so that we can understand and meet the needs of our team.

First, listen for the keywords that will clue you in to the needs they must have met.

1. A team member has hurt feelings because someone else got the credit or the opportunity. Need: significance.
2. An individual needs to feel safe. They are fearful they will make a mistake, won’t know the answer, or will be embarrassed. Need: certainty.
3. A person feels: bored and/or tired of the same routine. “I have to do that again?!” Need: Uncertainty or variety.
4. Feeling alone, not wanting to do a project solo, saying they think no one on the team likes them, etc. Need: connection/love.
5. A desire to talk to others, pick your brain, attend conferences, etc. Need: growth.
6. A need to understand the impact on the customer, the community, and the world. Need: contribution.

Many times we can get frustrated when we ask for someone to step up, to execute, to help, etc. and they just miss the mark or they don’t step forward. How many times have you encouraged someone to volunteer, ask a question, or simply step into their greatness and they adamantly refuse? Many times we get frustrated because we are so confused by their response. Instead of getting frustrated, seek to understand.

What do they need from you, their leader?

How can you help them, by meeting their need, so in turn they execute and deliver in the business?

Ask yourself these two questions, observe their behavior, ask questions to determine the need they must have met in that moment, then work to support that need.

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As part of mastering The 1 Rule of career success, we have been working through how to be strong, effective leaders in a way that serves our team, not just ourselves. In order to serve our team, we must focus on understanding the motivations of each team member. In other words, we must understand what they need and learn how to help them meet their needs. As we discussed last week, there are 6 human needs. Let's take today to learn the last 2 of the 6 human needs, the fulfillment needs.

Once you meet the 4 primary needs: certainty, uncertainty, significance, and connection/love, you can focus on the fulfillment needs:

Growth: to expand your knowledge, yourself, and your personal leadership.

Contribution: to give and serve others without getting something in return. To simply make the world better.

If you are listening to me now and you are a leader who wants to truly be a better people leader, contribution must be one of your needs that you have prioritized higher than the others. The desire to contribute at the highest level will drive you to meet that need in a way that both you and your team benefit. If you are leading only to achieve significance and to give yourself certainty that your job is secure, again you are the only person who benefits in that scenario.

When you help someone meet their basic needs, then they are willing to grow, give, serve, and be better for the team. If you believe you have helped them meet their 4 primary needs and yet they are refusing to grow and/or contribute, ask yourself which of the primary needs aren’t being met.

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We have been diving into people leadership thus far this month. Last week we spent time taking an honest look in the mirror to determine our true people leadership methods and motives to understand where we are today relative to servant leadership. Now that we know where we currently are in our leadership, let's take it to the next level by understanding our primary needs.

I am sure you have wanted to understand how to be the most effective leader. It's something we all strive for if we have the ability/responsibility to influence others. I'm sure you have read books on it, had training events around this topic, etc. But I am going to deviate from the "you must do this" pathway and instead keep it simple. Let's talk about human motivators and how we can properly influence someone else by understanding their needs.

There are 6 human needs. We all have these needs. Yes, the same 6 needs, we all have them. I promise.

Beyond that, there are 4 primary needs that each of us must meet. Again, must. They are required. As humans, we must meet these needs and we will even lie to ourselves to say that we have met them.

So let’s talk about the needs and learn what they look like.

1. Certainty: I can count on it. It is going to happen. Security. Safety. Confidence.

2. Significance: I am valued, I’m important, I am needed.

3. Uncertainty: variety, surprises, adventure.

4. Connection/Love: giving and receiving love and human interaction from others.

These are the primary 4. So when you are interacting with your team, you must focus on understanding these 4 and look to see which of these needs are the HIGHEST need for each individual.

Remember, we all have the same 6 needs, but we put them in a different order of priority. The order in which my needs must be met is probably different than the order your needs must be met. This is what makes us all unique and different.

So know that you know each person on your team probably has a different top 1 and top 2 needs, you must figure them out for each person. You want to meet their top 2 needs FIRST!

Step 1, know the needs and identify what their top needs are. Listen to their words.

Step 2, link the work and your asks and their accomplishments back to their top needs!

Go observe, listen, tune into the people around you, learn, and apply what you have learned here to understand their primary needs.

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June is all about people leadership mastery as a means of helping you master The 1 Rule.

If you don’t remember The 1 Rule or maybe you haven't yet been introduced to it, I'm talking about the one rule that you must follow if you want to make more money in your career or business, be secure in the professional area of your life, so that you can live life on your terms. The 1 Rule is all about value. Adding value consistently, in the way that the receiver defines as valuable is how you create professional success and security.

Why do you want to master that rule? To ensure you can live a life of freedom and happiness without jeopardizing your personal income stream. Not only keeping it intact but making even more money if you so choose. You want an “and” life, not an “or” life.

Success AND happiness.

So how does people leadership fit into that?

We need people leadership to ensure we have the ability to add value to others in a way that gives you your time back! You want to mentor, you want to serve, you want to give back, all of that is good. But you also want to live! And you deserve it! Serving and living go hand in hand.

If you can’t lead your team effectively if you can’t enroll other people into your ideas, if you are leading from a position of authority instead of servant leadership, you will not deliver on The 1 Rule.

So I can’t wait to talk about people leadership. I want you to think about your people leadership as it stands today. Are you allowing your team to deliver value? Are you delivering value to them? Or are you trying to keep yourself feeling secure in your position and focusing on yourself? Look in the mirror and ask yourself that question.

Step number 1 is always: looking into ourselves and getting honest with the reality of where we sit today. We can’t know where we are going if we don’t know where we are today.

Where are you in your people leadership mastery? Assess it.

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If we are going to wrap up this discussion regarding The 1 Rule, we must talk about the 3 steps to freedom.

We have collectively come to the realization that you can indeed create and live life on your terms if you learn which rules you must follow in order to keep your career/business safe, and which rules you can easily change to create a life of freedom. You have learned the 1 Rule you must master in the business world and the actions to take in order to create the security you are seeking.

Essentially, over the past few weeks we have agreed to focus on business achievement; to learn how to correctly achieve in business (what you must do and what you should stop doing). Once we master this and start to gain confidence and momentum, we then feel free to start defining and living life on our terms.

What was the one rule that will ensure you achieve at the highest standard?

Provide more value to your customer than anyone else.

In the corporate world, the company you work for is your customer. They pay you, you provide a service. As with any customer relationship, it’s all about providing exceptional value to become an irreplaceable asset in the marketplace.

Now that this resonates with you and you understand how to deliver value in your world, you're probably wondering what's next. How exactly do you create a life on your terms once you master the science of delivering exceptional value?

You must give yourself permission to make changes in your life, changes like how you define success, what happiness looks like to you, who you are meant to be in an intimate relationship, what your purpose is, etc. Let's go through the steps to get you from 1 Rule mastery to confidently defining life on your terms.

Step 1: Add exceptional value to your company or to your customer. This is exactly what we have talked about all month but here's the kicker, you can't just add it monthly or weekly, you must add it daily!

Step 2: Acknowledge your security by following that one rule which is keeping you safe in your career. You must believe you are safe if ever you are going to allow yourself to move to step 3. You cannot skip this step, yet many people do and wonder why they still don't feel secure. Believe. Believe that value is the key, stay consistent in delivering that value, see the results in your business life as a result, and believe this is the 1 rule you cannot and will not break. It will take time to see the results, but stay the course.

Step 3: With this security in place, you can start looking at your life and asking yourself those personal leadership questions that will have you moving down the path of freedom. What is life about? What does matter to me? How do I want to live? What does my legacy look like?

Add value consistently, believe in the security you have created, then create your life of freedom and personal purpose.

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We have been diving into what I consider to be the most important topic of our lives quite frankly. It's the topic of how to become secure in your career in order to live your life the way you want to live it. It's all about The 1 Rule. When you understand what it is and how to master it, The 1 Rule gives you the confidence and security to start changing the other areas of your life such that you can live in a way you define. Instead of keeping up with peers, neighbors, friends, etc. you get to decide what matters and you can start living out your purpose. We already said that The 1 Rule is all about adding value. Are you ready to learn the actions to master The 1 Rule?

In the corporate world, "value" looks like effective leadership. What kind of leadership? Personal, business, and people leadership; the 3 pillars of leadership mastery we teach at Legend Leaders.

Guess what, these 3 pillars hold true for defining value in the entrepreneurial world too!

In the corporate world, you add value by serving the customer at the highest level. At this point, your company knows what the customer wants and how he/she wants it, and how often. You simply need to deliver to that defined customer need and ensure your team does the same. (As a business owner you follow the same thought process except you must get the details from the customer yourself, and then take action.) It sounds simple and it is. But we tend to get stuck not in the understanding of the concept, but in the execution of the concept. There are several techniques you can learn such that when you are faced with a business need, you can solve that need, be the person adding the most value, and thus be an irreplaceable asset in the marketplace.

How do you do that?

For corporate leaders, your role is multi-pronged. You must create a culture of customer-first connection, ensure there are no gaps in the service chain, and be innovative and visionary. All of these actions sound nebulous and quite frankly, in the corporate world, I personally think that’s the intention. To sound more significant than it really is.

Don’t make it harder than it has to be. It could be that you have made the rule of “keeping my career/business safe” such a primary focus in your head that you are afraid to see it as simple as it truly is. If this is you, stop, step back, and recognize.

If you own a business, my advice is to find your customer and ask them what they want, how they want it, and how often they want it! Don’t just ask them once, keep asking. Then act on it!

Again, don't make it harder than it has to be.

Now that you understand some of the specific actions to take it's time for another self-reflection moment. Are you adding this type of value to your customer (inside of the company and outside of the company) on a consistent basis? If not, you know what you must do. If you are, then decide how you will add based on the customer's needs.

Be Legendary!

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Last week we touched on why fear is the driving force preventing us from living life on our terms. Today we are diving into the 1 rule you must master in order to overcome the fear and move towards the life you want to live.

Did you know that pain and pleasure are the two fundamental human drivers? You very much want the pleasure of a fun life, a life of freedom. But that fear of pain far outweighs your desire to live freely. What pain? The pain of screwing up. The pain of making a mistake and tanking the career or business you worked so hard for. The pain of changing so much that you lose everyone around you. That pain.

When pleasure and pain are equal, the majority of us will choose the avoidance of pain over the joy of pleasure.

So like most human beings, you will continue to live your day-to-day life without change because the fear is just too great.

If this is where you are right now, if you want to change, if you want to live without worrying about the car you're "supposed" to drive, or the house you are "supposed" to live in, but you're afraid, know that you aren't alone in that fear.

It’s completely human.

It's normal.

But let me wager a guess to say that you don't want to be normal. That's the entire point as to why you are listening to this episode right now.

You are listening because I promised last week that I would share with you what you must do, the one rule you must follow, that when you master it, you will be able to change all of the other rules in your life and live on your terms.

What did I tell you last week?

It was one word.

Do you remember?

Value.

That’s right.

In the corporate world, you must add value and be seen as consistently adding value as a means of benefiting the company.

In the business world, you must add value to your customer and do it better than your competitors.

For both, you must become an irreplaceable asset in the marketplace.

It sounds both promising and scary, am I right?

I get it. So if it sounds good, then the scary part is how exactly do you become irreplaceable?

How do we get you there?

The answer is truly simple, you must learn how to provide consistent, exceptional value.

This is what you have strived for without even realizing it. You want to add value, be valuable, and "make things better."

When you do that, you feel it in your gut. You know you're on the right path.

Gut check time.

It's time to answer a critical question: Are you adding value?

Join me next week to learn exactly what it means to "add value."

Be Legendary!

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Life on Your Terms: Why We Are Afraid to Pursue It

We are almost halfway through the year, so let me ask you a critical question. How are your New Year's Resolutions going?

Are you still working out each day? Still eating healthy? What about investing in yourself by reading, getting enough sleep, etc.?

There is a high probability that you stopped executing those resolutions by the end of January. (Now hopefully you have added these things to your non-negotiable list you created last month and you are prioritizing your self-care.) How do I know those resolutions didn't stick?

Let me wager a little guess . . . it’s not because the resolutions are too hard, it’s not because you don’t really want the end result, it’s because you have told yourself things like, “I'm just happier when I eat chocolate than when I eat carrots.” Or “I am more successful when I skip my workout and get to work early.”

Am I right?

After we tell ourselves these things, we don't feel bad for breaking our resolutions. As a matter of fact, we actually feel justified in NOT sticking to them. And we might even go one step further by telling ourselves that we were crazy in setting those resolutions in the first place.

Have you ever done that?

You see, we tell ourselves stories to convince ourselves that our decisions are the right decisions. Yes, maybe creating a resolution was the right decision at the time but upon investigation, we have come to an "even better decision." You see, we don’t see ourselves as liars, that’s not our identity, so we must come up with reasons as to WHY we aren’t following through with our commitments. To ensure we live up to the integrity we expect of ourselves, we tell ourselves a story about why the resolution was bad (i.e. carrots) and the decision to eat chocolate is good.

That said, let's apply this newfound knowledge of personal storytelling, shall we?

What's the biggest mistruth we all tell ourselves when it comes to living life on our terms?

We all want the dream life, we all want to live a life of freedom and happiness, but we don’t go after it. Why?

Is it because we tell ourselves a story that sounds something like this: "If I could be confident that the changes I make would not put my career/business at risk, then I would make the changes. But because I can't be certain, I can't make the change."

In other words, we want a life of freedom but we want it without the risk of losing our careers, our businesses, our financial livelihoods, right?

Now look, that’s a very reasonable perspective. We all need food, clothing, water, and shelter and our careers provide that not only to us but to our families.

But what if you could change that story? What if that story is really the carrot and the truth is chocolate?

Ready for the truth?

You can learn the one rule to keep your career safe and by doing so, have the knowledge, the certainty, and the security you need in order to live life on your terms.

You are an achiever, but you haven't mastered the one rule of achievement that in turn gives you that certainty.

What is the rule?

In order to create security in your career/business, you must deliver VALUE.

Listen to next week’s episode where I teach you more about value and why this is the one rule that empowers you to create and live life on your terms.

Be Legendary!

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We have been creating our list of non-negotiables together and today we are going to finalize that list.  Quick refresher, what is a non-negotiable list?  It's a list of activities, actions, and routines that we have prioritized to ensure we are consciously making decisions on how we spend our time.  No longer will we allow other people's urgency to blindly dictate how we spend our time.  At this point, you have added family time and self-care to the list.  Today let’s tackle our work non-negotiables or what I call career boundaries. Another word for non-negotiables could be boundaries, right?  What are your work or career boundaries?  Many times we take on extra projects, new roles, new team members, etc. and we do so blindly because again, we feel this obligation to say yes at all costs.  But have we thought about what we truly want?  Have we asked ourselves if this will serve us in our careers?  What if you are being pushed to take on a people leadership role, yet you hate people leadership?  What if you are being pushed by your business partner to create a new product line but it’s a line you just don’t believe in.  How do you handle that? Let’s create some work boundaries or non-negotiables, shall we? I want you to define where you want your career or company to go in the next 3 years.  Now look, you can tweak and adjust this anytime you choose so don’t feel like you are locking this in for life.   What you must do is create your vision.  Once you have that vision, you know what to say yes to at work and what you must say no to.  For example, let's say you want to climb the ladder as a leader of project management or within a technical team, then most likely you want to increase the complexity of the work you are taking on but you do not want to tackle any people leadership responsibilities.  So when someone comes knocking, you can be clear about what you want vs. don’t want. The same holds true for the expansion of your company if you own a business.  Does it mean you can’t change your mind?  No, but it does mean you are intentional about what you say yes to and what you say no to for the next 6 - 12 months. Remember, this is what a non-negotiable list is.  A list that anchors you to your current priorities so that you can make decisions with those priorities guiding you, not letting the outside world or corporate authority guide you. The list can and should change as your life changes and as you grow. Now complete the last step in the non-negotiable list building process.  Create your boundaries at work.  What will you take on? What will you say no to?  What will you work extra to accomplish and what will you not work extra for because you don’t have a passion for it or because it isn’t on your success path?  Define it now.  Once these pieces are added, you have a solid non-negotiable list to help guide you for at least the next 6 months.   So what's next?  Test it out.  Add items.  Take off items.  Your list is always a work in progress, but the point of creating the list is to help you be intentional about how you spend your most valuable asset, your time. Be Legendary!

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We are on this fantastic journey of creating our non-negotiable list. Last week we added items to our list related to family time. From dinners to kid events, to holidays, to vacations, you added items to your list that matter to you and that you will no longer sacrifice unintentionally. Today, let’s add some additional items to that list by diving into self-care.

Self-care is exactly what it sounds like, it’s 100% the actions you take to care for yourself. These could be basic things like getting a good night's sleep, exercise, meditation, journaling, weekly massages, monthly hair care, all the way to daily reading.

Anything and everything that you need to care for yourself physically and mentally are self-care items to add to your list. And here’s the honest truth when it comes to self-care, we will gladly put on our non-negotiable list the family time events, right? Those are easy to identify and those are easy to put first because we love our families. Our families are a big part of why we wake up each day and do what we do. But when it comes to self-care, those are usually the activities that get sacrificed first if they even make it to the list at all.

It's time for an honest moment here. How often are you sacrificing self-care to prioritize something else?

Remember, you can’t care for someone else unless you are in a good place. On a flight, the attendant always tells you, “put your oxygen mask on first before putting someone else’s on for them.” Family time is putting the mask on someone else. I’m sure it gives you great joy to spend time with family, no doubt. But if you are barely hanging on by a thread, prioritizing family time over self-care doesn't serve you.

Self-care is not just critical to your happiness but to your survival.

Are you with me now? Do you agree?

So when it comes to self-care and your non-negotiable list, where do you start?

Make a list of the self-care items you currently do. Anything and everything you do to care for yourself gets added to this initial list. Then decide how often you will consistently take that action or decide what that non-negotiable looks like for you.

An example is sleep for me. I don’t really nap, but I love to get a good night’s rest. Once my head hits the pillow I am out. I don’t take forever to fall asleep and I am a sound sleeper. I enjoy sleep because I have told myself that sleep is necessary for me to perform at my best so therefore I make it a priority. I don’t work late. I don’t stay up late unless I can sleep in the following morning, etc. It’s a non-negotiable for me. Could work or life interfere with sleep? It can. For example a Tony Robbins event and the hours they run, they interfere with my sleep. But I make a conscious decision to allow those events to impact my sleep. I know what I am signing up for in those events and I create a plan to rest but also fully enjoy and participate. In other words, I consciously acknowledge the impact and create a plan. This is where we want you to be with your self-care non-negotiable.

What are your self-care non-negotiables? What must you do in order to feel rested, cared for, energized, and healthy? Create your full list, decide the "musts" for you, and then add those events to your non-negotiable list.

Be Legendary!

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We are creating our list of non-negotiable activities this month so that when work or life comes calling, we know what we are willing to shift around in our lives and what we refuse to deprioritize. No regrets when it comes to the life we want to live, right? Today we are diving into the non-negotiables as it relates to family time.

Family is a critical part of our lives, whether it’s our parents, our spouse, our kids, our chosen family or given family, or all of the above, family time and the time creating amazing memories is largely what life is about.

Remember, you are working to live not living to work. If we don’t set our non-negotiables up correctly, you will have the syntax wrong and that’s a completely different life.

So what are the non-negotiables you need to establish when it comes to family?

1. Create a list of people you consider to be most important in your life.

2. Write down all of the activities and events you do not want to miss out on when it comes to those amazing individuals.

3. The number of times you must participate in that event in a given timeframe (a week, a month, etc.).

For me, I have things on my non-negotiable list like kids sporting events, birthdays, and school programs. I missed a lot of that when I worked in the corporate world. I didn’t have a list of non-negotiables so when work came knocking, I thought I needed to work. I hadn’t intentionally decided what my priorities were so I missed a lot of family events. I also worked on vacation.

I missed out on a lot of memories, a lot of milestones. It’s not what I wanted my life to be like so I added family events to my non-negotiables. Even now, I have family dinners on my list. Holiday traditions are on there; when we travel to see family vs. when we are home so the kids can play with toys and not be in a car going from house to house.

All of these things matter. Such that if I get called to support a client, a consultation, or even do a speaking event, I compare that ask to my list of non-negotiables. Sometimes I will miss a family event, but I am making that decision consciously, not letting life make it for me. Do you see that?

So for example, I have on my list: family dinner together 5 nights a week. That gives me 2 nights to play with for either work, dinner with my spouse without the kids, or evenings the kids can be away. As the kids continue to get older, their commitment to family dinner will probably change/shift and so I have to allow for that shift while teaching them about their non-negotiable list as well. It's all fluid, but it's all on my terms.

So what are your family time non-negotiables that need to make your list? Grab your paper and get started.

Be Legendary!

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Let’s talk non-negotiables today, shall we? What is a non-negotiable?

A non-negotiable is a prioritized person or activity that is of value to you, to the point that you say, “I’m not going to allow anything to come before this.”

For some people, non-negotiable events are things like going to church, watching a favorite sports team play, personally playing a sport in a league, family dinners, or even holiday traditions.

Non-negotiables are events or personal priorities in your life that are not up for debate or discussion as to IF you will participate, it is simply a given that you will because you refuse to miss out on whatever that event is or miss out on time with that person.

Why am I talking to you about non-negotiables? It’s spring break season. You have either just come back from spring break or you are about to go on spring break. Either way, you are gearing up for time away with the family and/or friends now or in the rapidly approaching summer months and I want you to create your non-negotiable list for your life so that you don't miss out.

Why? Because if you don’t establish your personal priorities, if you don’t determine what is most important to you, I guarantee you that the world and/or the company you work for will gladly help put their priorities at the top of your list.

I know this happens because it happened to me in the past and it has happened to my clients. By creating your non-negotiable list you are no longer going to let that happen. Together we are going to create a list of non-negotiable activities that will help you ensure that the most valuable parts of your life won't be overrun, taken away, scheduled over, or reduced in overall priority.

Think about it. Have you actually made a list of personal events, time with people, etc.? Maybe in certain instances but not a clearly defined list that you follow, right?

Creating this non-negotiable list will allow you to say no and confidently know that your priorities are set correctly because you have set them before you got into an intense, emotional, demanding situation.

This list will help you start living life on your terms. You’re never going to regret working less, but you will regret missing out on family events, creating memories, participating in the milestones of your children, friends, parents, spouse, etc.

Each Wednesday for the next few weeks we will work through the various non-negotiable categories in your life such that by the end of the month, you have your list and you are ready to stand firm in what matters most to you.

Be Legendary!

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We are rounding out the March Mental Hacks with hack number 5: feelings can't dictate action.

As we already mentioned earlier this month, mindset matters. Whether you think you can or you can’t, you’re right. But what about feelings? What if you wake up in the morning, maybe you stayed up later than normal, maybe you have a bit of a cold, maybe you just don't like the look of your calendar for the day, and you just aren't feeling it.

Let's solve THAT today!

How many times have you heard, “But I don’t feel like it.” I'm sure if you have kids you have heard this more often than not.

Let's ask an even better question, how many times have you said, “I am going to reschedule that meeting, I’m just not feeling it.”

The theme of this month is mental hacks, but in reality, what we are talking about is how to show up as your most productive self.

When you are in a good mood, in an energized mood, what can you accomplish?

Anything!

You are motivated. You are energetic. You are unstoppable.

When you are in a lousy mood, or you are tired, what can you accomplish?

Most people would say, “Nothing. I accomplish much less because I don’t have the energy.”

Today’s mental hack is to call BS on that answer when it presents itself in your brain. The most successful people in the world don’t allow their negative emotions or "lack of energy" to derail them. As we said last week, time is our most valuable asset. If you knew you were going to die two weeks from now, what would you do?

You would maximize your time. You wouldn’t sleep, you would live. Now I’m not saying don’t sleep. I’m simply saying, stop letting your emotions rule your life. Stop acting like you have all of the time in the world.

When your brain says, "I can't" immediately come back and say, "I accept that challenge!"

Then no matter how you felt originally, show up and make it happen. Remember, time is your most precious asset. Mondays hold promise, finish lines aren’t static, what you believe is true is true, Fridays are for achieving, and emotions can’t be the determining factor of your success.

Apply these new hacks and start living life on your terms!

Be Legendary!

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We are tackling March mental hack number 4 today: Freedom Fridays.

Ready for the truth? It's one you're not going to like, but you know it's true. If you are all about living with a purpose, getting your stuff done, and serving others . . .

Friday isn’t a free day.

Now I'm not saying you take Fridays off or that you don't show up. I'm not saying you slack off and don't do your part vs. everyone else. That's not what I'm saying at all. What I am saying is that most people have the mindset that Friday is "the day we clean up so we can go enjoy our weekend." If you are living 7 days a week, not just 2. You have to live and enjoy Fridays too!

Let's walk through this for a second.

Have you ever worked in an office where very little work gets done on Friday? People come in late or they come in early and leave early. Friday is all about checking boxes, cleaning out the inbox, moving work off of your plate to someone else's, and hurrying off to the weekend for lots of people, am I right?

The point is that just like we talked about having the proper mindset about Monday, the same holds true for Friday. We treat Friday like we are already sliding into the weekend. If that’s truly the case, then why work at all on Friday? I’m not being a jerk, I'm seriously asking you to look at what we are doing with our time.

If Friday exists in your schedule as a day to get work done, then get work done. Time is your most valuable asset. Don’t waste it! Serve at the highest level each and every day.

I call Friday, Fierce Friday because I am fiercely focused on getting as much done as I can. That doesn’t mean I work until 7 pm, it just means I don’t take the “it’s Friday I’m ready for the weekend” mindset. I focus on getting work done because Friday is a workday for me. Friday evening I have a “reward” period where I reward myself for hitting my targets. But I don't celebrate or allow myself the reward until I maximize my Friday.

Because here's the reality, we love Fridays, I love Fridays (mostly because I love sports and enjoy watching my kids and my university play), but I can't waste a day of my life if I don't have a day to waste. And not truly working and giving it all I've got on a Friday, just feels like a wasted day. A day that had potential, but that I just didn't maximize.

If you go workout at the gym, are you going to be there 5 minutes and then leave? Are you going to show up, get on a machine and say, "Nah, I think I'm just going to do 2 or 3 reps and I'm going home?" No way. You're a high achiever! A high achiever says, "I'm here, I'm going to push and do it all!" It's the same for Fridays. You are up, you are working, you are right there, maximize it!

What do you think about Fridays? Are they workdays for you or are they “I’m ready for the weekend” days? What do you want them to be? Decide and commit.

Be Legendary!

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This month we are focusing on mental hacks that will help us perform at a higher level and ultimately, be happier. These little mental shifts help us personally and professionally so they are a win-win. Today let's tackle our beliefs; more specifically, how we show up as our authentic selves or "authentically you" as I like to call it.

I talk about beliefs regularly. Quite frankly, this entire month is focused on beliefs if you really think about it. What do we believe about Mondays? What do we believe about our worthiness to feel successful and accomplished? Beliefs are critical to our daily lives. Henry Ford said: whether you believe you can or you can’t, you’re right. In other words, whatever our minds tell us is true, we believe it.

Do you believe you can make a difference at work? Do you believe you can help your team be successful? Do you believe you can solve any problem as long as you have enough time to analyze the situation?

All of these beliefs are what I would consider positive, forward-moving beliefs. They are supportive of your success.

But what if you don’t believe these things? What if you normally believe these statements but you’re on a new team, in a new situation, just got into a new relationship, etc. and now you can’t say you believe these things. You can't because you haven't experienced yourself in that situation and your belief is dependent on "having done it before." What do you do? What happens?

What you believe is true is your truth. The solution to this is super simple, and yet super complex. The answer is to tweak your belief and say: I have done something like this in the past, I can do it here.

Speak to any athlete. They will tell you that their mental confidence determines how they perform. It's why they practice over and over again. They build their confidence so they can say, "I've made that shot before, I can do it again."

You are the "athlete" of your life and business. Your mindset will determine your success.

When you prepare to tackle a new project, work with a new team, or face a new situation with your kids/spouse, instead of saying, “I have no idea. I have never done this before.” Change it to, “I can always find the answer and solve the problem because I always have.”

Be Legendary!

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Are you ready for March Mental Hack number 2? The second hack for the month is: stop moving the finish line!

There is no sure-fire way to kill your momentum and mindset than to move the finish line. Yet we do it to ourselves regularly.

What does "moving the finish line" look like?

You sit down on Monday, you create your to-dos, your targets, your tasks, etc. for the week. You say to yourself, “when I get these things executed, these projects completed, this work done, I will have had a fantastic week.”

Look, I love this planning.

Why?

Because if we don’t have priorities and have clarity on the most important aspects of the work that must get done, we probably won’t get it done. So planning it out and setting clear targets of work to be done is outstanding.

Where this goes off-kilter is when we get to Thursday or Friday and we say to ourselves, "Well, I didn’t add enough to my list this week, it was an easy week." Or, "I didn’t really perform at the highest level so that's not celebration-worthy." Or, "I did the work but it just wasn't good enough." that’s just not good enough.

Instead of celebrating ourselves for the hard work done, the tasks executed, the targets hit, we add QUALIFIERS to the work AFTER the fact.

These qualifiers were not established when we started, but we add them after the work is done.

Now can you achieve those qualifiers after the fact?

You sure can't.

What does this do?

It kills our positive momentum!

Those of us who live in this cycle never celebrate ourselves or our work because we tell ourselves there’s nothing to celebrate.

Stop sabotaging yourself!

Your work is good enough. You have done an excellent job. If you want to add qualifiers, do it when you set the targets.

Being detailed, clear, adding specifics, etc. are all perfect qualifiers to add when you are setting your targets.

It’s like clarifying the rules of a game.

That said, you can’t win the game, then change the rules AFTER you have already played such that the new rules make you the loser. Would you ever want to play the game again after that happened?

Probably not. But this is what we do to ourselves when it comes to our work.

Momentum is necessary to keep us going and help us strive forward. Celebrations need to happen to help us appreciate ourselves. Stop sabotaging yourself!

Could this be the reason you don't look forward to Mondays? Is it "just another week of failure on the horizon?" Something to think about.

Be Legendary!

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Welcome to the month of March! I am dedicating this month to personal leadership tricks or "hacks" that will help you step further into living life on your terms. It's time you embrace it, step into it, and stop letting the world create the rules for you, am I right? First up, let's talk about Mondays. No manic Mondays.

Look, most people in the world tend to dislike Mondays. Some people hate Mondays. I have clients and friends who actually start to have panic attacks Sunday night because the thought of Monday and all that entails is paralyzing.

Yes, that may sound extreme but it's how they feel about Mondays.

Why?

They hate their jobs, they feel trapped, they feel held back, and last but not least they feel under-appreciated. There are a multitude of reasons. But suffice it to say, most are not excited about Monday.

Some people just don’t like Monday because it feels so far away from Friday. And while that’s true, we all know that all of this comes down to how you look at things, how you define the meaning of an event, a situation, or even a day.

You see, when you are living for the weekend, you are only living 2 of the 7 days of the week. We need to be living 7 out of 7 days a week!

The first place to start is by embracing Mondays!

Change what Mondays mean to you.

If you didn’t have to go to work on Monday because this coming Monday was a vacation week for you, would you hate Monday then?

Of course not. You would be excited because it's the first day of vacation!

So you see, you don’t hate Mondays, you hate what that day represents to you.

So the challenge is, how do you change the meaning of Mondays such that you look forward to the day?

How do you wake up on Monday excited to go to work? How do you look at Mondays and say: "I can't wait to create the memories I am going to make, go on the adventures I am going to go on, and serve those I am meant to serve this week."

To me, Monday holds so much promise. I have redefined Mondays in my mind as the day I kick off the week and start the week strong, vs. the day I dread and hate because I can’t wait to get to Friday.

Instead of Mondays being so far from Friday and that being a bad thing, I have changed it to mean Mondays are so far from Friday, and that gives me so much time to do all of the things I am meant to do this week. It's exciting!

Why?

Because I love what I do and who I serve. I love Mondays. I get up happy and ready for the week because to me, Monday is the start of something great.

My challenge for you is to change your meaning of Monday so that you can live 7 days a week, not just 2.

Be Legendary!

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This is the last episode in the series, why talented women are trapped in corporate America. We have talked through 3 different types of mindset traps that keep us in our corporate roles. Today is probably the most common and consistent reason: identity. What if we can't leave because our role defines our identity?

What is the first question you are asked when you meet someone for the first time? "What do you do?"

We are so used to saying, "I'm Jane Doe and I am the ___________ (your title) of ___________ (company name)."

Tony Robbins says: Identity is the strongest force in the human personality. We all have a deep and abiding need to remain consistent with how we define ourselves.

When we say, "I am __________" whatever comes after those first two words gets associated with our identity.

Can you see the power of consistently saying, "I am the ABC of XYZ corporation." on a regular basis?

Because we have linked our title to our identity, it can make it very difficult to step out of our current positions and into a new role.

It makes it hard to demote, transition to a new company that may be smaller for example, or takeover/let go of a specific team.

When you talk with a friend who isn’t happy in her career what does she say? "I hate it but I can’t leave. This is what I have worked so hard for.” Or, “This is what I have always wanted.” Or “who would I be if I left?”

When you hear phrases like that from a friend, realize that at some level her identity is linked to her title and career. It's helpful to help her realize this and work through it.

Why?

Because as Tony said, we all have a need to remain consistent with how we define ourselves.

In this example of your friend, unless the job is absolutely miserable, unbearable, to the point that it challenges other aspects of her identity, she is probably going to stay in her current role.

So my challenge for you today is to answer the question: how do you define yourself?

Who are you?

Are you defining yourself primarily as the "ABC of XYZ?"

Now that you are self-aware, you have the power to change your identity.

How?

Start by writing down other aspects of who you are and the gifts you bring to the table.

Identify all of the aspects that make up your identity to help you realize how dynamic your identity truly is.

Take the time to realize that you can define yourself based on all of the attributes of your personality, talents, and gifts.

This should free you from the mental trap of staying in a role that is no longer serving you.

Be Legendary!

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As we continue to talk about why we are trapped in their corporate careers, what if it's due to a mindset I call focused fighting?

As you may recall, we have already talked through the possible mental traps of misguided gratitude and misplaced loyalty. And while we see all of these traps at Legend Leaders, the one we are tackling right now, focused fighting, is the one that we see most commonly and the one we talk about most often.

What is focused fighting? It starts by being told that you are “too much.” Your supervisor or someone with authority pulls you aside and tells you you need to "tone it down," or "give someone else a chance" because you're just "too much."

The conversation could occur due to a variety of reasons, from your leader's own insecurities to their inability to effectively communicate.

No matter the reason, you are left with a hole in the pit of your stomach and the feeling of failure. The conversation left you feeling as though your gifts and talents, the ones that have consistently made you shine, stand out, and receive promotion after promotion over the last 10 plus years are actually a problem. These perceived gifts are now putting you at risk in your position.

Yikes!

How did you go from standing out and also fitting in in all the right ways to now standing out wrong and not fitting in at all?

You didn’t change any of your gifts.

You haven't changed your approach or leadership style.

You haven't changed anything . . .

You feel shocked, angry, and frustrated at first. Then you shift over to the emotions of self-doubt and self-blame.

"How could I be so stupid?" you ask yourself when you think about the entire situation.

I knew I couldn't get this good . . . and know it's true.

Which leads to your next question, "How do I fix this?"

What must you fix?

Being told you’re too much is just like being told you’re not enough and we all need to feel like we belong in order to feel secure.

Now you feel like your career is at risk so what do you do?

You start fighting for your job.

As the Great Resignation happens around you, you can’t even think about quitting.

Why?

Because all this time you have been fighting FOR your job. How do you quit now? It’s not even fathomable.

It goes against everything you have told yourself and made yourself believe about your career.

Things like, "Why would another company want me when I can't get it right here?"

Not only that, as a high achiever, you can't allow yourself to consider leaving because you can't leave feeling like you your current position/company get the best of you.

So how do you solve it?

The secret is to realize that your gifts aren’t gaps!

Stop focusing on the idea that something is wrong with you and that you are a risk to the company.

You are a talented leader.

If you want to stay, stay and be amazing and forget "fixing a problem" that doesn't exist.

If you want to leave, leave knowing you have amazing talents and gifts that other leaders will be grateful to have on their team, you just have to find the right team.

See the situation for what it is, stop the fighting, then decide how and where you want to use your gifts.

Be Legendary!

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Could it be that we are trapping ourselves in our corporate careers due to misplaced loyalty?

This month we are diving into the most common reasons we as women put ourselves in a mental position of believing we cannot leave our corporate jobs. In almost every instance, we stay in a job we hate because of the stories and justifications we tell ourselves.

Yes, it may start with leadership telling you that the “culture is XYZ.” I get it. But here’s the reality, if a company's culture makes you feel like YOU OWE the organization something, such that you are sacrificing your own health and personal life for that company, that's a clear sign to get out.

I’m serious.

That is not a healthy, supportive, culture. It is a manipulative controlling one that you cannot thrive in.

That said, let’s talk about why we might trap ourselves in an organization due to what I am going to call a false belief.

A false belief is something we believe is true, but in reality, it’s not.

In this instance, a false belief is, “I can’t leave this company, this role, this team, because I made a commitment and I always follow through on my commitments.”

Man that sounds admirable, right?

It sounds full of integrity.

It sounds PC.

So let's think of an analogous example.

If you are married, that is a commitment you are focused on living up to for the rest of your life, right?

But if your spouse demanded all of your attention, took away your health, caused nothing but stress, constantly made you feel like you were wrong, and was emotionally abusive, would you stay?

Maybe for a period of time, your answer would be yes, but hopefully, your answer would be "I'm out of here!"

So why is it easy to see this situation for what it is if this was your spouse but you can’t see it’s the same thing in your career?

There are times, for your own well-being, you must walk away from a person or a situation.

You know that.

So my question for you is: if you honestly step back and let yourself see your career for what it is, allow yourself to see the true events unfolding around you, what's the truth?

Are you trapping yourself in a corporate position due to misplaced loyalty?

What are you telling yourself about why you must stay that keeps you there?

Know this.

Honoring yourself is the honorable thing!

Do that!

Be Legendary!

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Are we as women trapping ourselves in our corporate careers due to misguided gratitude?

I have been doing a lot of thinking and reflection lately. As I have been diving into teaching more and more of the personal leadership pillar here at Legend Leaders, I have been constantly asking myself: Why do we as women stay at jobs we hate? Why are we trapped? Are we trapping ourselves? Are other events happening that cause us to feel trapped? What is it?

Even during the Great Resignation (a viable reason/opportunity to make a career change), many talented female leaders are frozen. Why?

I have been so stuck on answering this question that I have even started blogging about it.

Here’s what I have come up with so far after 100s of thousands of hours talking to women and of course living it myself.

We are stuck for not just one reason, but many. These reasons can exist singularly or become a tangled web that keeps us trapped. So let's identify and name the 4 most common reasons for this. These 4 reasons are the ones I have heard and seen most commonly in my interactions.

The first one is what I call "misguided gratitude."

What is misguided gratitude?

We all want to give back to an organization that we believe has given us chance after chance to progress, develop, and move forward. Because we believe they have taking a gamble on us, we feel unbelievably grateful for all of the chances, opportunities, and promotions the company has "given us."

Let's take a moment to break down the two significant pieces on that thought process.

1. Why do we believe the organization has "taken a chance on us?"

Did they take a risk when they hired you over a decade ago?

Definitely not.

Even right out of school you had a track record of success. That’s the point of a resume, an interview, and your previous experience. They check ALL of that to reduce their risk just like you check all of it when you hire someone new to your team.

So why should you be grateful for them taking a risk that really isn’t a risk?

The reality is that studies have shown women on average do not feel prepared to take on a new role until they have mastered 100% of the competencies. Because of this mental frame of reference, many times we believe someone has taken a risk because we believe we are not 100% ready yet.

So let me ask you this. Do you promote individuals who aren't 100% ready?

Don't you become 100% ready when you are in the role because you really couldn't learn how to be ready any other way?

The company isn't taking a risk, a gamble, or making a horrible decision by putting you in a role where your gifts and talents are needed. You can believe that about everyone else you see in the company, why not yourself?

1. Has the company really "given you a chance" or have you not earned it?

With every single woman I have worked with and talked to, we have all earned it. Let's definitely change the inner dialogue here!

The reality is that when we feel trapped in our roles, the majority of the time it is because we trap ourselves!

Just like we talked about last month, reframe the story.

Your challenge today is to be honest with yourself.

Do you feel trapped in your career?

If the answer is yes, why are you staying?

Is it due to misguided gratitude?

Be Legendary!

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It’s our last episode in the January series called, “this is your year.” At this point, you have defined your old story, taken away the limitations of that old story, created your new story, and today we are going to dive into creating a supportive environment that will make your new story stick.

How many times have you (or a friend) tried to start a new workout program, a new diet, a meditation routine, etc., and after a few days, it just didn’t stick? That person went back to their old ways. It’s common this time of the year to see those people who were so committed to a change 3 weeks ago now going back to their old habits.

Why?

There are several reasons but the one we are going to focus on today is the fact that they probably didn’t create an environment that reinforced their new behavior.

We are going to create a reinforcing environment so your new story will stick.

Before we dive into this, I want to remind you of some work you have already done. Remember the reframing we did a few weeks ago as it relates to your old story? This alone has enough power to ensure you can't go back to your old story. With the reframe, your old story actually doesn't exist anymore. You rewrote it. That was step one in making your new story stick.

Step two is building a routine, a process, or an action that will help you reinforce your new story. Is it a new haircut or color of lipstick such that when you look in the mirror, you are reminded of the new you? Is it a new nickname you have given yourself that you sign your name in that new nickname in your journal? Is it putting notes, reminders, alarms, etc. on your phone and calendar to practice saying your new story and stepping into that new identity?

If none of those examples sound like you, no worries. I have saved the easiest and the best for last.

Grab your journal each morning and write out your intention for the day. This doesn't have to be pages, just 1-2 sentences. Then every evening write 1-2 sentences describing a moment in the day where you delivered on your intention. Imagine a year from now having a full journal full of intentions and accomplishments!

Now, how does that create a reinforcing environment to help your new story stick? Because by writing your intention each morning, you have now set your focus on ensuring you deliver on your intention. You have no choice but to live out your new story to achieve your intention because they go hand in hand.

Which something "new" will you put into your daily routine to help your new story stick?

Remember, the point is that you must do something different to be something different. Create new routines, habits, reminders, and support processes so that change is not only a must but that you condition that change into your life.

Your challenge today is to commit to 1-3 new things you will do that will remind you and empower you to step into your new story and live it more confidently each day. At the end of the day, journal one thing you did as part of your new story and celebrate it!

This is your year!

Go make it happen!

Be Legendary!

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This year is your year! We have been spending this month preparing you to turn that statement into a reality. If you have been keeping up with the episodes, then at this point you have already identified your story and you have reframed the parts of the story that were disempowering. Today you must create your new story.

Now before we dive into creating your new story you may be thinking, "Katrina, if I reframed the old parts and they don't exist anymore, don't I already have a new story?"

Actually, you don't.

What you have is half a story. The parts of the story that worked for you and supported you, those parts still exist. You have eliminated the portions of the story that were holding you back, but you haven't filled those spaces back in.

It's like pulling weeds out of your flower bed. The weeds are gone but now we need the flowers!

So to write your story, I want you to ask yourself this: Who do you want to be?

Remember, in my old story I had this crazy idea that life was BETTER alone. Because I wanted to be safe. I wanted to control my environment, thinking that if I could control as much as possible that that level of control would lead to my success. If I didn't let people in, I wouldn't get distracted by the hurt when they left. As you know from last week, I reframed those stories as an adult so I no longer have a reference point to say "success is better when you're alone."

That part of my story is now gone. But then I had to change my story to actually include the people I love and want to share my life with; my family, friends, spouse, kids, etc.

So, again, who do you want to be?

What are you missing in your life?

What does the ultimate life on your terms look like?

What story must you believe in and live each day in order to create that life?

Take each of those questions and think through them. Answer them honestly. Define what life is really about for you and what a life well-lived looks like. This is your challenge for today. Answer the questions and start creating your new story.

Be Legendary!

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This is absolutely your year! Last week you identified your primary story; the story you tell yourself that defines your identity and how you carry yourself in the world. You know there are parts of that story that serve you, but there are also pieces and parts that hold you back. In order to make 2022 your year, you must reframe your story in order to propel you forward.

As you know, I shared my old story with you last week. That story was all about success but also "lonely success" because I told myself I couldn’t count on anyone. Now, where did this story come from? Honestly, it was my interpretation of various life situations over time. Was it true? No! But it very much became my truth. And that’s what has happened with your story too! So let’s change that old story.

If you haven't written out and identified your old story, go back and listen to last week's episode and take that action first. If you are struggling, do some heart breathing to find the answers from your heart, not just the logical, rational reasons for "why" you believe what you believe.

Now that you have your current story documented, I want you to look at the pieces that are disempowering. Ask yourself: "What happened to me in the past to cause me to believe this part of my story?"

Don't ask why, ask what. What happened?

Identify those specific life events that caused you to say things like I did: "I can't count on people to be around." For me, it was various life events that happened to me when I was very young. Things like biological parents divorcing, my grandfather passing away when I was 7, a new sibling born when I was 8 that took the attention of my mom.

As an adult, we can look at those situations I just shared and immediately understand that those events do not mean that people always leave, or that they are unreliable. But in my child-brain, when I created my story, that's what it meant. Those meanings and that story then stuck with me because I had no reason to change the story. And here's the reality, the majority of us do not sit down and truly assess our current story, much less seek to understand the events that created that story.

Once you sit down and identify your life events, just like me, you will quickly see that the assumptions and inferences you made, probably as a child, are not the same ones you logically make today. Identify those events, write them down, and then give them a new meaning. For me, when I assessed the parts of my story, they were all normal life events that had nothing to do with me personally or the fact that I can't count on others.

By identifying those events I reframed their significance in my life. No longer was my childhood about people leaving me or intentionally showing me they were unreliable. None of those events were actually about me! Once I sat down and acknowledged that my brain reframed the story.

A reframe is when you look at an event and change the meaning it has. Once you reframe, you don't have any evidence for your current story. That evidence has been destroyed in the reframe.

Your challenge today is to identify the events in your life that have caused you to create the disempowering pieces of your old story. Then, reframe those events and take away their ability to exist in their old form within your mind. Completely shift the meaning of those events in your mind.

Be Legendary!

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This is your year!

No doubt when you read that your heart either jumped with excitement or sank with fear. Whether it was excitement or fear, this month we are going to help you take specific action to truly empower you to make 2022 your year of success.

Did you know that at this very moment every person on earth is telling themselves a story?

"I can't because of X."

"I can because of Y."

This story that we consistently tell ourselves guides our judgment and drives our decisions each day.

In that story, you are reinforcing your identity and therefore defining what you can and can’t do. That story either empowers you to make life happen or that story holds you back.

So here is the million dollar question: what is your story?

While this question may cause some pause, it is simply another way of asking: who are you? Because as you can probably already guess, your story dictates who you are.

If 2022 is your year, you must determine what your story is and it sure it's a story that is going to empower you to go to the next level.

As an example, my story used to be: "I can do anything. But I have to do it all on my own because people always leave. You can't really count on other people when times get tough."

Wow! Pretty cynical, right?

But cynical or not, that was my story. Throughout my life, I had relationships, friendships, and colleagues who are to this day amazing people. But I kept most of them at a distance.

Why?

Because of my story.

Now every story we tell ourselves has both a positive and a negative aspect to it. If it didn't, most of us would change our story.

For me, the positive is that I accomplished whatever I set out to accomplish. Career. Education. Business. Whatever I wanted to achieve, I achieved. At the same time though, when it came to sharing those achievements, those parts of life that really matter, this is where my story failed me. I refused to let anyone "in" to share these accomplishments with me.

Today your challenge is to write out your current narrative in your head. What is your story? What do you tell yourself over and over and over again such that it drives your actions and behaviors?

Tony Robbins says: change your story, change your life.

So prepare to change your life and step into the real you in 2022.

How?

The first step is to know your current story.

Be Legendary!

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It's the last Wednesday of the year. Goodbye 2021, hello 2022. With that, it's time to wrap up our series on building your 2022 roadmap. What's left? You must involve your team.

If you have listened to and have done the activities in the previous episodes, you will remember that I have encouraged you to build a framework for your roadmap. You should know the key details, but you don't have to have every detail defined. Why? Because it's not required if you have a strong team to support you.

It's time to bring your team in on the action.

1. Give them the targets.

2. Ask them to do their own assessment and share with you how they propose to deliver in the business. (Do not share your details at this point.)

a. If each person on your team does the same job but just owns a different geographical territory, groups of accounts, etc. then you can assign a metric/KPI to each person. Many leaders in this situation enjoy dividing the work as they feel like asking everyone to do the full roadmap is like having their team doing double work. Can you have each person do the full roadmap? Absolutely. You have a choice in this instance.

b. Now, if each direct report owns a specific part of the business and that part of the business is unique, no overlap with a peer, then I would encourage you to let them take the KPIs/targets that apply to their specific part of the business.

1. Be clear with the direction. Set a deadline for them to complete their roadmap with details (no longer than a week's time). Let them know what you expect them to share with you (actions, timelines, support they need, etc.).

Remember, give them a chance to come up with something better than your ideas. If they come up with it, they will own the plan, the execution, and the results. This is exactly what you want!

If they don’t come up with something solid, then share your ideas and teach them how to do this exercise. In other words, use this process to grow your team's planning muscles, celebrate them accordingly, execute their strong ideas, build trust, and ultimately deliver in your business.

If your team is on vacation this week because it’s between the holidays, tackle it next week. How fantastic it will be to start the new year working on a solid plan?

Here’s to the end of a great year and to the start of another amazing one!

Be Legendary!

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We have two weeks left before the end of the year. It's crunch time, which means we must create your milestone targets if we are going to have a roadmap in place for you to deliver in 2022.

Just a quick recap, at this point you should know how you have performed year to date, which levers you need to keep, add, or eliminate to perform to the targets your company has set for 2022, and now you are going to create your milestone targets.

What is a milestone target? Well, how do you eat an elephant? It’s one bite at a time, right? The same holds true for hitting your overall targets in 2022, you must hit smaller target after smaller target which will then add up to achieving your overall goal. These smaller targets are what we call milestone targets.

Here are a few questions you want to ask yourself to help you create milestone targets:

• What must you achieve in Q1 to lay the proper foundation for Q2?
• What must you hit in Q2 to deliver in Q3 and in Q3 for Q4?
• Or you can break it down even further: What must you deliver in January to hit your February target?

Most everything builds in business, right? So create milestone targets that allow you to build on the previous period of success. If as an example you had a target to achieve 100% on a customer service metric, and the company is giving you the entire year to ramp up and end at 100%, then you could hypothetically say Q1 would deliver at no less than 25% to the annual target, Q2 would deliver at or above 50% to the annual target, Q3 at 75%, such that by the time you close out the year you are at 100% of your target.

If you aren't starting from zero, then you may want to work backward to create your milestones. A few questions to get you started using this method are:

• Where are you performing now vs the target? (You already know because you did this first.)
• What is the gap between the current state and future target?
• What levers can be used to deliver to the future target?
• What must be resolved or improved to help you deliver?

Define these details, then set a timeframe for when you will arrive at the goal. For example, I'm going to close the gap in my current performance by June, 2022. Many times the company will establish the timelines and overall targets so you know the timeframe you must work within.

Think about it this way, it’s like physically driving to a set destination in your car. If it's a 6-hour road trip, you must plan for meals, fuel stops, etc. All of those stops along the way are required for you to successfully arrive at your destination. Those stops are your "travel milestone targets."

With that analogy in mind, go back to your 2022 roadmap for a second. Realize that for every metric or KPI, you must define the smaller targets that when achieved over time, will help you deliver to your larger target.

Be Legendary!

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Your year in review and your roadmap, this is our topic for the month. You have been moving right along in you roadmap building process. From pulling and assessing performance to targets, to determining which KPIs to keep/remove, to the basic fundamentals you must fix next year, you are moving closer and closer to your finalized plan.

Now you must answer the question: where do you want to be next year? While that question may seem daunting in the beginning, know that it isn't. Each year you are given or set targets in your business. How do you do that? By aligning to the vision created by you or the company leadership.

As a corporate leader, no doubt your company has defined this for you and at this point, so your challenge is to simply review those details. Then ask yourself questions like:

Are these the same types of targets as last year, just amplified?

Are there new targets/goals?

How much revenue am I expected to generate/expenses to reduce?

How many team members are projected on my team?

Systematically, how do I deliver on each of those targets?

Based on the targets, will there be new levers, new metrics, new KPIs that you will need to measure?

Has that already been set up for you or will you need to ask your IS team to create new reporting for you?

Your KPIs and metrics are your tools, your road signs, your landmarks if you will, to help you determine if you are going in the right direction or if you need to take a detour. Establish them now. Get them rock-solid to set you up for success.

Make your final list of KPIs that you must focus on and deliver to next year based on the company vision and established targets. Know where you and your team must focus in order to win. Don't back down, don't shy away, don't "get close." Be extremely clear. Your team is going to dive into this later, but you must be clear now so you can guide them. If you don't like details, this exercise could be painful. But rest assured, it's worth it.

Be Legendary!

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In the last month of the year, we are looking ahead! We are preparing you to exceed your targets in 2022. Why? Because you can! But in order to ensure you exceed your business targets, you must take the proper steps to build an effective roadmap. This month is all about helping you build that effective roadmap. Today, let's dive into creating your targets for next year.

Last week you pulled all of your numbers and did a very simple comparison: did I deliver or did I miss the target?

This week you must ask yourself: What must I deliver in 2022 and how will I measure it? This part of the process is your target-setting process for your 2022 roadmap.

Now, you have your list of the levers or components of your business that contributed to each KPI this year. You know what you delivered on and what you missed for each KPI. (Another way to say that is: you know what worked well in the business and therefore what you must maintain and what you need to fix in order to move ahead.)

Assuming all is going well in the business, you have no major pivots, no significantly large/new projects, you aren't removing a product or a line of products in your business, it's fairly safe to say you will be marching forward on a very similar path as this year. You have the same KPIs, but higher targets.

If that's the case then when you identify what worked well, you will want to keep those activities and simply continue to execute on those KPIs. Maybe a few tweaks to raise the bar and hit the new target, but you are fairly set. So how do you know what to do when you raise the bar? You find out WHY it worked. Was it some additional IS systems support you received in that area of the business, financial investment to improve that area, maybe a super talented leader, etc. Why did it deliver so well?

For the levers that didn’t deliver, again, why? How much of a miss was there? Slight? Significant? Quantify the miss. Then, in an hour, determine why there was a miss. The point here is to understand where you must improve. If you have a process that requires 10 steps for completion, you must know which of the ten steps must have some improvement. That’s the key here.

Why do I want you to spend about an hour? Because you can get lost in the why. You need to understand the overarching why, not the microscopic why.

Many leaders freeze and refuse to move forward until they completely understand why. This is what I am focused on you avoiding in this instance. Know the difference between finding enough info to help you make a solid plan and when you have analysis paralysis.

You now have a high-level understanding of what you are going to focus on, the KPIs, and what you will raise the bar on and what you will intentionally improve upon.

How powerful is that?

Be Legendary!

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Your year in review: if you’re anything like me when I worked in the corporate world, I spent time in December determining how I actually performed, then compared that to where I needed to perform next year.  Last but not least, I then created a plan for the following year.  It always served me well so I thought, why not spend time this month helping you step into that planning process?  In each episode, I’m going to walk you through a strategic process that I do for clients and with clients to help them create their roadmap. While the training I will give you will be sort of generic at points (since I can't speak directly about your business), know that you can always reach out to me directly for one on one support.  What that said, let's dive in. If we are going to create a strategy or a roadmap for next year, where do we start? We start by understanding where we are.   You can spend an entire day defining where you want your business to be, but if you don’t know where you are, you can’t create an effective roadmap to get you there. Step one is to define your current state.  In this instance, it’s looking at all of your KPIs, financials, and overall metrics for the current year.  Pull the actuals.  Compare them to plan.  How did you do?  Don't dive into the "why" relative to your performance, just make an honest assessment.  What did you deliver on?  Where did you exceed expectations?  What did you miss?  Answer these questions for each metric in your business.  The key here is to not just look at your overall business metrics, or your lag measures, but actually look at all of your levers or contributing factors.  In other words, look at both your lead and your lag measures.  For example, look at your revenue performance. How did your team perform to its revenue target this year?  What are all of the components that contributed to that revenue performance?  List all of your revenue streams and the metrics or KPIs that you looked at daily to guide you on your revenue performance.  How did you do relative to each of those targets? Remember, in this step you're not assessing WHY the actuals are what they are.  Today you are simply listing all of the metrics, KPIs, and numbers and assessing how each one performed to the established target. Your challenge for today is to pull all of your actuals, all of your targets, and assess your current state. Be Legendary!

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It’s the end of the month and the end of our series focusing on how we support you here at Legend Leaders. We are diving into the last of our three pillars, it’s our People Leadership pillar. Let's talk about developing your people leadership, shall we?

Whether you are leading a corporate team, creating a brand new team, or being that team of one, business is all about people. When you reach executive status or are the CEO of your own business, you must know how to effectively work with people in order to get the job done. In order to truly live life on your terms, you must have other people helping you achieve your mission.

While none of this is a surprise to you, what is surprising to a lot of clients is how easy it is to lead people and yet how hard it has been for them in the past to be an effective leaders. The majority of people leader growth is done when we make mistakes. Yet making mistakes in this area of our business can be a career-ending decision. Why not learn from the mistakes of others? That's what we teach you (and help you circumvent the mistakes) here at Legend Leaders.

Once you have your mental clarity (i.e., personal leadership), once you know where you want the business to go (i.e., business leadership), then you can recruit, help, and lead a team of people to help achieve that mission (people leadership).

We arm you with the simple, logical strategies that you can execute while still allowing you to be yourself. We find over and over and over again that a stressful life comes in part from the lack of properly leading direct reports or properly hiring the right talent to support you. When you truly have a team of qualified doers around you, life on your terms becomes achievable.

If you are ready to start living life on your terms, your Legendary Life, schedule your discovery call now!

Female corporate leaders: click here.

Female entrepreneurs: click here.

Be Legendary!

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This month on the Legendary Leaders podcast we have been talking about what we do, who we serve, and how we serve at Legend Leaders. Last week we talked about the first of our three fundamental pillars. Today, let's talk about the second pillar, guiding you to develop your business leadership.

As a company that defines ourselves as business strategists, you probably thought this is our primary pillar. As you learned last week, if your mind isn't right, you won't be able to apply the business strategies we arm you with. (Listen to last week's episode to learn more.)

Within the business pillar, everything we teach truly encompasses all things business. Fundamentally we start by creating a strategic plan, timelines, assigning ownership, providing training, and supporting your business execution of that plan in order to deliver to your KPIs. We teach you effective strategies along the way, that when executed, ensure your success.

Which businesses do we help? This could be in a startup ready to scale, a large multi-billion segment of a company, you name it, we have done it. The key here is that there is always a process and once we teach you that process, you are running quickly and efficiently.

This pillar is of course one of our favorite pillars because we get to roll up our sleeves and be your Chief Strategy Officer, sharing ideas, methods, and solutions that help you execute with confidence.

If you want this level of 1:1 support, a discovery call is in your future. Schedule your call now!

If you are a female corporate leader, click here.

If you are a female entrepreneur, click here.

Your challenge is to keep working on your business pillar and defining it to your ideal customer in your refresh. (Your business pillar is what you are primarily known for). Get feedback from your ideal clients on how your message is landing and adjust as you go.

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Last week I introduced you to our ideal client here at Legend Leaders and I also shared with you an overarching view of the 3 pillars we guide our clients through. Today, we are deep-diving into the first of those 3 pillars: personal leadership. You have heard it said, and we agree, that personal leadership is the driver of all things in business.

One of my personal sayings is: you bring yourself into your business every day. The good, the bad, and the ugly; we take it all with us when we show up to work each day. The ultimate question is: would you hire, promote, or fire the person that you are bringing into your business? Most of the time that question stops us in our tracks. We have to manage ourselves, our frame of mind, our confidence, and our own selves before we can manage a business and/or other people.

Tony Robbins shared something in a program I participated in that has always stuck with me. He essentially said, when you are fighting an internal battle with yourself, you can’t effectively run a business. You simply don’t have enough energy to do both. We must solve the internal battle we are fighting so that we can then focus on the next pillar: business and people leadership. So how does Legend help?

First, we have you define what life on your terms looks like for you. What is a Legendary Life? What would it look like if you were living it? How will you feel when you get there? Once you have a clear definition, we then seek to understand the actions you must take to achieve that life. Who must you be in order to live that life? What must you believe about yourself? What internal actions must you take to remove the mental barriers?

When you have those definitions (and a few more), when you're clear on who you are and what you want, then the internal battle is fought and won. At that point, it's much easier to figure out how to grow the business and to lead people. Your challenge today is to define what a Legendary Life looks like to you and start to understand what you are telling yourself each day that is potentially preventing you from living that life.

Please know that we are here to support you. Reach out to us at info@legendleaders.com if you have questions as you think about your own personal leadership.

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During networking events and when talking to potential clients I inevitably get asked, what do Legend Leaders do exactly? Who do you serve? These questions continue to prompt me to share those details and facets of the business with you so that not only can you learn more about Legend, but so that you can hone this same information about your business in order to better serve your potential clients.

Who do we help? I have said it a thousand different ways over the past 4 years and have honed it in more and more with each passing day. While Legend serves a variety of people, we focus on two specific types of female leaders. The first is a female leader in the corporate world who has been told she is too much. When you’re told you’re too much, it’s essentially being told you’re not enough because either way, you have something to “fix.” It’s tough to navigate the corporate landscape, to begin with, then add dealing with that feedback and you make success almost impossible. At Legend, we support amazing executive women and help them succeed in the corporate world while creating a Legendary Life, a life on their terms.

The second group of female leaders we support are women who have decided to leave the corporate world and start their own businesses. Tired of playing by the rules of others, knowing that the rules that benefit those "others" actually hold you back, many women are taking their gifts and sharing them with the world in a way that generates direct revenue. These women have been told they are too much but they know that too much in the corporate world is just right in the entrepreneurial world. We help these women get out of their heads and trust the track record of success they have generated corporately, and carry that into their own businesses. Running a business can be hard at times, but many times we are looking for something we have missed. We think "It seriously cannot be this simple. What am I missing?" Feeling like we have missed something, we go on a quest to find that missing piece. We are constantly searching for something instead of trusting what we already know. At Legend, we close the knowledge gaps where needed and reinforce what these talented entrepreneurs already know.

For both of these leaders, we have 3 pillars that we teach to support them: personal leadership, business leadership, and people leadership. You need all 3 of these pillars to be successful in business, no matter your role. We change some of the pieces and parts depending on where each woman is in her career and overall journey, but the pillars are the same.

This is Legend Leaders.

Who do you serve?

Your challenge today is to determine who you serve and be able to speak it so very clearly that people know when you are speaking to them.

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This mini-series has been walking you through the mental and executable actions in becoming an entrepreneur. Today, we are finally going to talk about part of "how," as in how to start your business. Specifically, how do I fund my business?

Before I go any further, please go talk to a banker and an attorney. I’m going to speak from my experiences and perspective, but their guidance should be considered the ultimate authority.

That said, how do you get working capital? There are several ways. First and foremost, you need to create a business plan like we discussed last week. No matter if you are 100% self-funded or seeking funding, you need a business plan. The plan is your rationale for the business, the projected expenses, and revenue, etc. This is critical as you will follow this plan as you launch your business and scale it over the next 3 years. Once you have your plan, you can decide which funding path you feel most comfortable with. Here are the most common funding pathways:

1. You have savings, a 401K, etc. that you can access. Self-funding is by far the easiest pathway to access working capital. You can pull money out of savings to start your business. You can take your 401K and use that as seed money if you so choose (there are banks that can help you create a C-corp and use this funding without tax implications--but again, talk to a financial representative to learn more).
2. You have home equity or other lines of credit you could tap into by refinancing your home or executing a HELOC in order to create capital. If you are fine with a higher monthly mortgage rate and this action is one you are comfortable with, then consider this as an option.
3. A bank loan or SBA loan. For small businesses, SBA loans are the most common. Know that they can have higher interest rates, around 5% or more. You must put between 10-20% down, out of your pocket. Last but not least, they will put liens on all of the property you own: cars, homes, land, etc. You will put up a certain percentage, the bank another percentage, and the SBA will cover the bulk of the loan. The SBA doesn’t loan you the money, they simply become a guarantor of the money should you default. Normally they guarantee about 70-80% of your loan. You must have strong credit, around 700 or higher. The assets you have to need to be worth enough for the bank to feel comfortable loaning you a reasonably large sum of money. While there
4. Investors. Decide how much money you will need from an investor or investors (use your business plan!) and then decide when you will need it. For example, do you need a $100,000 investment in the first year, then you project in year 2 you will need a $500,000 investment to buy property/land and build a building? Decide how many investors you are willing to take on, the percentage ownership of the company and if you want them to b a silent partner or an active partner.

Last but not least, know that you can do a combination of any/all of these pathways. There is no wrong answer, just the one that gets you the money you need, when you need it, in a way that makes you feel most comfortable.

Your last challenge of the series is to decide the pathways of investment you are comfortable with and will pursue your business.

Note, I never got into the legal creation of an entity, a sales process, or HOW to run a business. These are executable pieces once you have committed to becoming an entrepreneur. Committing is the hardest part and that's exactly what you just worked through this month! If you have business-specific questions, reach out to me at katrina@legendleaders.com. I'm here to support you!

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You have decided that entrepreneurship is right for you and you have determined the specific business you want to start. Now you need to focus on creating your business plan. Your business plan is your success roadmap.

Do you have an idea that will equate to a viable business? Your business plan will answer that question and many more!

A business plan includes your executive summary:

• What type of entity have you created LLC, S-corp, C-corp, sole proprietorship?
• What do you do?
• Who do you serve?
• Where do you operate?
• How are you different than your competitors?
• What are your mission and vision statements?

The purpose of the executive summary is to educate the reader as to the key aspects of your business.

In the document, especially if you are going to seek outside funding, you must include your resume. Your resume must convey to the reader WHY investing in your business is a sure thing. You must share your expertise in the industry your business fits within as well as your expertise as a business leader.

Your 3-year business projections are another key component to a successful business plan. List all projected expenses (startup costs and monthly expenses), projected monthly revenue, and then the resulting net profit.

When it comes to revenue projections, don’t be shy. Don’t hedge your bets and create a low financial projection. You need to show that you will actually turn a profit. In other words, be realistic but don't be so timid that you don't generate revenue. You will not get a loan if that's your strategy.

Last but not least, do some market research with your ideal clients. Does anyone want your service? If yes, who? How many people? What are they willing to pay and when are they willing to start using you? If you can get a letter from these individuals stating that they do intend to use your services upon grand opening, get them. This will not only solidify your projections but will help with funding from a bank if you go this route.

Business plans are extremely valuable to the success of your business. Banks want to understand the risk of investing in your business, don't you want to know that too?

Many times when a potential business owner does a business plan, they either realize they are all in and this is 100% the path, or they realize that the business venture is too risky or not profitable. Better to take a few weeks to develop a business plan and have this answer and a starting roadmap than to jump into a business and not have any guidance.

Today’s challenge, write your business plan.

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We are jumping into the next episode in our series called: becoming an entrepreneur. If you realized after last week that entrepreneurship is for you, then your next question inevitably is: what business should I start? Before I go any further realize that we aren't jumping into "how" to start a business. Once you start to mentally commit to starting a business, our minds go to "Well how do I do it?"

Then we panic, get overwhelmed, and give up. No need to do that. We haven't even gotten to the part where you solve for the "how." "How" is the very last step. So just hang in with me. We will get there. But let's do this in the proper order so that we don't do work we may not need to do in the long run! Many individuals, and lots of unsuccessful entrepreneurs, start a business based on what they love doing.

Sometimes this works, but sometimes it doesn’t. In working with entrepreneurs, I have found that yet again, you must ask yourself 3 questions in order to get to ultimately answer the "what business should I start?" question. Those 3 questions are: What am I good at? What do I enjoy doing? Of those items on the lists from 1 and 2, what can I make money doing? The first thing you must accept is that a business exists for one reason, to make money. Activities that you enjoy doing but that don't make money are not businesses, they are hobbies.

You can have all of the hobbies you want, but don't expect your hobby to make you money. This is the part of the process where we must take the emotion out of this decision and inject the logic. You can love it and enjoy doing it, but it has to make you money if you want it to be a business. For example, let's say I put on list #1 that I love reading, but in reality, I'm not great at grammar or editing. In this instance, I can’t really make money being an editor and starting my own publishing company because I don't have all of the skills to make the business a viable one.

But what if I am great at house cleaning and that makes it onto list #1? What if I get a sense of accomplishment in serving others by cleaning their homes and giving them that peace of mind, which adds this skill to list #2 as well? Can I make money by starting a house cleaning service? I sure can. It achieves #1, 2, and 3. Now I'm in business! Your challenge this week is to honestly answer the 3 questions and come up with a business idea. A good business idea should minimally be on lists #1 and 3 when you finish.

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Let's tackle the ever-important, sometimes impending question many of us ask ourselves when we get frustrated in the corporate world: should I start my own business? Why not right? It's got to be better than this . . . right?

In working with both corporate women and female entrepreneurs, I see the fears and doubts before the plunge as well as during the #entrepreneurlife. If you're debating this question, let's answer it.

You have been wondering if this is your next chapter, your path, your calling; this means entrepreneurship. You don't know much about owning a business but surely it has to be better. There are tons of perks: being your own boss, making the rules, making the decisions, and putting your gifts into the world.

First and foremost, let me tell you that all of those things are accurate. I love being my own boss, I love making the rules and the decisions, and I wake up each day excited that I am sharing my gifts. However, it was an arduous road to get to this point. You have to stay committed to the path because it's not easy.

So here's the deal, let me help you mentally tease out if entrepreneurship is something you can stick with for the long haul. The way you answer "should I start my own business" is by answering 3 fundamental questions. When you answer these questions you will ultimately know if entrepreneurship is right for you.

How do I know this? Because not only have I done this with clients, but because ultimately we all want the same things: fulfillment, to live our purpose, and live a life without regrets. No one wants to live a miserable life and no one wants to look back on life at the end of it and say: If only I had done ________ (fill in the blank).

Grab your journal. Dedicate some time, not 5 minutes but at least 15, minimum. Be honest with yourself. You're not impressing anyone or letting anyone down with your answers. This is YOUR truth. Discover it.

1. Why would you start your own business? If you want to take better care of your family, have zero financial concerns, take care of your parents, have money to create a non-profit, etc. then all of these reasons and more are you're why. Why you do what you do drives you to do everything in life. What is your why?
2. What matters to you? What daily activities will make you feel fulfilled? What must you do regularly to feel like you are living your purpose?
3. What will you regret? I'm not talking about starting a business or not starting a business; what are the major factors in your life that you don’t want to miss. For example, let’s say it’s critical to you to spend the first 5 years of your child’s life with them. Your youngest child is 2. You have 3 years left before you even feel comfortable dividing your attention. So there’s your answer. "I don't want to regret missing the next 3 years of my youngest child's life." That is a solid, strong, honest answer.

Now look at your answers and reflect. Is what your doing now fulfilling you? Are you living your purpose? Will you regret not trying to live your purpose on your terms? Use the answer to these 3 questions to decide if starting a business is right for you. Now notice, I didn’t ask about the business you will start. I simply want you to use these answers to then say: "Yes 100% entrepreneurship," or "Nah a side hustle works," or "Nope, I'm an employee for life." There is no wrong answer, only YOUR answer.

Today’s challenge, answer the questions honestly and then determine if the best way to deliver on your why, live your purpose, and have a life with no regrets is to start a business.

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It’s the end of September, which means it’s the end of this monthly series on embracing your “too much” self. As we close out this mini-series, let’s dive into the concept of using your gifts through your leadership in order to help others embrace their gifts too.

If you have listened to the previous episodes, you know that we have talked about leadership as it relates to being empathetic. In that instance, your leadership was focused on a peer or a senior leader. In this episode, we are focusing on your team or those individuals who are in more of a direct report position to you. Ultimately we want to ensure we aren't being the leaders that tell others they are "too much."

We must be better than what we have seen or experienced. That's your challenge today, is to evaluate yourself and determine how you are leading and if you can lead at an even higher level. To do that, ask yourself this fundamental question:

Are you truly giving feedback because you want to help them, or because you want them to be like you or do it your way? What’s the real truth there?

As we grow in our leadership, we know what works and what doesn't. Remember though, there are multiple ways to be successful and get to the same endpoint. You want to provide that flexibility to let others use their gifts and shine in their own light. Don’t be the leader you hate, be the leader your team loves. How will they love you? By you making them feel understood, supported, and by you giving them the freedom to be themselves.

Many times when we are told to change, adjust, or be smaller than we are, we tend to do the same thing to our direct reports. It's not intentional, we do it because we care and we think it's the only way they can succeed. But after listening to the episodes this month, you now know better.

Don’t be that leader that causes others to be less than you. If you apply the learnings we have walked through this month, you are already closer to being the leader you want to be. However, hearing it and doing it are two totally different actions. I want you to be intentional in your approach to this change in your leadership. It will take you consciously asking yourself questions and stopping yourself when you realize you are giving feedback that serves you more than it serves the other person.

Your challenge today is to build your personal feedback mechanism. Before you share feedback with someone I want you to ask yourself: Does it add value to the person? Will it make them better or me better? Is my feedback going to lessen their strengths or strengthen their self-doubt? Once you answer those honestly, you will know how to proceed.

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This entire month we are diving into the topic of embracing your “too much” self. We have walked through selectively acting on the feedback you receive, properly interacting with the feedback giver, and today, we are tackling the elephant in the room. We always wonder, is it really us or is it them? To find the answer to that question, we have to ask ourselves: do I fit into the company’s culture?

When I meet with clients they say, “Katrina, how do I KNOW the company is not right for me?” It’s kind of like asking someone, “Should I leave my marriage?” No one wants to tell you what to do because that’s a life-altering decision. At the same time, it IS a life-altering decision and maybe you need to alter your life. Maybe that is your next chapter. So how do you know? There are a series of questions I ask my clients when we are working together. Let me share them with you so you can go through a similar exercise.

1. What is your “why?” What is your compelling reason for waking up and pushing forward each day? Write down your answers. Journal it until you have a clear sense of your purpose and your reasons for doing the things you do.

2. Now that you have your “why” clearly defined, are you able to deliver on your “why” in your current role?

3. Are you fulfilled? Is the company meeting your needs? Be honest with yourself on this one. If the company is meeting your needs, awesome. if it is not, companies don’t typically change to fit one or two people. Those one or two people either have to change or leave. That is why these questions are critically important to answer honestly.

4. Are you being allowed to use your gifts and be your true self?

Know this, if you can’t be your true self, if you are having to change who you are at your core, if you aren’t fulfilled and you aren’t living you’re why, my recommendation in general, is to find another path. This path you’re on isn’t meant to be yours. No matter how hard you try, the organization won’t change and therefore you will not be happy. You will spend day after day trying to change, trying to be satisfied, striving for achievements that leave you feeling empty, etc.

While the other leaders around you may be happy, you can’t play by someone else’s rules or fit in someone else’s shoes. You are you. You have one life, this life. And you need to live it and give your gifts. No matter how scary the idea of change is, wouldn’t you agree that it’s much scarier to spend the next 40 years being miserable?

Today you must answer these questions honestly. And if you are unsure, send me a DM on social media or send me an email (katrina@legendleaders.com) and let’s talk through it.

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The month of September is dedicated to embracing your “too much” self. Remember, we can’t fit into someone else’s rules or their life, so let’s not try. I was asked a question about last week’s episode, “How do I not get angry or frustrated with the person who gave me the selfish feedback?” The phenomenal question, the answer is by empathizing with them.

Many times feedback is disguised as a gift for us but in reality, it’s a gift someone is trying to give themselves. They are sharing feedback because they are feeling inferior. One of those sayings: you can become the tallest building by tearing others down or growing yourself. They are trying to tear you down. Last week we talked about asking questions to confirm that the feedback is true, factual, constructive feedback that is meant to propel you forward, not simply pull you back to everyone else’s level. (Go check it out if you missed it.)

Now, once you realize a person’s feedback was given to you to make you smaller, no doubt you could be a bit frustrated, angry even. When that happens you’re not going to be small, you’re going to be a force to reckon with! This means they will continue to feel inferior, less than, and that could very well put a strain on your relationship. The feedback actually had the opposite effect . . .they don’t know what to do now. And you are untrusting of this individual.

Is that your fault, your problem, or even a thought you need to worry about? Usually, I would tell you no. But, if you care about this person, you want to help him/her, or you simply want to maintain a positive relationship with them, empathy is where you need to go next.

Empathy is putting yourself in their shoes, understanding how they feel, how they see the world, how the world sees them, etc. You seek to understand their fears, their perspective, and you learn WHY they are giving you the feedback that really isn’t about you, but is about them and their weaknesses.

Seek to understand their worldview. Even if you don’t share your empathy verbally with them, do this exercise. I am challenging you to step in and understand this person. When you do that, not only will their feedback not hurt you or cause you to change unnecessarily, but it will diminish your feelings of frustration and anger that can naturally arise in this situation. You don’t have to like their methods, but you can understand their fears about why they did what they did.

Do you see how powerful that is? You go from a position of being made to feel small to becoming even stronger, staying true to yourself, understanding the other person’s worldview, and instead of being angry and making them feel smaller than they already do, you empathize and try to help/support them. Keep your power!

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This month we are talking about embracing your “too much” characteristics. In order to embrace our gifts, we must be prepared to accept or reject feedback by asking questions; more specifically we must learn to not blindly accept feedback and assume we need to improve.

Last week we talked about what it means to embrace your “too much” nature or characteristics. Part of embracing our gifts is being prepared for feedback. Why does that matter? Because when we are prepared, we know how to react. We stay in state and it doesn’t throw us off of our game.

When you were a kid and you played with other kids, at some point there was a better kickball player than someone else on the team. Depending on the group dynamics, that inferior player would say things to hurt the player that was better, stronger, and more athletic. They would say things about their performance, that they were stupid, something about their mom, etc. Right? They would say typical kid things and while we don’t condone the behavior, we recognize the behavior.

Now, what happened to cause the inferior player to react and say hurtful comments? They felt inferior, less than, not equal to, so they started to try to tear down the better player. When you are too much, realize that it’s the SAME scenario in many instances. While your supervisor, your peers, your senior leadership, whomever it may be, uses a professional tone, professional words, and even says, “I’m telling you this because I want you to succeed,” understand that there could be another motive there.

If you can honestly look at yourself in the mirror and confidently know that solving problems accurately and quicker than everyone else is your gift and you aren’t arrogantly touting it in people’s faces, then that’s your truth. You are the “better kickball player” in this instance. This means you must question the feedback those with authority are giving you.

When we are told we are “too much” of something, especially by those we respect, we work to change. We desperately want to be what the company, the leadership, the world needs us to be so we can feel successful. My challenge for you today is instead of working to fit in, I want you to think, “maybe they are acknowledging a weakness they have within themselves. Maybe instead of me changing to be less than, I can help them be more.”

ASK questions! That’s the key. Ask questions to understand WHY they are giving you the feedback.

Your challenge today is to create your plan, your framework, your pathway on how you will react and ask questions when you face this situation inYour challenge today is to create your plan, your framework, your pathway on how you will react and ask questions when you face this situation in the future. Be prepared so you find the root cause/reason for the feedback and then you can react accordingly.

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It’s the first day of September which means we are kicking off a new month and also a new topic: embracing your “too much” self. That’s right, let’s embrace it! This entire month we are going to walk through various situations where your “too much” capabilities are going to potentially cause issues for you if you don’t embrace them properly.

My biological parents are divorced. Growing up I would go see my biological father from time to time. On a visit to see him and his family, when I was probably around 9 years old, I was told, “You have ugly toes and feet like your dad.” That was it. I was crushed. Never had I looked at feet and thought “What do pretty feet look like?” I have average size feet, my toes are the normal size, etc. They are just normal feet. What are feet supposed to look like? All of these questions I never thought to ask, I started asking myself. From that point forward, I refused to wear flip-flops or anything that showed my toes. I’m not talking about for a few weeks, I’m talking years. In my head, I had ugly feet. I disliked feet in general from that point forward. That moment when I was told something was “wrong with me” was the moment I questioned pieces about myself that I couldn’t change, and never knew I needed to change until then.

The same holds true with you and your leadership. If you are surprised by the feedback, you tend to be hurt by it. This then takes you to a position of wanting to change. However, if you expect various comments about who you are and how you lead, then there is less of a desire to automatically change without thinking through the situation.

What I want you to do today is prepare yourself for the feedback. It could be that you are too smart, too strong, too quick at solving problems, too pretty even, or all of the above. You know I have a southern accent and I talk fast. If you gave me that feedback I would smile and say, “I sure do.” Because I’m ready for that feedback, positive or negative. You need to be in a place where you can say, “I am too much, thank you!”

I would rather be too much than not enough.

Today, you are going to embrace your “too much” nature, your “too much” self. You are going to stand proud of it. You’re not going to let someone steal your light. You own it, for all that it does to serve you and more. What has you been told you are “too much” of in your career? How have you been trying to “fix it” instead of embracing it? Make the mental shift today.

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This is the last episode in the August series “finding your voice.” This topic is one that I absolutely want you to dive into wholeheartedly because it is centered on finding your voice by knowing you are worthy.

We all worry that we can’t be who we are at our core because we were told we weren’t enough in a past experience. So therefore we don’t feel like we can share our voice and be recognized for it in our business, nor can we achieve success because when we were our true selves in the past, it didn’t work out.

How many times and by whom have you been told that you are simply “too much?” We must stop believing the crap our past bosses, current bosses, ex’s, family, 5th grade “best friend,” etc. have told us. When someone makes that a negative instead of a positive, we find ourselves wanting to hide our gifts, our greatness, and truly . . . ourselves. Why? Because when we didn’t hide it, when we shared it with the assumption that it would be supported and appreciated, the door was slammed in our face. None of us want to deal with that again! So we either hide our gifts or we assume our gifts are gaps and we try to “work on them.”

Let me tell you, maybe that person or those individuals didn’t appreciate your voice. Maybe the person you were 2 years ago or even 2 seconds ago wasn’t the right YOU to move forward, but the person you are right now can make it happen. The person you are in this moment has the perfect voice that her potential customers need to hear. The person you are right now can make your business successful.

You are worth it and you are worthy of it!

Do not let someone else’s insecurities, their rules, their view of how the world should work, etc., hold you back from sharing your gifts, your voice, and your talents. There is no “wrong way” for you to be you.

Don’t let your past dictate your future. Use your gifts and use your voice.

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This month we are focused on the topic I’m calling “finding your voice.” Today is all about finding your voice through effective communication. In other words, how do I find my voice and use it in my various communication pathways?

We kicked off the month talking about finding your voice through social media and last week we discussed why we shouldn’t apologize for showing up. Check those episodes out if you have missed them because today I’m answering your amazing questions as it relates to “how” you find your voice.

The overall threshold point, where you must change, where you must share your voice no matter the cost, is when you decide that you love your customers so much that you have no choice but to be yourself. Remember, when we serve we aren’t worried about ourselves. When we serve, we are focused on those we are serving. When you realize that the only way you can serve your ideal customer is by being you, that’s when you not only figure out your communication style, but you embrace it.

What are two key steps to arriving at this threshold point?

Be authentic. You may not be a funny person at your core. Or, you may not be a serious person all of the time, maybe you are a jokester. The key here is that is no wrong answer, as long as you are being you and you adopt your true method as your brand you’re good. People want to feel like a company’s communication is human, speaks to them, and pulls them into the discussion. The only way you can build that human connection is to be your true self.

Simply talk to your customer and be helpful; connect! No one wants to feel like they are being pitched an offer every time they open their phone nor do you want to constantly communicate about a product. Many times I have had clients saying to me, “I can’t find my voice because I’m not a salesperson.” First, you are a salesperson (go listen to the previous episodes to remind yourself of that), but second, a salesperson isn’t always selling. A good salesperson builds rapport, connects, and most importantly, they help their customer with their problem. Focus on giving instead of selling the majority of the time and you will be inherently comfortable sharing your own voice.

If you are struggling to feel confident in your communication style, remember: be authentic and focus on connecting.

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In the month of August we are discussing the process of finding your voice; more specifically today, we are talking about finding your voice without apologizing.

Don’t apologize for showing up.

That is a personal mantra or quote I share with my clients on a consistent basis.

Most of us as women apologize for at least several times a day.

• I didn’t hold the door for you, “I’m so sorry.”
• I didn’t include you on that email, “I’m so sorry.”
• I didn’t let you speak first, “I’m so sorry.”
• I showed up looking better than you because I’m having an amazing hair day, “I’m so sorry.”
• Or, “I’m sorry I don’t look my best, didn’t have time to add a necklace to my outfit, didn’t reapply my lipstick after my cup of coffee.”

STOP!

Don’t apologize for showing up.

You are here! Everyone appreciates the fact that you ARE here. So why are you apologizing? No one thought it was wrong of you to do XYZ until you apologized for it. But now, because you have brought attention to the issue, they think either 1. she really is incapable of doing her job and/or 2. she really lacks confidence. Either way, you are sabotaging yourself from getting that deal, that job, that promotion, that negated contract.

Don’t change their positive perception of your amazingness with an apology.

So then how do you stop apologizing? By getting rid of the mental rules you created for yourself that are causing you to feel the need to apologize in the first place.

You have a seat at that table. Unless the dress code for your company says: lipstick is required, or a necklace is required, you have created those rules for yourself. So those are rules you can reset, recalibrate, and eliminate. By the way, usually, we create these types of rules because we are told we are “too much” in other areas of our career, which causes us to feel the need to fit in in all the other ways we possibly can. So we create rules to help us feel like we fit in, which is completely unnecessary.

I’m challenging you to note all the times you apologize to someone today. What did you apologize for? Who did you apologize to? Make a note on your phone or in your journal for each instance. At the end of the day, look at your notes. Did you apologize for showing up? Let’s get back to confidently owning our seat at the table.

Be Legendary!

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We are dedicating the entire month of August to the concept of “finding your voice.” This episode is specifically focused on finding your voice on social media.

If you have spent any time listening to previous episodes you will know that I have struggled with social media. I seriously have zero desire to share every thought I have with the world. Because most of our social media experiences start out with us feeling like we must keep up with others around us, I created rules in my mind that prevented me from wanting to work within the social media space. I would tell myself, “You can’t make a mistake, you have to say the perfect words” or “I’m still trying to figure out my messaging and I don’t want to get it wrong.” The normal demands I placed on myself to be perfect were amplified seeing everyone else is perfect. So I just avoided really saying too much on social media. I hired a social media team to help me out, but I struggled to tell them the messaging I wanted them to share.

I had to realize that social media is a tool and that I must use that tool to share my message and Recently, I stepped back and changed my mindset about social media. It’s just a tool that I’m never going to be perfect at using but will use to advocate for the women I serve. When I show up on the podcasts or the Youtube channel and I worry about what people think of me, I have already lost. Why? Because it isn’t about me. It’s about serving. I’m here to share information, teach, train, empower, and serve. I can’t mess up when I serve. Social media is simply a way to use my voice and serve. And how do I find my voice on social media? I simply share my knowledge, advocate, and serve. It’s a work in progress, and it always will be. I will continually find my voice in this space.

Will I have people still judge? Of course. But when I’m serving, do I care? Not one bit.

As you work to find your voice, your brand, your communication style, stay true to you. Don’t focus on being perfect. Don’t worry about the judgment. Focus on using your voice to connect with those you are here to advocate for, to serve, and to support, and then go and do that. Accept that your voice will consistently grow and change and that social media is simply another platform to allow that to happen.

Be Legendary!

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As we close out July, we are closing out our focus on “financials.” It wouldn’t be a financial discussion if we didn’t discuss expenses. As business leaders, we all know that cash is king, which means we must manage our expenses.

Most business owners fumble when they start to layer on expense after expense after expense, telling themselves “I must purchase X in order to make money.” Months or years later they finally pick their heads up from the grind, look around, and say, “Crap, I’m barely making enough money to cover my expenses.” Exactly!

Unfortunately, most business owners run their businesses like the above example. They create a long list of expenses they “need” in order to generate sales. Then they set a price point for the product/service that will cover the expenses AND will be in line with the market. As a result of this approach, there’s very little profit and almost no cash. If you can create a sales target and an expense target, why not create a profit target? And not only should you create a profit target, but why not create it FIRST?

Mike Michalowicz wrote the book, Profit First, and essentially guides you to do exactly that. Instead of deciding what your profit margin should be at the end of the process (sales – expenses = whatever is left over is profit), decide what your profit must be on the front end (sales-profit = expenses you can afford). This ensures your expenses stay in line and you won’t allow yourself to spend more or blindly spend and justify it as “necessary.”

Let’s go a step further, not only do you want to be profitable but you want cash leftover in your business. You want the money that you can pull out of your account and use whenever you need it for whatever you need it for. That’s one step further than profit. Profit is a number on a page, it doesn’t necessarily equal actual, extra money left in the bank.

If you have already gone down the “I will make a profit later, I just want a personal paycheck” pathway and therefore you set your expense allowance first, I’m challenging you to create your profit target and determine when and how you will achieve that profit target each month. If that means reducing expenses or not buying that extra something you were about to purchase, realize the impact you just had on your business. That’s huge!

Expenses are killer on a business if not managed well. Do not let expenses be your demise.

Be Legendary!

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Given that we are talking financials this month, it wouldn’t be a financial discussion if we didn’t talk about leads. How many active leads do you have right now?

First, what is a lead? A lead is a potential customer; someone who is interested in buying your product or service. Whether you call them leads or potential customers, you must work on all things “leads” each day. From, “Where do I find more leads?” To “How do I follow up on my leads?” To “How do I keep losing leads and not converting them?” You are constantly having a conversation in your mind and with your team about leads. Why? Because leads turn into customers and customers generate your financial revenue.

Here is the key question we must talk through on this episode: “If I want to hit my financial target, how do I tie leads to revenue?”

If you read anything from Tony Robbins as I do, he says that only 5-15% of leads are “sales-ready” at a given time. In other words, of all the leads you are working, talking to, checking in on, etc., only about 10% will convert in a given day.

We can spend a significant amount of time talking about how to distinguish your leads and determine which phase they are currently in, but for today’s episode, let’s simply focus on the quantity of conversion. We must have a conversion to generate sales so let’s talk about how many active leads you need to be “working” in a given period to hit your revenue targets.

f we go with the average of 10%, how many leads will you need to be working with and convert each day to hit your financial target? If your goal is 10 new clients a week, you must have 100 new leads that week to work with. Not only that, you must have a process to follow up with all 100 of those active leads within that week in order to generate the 10 conversions. Let’s take this one step further, not only must you follow up, you must do so in a way that encourages your potential customer to take action.

In other words, simply sending a text that says “Are you ready?” probably isn’t going to get the conversion you want. The follow-up method you use is critical to hitting a 10% average. Otherwise, your average may go down to 5%, or even 1%.

Here is what I want you thinking about today:

1. Do you have a process to generate the number of leads you need to be working with on a weekly basis? If not, this could be a very clear reason why you aren’t hitting your financial targets. Either your target is too large for your current lead generation methods, OR, you need to invest more into lead gen. The decision is yours.

2. Do you have a method of follow-up that continues to build the relationship with that potential customer and encourages them to take the proper action? You could have leads but you may not be converting them effectively.

What is your lead gen strategy and how many leads do you need if you know the conversion is about 10% at a given time?

Solve that to move your business one step closer to your revenue targets.

Be Legendary!

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In any business, there are months of extreme success and months of struggle. So how do you close a fiscal month with a bang?

When you are in the early startup phase, there are usually more months of a struggle than success. Simply because you are trying to figure out how to generate consistent success in your new business. While we all know to expect tough months, knowing it and living through it are two different situations.

What I typically see happening to newer business owners is that they start off doing the right thing. They set targets. Then, they miss those targets for one month. “That’s ok, we will hit them this month!” Then they miss them again. After 3 or more months of missing targets, they want to avoid that pain of “failure” so what do they do? It’s usually one of 3 things:

1. They stop creating targets, thinking, “If I don’t have targets I can’t miss anything and therefore I can’t fail.”

2. They have targets but they stop tracking how they are doing once they realize they are going to miss that month. Again, “if I don’t face reality I didn’t really fail.”

3. Or, they are tracking through the month, they realize they are going to miss, so they simply give up altogether and say “maybe next month.”

All 3 pathways are not paths I want you to go down. You can overcome this. You simply need a strategy. So how do you close a month or a quarter when you are missing the target? You must create “go-to” wins that will help you deliver to your targets.

You need to create what I call your Bang List. That is a list of go-to products, services, or add-ons that are always a money maker and allow you to close your mouth with a “bang.”

Once you create that list of items, write down how much revenue each one of those items on the list will generate.

And here’s the deal, when you review your performance in the 2nd and 3rd weeks of the month, if your financial revenue isn’t on target, activate your Bang List. Decide which actions you will take, how many you must sell-off of that list, and get to work.

Now, instead of feeling the pain, you are working towards actually preventing it! You have a plan. No pain means you are creating positive momentum, which means will keep creating your targets, you will keep reviewing your performance, and you should be able to deliver to your monthly targets because you have a plan!

Go create your Bang List and let’s get to work!

Be Legendary!

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Welcome to July! This month’s focus is all about financials and hitting financial targets. Why? Because we are halfway through the year and we need to do that gut check. How are you performing halfway through FY21?

If you know me either because we work together, because you are in my private Facebook group, or because you have been following these podcasts since 2020, then you know how much I push you to perform a realistic evaluation of your business performance. Why? Because financials are what make you an actual business!

So here’s the gut-check moment. How did you perform? If you’re not sure how to determine your targets ask yourself this: what were your targets for Q1 and Q2, such that added together you have targets for your business for ½ of the year?

Look at your financial targets, customer service KPIs, team member-specific KPIs, product growth, market penetration, average basket increase, repeat customer growth, etc. You can have, and probably do have, a ton of KPIs. What are you assessing?

When I work one on one with clients, I typically find that they are in one of 3 groups when it comes to targets:

1. They don’t have any targets established
2. They have some targets established to say they have some but they aren’t the business measures that really tell you anything about your business nor do they move you forward and help you grow.
3. They have the right KPIs, the right targets, and they are actively and intentionally striving to move the business forward.

If you got into your car one morning, would you just start driving around aimlessly? Usually not. Usually, you get into the car because you have a destination. You are trying to get somewhere. Now, maybe you take a few wrong turns or there’s road construction that causes a reroute or a delay, but you still have a clear destination.

Your KPIs and your financial targets are your destinations for your business. You must have a destination.

So, do you have a destination or a target set? Are they the right ones? Last but not least, the challenge for today is: are you checking in on your performance regularly to ensure you are going to arrive at your destination?

You are your own GPS here. You have defined the target. You have created the path you are going to follow. But you have to check in to ensure you haven’t gotten off course.

So check-in! How are you doing? Are you going in the right direction? Do you need to recalculate your route?

You have ½ of the year left. Plenty of time to arrive at your overall destination. You simply must be intentional about it. Go schedule your review time, review the actual results, and intentionally drive your business forward.

Be Legendary!

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This is the final episode as we wrap up the month of June and our mini-series on sales calls. We have already talked about naming the salesperson inside of you. Today let’s dive into the idea of stepping into your sales persona. How exactly do you do it?

When I was in pharmacy school I would listen to the same type of music driving to school each morning. I would get myself hyped up and ready to go, taking myself to this place of an unstoppable mindset. By the time I arrived, I was so pumped and ready for the day that I learned a tremendous amount with what felt like very little effort. What I didn’t consciously understand at the time is that I was getting myself into what Tony Robbins calls “state.” Nothing was going to stop me from getting into the classroom and soaking up that knowledge. Just like nothing stops me now when I get into state.

That’s where you need to be. You must get yourself into the state, the state of being your sales persona. How do you do that? The easiest way is to first, change your physiology. Move your body, drink some water, dance around, stretch, take a 10-minute walk, sing a song. You decide what the activity is, the point is that it is an actual activity that makes your body move and makes you feel good.

The next thing you need to do is set your focus. What are you focused on? If you are focused on your dog getting out of the backyard fence are you going to close the sale? No. Your focus needs to be on all the things we have talked about in the previous episodes: serving, listening, etc.

Realize this, some people focus on “getting the sale” and unfortunately that’s the type of sales individuals we probably aren’t fans of. If you focus on “serving and making someone’s life better, because you KNOW you can and you must,” then that’s what you will make happen.

Last but not least, words matter. If you are moving your body, focused on serving and you are saying to yourself, “Well, I might help someone and close this today” you’re not going to close it. If you say, “Maybe I will show up as my best self.” You’re not going to show up as your best self. Why? Because the words you use are your mind’s reality, which means you must use empowering words. “I am here to serve! I am here to listen and support you! I am going to improve this person’s life.” WORDS matter! Tell yourself who you are and what you will do and your mind has no choice but to make that reality.

Today, practice getting into state and turning into the salesperson you have created within yourself! Step into your sales persona and start serving, listening, and converting those potential customers to customers!

Be Legendary!

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We are keeping with the sales theme today and we going to talk about listening! You must use your listening skills if you want to have a successful sales call.

Have you ever been to a car dealership or in a store and the salesperson kept trying to sell you what she likes or thinks you need? Or maybe your mom or your grandmother asked what you wanted on your dinner plate from the family buffet and then she simply disregarded everything you said and gave you what she thought was best?

How did that make you feel? Not great, right? You do not want to be that person to your customer. Just like you don’t want a soft sell, you also don’t want a pushy, aggressive, “I know what you need better than you do,” type of business leader.

The salesperson inside of you must listen to the potential customer. You can’t understand their pain points, their needs or their wants, and what makes them tick if you aren’t listening. When we don’t listen, we can’t serve. It’s that simple.

Listening is critical to your sales calls. How do you do that? How do you listen?

You ask a question and you sit quietly! It’s really that simple. Listen. Take notes. Write down the words they use so you can use those same words back to them. Listening will allow you to connect but you must be willing to do it.

How do you know if you’re listening properly? Do a practice sales call with a friend. They will quickly tell you if you are listening or not–because they will tell you if they felt HEARD. That’s your goal, to ensure your customer feels heard.

How are you going to show up on your sales calls? What do you need to change, improve on, or keep doing to be an active listener?

Be Legendary!

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Are you showing up confident and certain on your sales calls? You know I have said, and Tony Robbins says, that the person with the most certainty in a conversation will have the most influence. Right? Certainty wins.

If I got on this episode right now and I said, “Well you know, I kinda want to teach you about sales calls. You see, they are sort of important. And if you want to have a successful business, you might want to take my word for it.”

Do you think you would keep listening to me? Heck no! Why would you waste your time? Unfortunately, this is exactly how many business owners are showing up to their sales calls in their business. YIKES!

How do you show up with certainty?

Focus on service, not selling. Mindset is everything. If you believe in your product/service and believe in how you are serving, then you are certain.

How certain are you when you enter into a sales call? Are you worried about selling? Are you feeling bad for taking someone’s money? Are you stressed that your product isn’t where you want it to be, so you are hesitant to ask for the sale right now? Do you doubt yourself and your ability to run the business, which then shines through in the conversation?

You know, my coach tells me this all of the time, “Katrina, who are you going to show up as? For this part of your life, which character do you need to play?” And you know what, she’s right. The person I am when I’m at home with my family isn’t the person I must be on a sales call. Those are two totally different sides of me, which is completely normal!

Your challenge today is to decide which part of you needs to show up and be your salesperson. To be certain and have influence over the potential client (in a positive way of course), decide who you must be in order to be successful. Then go a step further, what is his/her name? Give your inner salesperson a name; a name that conveys confidence, certainty, and service.

Before you show up on your next sales call, remember that name, call on him/her, and be that person!

Be Legendary!

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Let’s just say it and agree: no soft selling. A soft sale isn’t the path you want to go down because it doesn’t empower the customer to buy nor does it ultimately deliver consistent revenue to your business.

When most people soft sell, they don’t close. They ask questions like “So what do you think, are you ready?” In those instances, you have taken a potential customer out of their state of wanting resolution for a problem and put them into a state of the debate. They were right there on the edge, ready to solve their problem in that very instant, and instead of helping them do that, you pulled them out of the emotional state into a logical state to make them “think” about what they wanted to do next.

Honestly, we don’t want people thinking about what they want to do next because the brain is going to say, “Do you really need to solve that now? Is it really that bad?” While the heart, on the other hand, will tell the person they truly do need the problem solved because it’s too painful to keep living with the hurt. The hurt, the pain, the heartache, that’s what causes people to part with their money and buy what you are selling.

So, you don’t say things like, “Well, what do you think about buying some of this today?” That’s a soft sale. Don’t make them think, make them feel.

It may seem disrespectful to make them feel their pain, but remember, you’re not causing the pain. The pain existed before your conversation. You are simply asking them to give you details about the pain so you can validate that you can solve the problem causing that pain.

This is similar to going to the doctor when you don’t feel well. The doctor must ask you questions, poke and prod at you, and get the facts in order to diagnose you. It doesn’t always feel great, but when you leave the doctor’s office, you have your answer and you know you are going to feel better. You are the doctor here. You are simply asking the right questions to understand their problem and then offer your product as a solution.

Your challenge today is to ask yourself how you are presenting your call to action in your sales discussions. Are you soft-closing, are you making them think, or are you helping them identify the pain and ethically telling them you can resolve it? If you are asking them if they think they want to solve the problem, shift your methods.

Be Legendary!

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For the entire month of June, we are going to focus on selling. That’s right, the ever-important aspect of generating revenue in your business. Today we are focused on the idea of selling vs. serving. I have touched on this before but let’s dive into it again as a quick refresher before we jump into other topics throughout the month. This is a quick one!

The reality is that many of us are fearful of selling. We have this image in our mind of the “used car” salesman trying to make a buck, being dishonest, trying to simply get a sale at all costs, etc. As you think about it, your stomach turns, you make a face of disgust, and you say, “heck no!” That image simply doesn’t align with who you are personally or your overall brand. So what happens?

You decide you’re not going to sell. Instead, you try educating, encouraging, and bringing awareness when you interact with potential customers. But without sales, you don’t have a business, you have a hobby. (Psst: which means you also have no income!)

We have always said that 80% of business is psychology, right? So if you don’t think you can ask for the sale, or you think you will constantly go after the soft sale, you’re not going to generate consistent revenue. It just doesn’t work. So do this, instead of thinking “oh, I’m going to go sell my product,” think, “I’m going to offer this amazing service that solves a problem for my customer.”

Today’s challenge is to focus on serving. When you focus on solving a problem for your customer, you serve them. You are making their lives better! So stop thinking about selling. It’s not about you, it’s about your customer. Give them what they need.

Be Legendary!

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Why did you get into the business? That is a super common question and one that quite frankly, you can probably answer in your sleep. But today I am challenging you to go a step further, what is your passionate why?

Most people will say they got into business to gain freedom, financial independence, or because they wanted to prove a point. While I am sure we can say we each feel those reasons to varying degrees, those are not the reasons that are going to keep us motivated and therefore in the business long term.

If you don’t have a reason that’s bigger than you, a true mission you are trying to achieve, that makes you get out of bed in the morning, that forces you to keep going even when your brain is telling you to quit, if you don’t have that, you won’t make it. And I say that to small business owners specifically because you are already in the thick of it and when you are small, this is when you feel this pain the most. However, this applies to EVERY business owner. If you don’t have a big enough why a purpose to drive you forward that’s bigger than you, you won’t make it in the long run. Because there really is no reason to “make it.”

Without a passionate why, when the world changes, the economy changes, the customer’s change, etc. it will become easier to quit than to push through. The responsibility of a small business will become too draining, too taxing, and too stressful; which means the idea of working for someone will start to sound better and better.

We have talked about various ways to keep your business viable. Innovation. Hiring. Adapting. All of those are important, but your mindset is just as important. Tony Robbins says 80% of business success lies in the mindset of the owner. If your mind isn’t right, you won’t succeed.

Your challenge today: sit down, get your journal, and find your purpose. Ensure the business you own and are running will help you achieve your purpose. Your passionate why can’t be about money, or status, or a car, or the ability to say you are an entrepreneur, it’s got to be about you living out your purpose. If you aren’t excited about your business if you aren’t passionate about it, why are you doing it?

What is your passionate why?

Be Legendary!

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Don’t be the business owner that falls in love with his/her product. You must fall in love with your customer in order to consistently answer this fundamental business question: What business do you need to be in?

The bottom line, the business you need to be in is the one your customer needs you to be in. Let me share it with you from a perspective that hits home for me personally. Do you know how many times I have adjusted, pivoted, and iterated in Legend Leaders? If you don’t, go back and listen to all 365 episodes of the podcast from 2020. Not only was I green in my skills but I was also green when it came to who I was talking to, why I was doing it, where I had come from, etc. All of those pieces were adjusted in 2020 and are still being adjusted even today. And I keep asking myself the hard questions to help me grow Legend and serve those I am meant to serve.

What business am I in? I empower women who want to create a business, I arm current business owners with the strategies they need to in order to scale, and I teach corporate executives to become Legends in the corporate world. I serve them all because I keep asking and answering the hard questions.

So that said, what business do YOU need to be in?

The point is this, I will keep iterating to be in the business I need to be in. Most of us find one product we love and we get so focused on the product, we lose sight of the entire point of being in business, which is to serve and to share our gifts.

Most people say, “Well, I just want to serve this group of people in this one way.” And that’s fine. But when that group of people changes, the industry changes, the economy changes, what are you going to do? If you are constantly asking yourself, what business do I NEED to be in, then you will keep your finger on the pulse of your ideal clients, the industry, and the economy. You will wake up each day feeling fulfilled because you know you are serving who you are meant to serve.

So what business do you need to be in? Answer that today and move yourself and your business forward.

Be Legendary!

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If you want to grow your revenue, you can’t count on “I always do it this way” to continue to work for you.  In order to grow and thrive, you must avoid “the perfect way” and instead focus on strategically innovating.

Know this, businesses that fail do so because things stop working.  Businesses die because they don’t change or grow and as a result, their industry and/or their customers outgrow them.  Is that the kind of business you want to be in?  (I don’t know about you but I’m a hard pass on that one.)

So, I think we can all agree we need to constantly learn and try new things on a regular basis.  The moment you say, “this is a perfect way” your business is at risk. You can say, “this is a perfect way this week,” and I will let you have that one.  But next week, you must find a way to do it better, ask the customer what s/he likes more, find a more efficient way, etc.  You are always innovating and iterating.  Always.

Your challenge today is to determine if you are a “this is a perfect way” kind of owner or if you are focused on creating raving fans and therefore are focused on exceeding their expectations.  Which one are you?  Once you determine your current state, commit to where you want to be and start moving down that pathway.

Be Legendary!

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During the month of May, I’m focusing on small business owners. Today’s challenge is: don’t wait until you’re ready!

What am I talking about? Here’s a great example, you can’t wait to hire when you are “ready to hire.” Know this, your business is a living, breathing entity just like you. While you may not be ready for a lot of things, that doesn’t mean your business is in the same boat.

When you started your small business, you were innovating, iterating, and working hard to simply establish your business as a revenue-generating company. You were trying tons of new ideas and you were putting in the hours to figure out what worked. Now, at some point in your life, your business isn’t going to be your focus every minute of the day. As you get to be 45, 50, 60, 65, most people reach a point where they want to do other things with their lives. Maybe you want to cut back to 4 days a week or 3 days a week. You think to yourself, “I’ve earned it.” And yes, you have no doubt.

But what happens in a small business with only a few employees with the owner being the primary operator, and that primary operator starts to step out of the business on a regular basis? Does the business grow? No. The business actually levels out and may even decline.

At some point, you may want to sell your business. Or at least give it to a family member, right? Do you want to sell your business as it declines or give it to your kid when it has started to have revenue problems? Of course not. So how do you have a strong business and live your life?

The secret is to add another strong operator while the business is growing and while you are still working full time in the business. If the work you do primarily is sales calls, hire a salesman. If it’s production, hire someone to produce the widgets. Bring someone in who can grow the business. This will allow you to TRAIN them while you and your business are in the prime stages. You can then pull back, they can take over, and you can live NOW. Your business will keep growing or at least remain stable, and you have a business that is worth something should you want to sell it or hand it off.

Think about it this way, at some point your kid is going to want to drive. And when that time comes, as scary as it may be, a piece of you will be a little excited that you are no longer the taxi service. It doesn’t mean you love your child any less, it simply means it’s time to give them the freedom they are ready to accept. The same holds true with your business. Don’t stunt the growth of your business out of fear.

Let us help you if you are unsure of how to make it happen!

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When you are thinking about your corporate career, do you have a running dialogue in your head that sounds something like, “But I can’t be different at work? Differences aren’t honored. We say we honor them but honestly, we are just expected to fit in. How do I honor my authentic self but stay in the corporate world while I’m launching my own business?” The answer is: bring your peers along with you.

I know you have everything in common with your corporate peers. The way you dress, speak, interact, etc. You have the same phones, same iPads, workout at the same places, and do the same workout, fasting, nutritional programs. You like to eat at the same places and go to the same bars (when you could go to bars). And while it sounds maybe a bit odd, it really isn’t. That’s your tribe or your group, the group of friends you identify with. You like being able to say you have all of those things in common because that means you fit in. Naturally, you are worried about being different and therefore not fitting in (like we talked about last week). So ultimately you are truly asking, how can you be you and still fit in within your group?

You must bring them with you. This is why when I go in and train executives to think and act like entrepreneurs. I train the executive team, not just one person. You need everyone acting like an owner and an innovator for the change to work. This is because of the bond, the connection, and the idea that everyone wants to be themselves but no one wants to stop fitting in. Ultimately if you can get your peer group to understand the benefits of thinking and acting like an entrepreneur, everyone gets to be their authentic selves and the business improves.

So how do you get to be you and still fit in? Find the common ground of being an executive intrapreneur. Take the group to a place of collective ownership, shifting from an accountability mindset to an ownership mindset, then shift the focus from the business to the customer. When you make these changes in what you focus on in your business, the focus is less on you, all on the customer. It also creates a space for everyone to be who they truly are because every gift is needed.

If you’re not sure how to do it, shoot me a note and let me support you.

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Today we are focusing on embracing yourself and knowing you are enough. As we continue to talk about the mindset, “too much is just right,” the most common question I keep hearing is: “How do I accept this truth? When you said this Katrina, it resonated with me. But I can’t get my mind there. I can’t accept it. I’m afraid.”

I understand the fear and I respect it. You see, all our lives we have wanted to fit in. Every person on this planet wants to belong, to find a place where they are accepted as they are. When you get into that corporate environment and you are told, “if you just make this adjustment you will skyrocket your career,” naturally you are going to make those adjustments. First, because you want to be successful but ultimately because you want to belong. So to accept the fact that you are perfect as you are means you have to be at peace with not fitting into the corporate world.

That acceptance, that mental shift, is the hard part of this. The reason is that most of us truly believe in our core that we aren’t enough and that we don’t deserve to be loved or accepted. When you accept that you are enough, that you are perfect for this world (not the corporate world, but the world of service), you will be able to accept that too much is just right. You can feel comfortable in your own skin. Life isn’t about striving to become someone you’re not, it’s about loving who you already are.

So let’s agree to do this. First, stop being so hard on yourself. Stop feeling like you must “earn acceptance.” Then, ask yourself, how can you give the gift you have been given? You have it within you. When you focus on giving and serving, you eliminate self-doubt.

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In last week’s episode, we talked about the fact that too much is just right. Inherently though, there are amazing women out there who are thinking, “I can’t leave my corporate job today. I have to save some money, I have to take care of a sick parent, etc. I need to be successful in this job for another year, how do I do that, Katrina?” In other words, “How do I make it in the corporate world when I’m too much?”

Ultimately if you can bring the entrepreneurial mindset into the corporate world, you will be able to survive in that environment while you are taking care of the life situations that demand your attention and time right now. You see, if you are too much in the corporate world but just right in the entrepreneurial world, you need to merge those worlds.

There are two reasons that you need to do this:

1. It empowers you to be who you truly are. You can be your true, authentic self and fit into that entrepreneurial environment that the corporate world shifts to when you bring that mindset into play. You can give your gifts, your talents, and you don’t have to worry about justifying to fit the mold.

2. An entrepreneurial mindset is what large corporations need to embody if they want to thrive in the world. Entrepreneurs innovate and iterate. They fall in love with their customer, not their products. Because they have this mindset, they grow successful businesses. Corporations are too large and complex to allow for this agility and this constant innovation, but that doesn’t mean they don’t need it. They do!

So ultimately, you must bring the entrepreneurial world into the corporate world. At Legend Leaders, we go into corporations and do just that. We teach executives how to think and act like entrepreneurs. If you want this injected into your corporation, let us know!

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Did you know that too much is just right?

For all of you who have been told, you are just too much, meaning you have heard things like: You are too smart. You solve problems too quickly. You expect too much because you want everyone to perform at a minimum performance level, or maybe it’s because you want to remove people from your team who don’t perform. It could be that you’re too solution-oriented and you immediately start solving the problem, you need to slow down and let everyone else catch up to you. (“You’re not going to have any friends if you don’t slow down!”) Or maybe you have heard that you need to consider people’s feelings before you make a business decision, (Why aren’t you more sensitive?). Then there is the flip side, you are too sensitive to the customer’s needs.

When you hear those words, you are confused. Baffled. You want to fit in, but you also want to be you. At Legend Leaders, I’m drawing a line in the sand. I want you to know that I am saying NO MORE. No more will I stand in the shadows and not advocate for amazing women just like you who are working in the corporate world, giving it your all, only to be told that you need to step back into the shadows because you’re too much.

Know this, you are perfect just as you are. The world needs your gifts. So let’s get them out there!

What does that mean? It means first, recognizes that there is nothing wrong with you, you aren’t TOO MUCH. Remember, TOO MUCH IS JUST RIGHT. More specifically, too much in the corporate world is just right in the entrepreneurial world.

You have amazing gifts that while they may be intimidating to others, is exactly what the world needs. Maybe the corporate world can’t handle your gifts, but the real world can.

Second, start deciding how you will free yourself to be you, give your gifts, and make the world better. Start with the search within yourself. Who are you? Who do you want to be? Who are you meant to be? How are you meant to serve?

If you are stuck or you’re unsure, schedule a free 30-minute Jump Start call with me and let me help you move forward.

Either way, you have to remember: too much is just right.

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If your business fiscal year follows the calendar year, then today is your last day of Q1, which means it’s time for you to assess your Q1 results.

Now, for those of you who are in the initial phases of starting your business, you may be saying to yourself, “Katrina, I don’t have a business so I don’t have a fiscal year.” Oh, yes you do! You may not be generating revenue yet, but you have a fiscal year, you have financials you need to review, you have other KPIs you need to review.

Step 1: if you haven’t scheduled this time on your calendar, block off time on your calendar next week to review your Q1 results. You probably already have time to review March, but give yourself some extra time to review both the month of March and Q1. I would recommend at least an hour.

Step 2: have your data ready. Whether you are generating revenue or not, you have KPIs. For those of you who are in the early planning stages of your business, your KPIs are timelines and deadlines on things like building relationships, finalizing your target audience, having critical conversations with loved ones, finalizing your niche, creating your legal entity, etc. All of these activities are KPIs in that they are measurable events that impact your business. The key metric you do have from a financial perspective is expenses. You will spend money before you make it. Are you staying within budget?

If you are running your startup or growing your company, your KPIs are a combination of personal and company deadlines. Rework this marketing package, or hire this new team member, etc. for example while you also have key business metrics like sales, profit, taxes, cash flow, customer feedback, etc.

Everyone wants to look at financials as the most important commodity and in the business world, you are right. We live and die by the financial numbers. But in the overall life world, time is your most precious commodity. You need to measure how well you used your time, how well you delivered on your timelines, and how effective your time was spent so that you can adjust and course correct, just as you would if your financials were not hitting the mark.

Step 3: This is how you analyze your Q1, monthly, annually, etc. business results. You look at money AND time. You rate yourself honestly as to how you did in each area, and you put plans in place to keep getting better. And then you take action! Step 3 is taking action.

Drop me a note or let me know in the Facebook group how you delivered on your March and Q1 targets. I want to celebrate with you and help you move forward.

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With the change in the weather, why not use that as motivation and let spring pump up your afternoon routine?

Yes, it’s spring. When I think March and April, I think about new beginnings, right? That’s what spring is.

There is always this hope, this promise . . . this level of excitement that comes with spring. We move out of the cold, wet, dreary, dark season of winter and we come bursting into spring-like flowers starting to grow and bloom in our yards.

With that happening around you, it should be the extra little encouragement you need to make some changes to your routine.

I’m not talking about a complete overhaul. You know I shared with you my daily routine, which I’m very happy with. But I can always take my routine to the next level, and use spring as my motivator to help me get there.

Little things like lunch at my desk, can now be lunch outside because the weather is perfect. Or at least in the dining room looking outside, right? Conference calls that aren’t sharing a document or a presentation can move from zoom to phone only and I can go for a walk in the neighborhood, enjoying some fresh air while getting work done. Since we have already moved our clocks forward earlier in the month we have extra daylight in the evenings. That allows for grilling vs. being in the kitchen all day, playing outside with the kids, or going for a walk with the family after dinner.

Maybe you don’t go to an office, maybe you never did, maybe you no longer are required to. As a result of all this working from home, we continue to get sucked into the inevitable black hole of more tasks and less happiness or joy.

Use spring! Let spring cause a resurgence of excitement for life, movement, and the confidence to step away from your desk, enjoy the outside a bit more, move your body, and let’s create a new routine that is more supportive of your body and mental health.

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Are you selling?

No doubt when you heard me say that your answer was one of three things:

1. I don’t have anything to sell yet, but I will, here’s what I’m doing.
2. Of course I am selling Katrina, I have ads running, i have funnels working, I have emails sending. I’m selling!
3. I am selling but I’m not getting results. So . . . I don’t know if I am selling or not.

Ok, now you get why I’m asking you this question. Ultimately, if you have a business, you have to sell. Each day you must do something to generate sales as this is fundamental to your business success.

That may sound silly and obvious but you would be surprised at how often we talk ourselves out of selling.

There are two barriers that limit our mindset. We must create the mindset shift in order to generate daily sales.

1. We have to sell if we are going to have a business. For each of the 3 answers above, there is an equal action that must be taken.
2. The other issue you have to adjust is that you aren’t selling, you are helping. You have something that people need in this world. I talk about this often and I’m going to keep talking about it. You have something that people need, so know that you aren’t out there to collect a dollar. You are out there to serve, give, contribute, and make the world better.

My challenge today is two-fold. First, ask yourself: “What can I do right now to raise the bar when it comes to selling in my business?” Second, shift your mindset from selling to serving. Build your routine every single day, a way to serve your customer at a higher level, educating them, offering them your service/product.

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Does your circle challenge you or silence you?

I talk about your circle regularly because it is said that you are the sum total of the 5 people you spend the most time with. Now, in this pandemic world, I don’t know that you spend time with 5 people. You may only spend time with 3 people. Either way, you are the sum total of those that you spend the most time with.

As you continue to move through 2021, and given that we are sitting firmly in the 3rd month of this year, you should be working diligently to achieve your business goals. But the reality is if we are the sum of the 5 people we spend the most time with, are those 5 people helping you get there?

It’s like you telling your best friends you want to lose 5 lbs but they keep trying to feed you cake at every turn. You would see that as an obvious blocker to your goal of losing 5 lbs.

My question for you today is are you seeing the obvious blockers when your current circle throws them in front of you? Now, I am hoping as I go through these scenarios you are like, “Nope, my circle is strong. They push me, they challenge me, they tell me when I can do better, they hold me accountable to my targets, they celebrate me, and they push me.” I want that for you. We all need that type of circle.

But what I see most commonly is women trying to keep their old circle of friends while changing into someone new. And unfortunately that old circle of friends, that circle doesn’t like the changes you’re making, they don’t understand the changes, they don’t support the growth and the business venture. So they are offering you cake when you are trying to lose 5 lbs.

They say things like, “I know you said you were going to spend the day doing XYZ but come hang out with us instead. You know you would have more fun. Or, you know it can wait, you’ve had a hard week.” While all of that may be true, your friends need to help you stay focused and support you in achieving your goals.

So who are your 5 people? Are they focused on the same things you are? Are they holding you accountable in a positive way? Are they pushing you to take uncomfortable action?

If yes, go appreciate your friends. If not, the reality is that you are going to quickly realize you need a new circle. That doesn’t mean you remove your friends from your life completely. It simply means you need a circle that understands what you are going through and how to deliver so when you need to talk about business, goals, and accountability, that’s your circle. When you want to relax and have fun talking to just friends, you go back to your current circle. You can have more than one circle!

And here’s the deal, the circle we are creating at Legend Leaders is open to you. We are The “Too Much” Tribe. Because being too much in the corporate world is just right in the entrepreneurial world. Come join the group that was made for you! Go to Facebook and search Legend Leaders. Or you can find us @legendleaderslife on Facebook.

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Who are you really?

Maybe that’s a strange question but I want you to think about it for a second. Who are you?

When someone says, “Tell me a little about yourself,” what do you say? For all of my Legend Leaders out there focusing on going from corporate to confident entrepreneur, the idea of introducing yourself as “The Senior Director or Senior Vice President of Blah Blah Blah” just doesn’t fit you in every situation now, does it?

Now that you have started working on your own business, you’ve changed your identity with the shift of your focus. It’s totally normal. But now you are going to have different introductions for different situations.

That said, when you introduce yourself, what are you going to say? Will it change based on your audience? It absolutely can and probably should, right?

In the corporate world, you are still the Senior Whatever of Blah Blah Blah. But in the rest of the world, you are “the Founder and CEO of your own business while still working as a Senior Whatever of Blah Blah Blah.” (The key here is to introduce yourself starting with your own business first, then add your day job title.)

In some circles, you will stick with just your personal business as your introduction. In some circles, you will just be your child’s mom or your spouse’s spouse. You do that already, right?

The point is that you have a new title now. You have a new something that is a piece of you. Ensure you practice saying that. Create the combinations so that you are ready to share this new piece of yourself when it’s time to share it.

Practice it. It should be fluid. Just like your day job introduction speech is something you can say in your sleep, the same holds true with your personal business introduction.

Because here’s the deal, if you can’t confidently introduce yourself as the business leader you are, which of your potential customers are going to be confident in what you are offering? Certainty starts with you. You have to be certain and confident so your customers can be certain and confident in you.

So let’s get to it. What is your title? How will you introduce yourself? Create your script. Define your environments as to when each script will be applied. Now the work is done and you simply have to call on your script based on the situation. Boom. Confidence gained.

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If you don’t believe in yourself, who will? It is an obvious question. When we hear it many of us say, “Yeah, yeah, I believe in myself.” But in reality, we are saying yes with our mouths but not with our minds. We don’t really believe it . . .

So, let’s focus on belief today. Ask yourself: if I don’t believe in myself, who will?

Remember that you are bringing yourself to your business. You are bringing yourself to your copywriting sessions, your sales calls, your pitches, your service offers, your product creation, etc.

It reminds me of the Mucinex commercial, where the mucus wants to show up and tag along and you kick him out with Mucinex.

Well, you can’t let your Debbie Downer show up to wreck your business. You have to believe in yourself. You have to bring your best self to your business. You have to believe you are offering amazing service, a great product (not perfect!) but what people need right now!

So many of us think: “Well, I will write all of this and say my product is great, but it’s not great, it’s not where I want it to be, so it’s hard for me to say that. I want it to be so much better!” So because you don’t see the good, how can you write about the good? How can you sell the goods? You can’t. You sell the mediocre. Who wants to buy mediocre?

Do you realize that the customers who are ready to buy from you right now don’t know it’s not perfect? They know what you are bringing them, they know the problem you are solving for them, and to them, it’s perfect. So see it through the eyes of your customer! Write from the eyes of your needy customer!

If you don’t believe in yourself if you don’t believe in your product, can you really convince anyone else to believe in it. either? Probably not.

So stop sabotaging yourself! Change your mindset. Sell your product as it is right now. Make promises for what it can do. You can make it better, but don’t sell it from a position of “it could be better” because then everyone will simply wait until it is!

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Last week we talked about the perspective of drawing your line in the sand to help you make your corporate exit. Inevitably, when I am working with amazing women just like you I get the question: “Katrina, how do I find more time to get the extra work done?” Today we are going to tackle the methods for finding more time in your day for your business.

First, think about it this way: the question isn’t how do you find more time, the question is how do you allocate your time more effectively?

We all have 24 hours in a day. Those that are most successful use their time wisely. If you have time allocated each day to run your business, you may not have any extra time to squeeze out of your day. You don’t want to sacrifice personal time or family time. You can’t interfere with your day job time. So if you have maximized your time, your challenge now is to find 1 extra hour each week to spend doing the extra work required to move you closer to your Freedom date.

This could be one night a week you go to bed one hour later, or you skip watching the live TV show when it comes on so you can get 2 hours of work done and you DVR it so you can watch the 2 hours in an hour, getting an hour back.

In other words, you get creative. Ask yourself how you can get at least 1 extra hour a week to dedicate to your business so you can deliver on your freedom date. Make a list of all of your options. Then pick what works for you!

If you want some additional tips, grab our free resource: The 7 Secrets to Finding More Time in Your Day.

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Ready to leave your corporate job for full-time entrepreneurship? You have to set your exit date.

You have your business, you have launched it, you are working in it each day AND you are still kicking butt in your day job. But you are ready to take the leap; you are ready to step into your own business full time.

But how do you do it? How do you find the balance?

Too soon and you may not have enough money to support you or your business. Too late and you may have strangled the growth of your business. So how do you do it?

First, decide why you want to quit your day job. This may sound funny, but you need to make your why real and known. If you can anchor in the idea that you want to quit your day job to be free, to be the person you are meant to be, to have the impact you are meant to have, etc. for example, then when the going gets tough, you are going to keep pushing. It’s your leverage to keep you going.

Second, draw a line in the sand. Look at your calendar and set your quit date. This does NOT mean you turn in your notice and you tell everyone you are leaving. This is a line in the sand for you! This is a deadline you are striving to achieve.

Third, sit down and determine what it will take between now and then for you to be able to act upon it. How much money will you need to generate in your business? How much will you have to spend to generate that income? Can you do that? Make it a stretch, but keep it reasonable. You have to have a realistic chance at achieving it.

Once you do that, grab your calendar and start planning for when and how you will get the work done. Create milestones to ensure you check-in and validate that you are on track.

Then, as the date approaches you will either achieve your goal sooner than expected, or you will miss the date. But let me tell you, if you miss it, you will STILL be ahead of those who never established a quit date. The deadline pushes you to achieve. In my experience, those who do this aren’t too far off from their original date, about a month later, which is nothing when it comes to creating the life you want to live.

So get to work. If you are ready to plan your corporate exit, follow the steps and start making it happen.

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We all face problems as we are starting or running our own businesses. Challenges are normal, it’s the exciting part of paving your own way. But in order to overcome challenges, we have to find the answers. Ultimately, we must ask better questions to get better answers.

With that said, let me tell you a little story. If you have children, no doubt you have experienced this too.

My son, who is 10, has to read 20 minutes a day and accomplish a “BINGO” reading chart for school. This chart has a type of book listed within each square. You complete the square by reading a full chapter book on that topic or genre. He was trying to figure out how to complete his last square, “read a science fiction book.” He goes two weeks without asking his teacher for help or asking the right questions in order to solve the problem. Eventually, through a conversation he and I have, he finds the answer.

How many times do we do this in our own lives? How many times do we simply need to ask better questions, change our questions, or change the person we are asking until we find the answer we need?

As you are running your business, you are going to have clients who tell you no. You are going to run into walls. You are going to want to do something but have no idea how to accomplish it! If you want better answers, you have to ask better questions.

If you are trying to serve your customer and you are getting no’s, are you asking the best question? Maybe you are asking a question that comes 5 steps AFTER your service impact. You are so used to thinking about your business and your service, your brain is skipping steps.

Make sure you are asking the best questions to move you forward. And if you don’t get the answer you want, don’t stop or give up, change your question and change who you ask! Keep going!

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Let’s talk business. I want to help you nail down your target audience. For me, this has changed over a year’s time and it was through lots of money spent on advertising, training, mentoring, etc. that I finally figured it out. My goal is to share with you my lightbulb moment so you can use it to run that much faster.

You. may think that finding your target audience is easy. You know what you want to sell and so you know who would buy it. But I will tell you that narrowing that audience down is much harder than you realize. And even when you think you have it narrowed, you can take it down even further!

I share this with you to say that finding your audience may be super easy, but it may also be one of the hardest business decisions you make. For me, I thought I had it nailed. I was going to help women business owners take their growth/mature phased businesses and teach them the AIR2 Framework so they could become even more efficient. But I came to realize that they weren’t ready to learn the AIR2 Framework because in some instances, they didn’t have a solid business foundation.

So I adjusted and started helping women with startups generate cash flow and establish the 9 fundamental pillars of business, Mastering the 9 as we call it at Legend Leaders.

But that still didn’t feel right to me in my gut. At that point, I finally landed on the key question that I had to ask myself if I was going to find the answer I needed. I’m sharing that question with you so you can use it and finalize your target audience.

Who could I sit in a room with and talk to for 2 hours?

Who could I talk to that would get what I was sharing with very little foundational training because they already had some of that knowledge, my direct personality would connect with them, they know business is hard and they will put in the effort, they understand how corporate is different than a startup, and they would want to grow a large, impactful business? Who would I support that would have me so excited that I would wake up each morning saying “I GET to” help these amazing women!?

Asking that one question in that way has led me to the group of women that I wake up to each day excited to help! Corporate female leaders who want to go from corporate to confident entrepreneur. From there we can talk cash flow, Mastering the 9, AIR2 Framework, etc. I finally figured out my target audience and I know I can spend hours, days, years even, talking to these women and I can support them, make a difference, and mentor them to success.

If you have started your business and you aren’t getting much response, or you are about to start your business, make sure you have your audience right. If you don’t, you will spend money without a return. You will create products and ads and assets that won’t move you forward. You will spend your most valuable asset, time, trying to figure out something you already know the answer to if you simply ask yourself the right questions.

That’s your challenge today, ensure your target audience is right for your business and if it’s not, ask the questions I have shared with you and pivot accordingly. You’ve got this!

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Because it’s the start of the new year I have been asked as of late which books I would recommend. Today we are talking about the foundational books and audio programs that I treasure.

So here’s the deal, first let me say that if you are going to go buy all of these books but then not schedule time in your day/week to read them, don’t worry about which books to read because you will never get there.

If you are going to schedule 30 minutes a day to read or listen to something that expands your brain, then let’s talk about books. Remember too that you can give yourself permission to listen on Audible or a similar platform, you don’t have to physically read the book. If you get enjoyment out of having a paper book in your hands, then do it that way. But the point is to simply get the new perspectives in your brain.

I’m not going to sit here and tell you that my reading list is the best on the planet. Everyone has their own opinions so take it for what it’s worth. But I will happily let you know a few books and audio programs that I truly enjoy and recommend. What Got You Here Won’t Get You There by Marshall Goldsmith. I have recommended this one from my corporate days as it helped me figure out what in the hell I was doing and how to lead a team that used to be my peers.

The One Thing by Gary Keller–all about prioritization, time management, and the like. It’s a good starting point.

Ask Ryan Levesque–how to ask the questions that will help you better serve your customers. Who doesn’t want to know what to ask and how to benefit from the answers, right?

Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill–what can I say about this book? It’s all about mindset and understanding how you can accomplish what you put your mind to if you follow a process.

Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki, which is essentially how to make financial decisions that will help you secure wealth because the way we teach it today in society isn’t the successful path.

Just start with those. Those are some good, general books to get you going and they obviously are a variety of topics.

If you want to do some audio programs, you can never go wrong with Tony Robbins. Now he has books too but with Tony, my personal preference is to listen vs. read so I have his BreakThrough app and I listen to programs on it.

I recommend the Ultimate Edge audio program, which is for self-improvement. I also recommend Personal Power, which is a 30-day program around personal success. Last but not least I would recommend Time of Your Life, which goes with Tony’s RPM (Rapid Planning Method) so you can stop creating to-do lists and actually get crap done.

So there you go. Expand your mind, expand yourself, read, listen, consider other perspectives, try the lessons you learn in these books, take what serves you, stop what doesn’t but the point is to grow!

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Today we are talking about not just a morning routine, but our personal daily routine that resonates with you. What daily routine do you execute that carries your energy throughout the day and is a routine that is yours, meaning it resonates with you and you enjoy it?

The point to all of this is that we can’t follow fads, we can’t do what we should do we must do what truly moves us, energizes us, and takes us to the next level. Once we figure that out, we need to find ways throughout the day to keep us in that state so we can deliver all day, not just for 3 hours in the morning.

As for me, my routine is to wake up and drink 16 oz of water. Then 30 minutes later I drink 16 oz of celery juice, if you have no idea what I am talking about with the celery juice, go check out Anthony William and learn about the benefits of celery juice.

Then, I go do a little Kinrgy each morning, a shout out to the Kinrgy crew who gets me moving each day! I then go onto my rebounder, my little indoor trampoline, and I do 25 minutes of incantations. Yep, I get my mind right and I continue to anchor in who I am!

After that, it’s getting dressed and then doing 15 minutes of priming–a combination of breathing, meditation, gratitude, visualizations, etc. This is a Tony Robbins thing so YouTube the priming video and check it out if you need this in your life, and I would say we all do.

That’s my morning. But it doesn’t stop there. Throughout the day I have alarm reminders on my phone to remind me to do breathing exercises, I do Egoscue movements, I stand up and move around, I meditate at night with Master CO, and I do some tapping before I go to bed, check out Tapping Solutions by Nick Ortner if you want to learn more about that.

See, I don’t just do something in the morning, and then I’m done. I START in the morning and that morning routine is the launchpad for my entire day. And I can tell you, when it was the day after Christmas and I traveled to see family and I DIDN’T do my routine that day, ugh. I felt a difference!

As you can see, I’m not exercising or doing a routine because it sounds good. I’m not following the hottest. new exercise routine. I’m doing what I do because it’s what is right for me!

So here’s what I want you to think about, are you doing a routine because you are “supposed to” or have you found a routine that truly energizes you, lifts you up, empowers you, and helps you slay the day? Because maybe, just maybe, you dread your routine or can’t stick to that resolution because it really isn’t “yours.” Meaning, you are trying to do what you think you are supposed to do instead of doing what you truly need to do for yourself.

Find what works for you. Steal shamelessly from my routine if you want. Then create a daily routine, not just a morning routine.

Be Legendary!

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We have officially done it. A full year of daily podcast episodes! 365 episodes. It’s mind-blowing, humbling, and exciting!

I had to take this last episode first, thank you for listening to me. And at the same time, let me apologize that you had to listen to my insanity at times. But seriously, thank you. Thank you for finding value in my experiences, my knowledge, my perspectives, and my support.

Legend Leaders and this Legendary Leaders podcasts exist for me to serve you. That is the point! Now, I also used this platform to learn, grow, expand myself, unlock opinions, experiences, examples, and training within myself, and bring them to you.

this experience was meant to serve you, but also to help grow me; allow me to take imperfect action but take action nonetheless.

I have to say, it was hard at times trying to come up with a topic or an idea that I felt would be worth your time. Sometimes I landed the plane, in my own opinion about how I did, and sometimes I completely bombed it. But I put it out there no matter what. I kept pushing, trying, growing, learning, thinking, and it has helped me tremendously.

I appreciate you being a part of that. Thank you for listening each day and being an active part of my personal growth journey as well as the journey for Legend. Each day I wake up in the morning is a day I know I have been given to serve and contribute.

What else did I learn?

I figured out who I really want to support the most over the past year. I want to help amazing women working in the corporate world who want to start their own businesses, or who have started their own businesses and want to grow them so they can quit their day jobs.

Going forward, season two will have 1 episode a week. The episode will be here, via the podcast, and it will be on the YouTube channel. So you watch or listen, whichever you prefer.

Those episodes will post every Wednesday, so tomorrow there will not be an episode but Wednesday we will pick right back up with season two and start moving ahead.

Be Legendary!

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Are you scrapping your resolution already? It happens. We have the best of intentions but we don’t ground ourselves in the process to help us build a true habit. That’s where most people fail. They focus on the “resolution” or the end result, but they don’t focus on HOW they will deliver on that result.

For example, I will work out 5 days a week. I love that resolution. But how are you going to do that? If you don’t set your clock earlier in the mornings, get your workout clothes ready, pick out a routine to do as your exercise routine, etc. then it’s not going to happen. Just like running your business, success is as much in the planning as it is in the execution.

So, let’s talk about 5 steps to success for a second. I got these from Tony Robbins. Ask specifically. You are trying to accomplish an end result, what is it? When do you need it by? What does it look like? Define it clearly.

Ask someone who can help you. Find a coach, a mentor, etc. Whatever you are trying to achieve, someone else has already done it. Find them and figure out what they did right.

Create value for the person you are asking. You are asking someone to help you with your needs, create value back for them in return. Be it extra money, a testimonial, other referrals, or sharing your gift that they can benefit from.

Ask with focused belief. If you really don’t want to get in shape, for example, no one is going to be able to help you. You have to ask for it within yourself and you have to want it.

Ask until you get what you want. Adapt, adjust, and change until you arrive. Don’t give up.

Now, this can be applied to any part of your life. Personal, professional, corporate world, personal business. It’s all the same. If you can deliver on these 5 steps, you will achieve your ultimate outcome. Because this is a plan. When you created your resolutions, you didn’t have a plan. So if you are still wanting the results you would achieve from your resolution, then start applying these 5 steps and let’s get on track.

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Today I want you to go ahead and plan your first big reward for 2021. I push you often to establish your life plan pillar, right? Lately, we have talked about celebrating the 2020 year, the results, the financial performance, the grit, and determination, etc. I have also been pushing you to go ahead and get moving on your path for 2021. But what we haven’t talked about is how you will celebrate your first achievement.

Now notice this, I said plan your first big reward, I didn’t say your first big achievement. You see, the achievement doesn’t have to be huge. The reason is that if you make it huge, you will never deliver on it. You will constantly change the rules of what “success” looks like and that reward will never be yours.

To establish a reasonable goal, make it so easy to hit the target, that there’s no way you can’t deliver to it. Something simple like you get up each day and do your morning routine for 1 full month. Or, you review your metrics daily or weekly for a month.

It’s basic, it’s simple, it’s building a routine, the routine will impact the business, etc. When you deliver on that basic routine, you need to give yourself a big reward!

So now that you decided on the act you will celebrate, create a big reward for yourself. It should be something that makes you feel amazing. A massage. A full spa day. A 3-day weekend away in an Airbnb. Anything that is a true celebration.

So today you are challenged to create your first big reward of 2021 and let’s decide on it, schedule it, and get ready for it!

Be Legendary!

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If you have ever been on maternity leave in a corporation, either they do it right or they screw it up royally. I’ve never seen a company land somewhere in between. This is why maternity leave can leave you feeling unappreciated.

The corporate world, as you well know, has very high demands. That environment expects work done at a faster pace than any human can achieve. Then, when you become pregnant, that pace doesn’t change, but your ability to deliver to that pace does take a hit. Not by design, not by choice, but simply because there is no other option. You have another human growing inside of you. Nonetheless, you work your butt off, you sacrifice, you miss dinners, you work weekends, all because you feel guilty for being pregnant.

Then once you are on maternity leave, you don’t feel like you can take your time away. You feel torn between your child and your job, and you feel like if you don’t hurry up and come back, you won’t have a job to return to. Does anyone know what I am talking about?

Now hopefully you don’t work for a company or a boss like that. But many of you have experienced that or know someone who has. And let’s just call it what it is, it’s crap.

This is why many women want to start their own businesses and I don’t blame you. How can having a child make you feel guilty, not worthy, and undervalued in the place you have dedicated countless hours? How can a place make you feel like you haven’t given enough when you have sacrificed more than you could ever think possible?

If you are in this boat, know that you are enough, you are good enough. Establish the boundaries as we talked about in the past, set clear guardrails, and if the business can’t support you doing that, then create your own business and be the leader that you needed when you were preparing for and were on maternity leave. Be the difference-maker.

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How do you manage someone who is blind to their underperformance?

Have you ever worked with someone who very clearly thought their work and contributions were better than what they were actually delivering? It happens commonly in the corporate world simply because there are so many people and the politics of that world make it hard to correct that behavior. In a business that large, the likelihood of coming across someone like this is high, right?

The problem arises when this person works for you, and then they not only think they are wonderful, but in fact they are underperforming. What a perfect storm!

At the end of the day, you are responsible for helping them see the light, if possible, in order to improve their performance, and if they can’t improve, then you exit them from the company due to lack of performance. It’s pretty simple to say, but it is a long process. So how do you do it?

First, set clear expectations. Remember, we are here to help with the open book test of success on the job. So be very clear. What is their role and what does good look like? If this is clear, it should be easier for this person to measure their own personal performance.

Second, have regular touch bases where you give candid feedback. In this situation, it could be tempting to overpraise because you want so badly for them to have something to feel good about. But your feedback has to be honest. Tell them you can see them trying, putting in the effort, working hard, etc. You can appreciate the effort, but help them understand the results are not there, and that they are evaluated on results. Remind them of expectations and what good looks like. Ask them for their feedback and input, and how they see themselves performing.

Last but not least, determine if they are growing through it or they remain oblivious. If they continue to not understand where they are on the performance scale, you will have to remove them from their role. That’s not a personal situation, that’s a business situation.

In the corporate world, there are general policies in place for you to follow. In your own business, you will have to establish this as part of your culture, your communication framework, your execution, and productivity frameworks, etc.

At the end of the day, remember that your job is to teach, train, support, and give candid feedback. It’s their job to perform and recognize where they are on the performance scale.

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Do not create a slow ramp-up for getting back to work in your business. Come back with full force, vigor, and a blazing attitude.

I see some entrepreneurs slowing down to celebrate the holidays, then take the time to reflect on the previous year’s performance, all of which is appropriate. However, we can’t let that reflection time last too long. We lose our momentum and then half of the month is gone before we finally start charging forward again. This is damaging to you and your business.

So if you’re sitting here in early January, and you have not gotten back in gear, if you’re not running quickly, then my challenge for you today is let’s get back on it.

I’m sure in the corporate world, people are trying to get back on top of things and are trying to get aggressive again. And while that is easy in that world, maybe you’re like, “This is the year that I really want my business to take off. I don’t want to run fast in the corporate world, I just I’m dragging a little bit.” Maybe you’re feeling a little sorry for yourself, maybe you’re feeling a little frustrated with where you are. You want something different for this year. But slowing down isn’t going to get you there.

Don’t allow that emotion to drive you down an unproductive path, not just in work but in all areas of your life. Your personal life, your personal business, and other areas of your life are where you need to be taking action because those are the areas that are going to help you get away from the corporate world. You’ve got to get moving if you are at a pause right now.

What do you need to do this month in order to move one step closer to achieving the freedom, the flexibility, and having the fulfillment within yourself that you’re looking for (the entire reason that you wanted to start your own business in the first place)? What do you need to do this month to get you there? I’m here to tell you, as your coach and as your mentor, that you’ve got to be able to push past the desire to slowly ramp up. Focus your efforts in the right areas so that you can move forward and take your business to the next level.

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As you are running your numbers, looking at your data, celebrating the successes of your business, ensure you celebrate and reward grit and determination.

It’s super easy to get lost in the numbers. Data is the hard truth and we want and need that truth when it comes to running a business. To run a business off of “feelings” can be very dangerous. We need the facts.

But what about when the facts don’t measure effort? What about when you and your team have put in everything they have, worked tirelessly, constantly learned and adjusted, didn’t give up in the face of adversity, etc.? Maybe you didn’t get the results you wanted in 2020 but you learned so many valuable lessons about how to never give up, how to adjust and pivot, and you made changes that will strengthen you for a win in 2021? What about those pieces of the business you can’t measure?

You need to take the time to celebrate that as much as you celebrate the numbers. It’s why I tell you to write down your accomplishments and celebrate those things, big or small. Recognize that that’s a small step towards celebrating grit and determination but still doesn’t land the plane on this.

What you need to do is think about the moments of adversity. Think about when something got in the way of success and you and your team pushed through, brainstormed, put in extra effort, or you just willed the process to work and it did. Those are situations that deserve celebration. If we don’t appreciate those attempts and efforts, we will slowly lose momentum. If we only celebrate positive results, but not hard work along the way, the hard work will get smaller and smaller. We, and especially our teams, need fuel to keep us going.

If you have a team, consider creating a GRIT award or a Determination Award. Define the terms and give it out regularly. Come up with a way to give praise and encouragement until the results arrive. This will ensure you have people still willing to push to get those results.

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Today I’m challenging you to appreciate your team and express gratitude. I’ve talked a lot about you, your mindset, your knowledge, your assessment of your business, your vision, your plan, etc. but I haven’t talked a lot about your team lately. So let’s do that. Let’s spend today thinking about and appreciating your team.

When I took over my first pharmacy and became the pharmacy manager, I used to thank every single person at the end of their shift or my shift, whichever came first. I had the majority of that team tell me that they had never had a supervisor thank them before. It blew my mind. Could you imagine working with 5 other people in a box the size of your kitchen and not being told thank you for your work and contribution? Well, it happened.

That lesson taught me that I am always going to thank people. Not in an insincere, over-the-top kind of way, but an active, daily moment of honest appreciation for their work and for them simply being a good person.

Now, hopefully, you took the time to appreciate your employees and team around the holidays. We talked about having those events on your calendar for the holidays as part of our planning. Maybe you gave them all a little bonus, maybe you couldn’t do that this year, and that’s ok. But now, after the hustle and bustle is gone. After the holidays are essentially over and you are focusing on getting back into the groove of work, I want you to take a second today to thank your team.

TI want you to tell them you have been looking over the numbers for last year. Tell them all of the great things they accomplished. Tell them the results from 2020 and the role they played in it.

Then be honest and talk about the gaps. Don’t point the finger at them, you are the leader. They take all of the credit for the good, you take credit for the failures. That’s how leadership works. Tell them where you want to go this year. Put your vision in front of them after you thank them. Tell them where the business is going this year so they can help make it happen.

Start with thanks. Share the results. Thanks to some more. Share the vision. Then let them start making it happen.

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Yesterday I told you to analyze your data, right? Look at all of the data for each of your pillars and figure out what you need to start, stop, or keep. Today I want to talk about your 2020 financial recap. You know, if you are still working your day job, you are bootstrapping your business. Which means you are paying for your business out of your own pocket. You don’t have money to throw away, which means you really have to be honest with yourself about your financials.

Do you know how much money you invested into your business last year? Can you sustain that investment this year? How much of that investment in 2020 was a good investment that strengthened the foundation of your business and how much of it was wasted buying a tool you didn’t need or hiring someone who didn’t work out?

Look at it. Acknowledge it. See it. The point of doing this today is to learn from it. You can’t learn from what you don’t assess or try to understand. To understand what happened in your business financials in 2020.

Make some notes. If you invested in the wrong tools last year, how will you ensure that doesn’t happen this year? What process will you put into place to properly vet the tools before you buy them for example? How will you vet potential vendors?

If you bought annual subscriptions to various memberships or resources, when will those come due in 2021?

The point is this, I want you to assess all of your 2020 financials, make notes, create plans to show you learned from those actions, and then I want you to create a financial roadmap for 2021. I’m sure you already have revenue targets, but I’m talking about adding into that your expenses as well as your personal contributions. How much will they be? When will those personal contributions stop for example?

Create your total financial picture today.

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I know you are jumping into your 2020 results because, as you know, data is the foundation of your success.

I am sure you are looking at your financials, I would imagine your books are close to being finalized for the year, right? You are looking at customer service, production, and the overall feedback from your customers and your employees; looking at engagement measures, assessing the number of customers you gained and lost, etc.

You see, my point is this, data is everything. Data is the foundation of your success. Data in general doesn’t lie. It’s going to give you the straight facts about a situation. Was it successful or was it not? Now, you may need even more data to tell you why those results exist, but the data got you thinking, working through your business, asking questions, and causing you to find the root cause for those events in your business.

So why am I saying all of this? Because I want you to sit down and look at your data. I want you to dive into to it. Spend a day looking back over your year. I want you to be honest about the wins and the failures. I want you to make 2021 your year by knowing how you did and where you came from so you know where you need to go. What do you need to fix or improve?

Look at the data coming out of your sales framework. Your marketing framework. Your financial framework. Assess data in the 9 pillars. How strong are each of the pillars? What do you need to adjust?

If you are honest with yourself, you can create an amazing plan for this year that you can and will deliver.

Pull your data. Dive into it. It is what will guide you down your path of success.

Be Legendary!

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Welcome to 2021!  Happy New Year to you, your family, your friends, and your business. This is your year!

I am so excited to celebrate this day with you.  For us here in the Jamison house, we will be having blackeyed peas and collard greens with some cornbread, a traditional New Year’s Day meal.  I am not sure much cleaning will be done, remember all of the “rules” about sweeping and taking out bags of things on New Year’s Day if you believe in any of those things. 😉

Either way, I’m not going to bog you down with ideas, theories, or lessons today. Today is all about you.  Today I simply want to remind you, if you don’t already know it, that this is your year.  This is it.  It’s all you!

2021 is when you are going to grow into the business leader you need to be for the year, your business is going to establish or start to grow, you are going to figure it out, you are going to start or continue to live the life you deserve depending on where you are with that.  You are going to be unstoppable.  This is your year!

I want you pumped.  I want you ready. I want you to see yourself this time next year, celebrating all you have done, knowing that 2021 was your year.  See it.  Say it.  Get your mind right.

2021 is your year!

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And just like that, it’s New Year’s Eve. Boom! The year is done. Your challenge today is to carry forward this feeling of endless possibilities.

You feel like there are endless possibilities today because you are standing on the edge of the cliff of 2020 about to jump over to the other side of that cliff called 2021. And you feel the exhilaration as you are jumping and flying across.

So my question to you is, why do you have to let that feeling fade tomorrow when you wake up and life is the same? When you are in the same pajamas, in the same bed, in the same house, with the same person.

Yes, all of those things are the same, but you don’t have to be. Each day you get to decide who you are and how you will impact the world. No doubt today you are deciding how you are going to show up in 2021. Today I want to challenge you as part of that decision-making process, to decide to carry forward the feeling of endless possibilities. Carry forward that hope, excitement, and feeling of wonder and promise. You need those emotions, we all do. We need them to carry us forward and help us achieve and deliver; to help us give and serve.

So as you are writing out your goals for 2021, I’m not here to tell you to focus on your financials or your body, or your time. You will, that’s who you are. Today I’m here to tell you to focus on those positive emotions that will help you get and keep your momentum to kick some butt this year!

Go do it! Stay safe!

Be Legendary!

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This point in the year is time for reflection.. Today I’m challenging you to look back on the year, reflect back, and celebrate all of the amazing things that you accomplished. In other words, celebrate your year and get ready for the next.

Take the time, even if you’re only working your corporate job right now and haven’t yet started your own business, to celebrate and appreciate. Or, if you started your own business, and you’re running it while you’re working your corporate job, or maybe you’re about to quit your day job because your business is doing so well, or maybe you just recently moved to run your business full time, all of these are worth a celebration. With life constantly happening for us, it makes it very difficult sometimes to sit down, slow down, reflect, appreciate, and be able to move forward.

Take your journals (all of them for 2020), and in the very back of your journal, review your accomplishments page for the year. Reflect back on all the things you accomplished this year. Take some time to celebrate yourself. Look at all the accomplishments listed, reflect back on each of those events, allow yourself to feel the excitement that you felt when those things happened, and celebrate yourself.

Celebrate you and your business, the things that you accomplished with your team, the things that happened in your family, all of these things matter. Connect with those celebrations, create the celebrations and connect with the emotions. Don’t downplay all the things that you’ve done this year! You accomplished some major feats!

As an extra challenge, go post some of the things that you’ve done, either on the Legend Leaders page on Facebook, or join our free Facebook group.

That’s your challenge. Review and celebrate the year. Then for this coming year of 2021, go ahead and create your accomplishments page in your journal.

Celebrate yourself and all the things that you’ve done.

Be Legendary!

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You know we are all about growing here at Legend Leaders.  We are all about becoming the person we need to be in order to be the leader we need to be for our businesses.  To do that, we have to grow. We have to expand our minds, our knowledge, our perspectives, etc.

Seriously, we need to keep growing ourselves.  Today I want to know what growth gifts you received this holiday season.  Was it a book or several books, maybe an audiobook or training program?  What did you receive?

If you didn’t receive anything, or if you didn’t receive what you really wanted in this area, take your money and go buy it while it’s on sale. Save money and get something you really need (we all really need quite honestly)!

Invest in yourself!  Get the tools you need to take you to the next level.  If you want a Legend program, grab your free income planning tool from us and join our next program, taking you from corporate to confident entrepreneur, launching January 1st.  If you join now, you save $600.  Yep, it’s on sale through December 31st, 2020.

Take care of yourself!

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Let’s talk about the scientific method and startups. Yes, brought to you by another great Harvard Business Review article, this one written by Chiara Spina and team. You know I love science, right? Hello. So when I saw this article I had to put my spin on it and share it with you.

Overall, the article was a study. It looked at two different entrepreneur groups. One group started businesses without any guidance, help, or support from the authors. The second group was taught the scientific method and was coached to use this method in their overall assessment, approach, and practice of their business.

The end result was that there were more entrepreneurs who quit and who pivoted versus the group that didn’t receive the training. This trained group also had more revenue than the other untrained business leaders. So, what does that tell you?

Being trained to work through your business from the perspective of a scientist armed the entrepreneurs with valuable information to make the best decisions and take the best actions, even if that meant calling it quits.

The training involved helping entrepreneurs understand where they had generated their business ideas off of facts vs. gut feelings and intuition. (Scientists use facts, right?) They also taught them how to collect data effectively, analyze it, and look for the facts and the truth in all instances, not be blinded by hope or wishes. Think back in school when you were learning basic science and you had to do an experiment.

A great example is: does this object float or sink? You would create your hypothesis and then you would test it, throwing in wood, paper, etc. The truth was the truth. You saw the results or the data, and you had no choice but to report back on the results. Then when it came time to build a boat out of the right materials, you knew what to use.

The same holds true in your business if you allow for it. You can’t build your business around ideas that don’t float. You have to be focused on creating an idea, testing it, pivoting as a result, and doing what works to generate revenue and success. Realize the study didn’t exist to teach individuals to run scientific businesses but to simply think scientifically about their business. In other words, keep it real, don’t inject personal bias, accept the results, then do something about it with the new knowledge you have.

It was an interesting concept. How many of us create blind spots in our own businesses because we simply want our businesses, our customers, etc. to be a certain way? And how many of us spend way too much money or time, or do we stress so much over something we keep willing to happen instead of seeing the facts or results and using those to make our businesses better?

Are you willing your business to be better? Create and test your hypotheses.

Be Legendary!

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I have to say it, it’s time to get back on track with your morning routine.

No doubt you slept in a few days here or there, or if you have kids you were up well before your normal hour on Christmas Day. Either way, chances are that you haven’t been able to stick to your morning routine. You know, that routine of working out, reading, journaling, meditating or praying, etc.

But here’s the deal. I’m not here to beat you up about it. I’m happy you got to spend some family time and some time during the holidays. That’s the point! I want you to live! You need to live! You can’t be so routine that you don’t. Remember that one of the basic human needs is variety, and you just got some of that. That’s good!

But today, unless you are still on vacation with family and you are still enjoying some variety, I want to challenge you to get back on track with your routine. If there is no variety left if you are simply deciding to sleep in and not focus on being reasonably productive although your schedule calls for that productivity to occur, we have to get yourself back on track.

What was your morning routine? Maybe you don’t have office/day job work right now so you can sleep in. Make sure you give yourself time in the morning to still do your routine, just at a later hour. Don’t jump straight into work in the mornings because you feel behind. Don’t skip your hour to 1.5 hours of your time to “get back on track.” You need that time for yourself, for your mental well-being. So keep taking care of yourself.

Be Legendary!

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It’s the day after Christmas, maybe you are taking down the decorations, maybe you leave them up until mid-January, maybe you meet in the middle. Either way, Christmas Day has passed us and we are figuring out how to get back into the groove. Today’s challenge, what are you regifting?

Now I’m not talking about that ugly sweater, those socks you don’t need, that horrible shirt you got, or those house slippers that no one in their right minds would wear. I’m talking about feedback.

You know and I know that you had people asking about your business during the holidays, or you at least got questions about your day job. Remember, we have discussed how we define ourselves by our titles and positions at work. So to make small talk, that’s what people ask about. But they aren’t like you or me, they place more value on titles than they should. So when they asked you, no doubt you got some commentary or feedback with it.

Did you hear things like, “With all of this uncertainty, you should be grateful for your job?”

Or, “Why are you starting a business, that’s too risky. Just keep your secure job. You’ve worked hard for it.”

Or, “Not making any money yet in your business. See, told you it was a bad idea.”

I’m sure you walked away from those holiday discussions feeling less than confident. That’s not where we want you to be. Now, for just a second let me say that you could have heard things like, “Wow, your own business? You are going to be great!” Or, “It’s good you are starting something new, you are too talented to work for someone else or for someone who doesn’t appreciate you.”

I hope you did hear that. But if you didn’t, I want you to take that negative feedback and regift it. What I mean is, write that feedback down on a piece of paper, fold it up, and put it in the fire, in the trash, or wherever you can get rid of it. Don’t hang on to that feedback. It isn’t valuable or valid. Let it go.

We need your confidence back on track for New Year’s Day! So let’s get it there.

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Merry Christmas!  It’s Christmas Day and I know my kids are having a blast being kids and appreciating all that they received from us and from Santa.  I want to talk to you today about one of the greatest gifts.

At Thanksgiving, I told you to celebrate your personal gift, the gift that helps you run your business, the gift of service you can offer, the gift of creating a product or running a successful business, etc.  Today, I want you to celebrate the gift of having a business or a business idea.

Understand the power and freedom your business affords you or will afford you. Not everyone will have that in their lives. The business you are creating is going to impact so many lives.  It’s going to let you live the life you deserve, your Legendary Life.  It’s going to allow you to buy extravagant gifts for your family, maybe create a future employment opportunity for your family members or kids. Your business is a gift.  Celebrate that gift today and all of the hard work you have put into it.

Merry Christmas!

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It’s Christmas Eve, and for those of you who celebrate Christmas no doubt you are planning a light day of work with a heavier day of family events. So let’s dive right into today’s topic. I’m challenging you to carry this feeling of excitement into your business.

I want you to think back to when you were a kid. I want you to remember the emotion of being a kid at Christmas. Do you remember it?

Growing up, we would always go to my grandfather’s house on Christmas Eve. (The tradition was my dad’s family event on Christmas Eve and my mom’s family event on Christmas Day.) So for me, Christmas Eve was about my mom cooking tons of great food and me hanging out, trying not to get roped into too much kitchen work, and just feeling the excitement of Christmas. Then we would get over to my grandfather’s and have lunch or dinner, depending on what had been decided that year, and we would eat a ton of food, catch up with cousins and aunts, uncles, etc. Then we would open presents. That was back in the day before cell phones so it’s not like you were distracted by other people or events. It was family time. And it was exciting!

Every Christmas Eve my dad would sing “Here Comes Santa Claus” and I would get so excited when he said, “Santa Claus comes tonight.” I remember it like it was yesterday.

Do you have memories like that? Do you remember being excited and happy with the traditions and the family time the laughter and the fun?

I hope you do. I want to challenge you to take that feeling of excitement, of wonder, of unbridled joy and I want you to think about your business for a second.

Because here’s the thing. They aren’t that different. You were excited about the unknown, but the unknown was going to be something so good and wonderful. Your business is the same. Take the excitement, the joy, the anticipation, the goodness that you are feeling right now with your memories of Christmas Eve, or maybe it was a different holiday for you, take the emotions you are feeling from those memories, look at your business, and determine how you can create those same emotions in what you do each and every day in that area of your life. How do you get excited, anticipate the next phase of your business launch plan, or look forward to unwrapping the gift of quitting your day job?

The feelings are the same. Let yourself feel them so those positive emotions will carry you forward and you can celebrate the joy and excitement in just the same manner.

Enjoy it!

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As you are sitting, relaxing, and enjoying some “you” time, I have to ask, did you create your vision for 2021?

Here’s the deal, we are a little over a week away from next year. Maybe you’ve kept pushing the idea of creating your vision to tomorrow, or next week, etc. The “I’ll get to that later. I don’t have time to think about that now” mentality.

You’ve been procrastinating because thinking about a vision is hard. It’s mentally taxing, I get it. It’s not always fun because there’s a lot of risks. What if I don’t deliver? What if my vision is too small? What if it’s too big, and I can’t achieve it?

We go through all of these what-ifs. And we hold ourselves to this extremely high standard. What I’m challenging you to do today and what I want you to start journaling about is what do you see happening in your business over the next year? What needs to happen? What would you love to have happened? Take a little bit of time to dream; journal out your dream for 2021 for your business. How many lives do you want to impact? What do you want to get really good at?

I want you to then, after your dream, sit down and take those dreams and figure out what are the actual milestones and actions you need to take in order to achieve it? When you look at all of the pillars, how are you going to impact each pillar and strengthen it and take your business to the next level?

Write down those dreams in your journal. Then I really want you to sit down and put some action around it. By January, what are you going to do by February? What are you going to do in March, April, May, every month? What action are you going to take to move your business forward and deliver on the vision for 2021?

Go! Dream, dream big because you can make it happen.

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This is the final episode in a very short series of 3 where we are learning from Richard Bohmer and the team how to apply 10 leadership lessons that came out of COVID field hospitals. Today we are tackling the last 3 lessons of inclusivity, caring for your teams, and the presence or showing up.

1. Inclusivity. In the field hospitals, this was displayed by bringing in family and friends to help with the problem solving and decision making for the patient. In your business, it’s bringing in your customer, the person you are serving, and getting their thoughts, feedback, and overall input. Let them tell you what to do to be successful.
2. Caring for your teams. In the field hospital, again, it was about providing mental health counseling and being sensitive to all that they had been going through. For you, it’s about being empathetic. Recognizing how others may feel and are feeling, preventing burnout, and providing support for your teams.
3. Showing up. Be present in what is happening. When your business is going through change are you there in the thick of it, leading by example, showing support, sending words of encouragement, appreciating the teams, or, are you off hiding, fearful that it’s going to fail? You have to be present. You have to show up and by your presence, by your questions, by your positive words, move your team forward.

Those are the 10 leadership lessons. Were they groundbreaking? Were they life-changing, maybe, right? Remember, leadership lessons aren’t supposed to be like the heavens opening up and all of the answers start to flood you. You know how to be a good leader, many times our tasks become a higher priority than our people. Or we feel like all of the problems are on our shoulders instead of the team’s, etc. Look back over this past year and ask yourself how many of these 10 did you positively display?

As you prepare for 2021, which ones are you going to add to your arsenal of skills? Use these new nuggets of leadership gifts to take yourself and your team to the next level.

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Yesterday we started tackling the 10 leadership lessons we can take away from COVID field hospitals as shared by Richard Bohmer and team in a recent Harvard Business Review article. We covered 3 of the 10 and today we are going to tackle 4 more: don’t delay, shorten feedback cycles, change direction quickly, and set expectations.

1. Don’t delay. Specifically, don’t delay in making hard or tough decisions. When you are running fast, trying to generate traction in your business, you can’t slow it down by taking forever to share unpopular news or to take hard action. The faster you can make those decisions and forge ahead the faster you are going to be out of the unknown and into a routine of success.
2. Shorten the feedback cycles. Get immediate feedback from you customers, from your employees, from anyone this change or new project is affecting. How is it going? What needs to be better? You can collect data daily. Don’t wait 2 months to listen to it. Establish a weekly review of that feedback, daily is even better if you want to pivot quickly. But don’t wait to find out what you can improve upon, learn it and do it. Speed matters in business, just like it does in saving lives.
3. Change direction quickly. If you tell everyone it’s ok to fail fast and you are listening to their feedback, do something about it quickly. Make it part of your culture to positively support changes in the direction of the project, program, or business. You can say it, but do you show it? Model it and make sure everyone sees it in action so they will push to give more candid feedback that will do nothing but make you product/service and your business better. That’s your goal. Egos go out the window here. It’s all about the business results as a team.
4. Set expectations. Richard and team said that while it’s good to have the freedom to try things and fail quickly, that will come at a price. No doubt for them, the ultimate price is loss of lives in this situation. For you, it will be loss of revenue, loss of employees, loss of customers, etc. Not as detrimental but it is detrimental to your business as a whole. To that end, you have to clearly define what “failing fast means.” And it means, trying to get a positive end result, using all of your knowledge, competence, and capacity to generate a positive result. Failing fast because people gave half of themselves or didn’t try, didn’t care, or didn’t put forth effort isn’t the same and should be clarified and established as such. Set expectations about what daily success looks like and what failing fast really means and what has to happen for someone to appropriately fail fast vs. simply failing.

Can you see how important these leadership lessons came into play in COVID field hospitals? Can you see the impacts they had on people’s lives? In the same way, now, can you see yourself defining these lessons in your own business and putting them into action to help you achieve your vision for 2021? I look forward to sharing the final 3 lessons with you tomorrow.

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Yes, it’s the week of Christmas and I’m going to do a 3-part series on leadership lessons from COVID field hospitals. Why? Because there may be some nuggets in here that are going to help you deliver in 2021. And I know you, you are always thinking about your business. Pushing yourself and your business forward. So listen to me this week, remember these episodes are always here. And when you are ready to grab these ideas and execute them, they are waiting on you.

So let’s dive in. Richard Bohmer and the team wrote an article in the Harvard Business Review about the top 10 leadership lessons we can take away from those COVID field hospitals. I read it, because I have an affinity for healthcare as you know, and after reading it, I agree. These are 10 traits or actions we can take, no matter our industry. So today I am going to cover three of them.

1. Publicly acknowledge the uncertainty. Man this was a good one. Just admit that we don’t know what is going to happen. Remember, people are looking to you as the leader of either your team or the business itself. People will feel certain when you show them certainty. But if you don’t have it, just admit it. “We don’t know if this will work but we are going to give it all we have, I need you staying close to the numbers to tell us if it’s working or not because we have to pivot fast if it’s not.” Would you respect someone less or more for leading like that? I would say more.
2. Focus the search. What that means is that once you acknowledge the uncertainty you can’t let your teams live in that world. You have to tell them what they need to do to be part of the solution. In the example I gave you above I said, “I need you looking at the numbers such that if we fail we do it fast so we can recover and try something else.” That’s the search. Tell everyone what they need to be doing. What is their priority, where do they need to focus, so they know their role and they know what the most important work they need to do.
3. Delegate authority. What that means in your world is stop worrying about titles and look at who has the skillset to help with this specific problem. Maybe you are trying a new tactic in your customer success area. You may have someone on the front lines so to speak that has great experience, having done something similar in another company. Have that person have the authority to weigh in, provide guidance, etc. If you want success in an unknown situation, empower people to do what they know and what they are experts at. Don’t hold them back based on title, level in the organization, or time with the company. Be one team and solve the problem. At the same time, be clear as to what their role is, what they can and cannot do, etc.

These are the first 3 of 10 leadership lessons we can take from COVID field hospitals. They did this, unsure if the hospitals would work but made it clear as to what the work was at the time, who could do what, who had what authority, and they made it happen successfully.

How do you take these 3 and apply them to your business if you aren’t already?

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What can you learn from Scrooge? You know, Ebenezer Scrooge, the famous character in A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. I am sure you have seen the movies and the various recreations of the book if you haven’t actually read the book.

What can we learn from Scrooge? No doubt you are thinking to give, to love, having a kind heart, not being so stingy with money, to find the good in everything. Yes, all of those are right. Those are good points. But the overall point that you have to take away from it is changing. Ebenezer had to change!

If he didn’t change, he would live out the future that he saw with the last ghost, the ghost of Christmas future. He saw how loving he was in the past and how good it was and wonderful it was to have relationships, he saw that he lost his marriage due to money, he saw that his current life was keeping his employee Bob Cratchet from having all his family needed, and his future was bleak with everyone wanting him dead so they could have his money. He was worth nothing to everyone.

So what I want you to walk away thinking about today is the power of change. What do you need to change so that you don’t live with regrets? What do you need to change so that you can get out of your own way and create your successful business? What do you need to change to create the marriage you want, have the relationships with your parents, your coworkers, your spouse, your kids, your neighbors, etc.? What do you need to change before your life ends up being bleak like Scrooge?

And if you are thinking, “I don’t have to change anything, I’m fine.” Then ask yourself this, what kind of amazing life do you want to have? How do you ENSURE you have it? What do you do to ensure nothing changes you for the worse so you can have it?

Decide and then go watch A Christmas Carol. Think about your life and how you won’t have those regrets, you will stay out of your own way, you will be successful, and have the people you love around you. You can and will have it all because you will change and you will stand guard at the doorway of your mind and your life to ensure that you do.

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Your challenge is to look within and ask yourself, does your language reflect inclusivity?

I believe we work diligently to be inclusive. I work hard to ensure that my son feels comfortable in the kitchen and doing house chores in the same way my daughters feel comfortable doing yard work and the like. I focus on NOT saying things like “that’s what girls do” or “don’t be such a girl.” I want all of my children to learn all that they can, enjoy all that they enjoy, and be supported for who they are and who they are becoming. Period. That’s how we all love our children.

Our businesses and the people within them are similar, right? We want our employees to grow and learn, feel empowered, be successful, overcome, and take themselves to the next level. We want them to be outstanding. So how do we shape them and encourage them in the same way we are purposeful about shaping our kids, our nieces, and nephews, or how we would envision shaping younger kids given the chance?

In another great Harvard Business Review article, Noah Zandan and Lisa Shalett tackled this exact thing.

As I read it, it struck me as to how many times I had heard leaders around me say things they were recommending we avoid using.

For example, a leader that constantly says “I” is not inclusive. “I did this, I did that, I accomplished this.” No one wants to work for someone who takes credit for everything. That’s not inclusive nor does it create the team environment. That’s every person for him or herself.

Another one they mentioned was the word “manpower.” It took a lot of manpower to accomplish that.” Well, I’m not a man and many of you aren’t as well. So that’s not necessarily inclusive. I say “guys” all of the time and I have to catch myself. Guys is a term I use constantly to equal “team” or “people.” But the reality is that that term isn’t inclusive. So I have to keep working on getting that out of my leadership language.

Last but not least they mentioned an example related to age. “You’re too young to remember this.” Doesn’t that shut you down? Why would you want to keep listening if you know you aren’t going to relate to it? I think about other comments when people say “your husband or your wife” instead of saying “your partner” to be fully inclusive. Or even making assumptions about marriage status, parent status, etc. Anything that is said in a way that wouldn’t include everyone will alienate someone.

As we have talked about, when it’s your marketing strategy and you are trying to repel those customers you don’t want, that’s fine. But when you are leading a team of amazing human beings, you want everyone to feel valued, included, and a part of the team.

What words do you use that could potentially make others feel like an outsider? How will you work on adjusting that to be more inclusive?

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Let’s talk about your founder type. There are various types of founders, and some are better than others at taking this amazing idea of impact and improvement for their customers and sharing that idea in such a way that everyone feels connected to it, owns it, and feels like they are a part of that impact when they work for you. Other founders aren’t great at it but still find a way to make it work.

Steven Gray, Andrew Knight, and Markus Baer got together and wrote an article about startup founder types in Harvard Business Review and I want to share those with you.

1. The delegator. This person doesn’t just try to get information out of their teams about how to get the work done, but on all of the pieces of the business, the moving parts, the whole landscape, etc. This increases buy-in and ownership. The problem with this founder is they don’t clearly draw the lines around what is and what isn’t up for debate.
2. The dictator. There is clear ownership of an idea and the leader paints the picture of what the business or project should look like. Ambiguity is reduced and then everyone has to now focus on making that vision come to life. On the other hand, there is less room to influence that vision or direction.
3. The designator. This is the perfect balance between the previous two. They define what can be up for discussion and what is off limits and has already been determined.

Now, look within yourself. What type of founder are you? Do you allow everything to be discussed, potentially causing delays, do you allow minimal input and increased production but then potentially creating less ownership, or do you balance the two? There is no wrong answer, you simply need to be aware of how you lead. If you like the idea of being the designator more than where you are sitting today, then make the change. Decide what is established vs. what can be discussed in your business, share it with your team, and start driving that change.

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Are you balancing work and life during the holidays?

Are you balancing everything the way that you want it balanced, in order to look back and say, I spent the holidays the way that I wanted to spend them? If you don’t have your time allocated correctly, you’re watching your family participate in the holiday events and you are left lurking and watching while you work.

Here at Legend Leaders we always talk about the fact that you’ve got to create and live your Legendary Life. Can you really sit back and say, I have been purposeful in the way in which I schedule my time to work and play?

If you can’t, your challenge is to create that balance today. Now, I’m talking about this because we are in the holiday season but you deserve this balance no matter the time of year. And here’s the secret, you define what that balance looks like. There is no wrong answer as long as you are not burning yourself out.

When you sit down and think about the holiday season, I know that the corporate world is always going to have demands on you, but you can take some PTO and step away a little bit. But when it comes to our own businesses, we don’t ever turn that off. So how do you find the balance?

What I would recommend is that you don’t challenge or give yourself more than three things to do in a day. Here’s why, if you’ve got 10 to do’s, and you only get three done, you say to yourself, “I’ve accomplished nothing.” So keep your list reasonable and manageable; 3 big actions. You can’t do 10 in a day so let’s be realistic, and you don’t want to constantly feel like you are failing.

If you’re not focused on the three most important pieces to be productive, then you’re going to be beating yourself up. You’re going to be working long hours and you’re going to be looking longingly at your family over the next few weeks. But at the same time, you’re looking at your to-do list and you’re telling yourself, “I’ve got to get this stuff done before I can go join them.”

I’m telling you today, if you didn’t allocate your time already, do it. If you allocated your time, but you’re not using it as you committed to, I want you to go back and do an inventory. I want you to reassess, I want you to pick no more than three things that are supercritical that you need to get done in your business each day. What can reasonably be accomplished, with people having time off and you having time off? Find the balance.

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We’ve talked in the past about burnout. Today I want to ask you, are you creating burnout due to self-sabotage?

That’s probably not something you have thought about, at least not in those terms. But I want you to expand your mind today. Think about this one for a second.

There was an article in the Harvard Business Review about burnout and self-sabotage, written by Kandi Wiens. It was all about identifying the signs of burnout and then looking at the actions you are taking, the activities you do on a regular basis so that you can step back, look in the mirror, and say, “Am I doing that? Am I burning myself out by taking these actions?”

You see, many times we assume that we are feeling some sense of burnout because work is too busy, or the pace is too fast, or you feel like you are behind. And in many instances that do contribute to burnout. You know, not sleeping as much, trying to do a thousand things at once, maybe drinking a bit more alcohol than normal? The work environment we are in can cause burnout. But today, I want you to look at some of these key activities that you can do to yourself that essentially mean you are your own worst enemy, you are creating the burnout you are experiencing.

1. Overly adaptable. That doesn’t mean that you aren’t agile and aren’t changing. You do need to be agile. But you need to ask yourself why you are constantly changing. Is it because you are saying “yes” to every request, every demand, every person? If that’s the case, that’s not agility, that’s being a people pleaser. That’s not going to last. You will burnout. Say no when you need to say no.
2. Perfectionism. We have talked about this one a lot. Remember done is better than perfect. If you are working so diligently to be perfect, you will never arrive. Humans aren’t perfect. Find a way to allow yourself to say, “How do I get it done, it doesn’t have to be perfect, just done?”
3. 24-7 commitment. You love what you do so much you spend so much time doing it, you sacrifice your family time, your personal time, your mental time, etc. You can’t live in that world. You will burnout. This is why having a life plan is so critical.

Take a look at these 3 things. Are you practicing any of them today in such a way that you are burning yourself out? Realize this could be happening in your corporate job, your own business, or both. Take an honest look in the mirror. You have to say no sometimes, you are never going to have it perfect, and you can’t live and breathe your job or business. Find the balance to stop the burnout. Don’t sabotage yourself.

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What words do you use when you are trying to solve a problem? You see, words matter, as you know. But the words you use matter when you are trying to solve a problem as well.

I have observed people for many years, focused on trying to solve a problem, both in the corporate and private business world; as a supervisor and a coach. Let me tell you, words matter.

The people that constantly say things like, “I just can’t figure it out. I’m never going to figure it out. This just isn’t working. I don’t know what to do,” well, they don’t figure it out. The words they use to define their outcomes.

On the other hand, those individuals say, “I know I can figure this out. The answer is right there, I’m close. I’m going to get it. I just need to keep thinking on it, I know I can do this.” They do it. Again, their words define their outcomes.

So you see, like anything in life, we have to say what we know will happen. If you are problem-solving and you start beating yourself up for not solving the problem quickly, your brain is going to go from a productive state to an unproductive state. It’s going to go from a place of confidence to a place of self-doubt.

How many problems did you successfully solve from a place of self-doubt? I can tell you, I haven’t solved any in that state.

So make sure your mindset is one that supports your ability to solve the problem. Be in a positive state, a productive state, what Tony Robbins calls a peak state. Have your energy up, your mind clear, tell yourself that you have already solved the problem. Stop talking about it like you can’t, you won’t, or that it is hopeless. That’s truly what it will be should you say that way.

Words matter. Next time you are trying to solve a problem, what are you saying to yourself to get the result you need?

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Today I’m challenging you to encourage accountability.

Did you cringe when you heard that word? Maybe you winced when you heard me say that word. Accountability. Ugh. Accountability. Such a loaded word that means so many things.

Ultimately accountability is used in the corporate world to mean something more negative than it should. Usually, when you say “accountability” you mean that person is responsible for their poor performance. Or, you mean you are going to deliver accountability to someone, meaning you are going to formally discipline them.

You know what I am talking about. Accountability is more negative than supportive. But honestly, we need accountability to be all-encompassing. We need to hold people accountable for their total performance, which means celebrating and appreciating the good work as much as we call out and addressing the underperformance. We can’t let “accountability” become lopsided in the way that we deliver it.

In a recent Harvard Business Review article called How to Actually Encourage Employee Accountability, Ron Carucci said: Accountability processes are the formal and informal ways that leaders talk about, assess, and affirm the contributions of those they lead and the improvements they can make to strengthen those contributions.

So you see, the processes are solely focused on the contributions someone makes as well as the “improvements” they need to make. The processes aren’t well-rounded or focused on the whole contribution level of an employee, it’s one-sided.

He made 3 recommendations on how we as leaders can adjust this and make our employees feel more valued, more connected, and not feel like the process is against them.

1. Make dignity the foundation. This means stop judging your direct reports, making assumptions about them, or writing them off. We all know and feel when someone doesn’t have our backs. So then what happens? We avoid them and we don’t perform for them. It’s a downward spiral. Be the leader you need to be so your team performs well. If they don’t, it’s not because of how you feel about each of them. Rod said practice dignity, not surveillance.
2. Focus on fairness. When you are fair to everyone and in every situation, your team is more likely to be honest and own mistakes. This helps you run faster.
3. Make restoration, not blame, the goal. While many corporate cultures say you can fail, the punishment for failing doesn’t reinforce that. That means no one wants to try anything new, nor do they want to admit when they failed. You have to have a culture that allows for both so set it up that way. Be the leader that allows for mistakes, that actually praises people for making mistakes by showing that at least they tried something new.

How can you practice this in the corporate world so you can then translate it over to your business? That’s your challenge today.

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Today I’m challenging you to get rid of the PC BS. Oh yes, I said it. Get rid of the politically correct crap that holds us back from honest and real conversations with those we work with.

You are in or from the corporate world. I get it, I lived it too. There are certain rules you follow. You speak up but you never speak too loudly. You challenge but you don’t confront. You work so hard to ensure you follow the “unwritten rules” of business that nothing actually ever gets done, no one really ever grows, and everyone feels stifled.

What kind of growth is that in a business? Honestly, the reality is that that isn’t growth. That’s a controlled environment where people say they want growth and improvement but they don’t allow for it.

So here’s the deal, in your business, don’t create the PC BS. I remember stepping out of the corporate world and into a private startup and I remember the language, the discussions, the voice raising, the honest conflict. I was astounded. Some of it, quite frankly, was a bit too much. It was like children behaving badly. On the other hand, some of it caused everyone to join in the discussion, not be afraid to speak up and share, not be afraid to be emotionally all in and give what they had to the cause. They could speak up so they became even more invested in the ideas and the results that came from the discussion.

I learned by observing and participating in those discussions that overall, those discussions were healthier for the company. They allowed for a true exchange of opinions and ideas. Who cares what your title is? We are all in this together. Who cares who came up with the first idea? We need the BEST idea. Who cares if you are frustrated and it shows? That just means you actually care about what is happening.

In your next meeting, I want you to step back and see if you see the PC BS happening in your day job and in your business. Fight to be the change in your day job. Be the leader and don’t let it creep into your own business. Don’t stifle your best employees with unwritten rules that should never exist. Establish a way everyone should be respectful to each other and allow that to be the guiding principle, that’s all you need.

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How do you build rapport quickly? Well first, what in the heck is rapport? We have all heard the word, but do we know what the word actually means?

Building rapport means you create a connection with someone. A connection of understanding.

So, how do you do that? Many of us would say we have a rapport with the people we work with, or the vendors we have that support our business. You probably have a rapport with the individual that mows your yard or cleans your pool, your kid’s teacher, etc.

But how do you build rapport quickly for your business and do it in such a way that creates a powerful connection? Let’s say you have a business deal you need to close and you haven’t met the individuals before. How do you build rapport quickly?

Here are a few simple tips:

1. Observe the individual you want to build rapport with. In this instance, it would be the person that has the power in the deal. The person who is going to be making the decision. Realize the person making the decision and the person signing off on the deal may be two different people. Figure out who it is, then observe them. What do they do? How do they move, speak, and position their bodies? Learn it quickly.
2. Mimic them. Not immediately. Not 100% like a mirror. But if they uncross their legs, after about 30 seconds to a minute, uncross your legs. If they use a certain word start using that same word.

People want to connect with others who are like them or who they think are like them. Be like them.

They will immediately feel a connection with you and ta da, that’s rapport. Once you have that connection, you should be able to close the deal. The goal here, remember, is not to get them to like you for you, the goal is to get you to like you because you are like them!

Go try it.

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Today I’m diving into the concept of prioritizing tasks before connection. No doubt when you saw the title of this episode you knew what I was talking about. How do I know? Because you know you do it.

I know this because I do it from time to time even now, but I used to do it regularly when I worked in the corporate world. It’s not intentional, it’s not like any of us say in our minds, “No, checking the box is more important than my friendships, relationships, checking on my team, or welcoming the new employee.” None of us say that in our minds.

What we do say is, “I will go spend time with them in just a second. I just have to finish doing this one thing. If I can get this done, if I can finish these emails, this presentation, review these numbers, finalize this plan, then I will be able to breathe for a minute and then I can focus on that person.”

We say it with good intentions. We mean well. But in reality, that connection doesn’t happen.

Why?

Because just as you are wrapping up the first activity you remember something even more pressing, or you get that critical email or your phone goes off reminding you of something else you need to tackle. So, you go off to the next. Not intentionally, but the schedule you have created for yourself, the work you have in front of you, you feel obligated to get it done.

In the corporate world, many times you are pushed so hard to get the task work done that you have essentially been trained to do work before you connect. To check the box, finish the tasks, move the ball forward before you check on your people or even have relationships with others. I believe this comes from a situation where the leaders creating the work and setting the expectations for the teams below them have no clue as to how much time that work takes and therefore they establish expectations that are so unrealistic, those mid-level leaders have to make a choice. Tasks or people. And they are evaluated on tasks, not relationships. So there you go.

Like it or not, the tasks have to come first because of the workload and the evaluation process.

When you develop the teams within your business, learn from this. As you lead by example in your business, learn from this. Don’t put tasks before connection. Connection is one of the basic needs that we talked about recently. We all need connection, so make sure you provide that and allow for it in your company. In your day job, find ways to inject connection into the work. Work to create balance for your corporate team.

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As we continue to move through the holiday season, I am going to keep challenging you to be smart. Don’t sacrifice service for deals.

It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of the season. Especially if this is your first season as an entrepreneur. it’s all-new. It’s all exciting. You want to make the best business and you want to make the best impact on your target audience. You want to do all of these amazing things. But where so many businesses fail is that they offer such great deals, they can’t support their customers through the season or even the post-holiday season.

You want to create a tribe that follows you that’s loyal to your brand. But if your company royally screws up something, messed up something that was supposed to be a gift, or promised a delivery time before Christmas and it didn’t arrive, those are deal-breakers.

So here’s the deal. I want you excited about the holidays and time with family and making an impact with your business. But at the same time, I still want you to make very smart, good decisions. And the way that you do that is that you step out of all of this emotion for a minute and you think; “How can I make the best decision for my business? If I’m going to do this? What am I going to trade in order to deliver a deal, knowing that I cannot ever trade is customer loyalty?”

What I’m trying to challenge you to do is before you get to that moment, take the emotion out of it, think through all of the impacts, make sure that you have the ability to support the deal. And if you don’t write down the idea and think about how you can do it amazingly well, save that idea. Think through it and make smart decisions.

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This is the very last episode of this mini-series where we have been looking at meeting the basic needs of your customer. Today we are talking about the 6th fundamental human need of contribution.

So, a quick recap, there are 6 basic human needs. We all need these 6 fulfilled. If your product and your offer combined can meet these 6, or at least 3 of these 6, that process makes it very difficult for the ideal customer to say no. That’s where we want to be, right?

Today we are talking about contribution. Contribution is the act of giving back, doing more, impacting more than just yourself.

A great example of this is Tony Robbins. When you buy a ticket to an event he donates so many meals to Feed America. Toms is another one that donates a pair of shoes for each pair purchased. Bombas, the sock company does the same, they donate a pair for every pair purchased.

Now look, if you can’t do that, don’t do it. You can’t tank your business before you start. So to start, you don’t meet this basic need. But in the future, do it.

Maybe now you donate some of your time. You provide a service and for every purchase, you offer an hour of your time for free to a community or a subset of individuals, maybe even school-aged kids, for example, to provide that service for free.

Make people feel good about helping other people with what they purchase for themselves. That’s how you meet the contribution need.

As you can see, each of these needs makes perfect sense. None of them are crazy. And you get it because you are human and you have the same needs. So, as part of creating your customer avatar, add in how you would meet these 6 needs for that person. What would that feel like and look like to them? Then, see how many you can deliver on in your offer and product combined, and add more over time.

Now, another quick caveat before I wrap up. Some people will say, oh I just need to do this while I’m in the startup phase to get the ball rolling, right? Well, are you selling to humans no matter your business phase? Yep. Then you will always want to look at meeting these needs. Any product, any service, any time in the life of your company. Maybe your business is changing, but your customer is not. Still meet the needs. Just try new ways.

Got it? So go look at your offer and your product. Are you meeting needs? Think about your ideal customer. How do you meet his/her 6 fundamental needs? Tie it together and make adjustments.

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Welcome to episode 5 of 6 discussing how you are meeting your customer’s needs, specifically the 6 basic needs we all have and must all be met on a regular basis or we simply do not feel fulfilled. Today we are talking about the need for growth.

We all have to grow. Humans are either growing or dying. We have to grow, change, learn, etc. that’s life. That’s why there is the news, the internet, social media, podcasts, books, YouTube, etc. Now, I’m not saying all of these sources of information create positive growth. I’m simply saying they are vehicles for sharing information and as such, they can be used to create growth or generate a feeling of growth in your customer.

What about a free e-book, a quiz, or information you share about your product or your community? Would that not make them feel like they are growing? Even something small, for example, you sell a chess set. But instead of simply selling just the set, what if you also sent with it a small reference on how chess got started, where it originated from, etc. Or, the best chess moves to take you from beginner to novice?

Do you see how easy fulfilling someone’s growth need can be? Most of the time when I open something I have purchased and they snuck something in like that, it meets my variety need because I didn’t expect it, it meets my significance need because look how important I am that you sent me this, and now it’s teaching me something so I’m growing.

Do you see how that works? So easy and simple it’s almost like an afterthought for you. But if you will do something like this, if you are truly focused on serving your customer, you will leave them feeling great and they will be loyal to your brand.

How are you fulfilling the need for growth in your offer and product?

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Welcome to episode number 4 of 6 where we are discussing the idea of meeting the basic needs of your customer. Today we are focused on the need of connection.

Remember, there are 6 basic human needs, which we all have to have met. We have talked about certainty, uncertainty or variety, significance, and now today we are going to talk about connection.

We all need connection, specifically connection to other humans. That’s one of the reasons pandemic has been so difficult to manage for many of us. We need to be close to humans and feel like we have a connection with each other. We are a social species.

So, how do you build a connection? The easiest way is through social media. Create a Facebook group exclusive for your purchasers. Or, you can create calls with you or your team depending on the service you provide. You could also create virtual conferences or workshops so an entire group comes together.

Think “bringing people together” and that’s what is going to fulfill the connection need.

Now, the other thing to keep in mind is that this need also includes “love.” So it’s not just connection it is love and connection. So, how do you make people feel loved?

Think about your communication pillar. What language are you using and how are you connecting with your clients or customers so they feel like it’s an authentic connection? Do they know you? Do they trust you and your brand? Are you supporting or surviving? If people don’t feel supported, they don’t feel loved.

So super simple. I know you get it. But are you thinking about it like this? Are you taking action now as a result?

Get after it. Let’s get these needs met!

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Welcome to episode number 3 of 6 in our series where I’m challenging you to focus on meeting the basic needs of your customer. Today we are talking about the need for significance.

Significance is feeling important. Feeling valued. Feel like you matter. We all have a need to feel significant in some capacity. As a customer, you want to feel valued, right? You don’t want to be treated like, “NEXT!”

So, doing things like announcing the new members in a Facebook group. Significance. Creating certificates and asking your members to post photos of themselves with them so you can celebrate them. That’s significant. What about creating rewards throughout a service or program so they get points and then whoever has the highest points gets some sort of gift or recognition? See, significance. Recognition is significant. It’s for anyone taking action within a set timeframe, accomplishing X result, doing Y task, etc. they get recognition and recognition is significance.

This works even with a product. Example: “Take a photo of you with the product by X date and post it and we will recognize the person with the best video.”

If they have issues with your product or your service, how fast you resolve that issue is also meeting the need of significance. You will not let them down because they matter to you! (See how significance can also impact your brand?)

So today, look at your offer and your overall product. How do you meet the need of significance? And if you’re not, what are you going to do to get it in there?

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In this episode 2 in a series of 6 talking about delivering to the 6 basic human needs, we are tackling the second need of uncertainty.

Quick high-level recap from yesterday’s episode: remember that there are 6 basic human needs. We all have them. They are all the same. We may have them prioritized differently vs. each other but we still have to meet all of these needs. So, knowing that, how do you ensure your offer and your product or service meet those needs? If we all have these needs, let’s meet them in your business, right?

Today we are diving into uncertainty or variety. It sounds like we are going against what we said yesterday, and yet we aren’t. We can’t have everything so predictable that we are bored out of our minds. Nope. So how do you meet the need of uncertainty or variety in your customers?

How about things like a mystery sale? The clothing company Black Clover does something where they have a sale several times a year. You pay a fee, you tell them your sizes, and then you get a box in the mail. You have no idea what you got, but you know it’s going to fit you. How fun is that as a customer? There is enough certainty that it will fit but at the same time, variety in that what’s in the box is a surprise. And if you are the owner of Black Clover, now you are getting rid of excess, leftover merchandise in the process. Win-Win.

What about surprising people with 10% off of their order after they place it? Just because. Or what about throwing in a surprise item, just because?

Anything that is above and beyond, that you don’t have to do but you do it purposefully can create variety.

You can also do this when you offer a service by providing extra time with you, or a free tool they didn’t expect to receive, etc. You see, we all need a variety which is why we get excited about these things.

Have you ever been to a restaurant and the waiter drops off an extra taste of a dish or gives you dessert just because? Is that not now one of your favorite restaurants and waiter? Of course!

So, do something like this with your offer. Create drawings, gifts, surprises, etc. It will create raving fans!

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Are you meeting the basic needs of your customer? Today we are going to talk about the 6 basic needs and talk through the first of the 6, certainty.

As I mentioned last week, I attended Tony Robbin’s” UPW–Unleash the Power Within. I’m telling you, as an aside, it’s a life-changing experience. Hands down. If you have been thinking about it, do it. Don’t hesitate. Do it!

Now, I have been digesting this information and working to put some of the pieces in the context of business so let’s talk about basic needs. Every human has the same set of basic needs. There are 6 of them. We all have these needs, but the way we interact with people, the way we carry ourselves, the way we view ourselves and move forward in life is determined by the ORDER of these needs. Said differently, it’s how we prioritize these needs that determine our personality and how we act and respond.

I’m not here to convince you of the needs, get you to agree with them, or even determine which ones you prioritize. These next few podcasts actually aren’t about you directly. They are about understanding your customer as humans so you can be a better supporter of them. Fair enough?

For the rest of this episode and the following 5 episodes, we are going to talk about each human need and how we can tell our customers they can have that need met with our product. Because here’s the deal, if we can meet 3 or more of the 6 needs, most consumers can’t say no to that offer. So let’s dive in.

The first basic human need is a certainty. Certainty simply means you know it to be true, it’s going to happen, you can count on it. It’s guaranteed. Did you hear what I said . . . guaranteed. So, how do you meet the need for certainty with your product?

Money-back guarantees, right? People want to know that your product will work. That they will get the results you promise. That whatever the buy is going to work and not immediately break, etc.

What else? What about a return policy depending on what you sell? They can try it, if they don’t like it, they can return it. Nothing lost. That’s a part of certainty.

If it’s not a tangible product, be clear and communicate honestly exactly what they will get and the transformation they will achieve within a set period of time. Clarity on the results and timeframe creates certainty.

Now, do you see when you are vague or when you aren’t serving you you are surviving that you miss the certainty need? If you aren’t certain, how can you make your customer feel certain? You can’t.

Here’s the other thing. Depending on what you sell or the service you offer, certainty may be the number one need of your customer. If you miss this, they won’t buy it.

If you are seeing low sales, ask yourself, am I delivering certainty with my offer? Can my customer confidently buy this from me and not feel a risk?

If you are on the fence or say no, go fix it.

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During this holiday season, I’m challenging you to stay true to your sales framework.

Right now, a lot of new business owners are observing other companies, seeing them have success with various holiday sales tactics, knowing that people have a lot of cash right now, and so then they start trying to mimic what they are seeing.

So first, I don’t blame you for that. I mean, that’s a very thoughtful, logical decision that you want to make. But what I want to challenge you on is this, the companies that you see out there, they can afford to do that. I’m not talking about just financially, I’m talking about their overall business structure. They are not a startup anymore. They’re in the mature phase, most likely, they’re probably even in the evolution phase, where they have the ability to understand what their sales funnel/framework looks like, in that level of the business. And then they can make tweaks and adjustments just for a small period of time, for a certain subset of items. It doesn’t change their entire sales framework, it changes just a little tiny portion of what they’re trying to do for the holidays.

For your startup on the other hand, while you have this strong desire to generate revenue, you’re also trying to figure it all out. But you can’t financially afford to take a hit if that shift doesn’t work. You also only have one major sales funnel or framework to generate your sales, not 20 or 30. It’s one or nothing. If you negatively impact your one pathway, you have zero revenue coming in.

So, I want you to be smart. I want you to pull yourself out of the “I want to make money!” mentality long enough to take a good look around and realize some companies are playing a sales game you cannot play right now. You can’t reduce prices or give things away for free or anything that could cause future harm simply because everyone else is doing it and you see them having great results. Know your business, know what a startup can do vs. a mature business, and realize you will have your time!

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Are you serving or surviving?

I want you to step back and think about this for a second. Listen to the words: are you serving, or surviving?

Now, you are an overachiever, like me. And when you think surviving you are probably like, “Heck no I don’t survive. I thrive! I take names. I kick butt. I handle it!”

I get it. But I want you to look at your business for a minute. I want you to look at how you are personally viewing your business.

Because here’s the deal, I’m going to challenge you today to realize that if you aren’t serving, you really are just surviving. And honestly, I hope the idea of surviving is so offensive to you that you immediately close the gap.

What is serving? Serving is when you look at your clients, you look at those you serve in the world, the customers who vote for you with their dollars and you say: “How do I overdeliver? How do I shower them with such support, such as giving, such “extra” that they know they are appreciated?” Because you know what? You honestly do appreciate them. You do the little things. A little extra gift in the shipment. An earlier arrival time than promised. A percentage off that they didn’t expect. A little extra time with you on the house or a free resource if you provide a service. Something valuable that you give that they didn’t expect.

You see, when you put your customer first, TRULY FIRST. Not just “Yeah yeah, customer first. I will smile when I see them and I will thank them but I want the MONEY!” That’s not customer first. When you put the customer first and look through the lens of serving instead of getting money, the money will come.

Because if you aren’t truly putting the customer first, you are surviving. You are not creating a following, no tribe, no loyalty, no emotional connection with your customer base. When it’s all about money, that’s not fulfilling. And when it’s not fulfilling, it’s just surviving.

So right now, it’s a gut check, look in the mirror time. It’s time to look at yourself and honestly say, “Am I serving or surviving?” If I was a customer on the other end of my business, how would I feel appreciated? How would I feel valued? Don’t stay on the surface with these answers. Everyone stays on the surface, that’s why most companies are the same. Be better. Be outstanding! Create outstanding service. Do it. Stop surviving.

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You know I read Harvard Business Review regularly. I recently read an article by Dana Sumpter and Mona Zanhour called: 3 Ways Companies Can Retain Working Moms Right Now. I’m calling this topic to ask for and establish flexibility.

The article said that 865,000 working moms left the workforce in September of 2020 compared to 216,000 men. WHAT! That’s a huge shift! Huge. Here we are fighting for financial equality, positional equality, and now we are leaving the workforce in droves.

But you know what, I get it. We are the keepers of all things. We want our children to be safe, we want them to get a good education, we want them to have some sense of normalcy in all of this. I get it.

But for two seconds, can we just say, holy CRAP! I hope that all 865,000 of you find and listen to the Legendary Leaders podcast so that I can help you get your business going and you can take care of your kids, share your gift, and live your life. Now here’s the deal. We know that not all of those women left to start their own businesses. Some did. But not all. Some left because they felt like they didn’t have a choice.

If you are starting your own business and you need the income from your day job to support your business until it replaces your income, I’m challenging you right now to demand flexibility. You are talented, you are worthy, the company needs you, so ask for it. Just because your boss doesn’t have a kid or doesn’t have the same attitude towards their own kids doesn’t make you wrong to want that flexibility nor does it make you selfish, inept, incompetent, or an underperformer. Stop creating rules in your head for yourself that don’t exist.

Demand flexibility and let them tell you no.

So what did Dana and Mona recommend? They said first, get certainty and clarity. Or, if you are doing this for your team (and I expect that you would, right, let’s treat our employees the way we want to be treated). Let’s be super clear about what their responsibilities are, what good looks like, and how you want them to perform. In other words, give them guardrails to stay within and then let them go do their job in a way that best suits them. As long as they are on time for meetings, deliver to the deadlines, and perform, don’t stress about the other pieces. Now, this also includes being super clear with your employee and with your own 9-5 what the expectations are around the “I had a random idea in my head and I wanted to share it with you” call that they may not always be able to take when you have that idea or that you may not be able to take when your boss has a random idea.

The second recommendation was to rightsize job expectations. Look, the demands from most corporate companies were already unachievable before the pandemic. Now they are even more out of reach. It’s time to sit down with your manager and update your job description, have your peers support that discussion as no one was delivering before and probably still isn’t. So get that fixed so the work is understood and reasonable. Do the same for your employees where it makes sense for a startup.

Lastly, continue to ask for empathy and provide it. No one can truly understand what anyone else is going through. Yes, this is business. But you are taking care of people first, so they can run the business. Let’s make sure the priority is right on this one.

Ask for what you need, provide solutions and ways to deliver to your job. If your supervisor says no, then you have a different decision to make.

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Today I want to challenge you to brief like a boss by finding your key supporter in the room.

We are in our last weekend of November, we are going full-on into December, the month where everything in business is mixed with the holidays. That means that everyone is going to be distracted; therefore, it’s critical to land your message the first time around in your day job so you won’t be spending extra hours on that instead of in your own business.

You have a boss or supervisor that you report to in the corporate world. And you may have a team reporting to you in your own personal business world. Knowing how to brief, and therefore teaching your team how to brief you are critical skills, they are a key part of the internal portion of your communication pillar.

That said, one of the key aspects I have always taught others how to do is to find the key decenter in the room and go present the idea to him or her first. Get their thoughts, get them on board, and then your overall brief to the leadership group should be a thousand times easier. But there is another person you need to find and brief in advance, that’s the key person in the room your boss is going to look to agree with what you are saying. It is probably a peer of his or hers, maybe even one of your peers. Figure out who that is, and speak to them before the meeting. Then, when your boss looks to them during your brief, they can give the nod to convey “yep, you are correct in what you are saying,” and then you are more than likely going to get approval from your supervisor.

I know throughout my career I would update my peers before going into a group meeting so we could present a united front. Looking back, my boss would look to them to confirm we were aligned. When they nodded and agreed or even went further and made statements of support, everything went off without a hitch.

Are you looking for that supporter in the room for your corporate job? Beyond that, does your team know who you look to in your own business for alignment and support? Are they using that person to help them prepare? If not, share this nugget with them as well. It will help you as much as it will help them.

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Have you thought about the fact that procrastination actually only hurts you later? Said differently, did you realize that procrastination is an action killer.

This is another Donald Millar nugget that I had to share. He essentially said, if you don’t want to do the action today, you aren’t going to want to do it later. So either doesn’t do it at all or go ahead and get it done and be done with it.

I loved this little training. He said something that was so simple and yet so true. When you procrastinate, all you are doing is delaying something you don’t want to do today, and in your mind, you are thinking, “I don’t want to do that, I will make my future self do that.” But here’s the deal, YOU ARE your future self.

If you don’t want to take that phone call today, you aren’t going to want to take it tomorrow. Instead of thinking about it like, “Oh, I will let someone else handle that later,” realize you are that someone else. Unlike when you look at the kid’s laundry piling up and you say, the kids can handle that later, and then you have them do it. If you have to work on your vision for 2021 and you say, I will do that later. Realize, you are still the one that has to do that later.

This is hitting your 3 big pillars out of the 9 fundamental pillars of business; your productivity, execution, and life plan pillars. Right? And, it could be if you have a core value around a sense of urgency and responsiveness to deadlines, you could be damaging that pillar as well.

At the end of the day, procrastination is an action killer. Use your calendar, define your priorities, and get it done. Eat your vegetables first as they say. Knock it out and then go do something you enjoy.

If you can’t push through like this, creating a foundation in your business is going to be extremely difficult. So build this muscle now.

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At this point in the year, I would be doing you a disservice if I didn’t remind you to invest in yourself. Today is what has been deemed Black Friday from a retail perspective; the day that everything is massively on sale and everyone is out trying to find bargains and deals. Now, this year looks a little different because we aren’t out shopping like maybe we did in the past. But we are still looking for those bargains. And most importantly, we are still looking for those special gifts. Those special, one-of-a-kind gifts show just how much you know that person.

Let me tell you a little secret about me. I absolutely LOVE giving gifts. LOVE it! It is my absolute favorite. I enjoy getting to know someone and then looking for the perfect gift that fits them, their likes, their personality, and maybe even something they didn’t know existed or didn’t think to look for. I like to make gifts personal and special. And hands down I enjoy giving them more than receiving them. The amazing ability to watch someone’s face light up. To know that they matter and you have shown that, not by giving a gift, but by the exact gift that you gave. I love making sure people feel loved.

So, that said, I have to spend a little bit of time today making sure you feel loved. You see, in all of the gift-buying and giving and searching and looking, what we can do from time to time is to forget to take care of ourselves. Now, that can be applied in two ways. 1. We buy for everyone else and not for ourselves. 2. We don’t tell our families the things we truly want because we don’t want to be a burden, right? We don’t want to be selfish or ask for things. Heck, maybe we also want someone to know us as we know them and buy things for us that are special and convey their level of love for us. It could be all of the above or something else entirely.

Either way, the point is that as you are shopping for others, are you taking the time to ensure you are investing in yourself? Again, that could be getting stuff for yourself directly or it could be telling others what you want. So here is my challenge to you.

If someone asks you what you want for Christmas or what would be meaningful to you, I want you to tell them something that is an investment in you. Not a pair of shoes. Not a new something for the kitchen, although all of those things are nice. I’m talking about a training program that will cause you to learn something new, be something better, and help you continue to become the person you are meant to be.

It could be a Tony Robbins program. It could be the new program we are doing a presale on here at Legend Leaders. It could be something to help with your morning routine. At the end of the day, take care of yourself. You deserve it. Ensure you get something for you that helps you develop and grow into the person you are meant to be, taking you to the next level. I have a feeling people want to love on you as you love on them. Let them. Let them see the joy and appreciation on your face because they did something special for you. Don’t take that from them. Help them give you something that helps you go to the next level.

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Happy Thanksgiving to those of you in the US. I hope that you are prepared to have a great day, no matter what you have on your agenda. My question for you today is: what are you thankful for?

You know, we could spend today feeling frustrated. Frustrated that we can’t be with our families. Frustrated that we can’t do our traditional midnight shopping or Black Friday routine. Maybe not just frustrated, maybe heartbroken that we can’t be with loved ones. Either due to travel, COVID, or maybe you had someone close to you pass away since the last Thanksgiving and this is the first one you will have without them.

I can say this is the first Thanksgiving I am celebrating without my grandmother. I was very close to her, even named after her. So, I can relate if you are going through something similar.

The point though is we can sit and we can feel sorry for ourselves. Or, we can look around us and purposefully CHOOSE to find things we are grateful for. I am grateful I woke up this morning. I’m grateful I have the luxury of spending time recording this episode for you and making your day a bit better. I’m grateful my kids are healthy and my parents are doing well. I’m grateful that I get to cook a Thanksgiving meal, knowing that so many other people in this world wake up each day without food.

We can be thankful for the simplest things, and we can be thankful for the most extravagant things. But today, no matter how big or small, we need to be thankful.

Now, try this one on for size. How about being thankful for the gift you have, that you are working diligently to share with the rest of the world? The gift of either service you can provide directly or the gift of creativity, imagination, problem-solving, and the like that are helping you be successful in your day job and your personal business. Let’s be grateful for that. Because that gift is going to continue to allow you to live the life you deserve, your Legendary Life. It is going to continue to generate such goodness in your life that you can’t help but be thankful for it.

So again, today. It may be easier to wish you had something different, could be somewhere different, with someone different, but let’s focus on what we do have and what we do appreciate.

I appreciate each of you. Happy Thanksgiving.

Be Legendary!

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Today I want to focus on the perspective of you leaving the corporate world but not taking your team. In other words, when you leave, don’t take talent with you.

It will be tempting to take them with you. You know they are high performers, you know that for whatever reason the company you all work for now isn’t the place to be. But I’m cautioning you against taking people with you when you go.

We are all drawn to leaders who can help us be better leaders. And if that’s you, you may find that as you start to generate your exit strategy, either to take a stepping stone position, a position using the same skills but demands less time, or as you transition into your own business, that your loyal team will want to follow you.

They want to go with you. They are drawn to your leadership. They trust in you. You’ve never steered them wrong, they know that if they follow your success is going to follow them because success follows you. If that’s starting to happen, or you’ve had people say that to you, that they want to follow you when you leave, I want you to do a few things.

1. Don’t be quick to dismiss their desire to follow you. Take two seconds and appreciate the fact that you are an amazing leader and you have worked hard to get there. I’m proud of you for that. Thank them for wanting to continue to support you no matter where you go.
2. The next thing though, is I want you to be very smart about how you handle the conversation. Do not burn bridges as you leave the corporate world and go to any other position, including your own business. You don’t want to take two or three people from a company that you’ve been working for. Intentional or not; that will burn bridges because it will look like you were purposely trying to damage that part of the company by causing the total team to leave. So, thank them but encourage them to forge their own path. Ensure they understand that you can’t make promises about positions in the new company nor can you make promises about your own company. If they still want to work for you in 6 months, tell them to reach out to you then. Or, if something happens in the company and the organization starts to go through a restructure, reach out. Otherwise, they need to wait 6 months to essentially follow you.

Realize this. You provide so much benefit to the company when you leave, it’s going to be a blow. If you take two or three people with you, it is such a damaging blow that whatever the team does, they’re not going to be able to recover easily. It doesn’t matter the size of the organization, it will take some time to recover that loss.

You do not want to be perceived in any capacity, as causing the downfall of a part of that corporation. Perception is reality. If they think you meant to cause the damage, then that’s what they will say about you. Don’t even come close to having that perception tied to your name.

When someone says they want to follow you as you leave your corporate job, how are you going to handle that in a way that supports the person and the business? Make sure you have a plan now so you can successfully navigate that when it happens.

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Your challenge today is to realize that you may not be confused about an action you need to take, maybe you are trying to avoid the work altogether.

I recently got caught up on a lot of the Donald Miller videos, his training videos he shares as part of StoryBrand. I have to tell you, in case you don’t already know, I just totally dig this guy. He’s on point when it comes to some of the most basic ideas that make the lightbulbs off in my head.

He was discussing the idea of avoidance defined in our minds by saying, “I’m confused.”

You know, I have heard a lot of people say, “But I’m confused,” in many meetings in my lifetime. I know someone in my most recent work environment where this individual will say, “Hold on, I’m confused.” And she says it about 5 times per conversation. To the point that you say to yourself, “You are so confused how do you still have a job?!”

It drives me nuts. But in reality, she is saying “I don’t know what to do so tell me.”

No thanks.

At the end of the day, we all know we don’t take action if we aren’t sure which action to take. And because we know this, we use this as a crutch to say, “Oh, I don’t understand, and because I don’t understand and I have told everyone I don’t understand, then I don’t have to do anything.”

Here’s the deal. That may work in the corporate world, but not in the entrepreneurial world. Why? Because you still have to get that action done! You don’t have a choice.

So that’s why we are talking about this one today. I see bad habits coming out of the corporate world, habits amazing women have picked up. And then they go into their own businesses and they quickly start to see the bad habits they created come to life.

So here’s the deal. If you are confused, find the clarity. It doesn’t matter where you are, corporate world, conversation with your spouse, or your business. Seek clarity so you can take action in all of those scenarios. Practice the good habit of seeking clarity. Don’t use confusion as a crutch.

You will not have an execution pillar if you do not overcome this one.

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In this episode, I am challenging you to participate in a virtual event or workshop.

Today is November 23rd, my birthday. My big gift from my amazing spouse was a ticket to Unleash the Power Within, the Tony Robbins event that just finished yesterday. Let me tell you. It was life-changing. I will be sharing some details from the 4-day event once I get my mind wrapped around it all and compile it in a way that will benefit you. But I share that with you because the event was 100% virtual.

So, today I simply want to encourage you to try a virtual workshop. Yes, I get it. You are tired of Zoom. You are tired of seeing people on camera and having that type of interaction. But I can also tell you that virtual workshops, retreats, and events, when done correctly, are absolutely amazing. You get to network, you get to connect, you get to learn, and you get to do all of that without having to travel or even dress professionally. BOOM. Win-win!

There are platforms that do this well. Tony Robbins uses Zoom. I know people who use Hopin, which I have mentioned before.

The point is that there are tons of tools out there to make the event engaging. Don’t hold back from joining what looks to be an amazing event that will teach you something new, empower you to move yourself and your business forward, etc. because it is virtual.

What about this? What about a virtual event where you go rent a hotel room, you stay in that room and you do your event so it feels like you traveled, you got a change of scenery, you could focus on the event, but you are just down the road from family, kids, etc. if needed?

The point is this. You have embraced the suck of working from home. Embrace the amazing world of virtual workshops. I think you will be surprised by just how well done they are and how they do NOT feel like a corporate meeting.

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Are you really, truly, honestly coachable? We all like to think we are open-minded, willing to see others’ perspectives, willing to learn from other people without questioning or feeling threatened. And then, we get into a situation where we need to be coached by someone else and we buck the system.

I get it. It’s hard to be coached in a work environment by someone you don’t respect or that you believe has less experience than you do. You are thinking “what can they teach me, they know nothing!”

The first step in being coachable is a mindset. You have to be willing to learn from someone else. Being willing to learn from someone else doesn’t mean they deserve to be in the role they are in, or that they are smarter and better than you, it simply means that we can all learn something from each person around us and we have to have that mindset in order to be effectively coached. Now that perspective is more focused on coaching in the corporate world; where you are going to be coached by your supervisor, someone you did not seek out to give you advice usually.

In the real world, being coachable means you are ready to run fast in your business and you want someone to help you overcome the barriers in your way slowing you down or that may prevent you from achieving success. You actively look for and find someone to help you with that.

But here’s the deal, coaching is uncomfortable. Lots of people don’t realize that until they are already signed up with a coach. Many people assume that coaching is all about you finding someone who has the knowledge you need, and you just pick their brain to get the details. That’s not the case. Think about being on a sports team. Yes, the coach teaches you what you need to know to be a better player, but they also push you, drive you, and help you become a more well-rounded player too.

So again, being coached can be uncomfortable. Coaches ask you lots of questions and want to understand where you want to be (so you have to know that), and push you to try new things (that you may not have thought of and now consider risky). Coaching requires growth. If you don’t want to tackle personal growth. Well, first, don’t be an entrepreneur but second, don’t hire a coach. A coach exists to help you grow into the person you are meant to be. Which means you will live outside of your comfort zone. The positive is that you are already living outside of your comfort zone in starting your business, and with a coach, you aren’t living there alone!

Everyone in the business world needs a coach. I’m a firm believer in that. We all need coaches to help us move ourselves to the next level so then we can move our businesses to the next level.

If you don’t have a coach, get one. Know that hiring a coach is different than coaching in the corporate world. But that is also a very good thing. If you are looking for a coach to help you start your business while working your corporate job or you are running your startup and you want to master the 9 pillars of business, we would love to support you at Legend Leaders.

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Today I’m challenging you to compile the rules of your startup. No doubt as you start your own business, you will want to write down exactly how you do things. You are used to living and working in a corporate world where you have tons of SOPs (standard operating procedures) and policies, etc. But when you start a business, you are making changes so fast, it’s hard to create policies and procedures that stick. So what do you do?

Most startups create a lot of unwritten rules, or “here’s the way we do it” rules. If you are around for any period of time, you teach new employees how to do things by one on one training, no guides, no rules, no onboarding, just face-to-face training on “here’s how we do it.”

Now, I’m not encouraging you to write SOPs right now. You don’t need that until you start to scale. But what I do want you to do is compile those rules. Create a document and put all of the “rules” in there. Those rules should help you deliver to your mission and your core values.

And so what have you done? You have started the process of compiling rules that will then help you create SOPs and policies once you are ready. You can evaluate the rules to confirm that yes, that truly is how you want XYZ handled. And you can quickly delete and change rules easier than you can policies and SOPs in order to stay agile.

It’s a good balance that will appease your corporate brain while allowing your entrepreneurial brain to not feel so constricted or like you will never get this figured out. You’ve created a framework and now you have given yourself freedom within it to move your business forward.

This is how I would recommend you stabilize your execution pillar in your startup.

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As you know, I mix my topics between helping you be successful in your corporate career, helping you grow your personal business, and helping you grow personally so you can successfully lead your own business and team. It’s all a win, right? Today I want to tackle the perspective: pushback when you see an issue.

Now, this need arises more commonly in the corporate world. I say that because, in the corporate world, you have to lead up. You aren’t the CEO of that company, which means when you see an issue, you have to push back.

So let’s say the company comes up with a new project for your team to execute. You listen, you digest it, you are always on board with getting it done, but as you listen, you are seeing a lot of challenges, a lot of gaps they didn’t solve for, and a lot of risks. You have two pathways here.

1. Stay silent, execute, and move on. But honestly, know you will be miserable because you see this project as doomed to fail and you really don’t think it’s a good idea.
2. Raise your concerns to your leader, share the facts, the concerns, what still needs to be solved for, etc. Let him or her know that you will follow direction, but need to ensure the key pieces have been thought through. Many times, when we have these conversations, the leadership team has thought through the pieces we didn’t hear about, they just didn’t share all of the details. So, that’s a relief, right? Other times they missed those details but you speaking up saved time and money for the organization. Either way, it’s a win.

Many times we try to stay quiet and stay out of the fray, but that just puts more frustration into our minds and hearts as a result. Then, can we be fully productive and present in our own businesses when we are feeling that way? Nope.

A little caveat. Don’t be disrespectful. But still, be you. Be confident in your concerns. Ask for clarity. Depending on your role, you may need to push fairly hard and be fully direct because that’s expected for the position you hold. The point is you, get it cleaned up, move that business forward, so you can then focus on moving your own business forward.

The goal from this lesson is to not simply learn how to push back or lead up, but how to present your ideas to your own business team to help them understand what you want to from them. Do you need someone to help you come up with the details? Or, have you come up with the details you simply need them to share concerns on those details.

Do you need to push back on anything in the corporate world? Do you already know how you will share new ideas and projects with your team?

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If you are working your corporate day job and you are watching your personal business grow, or maybe you are just getting your own business started, maybe your business has taken off, or maybe you are just tired of the corporate job. Any combination of those or none of those, no matter the reason, you may be 100% ready to quit the corporate rat race. Essentially, you are over it, but you can’t quit yet. What do you do?

First, I’m going to tell you, just let yourself feel that emotion for a few minutes. Don’t push that emotion down inside of yourself, or tell yourself you “can’t” feel that emotion. You know I will tell you that 99% of the rules we follow are ones we have created for ourselves, so don’t create another rule. You just freed yourself from denying your desire to be an entrepreneur in many instances. Don’t go back into that cycle of denial. Feel what you feel!

If you are tired of working your day job and you are ready to run your business full time, allow yourself to acknowledge those emotions. You have worked hard to generate the entrepreneurial success that you are now starting to realize.

Know this, anytime your mind wants to make a change, we have to honor ourselves and let have our brains think through that desire. Not because I want you to act on it, but because I want you to understand where it is coming from.

Is that desire to quit coming from a situation where someone disrespected you, hurt you, or went against your core values? In other words, they crossed your line in the sand?

Is it coming from the fact that you are just super excited to get out and keep pushing your own business?

You see, understanding WHY you feel what you feel is critically important to the actions you are then going to take. If you don’t allow yourself to acknowledge your thoughts and emotions, you will never realize when someone crossed your line in the sand, meaning, you will continue to stay in a place that damages your confidence and hurts your personal growth. You can’t do that. You need to find another job if your business can’t fully support you yet.

On the other hand, understanding that your desire to quit your day job is solely because you are excited about your own venture simply means you can and probably should stay put. The corporate world is treating you just fine. Yes, it is taking up time in your day, but you can still be committed to the mission of that company, provide value to the organization, learn business information that will help you grow your own business, and have the security of your paycheck during this time as well. It’s a win-win. Don’t damage a win-win.

I know you are probably ready to quit, for many reasons. I’m here to tell you it’s ok to feel that way. It’s 100% ok to be excited about how you are going to impact the world with your business. Keep that excitement! But when you are feeling ready to quit, allow yourself the time to understand where that desire is coming from. If the desire is due to poor decisions in the corporate world, you may very well need to leave. At that point, you need to decide when to leave and if you can leave and go straight to your business or if you need to take on a stepping stone position in the interim. If the feeling is coming from excitement from your own business, then determine if your business is ready for you to leave your full-time income before you make the leap. If it is, go for it!

Understand you’re why before you take action. Each time you feel that desire to quit, take the time to understand where it is coming from so you can consistently take the right action.

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Is daylight savings time zapping your energy? It’s so super common. We hear about it happening all of the time. I can tell you that I have definitely been going to bed about an hour earlier than normal because I find myself dragging around 9pm now. It’s normal. But what about when that impacts your productivity pillar throughout the day?

If that’s happening to you right now, my challenge to you is to go back to your basics. Are you waking up each day doing your morning routine? Are you spending time exercising, self-reflecting, reading/learning, and getting some wins before you start working?

Are you scheduling your most important tasks for first thing in the day so you can get it done? Now, if you are still working your corporate job, this can be hard as your first task in the day should be to be successful in that job. But what about spending an hour before your day job doing that one thing you need to accomplish today in your business? Are you doing that?

Are you staying energized and productive throughout the day? Remember, bears hibernate, we do not. So we don’t need to eat a ton of food and hunker down for the winter. Stay active throughout the day. Listen to some great music to keep you pumped up when your energy is low. Eat a healthy snack to energize your brain.

If you can create a routine that sets you up for success, you will be successful. So go back and check your routine. How are you doing with it?

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I continue to talk to you about leading through adversity and caring for your team no matter the situation. But it just struck me that I have left something out of that conversation. I’m going to call it, don’t let them see you sweat but instead, see that you care.

You know, throughout my corporate career I have handled stress differently than most. You know, when you are doing your rotations in pharmacy school and you are in the unfortunate, heartbreaking situation of helping provide drugs to the physician to help a patient whose heart has stopped, you can’t be the person panicking, passing out, or causing drama in the room. You have to take action.

After you take action and depending on the result, you can be frustrated, you can vent, you can cry, you can then be emotional. But in the thick of it all, you have a job to do and that job requires you to be level-headed and focused on the task at hand.

Now, you don’t have to have a healthcare background to know that in the world, there are all types of situations that require that same type of behavior. You go into a war room at work because a piece of the business has blown up and you need to help solve for it, take action, be decisive, and move out of the crisis.

The way you carry yourself has to be the same. No matter if the crisis is the loss of life or the loss of revenue or the loss of a service the customers so desperately need. While all of them have varying levels of humanity and human need, all of those situations demand that you don’t let them see you sweat, but instead, show you care.

For me, when I get into a tough situation, I don’t show emotion. I handle the business at hand. I have been told at points in my career that my team needs to see me talk about emotions and essentially “care” a little bit throughout the process.

I would leave you with that same thought. You can handle your business, but you have to talk about it to your team. You have to verbalize what you are doing. I normally say things like, “Team, you are going to see me handling the business or taking care of the issues at hand. I’m going to be doing the work I need to do. It’s not that I don’t care about the people impacted. I very much do care. It’s really the fact that I want to get this situation resolved as quickly as possible, and then I will take some time to take it all in, assess it, understand it, and let the emotions come in. Don’t let my actions cause you to think I don’t care.”

In other words, I will TELL them who I am and how I handle things so they don’t assume I don’t care or that I’m a robot. I’m not going to change how I react to high-pressure situations. But I can tell people how I handle it so they know I care and the reason I’m working so hard is for just that reason, I care.

Do you turn your emotions off when you get into stressful business situations? Are you the person that people turn to when the stress is high because they know when those situations present themselves, you are the one to count on? If yes, realize some people around you may not understand how you work through that in a way that shows care and concern. Be self-aware and talk to your teams as you move through those situations so they understand you and know you care, always.

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We continue to talk about being prepared for 2021. From wrapping up the holidays, to deciding who you want to be next year, to closing out the year strong with your one KPI. But to really win, you have to have a vision for the year. That said, how do you create a vision for 2021?

Many people don’t know how to create a vision for their business. It can definitely be hard, especially if you don’t consider yourself a visionary. I listened to a quick snippet of Donald Miller last week talking about creating your vision and he made a suggestion I want to share with you.

He said: ask yourself, “If I was a character in a movie, what would I need to do to make the movie really good?”

I don’t know about you, but I don’t think about myself like I’m in a movie and I don’t think about my business as if it is part of a movie plot. So this was hard to wrap my brain around. I'm more tactically minded and so to think about this from a "good movie" perspective was hard for me. But like everything, I forced my brain to think through it.

My movie is the story of me overcoming my fear of not being enough (smart enough, strong enough, etc.) to start and create an amazing business, and then it's about me actually running a successful business. I can see what my business does, how it accomplishes its a mission, how it impacts lives. I can see myself celebrating thousands of amazing women for starting their successful businesses. I can see myself happy and enjoying what I do and living my Legendary Life. I can see it, so now I can define it.

Now I’m keeping this high level because I can’t talk for an hour about all of the things I see in my life and in my business now that I've let my brain go down that path. The point is that I can clearly define what I would need to do to make the movie really good now that I have gotten started. I have to make it all interesting and it has to have an amazing ending.

From there, I simply need to work my movie backward to see how I get to that amazing ending. If I can see myself celebrating and living my life, what do I need to do in January, February, March, etc. to be living that life and celebrating those women in December of 2021?

What is your movie about? How do you make it interesting and really good? How do you create the amazing ending (to end December 31st, 2021)?

Create your vision for 2021 and use the momentum you are building now to carry you into that vision, executing on the strategies that align with the vision, and then making that movie a reality.

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I wanted to do a quick episode about using your calendar. I know we have talked about planning your holidays, having access to your new employee’s calendar, etc. But here’s the deal, you have to lead by example here. Are you using your calendar?

I know some people hate having their calendars on their phones and all information stored electronically. I get it. Some people dislike electronic forms of organization. But here’s the deal, I'm going to challenge you on that today.

I have seen a lot of female leaders say they don't like electronic calendars, but at the end of the day it's not the electronic part they dislike, it's the calendar part they dislike. They don’t want to fully commit to their productivity pillar.

If you are going to make your business work, you have to be productive. To be productive you have to allocate your time to the right work. You are a busy woman, especially if you are working your corporate job and running your business. You don’t have time to waste. You need to be most productive.

So before you say “I don’t like electronic calendars” I need you to look within yourself and ask yourself is it the electronic part you dislike or the calendar part you dislike? Electronic versions, you can move past those. Calendar aversions, you have to work through those.

Today's challenge is to organize your time and be productive.

Stop being a rebel on this one. 😉

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No doubt you are planning for 2021 and with that planning (either in your business, the corporate world, or both), you are going to hire new talent. The challenge you now face is creating a successful onboarding process in a remote environment.

First, I know this idea can lead to a bit of frustration. You are doing your day job, working from home, maybe caring for kids, trying to run your business in the off-hours, and now you have to create an onboarding strategy to help move the corporate business forward. So here's the deal, think about it this way, if you are doing it for your day job, learn how to do it well so you can hire a virtual assistant for your own business and already know how to onboard him or her correctly. There is always a silver lining!

That said, let's dive in.

Here are 5 basic mindsets, processes, or routines you need to establish so you can help the new hire be successful:

1. Clearly define their role. What are they responsible for? What metrics do they deliver to? What parts of the business do they own, what do they need to do each day? What is their routine? Define it end to end. Success should be an open book test. Your job is not to administer the test, your job is to teach them the material. Know your role.
2. What does good look like? Now that they know their roles, how do they exceed expectations? Define success. They already know what to do if you executed #1 above. Now tell them HOW they do the work in a way that is deemed successful.
3. Schedule touch bases. You have to talk to your direct report weekly to start. For the next few months, you have to check-in, ask questions, get updates and have the routine around reporting and connecting, sharing, and validating what they are working on, building their confidence, and keeping them focused on growing and learning. (Go back and listen to my other episodes to learn more about touch bases.)
4. Have viewership of their calendar. You need to ensure they are being productive and executing. They have to have these pillars in their routine or the business won’t have the pillars. Make sure they are scheduling and using their calendar effectively.
5. Set deliverables and emails. Define exactly what they need to share with you, when they should share it, and what you want to know. Many times I hear leaders say, “Just give me an update on your business.” The problem with that is that they don’t know the business. You do. So they aren’t going to deliver what you want because they don’t yet know what that is. Be clear. Be direct. Know your role.

If you can work through these 5 things, your new hire will be successful, and you will have created a successful onboarding process in a remote environment.

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Today's challenge is selecting the best vendors to support you. How do you actually do that?

You are running your business, maybe still working your corporate job depending on how far along you are in the business process. You need help getting some of the work done in your business. Even if you are working your business full time, you can’t do it all. Even if you could do it all, not everything is a strength and so it pays to have someone else help in some fundamental areas. Maybe it’s bookkeeping, marketing, admin services, or all of the above that you need support with. So how do you find the best vendor for you? I’m going to give you 3 key things to look for.

Before I jump into the 3 key aspects, I would recommend you interview vendors just like you do job candidates. Interview at least 3 of them (don't just pick the first one that responds and go with them). Select at least 3 companies to talk with and then do the following:

1. Trust your gut. When you get on the phone or on a Zoom call with them, how are the dynamics? Are they constantly talking over you? Are they so quiet you’re unsure if you have a bad connection? Are they pushy or conversely, are they apologetic for trying to sell you something? The key here is that first and foremost when you find the right team to support you, you are going to know. You should hit it off. Trust your gut.
2. Look for common working methodologies. You have a way of working. For example, for me, I like plans, I like them organized, I like to map out strategies for months at a time, I want a clear-cut process, I want to establish what good looks like, and want to establish my targets before I get started, etc. I would expect my partners to work similarly. If they are wishy-washy, can’t give me suggestions out of the gate, or simply can’t make any commitments to me, then they aren’t going to be for me. I need them to think and operate similarly to me. I can’t afford to have misunderstandings or misalignments when I’m trying to run fast. A vendor is an extension of your team. Ensure they can be that by working similar to how you work.
3. Do they know their stuff? Do they have some street cred? I’m not saying they have to have a thousand previous clients or 10 testimonials, etc. I’m just saying, evaluate what they know. They should have a very clear, executable plan based on what you are asking for. They should be able to tell you some key things they will do for you on that introductory call that, based on your knowledge of your business and your needs, will fit what you are looking for.

If you can check for at least these 3 things, you are more than likely going to find a good vendor partner to support your business. You have to trust yourself, you have to add a team like they are your team, and you have to ensure they know what they are doing because every dollar counts and you don't have time to waste.

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To create a successful business, you have to praise and celebrate the right behaviors.

Have you ever worked for a company or led a team that just wasn't delivering, maybe they were hitting their KPIs but that didn't translate to financial results . . . and yet you can’t figure out why? You are doing all of the things asked of you, you are delivering to the metrics, the leadership is praising your team for the activities you are doing, you are being rewarded for performing . . . yet the business is struggling. Here is the question you need to ask yourself, are you praising and celebrating the right behaviors?

I know of a company that is struggling and yet praising people for essentially doing nothing more than waking up and doing their jobs. A great example, a manager that works with their customers/clients is getting praise for literally visiting with those individuals, which is that person's primary responsibility. What is the company actually getting out of the trip besides just a visit? Are they measuring any ROI off of that trip? Are they setting expectations for customer/client visits and measuring those results? In this instance, the answer is no.

Because they are praising the idea of putting on the uniform instead of praising how many points they score in the game, they aren't winning in the game of business. The wrong focus leads to the wrong activities.

Now, it sounds silly that companies would do that. But I’m here to tell you, if you don’t lay a proper execution pillar in your business, it will happen to you. You see, you can focus on showing up and being happy that you finally have someone to show up to (celebrating someone new joining your team). Or, you can celebrate the fact that you had someone do a job after they showed up. Focus is everything. Focus on celebrating the wrong activities, and you won’t have a business.

This is so critical. So many businesses are failing right now because their execution pillar is jacked up. They think they are playing the game when they are still in the locker room putting on their uniform. If you praise me for how well I tie my shoes, then what does it matter if I even go play the game? I already got my praise, my financial reward, and my job security. I don't need to go win. That's essentially what you have told me when you praise the wrong behavior.

If you realize this is happening to you right now in your business, you have to refocus your execution pillar.

Now as a quick aside, what happens to your team when you do that? They are shocked that now you are telling them they’re not delivering so be aware of how you own and deliver that message (communication pillar). Some people will adapt and go play the game and some could only get dressed well and could never actually play the game, so they will have to find another company.

At the end of the day, constantly assessing what you praise will ensure your execution pillar is sound and that you are getting the results your business needs.

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So let’s say you find yourself in a situation where you are going to leave the corporate organization you work for, it could be due to the organization crossing your line like we discussed yesterday, it could be due to you wanting to step down to a position with fewer hours, it could be that you are almost ready to step away and run your own business full time. Whatever the reason, keep leading as you execute your exit strategy.

Now, for the sake of this discussion, I'm going to focus on you leaving because the company crossed your line in the sand so to speak. It's easy to get into a situation where you get frustrated, you get angry, you know that you deserve to be treated better and you’re not going to stand for it.

First, I understand and I support you standing up for yourself. Period. No questions asked.

But while you are making moves, planning the next steps that are best for you, remember that your team is going to be in the middle of that. They didn’t ask for the drama, just like you didn’t. So you have a choice. You can either behave poorly or you can avoid the drama, lead your team, protect them, guide them, and support them like you always have, and when the time is right, you leave and you can do it knowing you kept your integrity and you lead through the adversity.

Now wouldn’t you much rather be seen as that type of leader than the skunky, immature leader that pouted, stomped around like a 2-year-old, and by the time you left everyone was grateful you were gone? You want people to miss your leadership, not pray that it’s going to end soon.

So again, care for your team as you execute your exit strategy, no matter the reason, no matter the timeline of your exit. They are counting on you.

Now, I haven't been in this exact scenario but I do remember being passed over for a job I was asked to apply for.

I remember in my corporate job I applied for a position, at the request of the executive leader of the organization. The interview went great, but I wasn’t selected for the job. I remember thinking, "I was asked to apply, what the heck?!" So I asked all of the interview panelists for feedback and I was told I did perfectly. I mean, ZERO growth feedback. They couldn't tell me anything I needed to improve upon. But I still didn’t get the job. I was frustrated. I didn’t understand. But I had a choice, I could pout or I could take care of my team and keep pushing forward. I decided to keep pushing forward, and less than a year later, I was asked to step into an even better role. When I got into that position and watched the other person operate in the job I wasn't selected for, I was so GRATEFUL I didn’t get that job. Grateful. I got a better job because I kept taking care of my team and doing the right things.

So, as you work your corporate job, when you get to a point where you are working on your exit strategy, my challenge to you is to keep leading your team.

Be Legendary!

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Today I'm challenging you to draw your line. This is the line that, if crossed in the workplace, you know you need to leave that organization.

When you work in the corporate world, you have to play by those rules. You have to dedicate your life to achieving those goals, sacrificing your time, your brainpower, and your efforts for the good of something else, something larger than you. Once you have worked for a company long enough, it’s hard to separate what they say is right from what you believe or know is right. As you continue to move through your career, you may be asked to take certain actions, be put in a position, etc. that challenges your moral code. When that happens, it’s fairly obvious and pretty clear that you should leave that organization.

But what about situations when they disrespect you? When they treat you poorly, like promoting someone over you that isn’t qualified, or they make promises about pay, time off, or other benefits but never deliver? Or what if they are going through a restructure and they don’t support you in the changes you have to make? Those are less obvious lines that have been crossed.

But here’s the deal, if you feel as if a line has been crossed, rest assured, it has. The worst thing that we can do is overanalyze a situation and make excuses for someone else's poor behavior. Unfortunately, most of us do just that. We certainly try to make up reasons why we have been treated with such disrespect because ultimately we think maybe, just maybe, we deserved it.

Let me tell you, that’s crap. You don’t deserve to be treated like that, whether you are fully devoted and have no side hustle or you are fully devoted and running your own business at the same time. Neither is a cause for disrespect and a failure to honor who you are and what you bring to that business.

I share this now as I see in the news lots of organizations going through leadership changes, restructures, layoffs, and the like. This is something I am challenging you to think about right now.

Today's challenge is to create your line in the sand. Decide right now which events, actions, attitudes, etc. are non-negotiables for you such that if they ever happen, you know you are leaving.

Here's the deal, you can find another job while you are getting your business up and running. You are amazing. Don’t stay in a place of disrespect that will only bring you down. Confidence is your superpower, remember? You deserve the best. Go to a place that realizes that and treats you as such.

Decide your line in the sand now so you will not make excuses, you will simply take the action you know you need to take. Hopefully, the line never gets crossed, but it if does, you are ready.

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We are still in early November, but it’s our last single-digit day of the month. We are marching toward the end of the year. I have to ask, what is the one KPI that will help you deliver and close out your year strong?

When I hit this point in the year I watch business owners do one of three things: give up because they have already missed their target to the point they will never hit it, say they have already met their goal so there is no need to push, or they just simply take their eyes off of their finish line.

Why?!

These last 6 weeks are not fluff. Those numbers represent people who still need your help. That’s what that KPI you pick out is going to measure, impacted lives. So don’t back down or slack off. Take your productivity framework and maximize it. Take your execution framework and maximize it.

Enjoy your holidays. You already have your holiday plan mapped out. That’s done. Now, decide what that one KPI is going to be to close you out strong.

For me, I am looking at engagement on some new ads that I am running. Engagement on some new ads and engagement on some posts I am going to do that show the more personal side of me, so I can provide more connection and create my tribe audience. So my KPI is engagement. I have goals for the number of posts I’m going to do, the amount of money I will spend on ads, and I have a goal for the posts and the ads engagement levels. How do I get the Legend Leaders message out there to the women who need it so I can help them deliver in 2021? I have to measure engagement.

What are you measuring? Pick something. Define it. Set goals. Carry it through the end of the year. Don’t give up, you still have 6 weeks left. Don’t think you should stop because you have delivered financially, keep helping more people!

What is that one KPI? Set it today.

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I've been gearing up on my fall shift, better known as my self-improvement reflection and adjustment time that I take each year. So I've been listening to some Tony Robbins and getting my mind right. He has a saying that resonated with me and I want to talk about it today, it is: success without fulfillment is a failure.

Why am I thinking about self-improvement in November? Well, I don’t do New Year’s resolutions, I start working on self-improvement throughout the year but I really focus on resetting in October (which I have done) so I can build a routine. And while everyone else is like “I’m going to be amazing and i’m starting on January 1st” I can already be on my path by January 1st.

So, I’m working on my path. I’m focusing on who I’m going to become over the next year, and I’m listening to some Tony as part of that journey. The quote: success without fulfillment is a failure. That was a gut punch when I heard it.

Not because I’m trying to pursue things that won’t fulfill me. But because it reminds me of why I left the corporate world in the first place. I mean, I remember thinking “the next promotion is going to be IT, that’s when I’m going to find my place.” Or, when I pay off my pharmacy school loans, or go on this trip, or buy this new electronic device, or get to this bodyweight because I can afford to buy XYZ food and workout programs and I should be wearing ABC clothes." It was all tied to work and what I could accomplish relative to that job, that title, that income.

I was not fulfilled each time I achieved one of those milestones. I just started chasing the next thing. Thinking, “OK, I was wrong, let me try again.” Not until I finally acknowledged who I am meant to be, the journey I am supposed to be on, the mountain I am supposed to be climbing did I start to feel fulfilled. Now, when I talk to a woman who is starting her own business or running her own business and I empower her, give her some strategies, arm her with some new ideas, and she is excited and ready to run out of the room to take action, that’s when I feel fulfilled. That’s when I have truly succeeded.

What are you succeeding at that fulfills you? Or are you still failing? Take a look at what you have defined as success, what you have allowed the world around you to define as your success. In the definition of success by Tony Robbins, are you succeeding or failing?

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Let's talk about why you need to believe in your own journey. That's a fitting topic for today because this is episode 300!! It’s so totally crazy. I committed to doing an episode a day for a year in order to grow myself and make myself better so that I can ultimately be who you need me to be. Thank you so much for listening to me as I continue to believe in my own journey and share that journey with you.

This is the last nugget I’m sharing from Brendon Bruchard this week, wrapped in my own perspective of course. 😁

We are all on a journey. That’s the point of life; to figure out why we are here, what we are supposed to be doing on this planet, then we work hard to get there and do what we are meant to do.

Now, as an aside, I have to say, isn’t it easier to not do what we were meant to do, and then so super hard to do the things we were created to do? We were created to be entrepreneurs. That’s hard “to do.” Being an employee, super easy, which makes it hard to believe in our journey. It makes it hard to stick with it, to push forward on our journey. And honestly, here’s the deep part, it's hard to actually believe that this IS meant to be our journey. I mean, how many times do you doubt, question, wonder, cry in the shower, all in moments of frustration?

How many times do you create an email or an ad or a post and you get very little, if any, response? Then you are like, "What the crap? I guess I’m not supposed to be doing this." It’s so easy to give up because giving up is easy. The journey is hard. To be successful, it takes grit. It takes waking up each day and applying your execution framework and getting crap done. It takes putting one foot in front of the other each day, knowing that you are growing into the person you are meant to be so you can serve those you are here to serve.

The way all of this ties. into Brendon's message is this, his message was to remember that what you have done and are doing is worthwhile and you have to shift your mindset to a place where you value your own opinion.

When we look around and say, everyone else is making it, why am I not? Or, no one else is starting their own business they are happy with their job, why am I ungrateful? Or, I want to do XYZ but I don’t have an amazing backstory, my parents were great, I had a good childhood, got good grades, went to a great college, etc. No issues. What kind of amazing story am I going to tell to have people connect with me? Maybe I need to wait until I have a great “screw up” story to connect with people.

Seriously? You are enough. Your story is enough. Your journey is enough.

People create and sell mattresses. Why? Because they were displeased with what they had so they created something better. What’s their story? "I created a better mattress for you because I was displeased with mine." It’s not some story about never having a bed and sleeping on the floor and dreaming about a mattress and when they finally got one, the mattress didn’t fit their dream so they made a new one. No. Their story is simple. They believe in their journey because it’s their truth.

Believe in your journey. Believe that you are here for a reason, that you have something to offer. The hard path is your journey, stop thinking it’s not. The rocks and the mud and the rain, and the thunder, and the downed trees you have to climb over to reach your peak, they are there to make you become the strongest person who conquered the mountain, to become the skilled climber you need to be in the world. So then you can teach others which tools they need to climb the same mountain.

Are you valuing your journey?

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As I promised yesterday, I am going to talk about a few of the nuggets from a Facebook training Brendon Bruchard hosted several weeks ago. I covered one of his top 10 brand builders yesterday, today I want to talk about another one, the perspective of honoring everyone.

Now, Brendon defined it as honoring every person. This one is something I come back to regularly, although I haven’t called it this before. It’s the theory or the idea we put into our own heads when we tell ourselves that we need permission from other people in order to move forward, run, or start our business.

None of us need permission or someone else’s understanding in order to progress forward and make our crap happen. Now, many of us think that to honor people, we have to listen to their opinion and feedback.

Go back and listen to my feedback episodes if you need a quick refresher here. Feedback is a gift. But it doesn’t mean you have to keep that ugly sweater. You can trash that gift if it doesn’t fit you, which in this case means you need to forget the feedback that's holding you back.

When you have a personal gift, a passion, a need to help people solve the problem you solve, do you realize that they are out there waiting on you to get your stuff together so you can solve their problem? They are waiting on you! So listen to them. Honor them. Help them. That's the feedback you need to listen to.

Will there be haters? Will there be someone who doesn’t like you, who isn’t your customer? Of course! There are billions of people out there, and they are all on the internet, on social media, and they all have opinions to share and they hide behind the anonymity of social media.

People feel like they should share their opinion because they are jealous, they lack personal confidence so they put others down to feel better, or they just simply don’t understand what you do. Let me tell you, that's fine.

Why?

Because you are purposefully trying to attract your ideal customer and repel everyone else. Those that hate, that is negative, that leave ugly comments and say hurtful things, they are the customers you are trying to repel. So guess what, it worked!

Don’t get hateful. Don’t challenge them back. Don’t respond. Don't let their comments ruin your focus, your day, or change your trajectory. Honor everyone. Everyone can have an opinion. Everyone has a problem that needs to be solved, you won’t be able to solve everyone’s problem. So realize your social media postings are out there to filter the population. It’s working. So let it work and move on! Honor everyone by letting everyone share whatever they have to say, but stay focused on who you are here to serve instead of getting distracted.

Are you honoring everyone in your reactions, responses, and focus? Your challenge is to get to that mental space where you can do that and not let it bother you so in turn, you can serve those you are meant to serve.

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I’m bringing another learning to you today which I’m going to call: the four roles you can play in your industry. I was listening to Brendon Bruchard several weeks ago when he did a live summit on Facebook. He kicked it off by talking about the 10 actions he took to build his brand. I’m going to talk about a few of these actions over the next few days, one of which I'm calling the four roles you can play in your industry.

Brendon talked about these four possible roles and he said that you essentially have to decide which one you are and which one you want to play. He defined them as follows:

• Creator: you like to create new ideas, new products, new businesses. You create but you aren’t focused on growing a business, just sharing ideas.
• Leader: you share your journey so others can do the same thing you have done. You help them overcome, achieve, and be in whatever space you are in.
• Lynchpin: you hold everything together in the industry. You are a gatherer of people and you bring the people and the ideas together; creating a movement.
• Icon: you transcend the industry. You devote your entire life to changing the industry you are in and you become recognized as THE person who dominates and dictates that industry.

Now I don’t know about you, but these resonated with me. As he went through each one of these I thought to myself: Leader, that’s me.

I am disciplined, I am a resource, I want to help others overcome. I love the idea that my struggle is going to become someone else’s success. It just resonates with me each time I think about it.

What about you?

When you see yourself in your business, within your industry, are you a creator (you come up with amazing stuff but you need help from an implementor to run the business)? Are you a leader (someone who starts something that matters in order to impact the individuals on that journey)? What about the lynchpin (who gathers people together and creates a movement)? Or the icon (the step above all of the other 3 in my mind. The GOATs. The greatest of all time like the Oprahs of the world)?

Who do you want to be today? Who do you want to be in 10 years from now in your industry? This needs to be part of your life plan because once you align yourself to one of these, achieving this in your industry should lead to personal fulfillment.

Your challenge today is to decide which one of these roles you want to play in your industry.

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Recently, I completed some work by Marisa and the Live Your Message Team. One of the teachings she shared is tribe vs. niche-based audiences. You know I always listen to other industry leaders, I'm always learning. When I learn something that resonates, I share and add my perspective.

As you are building out your communication framework, i.e., how you are going to communicate into the marketplace, you have to know what type of following you are trying to create. Now, many of us think, “I’m not trying to create a following, I just want to help people.” I get it, but if you have something you are selling, you are inherently creating a following. You want brand loyalty, right? So how are you going to communicate in order to achieve that in the marketplace?

You have to decide if you are going to create a tribe or a niche type audience.

Marisa describes the tribe-based audience as the intersection of who you serve and how you’re different. Makes sense, right? The “how you are different” is why people follow you. It’s why you listen to this podcast for example.

Niche-based on the other hand is the intersection of who you serve and what you do.

So which one do you want to create?

For me, I want a tribe-based audience. I want to build connections with my client base and I want to have a connection that’s unique to me. So I gravitate to the tribe definition. I want relationships, community, connection.

Now, for Determined, my backpack company, I had to think through this. I think for products, most people say, niche. “I just want to sell my product to the right people.” For me though, I really think I’m a tribe type of person, even for a product.

So here is how I think about this one. You do have to pick which type of audience you want to create because how you communicate with them, how you build your communication pillar, will be different depending on the audience type.

To build this audience following, I have to do what I talked about yesterday. In order to build my audience; I have to be vulnerable. I have to connect with you, the people that I serve, but I have to talk to you about how I’m different. So how am I different? Let me list a few ways:

I don’t believe in dressing professionally all of the time.

I think women can and should be direct and confident and not be told they are a B* for being such. I think women have to "tone it down" to make others feel comfortable being in the wrong circle and doing the wrong job. Be you, be bold, be strong, go make the world better!

When I teach, I create a stepwise approach for you to follow. I try to create a very logical, rational approach so that when you hear it you are like, "DUH, yep, that’s it. I couldn’t put my finger on it before, but that’s it!"

When I coach, I try to help everyone realize that 99% of the rules are rules we have created in our heads--so stop following fake rules and move forward. The big rule I combat right out of the gate is: You have to quit your job to start your business. No, you don't! But we create rules in our minds to tell us we have to do that.

Some people like my perspectives, some don’t. I don’t want you to be part of my tribe and buy my services or products without having that connection. That's just me.

That doesn’t mean that niche-based is wrong. It just isn't the path I want to follow. So let me ask you, which type of following or audience type do you want to create? Your challenge today is to decide and to adjust your communication pillar accordingly.

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I know that over the past few weeks I have shared a bit more about me, the changes in my life, the decisions I have made, etc. to get me where I am today. I have to tell you, being vulnerable is hard. But for your business to work, it is truly necessary for you to be vulnerable with your audience.

I can also tell you that when it comes to being vulnerable, I feel like I have sucked at it. It’s so easy to get on here and tell you what to do in business and how to make the decisions. I can empower you because I have lived through the experiences and I know you get that when I talk to you about them. Those conversations are easy, the business side, the actions, the next steps, etc.

But what is missing is the connection. You see, in each of these episodes, I have to give you a piece of me. Sometimes I do that, sometimes I completely stay away from it.

Being vulnerable is hard. So why do I keep trying and pushing myself? Remember, for you to connect with me you have to identify with me. But if you don’t identify with me, you go find someone else to identify with. Now, that’s just life. I'm not going to connect with everyone, neither are you. But when you are starting a business, a piece of you DESPERATELY wants everyone to align with what you are saying, teaching, and how you are trying to help them.

I mean, my goal for this podcast is to propel you forward. If I’m not doing that, if I'm not helping you, then I've missed my mark.

If I'm going to help you, you have to trust me. To trust me, you have to feel like you know me.

Now, I share bits and pieces about my family, the kids, what’s going on in the moment, but I’m introverted at heart. And I don’t share a lot about me personally with many people, I have a few close friends and that's it. But when I think about sharing more broadly, I have a few limiting beliefs that I'm trying to overcome. Let me share them with you so you know you aren't the only one who feels this way or you're not the only one who runs into these self-doubts:

1. "I’m just me. And who am I, right? I don’t need to be bragging about my life and what I have and all that I do." This is a limiting belief. Each episode, I get over this a bit more, but it’s still a struggle.
2. On the flip side, a big part of me, the true me, says, "If you don’t like me, screw it. I don’t care. I’m me." But then I wonder for a few seconds, can I really say that in a new business? Well here’s the deal, you can to a degree. I just had to figure out the degree.

I don’t need everyone to follow or listen to me. Not everyone will anyway. I’m just me. Either we click or we don’t. I can’t be worried about how many of people like me vs. not or if you agree with my life decisions, pathway, perspective, etc. But I do need to share me in a way that allows you to make a decision.

Those are realizations we all have to go through as we are starting and running our businesses. Now, some people will say, "Katrina, I’m not selling me, I’m selling a product."

I get it, but you are a representation of your brand and your company. You are a package deal. People want to connect emotionally with you and what you are selling. So let them.

I have to tell myself this regularly. I’m a work in progress. I share this with you, so you will not be so hard on yourself if you are struggling with being vulnerable too. Stay on your path. Stay on your journey. You are going to arrive.

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Yesterday we talked about mindset and how to be confident. I challenged you to figure out what is holding you back and how to protect your confidence because confidence is your superpower. Today, I want to continue on that line of thought and I want you to tell them to zip it.

You know who and what I am talking about. Those people that, they like you, love you, whatever the case may be, but they constantly tell you why what you are doing is wrong. They challenge every aspect of you wanting to start your own business; from why you shouldn’t start the business or invest the money, to why you shouldn't take the demotion to have more time to yourself.

Those individuals are killing your confidence. Confidence is your superpower. You only take action, and productive action at that, when you are confident and certain in what you are doing. You have to find a way to separate yourself from those individuals. You are meant for something amazing. We can’t have those people holding you back.

So think about how you do that.

First, admit to yourself that you are worth the protection. You see, most of the time we let them derail us because we too aren’t 100% confident. Believe that you and your dreams are worthy of protection. Remember that.

Second, decide if you can have a conversation. If yes, confidently ask them to support you. If not, decide how often and in what situations you will see them. Then mentally prepare yourself for those discussions. Much like you prepare yourself for negotiation or a battle, you have to have your mind right. And if the conversations go to the place where your confidence is challenged, have something that you will say back to this person to acknowledge them but stand your ground. Come up with it now so you are ready.

Third, are they even worth a conversation? (I don't mean as a person, I mean based on the role they play in your life and the type of relationship you have with them). If the answer to that is no, then simply move on. This could be an acquaintance on Facebook that likes to share her opinions on everything but you aren't close and it wouldn't really bother you to separate yourself from that connection.

We are getting ready for the holidays as you know, I have talked to you about that for almost a week now. Families are great, but sometimes hard. What are you going to do or say to protect your confidence and essentially tell them to zip it so you can maintain your superpower?

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Confidence is your superpower. Did you know that? How many meetings have you been in where you didn’t know the answer, but you had an opinion. So you launched into that opinion with such confidence and power that everyone took your word for it and there was no debate?

I think we have all been in those situations in the corporate world. As you reflect back on that moment I am referring to, you know that they heard you because you were confident. You were certain of the path, so you delivered the message as if it was the only answer.

So my question for you today is, why are you not showing up like that in your own life? Why are you not confidently showing up and using confidence as your superpower?

Let me let you in on a little secret. We all know we have to show up confidently for work. It’s like when we put on professional clothes, the confidence is layered into those clothes. I don’t know what it is, but it seems to be true. At the end of the day, professional clothes or not, it’s all about mindset. If you are confident in what you want to say and do, you will do it.

So why are you showing up lacking confidence in starting or running your business? What is holding you back? Because here is the deal, you have to show up confident if you are going to have your productivity and execution pillars working effectively.

Are you derailing yourself? Are you damaging your mindset? You have to stop now and ask yourself this question. The answer will determine how successful you are going to be.

Remember, if you think you are going to fail, you will. Focus on what you want, not what you don’t want. Mindset is everything in business.

Is your mind right, right now? Are you showing up confident? Are you ready to push your business forward?

If you can’t say yes, pause right now and get yourself in the right place. Look back on your why, look at your list of wins, look at the life you want to live, the impact you want to have, the person you are becoming. Call a friend who supports you and have them remind you who you are.

Don’t stay in the negative space. Confidence is your superpower. You have to have it to move your business forward. So let’s get it back!

Be Legendary!

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What is scarier than a zombie? 🧟‍♂️ The answer is: not following your dream. Happy Halloween everyone!

Today is the day we talk about the scary things that could exist in this world. (You know I grew up in the 80s with the Freddie Krueger, Jason, and Micheal Myers movies so my mind always goes to those situations.) This is the holiday where we focus on fear, being frightened, and having a laugh at those fears. But let me tell you about a fear that isn’t something you will laugh at in the future if you let it win, that fear that you will regret not overcoming is the one where you miss out on your dream.

You see, we were all put on this earth to do something. I believe that to be true. We have been given gifts and capacity and then free will to do with all of it what we chose. And for many people, they are choosing to play it safe instead of facing and overcoming their fear.

I’m here to remind you, on the day of facing your fears, to face this one too. If you have been dreaming about a business, thinking about starting one, are in the early phases of establishing a business, or you are in the middle of a startup but you are still only halfway committed, overcome your fear today.

Stop letting the fear of failure, the fear of what other people will think, the fear of starting small and everyone seeing you, the fear of not being good enough, the fear of losing your really good job, and everyone knowing you made a big mistake, the fear of telling everyone you want more than what you have and coming across like you are ungrateful.

Let it all go.

Face those fears, today.

Punch those fears in the face like we all pray the girl does to the estranged killer in the 80s horror movies. 🥊

Start November 1st with a whole new attitude. Like the last survivors at the end of the horror movie, get ready to be stronger, better, and ready for what lies ahead because of the fears you have already faced.

Be Legendary!

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Today we are talking about the concept: Feed your body, not just your mind. I have done tons of episodes about becoming the person you need to be to run a million-dollar company. Most of that is focused on your mind; reading books, listening to podcasts, journaling, meditating, all of those are great for your mind and your productivity. But remember, your mind and your body are connected. They very much affect each other. When you are hesitant to make a decision mentally, you are also hesitant to make a decision physically and vice versa.

Let me give you an example, no doubt you know someone who doesn’t make fast decisions. They sit and think and analyze and worry. They will never move forward. Now let's say one day you decide to go to a water park together. How long do you think it will take them to get the courage to go down a big slide? They aren’t the type of people to say, "Yeah, ok let’s go." And then it gets done immediately. They have to think about it for most of the day.

Now, we can talk about personality and the like. I’m not going to get into that today. But what I am going to say is that when you tell yourself to do something, your brain and your body have to react. You know Tony Robbins talks about getting in that cold water bath every single morning, and he says he does it to train his mind and his body that when he says go, they go. Are you training your mind and your body to go when you say go? You see, we need to both to actually go.

When get both your mind and body to go immediately on demand, things like snoozing the alarm clock stops, being late to meetings stop, and all of the other things that come about because you just simply say “go” and your body and your mind react.

Tony says we have to train our brains to push through the limitations because we are going to be facing limitations each day as we focus on creating, growing, and mastering our businesses. You are already more knowledgeable today than you were last year. Why? Because you pushed through the limitations.

So get good at working out each day. During each workout, push yourself. (Be responsible, I’m not giving you medical advice here.) I’m simply saying, if you can exercise and workout and you are simply choosing not to, you are deprioritizing it, get back on track.

Feed your body, so your mind will win too.

Remember that exercise is a great stress reliever, it clears your mind, allows you to reboot yourself, and reenergize. There are so many reasons why we need to be taking good care of our bodies.

So today, on Friday, before candy and party weekend, be kind to your body. And when you say “no more candy” stick to it. Push past the limitation and start thinking about how you feed your body, not just your mind. Learn how to push past the limitations physically so you can do the same mentally.

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We have 2 months left in the year, and I want to know: is your life plan on track?

I mean, it has just hit me how tired I am, mentally. 😁 I have put out 4 courses this year, another one on the way, launched my backpack company, and I’m still a mom and a wife, I volunteer . . . and, well, you get it. It probably sounds just like you!

I can speak for myself when I say that when COVID hit I said, “OK, I’m going to make the best of it.” Because why not, right? We talk about having that optimistic realist mindset. Why not make the best of it? Why not capitalize on working from home 100% of the time? Why not use this as a time to assess what I’m working on and double down and push? Why not?

But I’m here to remind you because I have to remind myself, that we have to stick to our individual life plans. For me personally, I have to allow myself to live my Legendary Life.

Legend is a huge part of that, being creative, serving, helping amazing female business leaders. I love it! So I am living my Legendary Life by moving Legend forward. But the other parts of my Legendary Life, like my spouse and my kids, I can say that with the wonky school schedules and the routine, that's just not really a routine yet . . . I haven’t been the best at spending quality time.

We are physically together a lot more and it struck me that over the past few weeks, that I have been taking that for granted. I had to look in the mirror and call myself out. And I’m telling you, we all have to do that to ourselves regularly. Life gets busy or we shift and suddenly we find ourselves not living up to our full life plan. We can start to get close to burnout if we aren’t careful.

We have to go back to living our plan and even with a plan, we will slide. The key is that the plan will help us remember what we should be doing, so we can quickly get back to it, which is awesome.

So for me, we spent this past weekend in Asheville, North Carolina, which is where I am from. We enjoyed the fall leaves, the kids spent time with my parents, and I set aside the electronics and focused on enjoying the moments. It is exactly what my Legendary Life plan called for.

I keep pushing you to schedule time for yourself, holiday time, team holiday time, etc. But what about just "life" time? Are you letting yourself live and enjoy right now?

If you just started committing to your business and you are living a little tight financially right now, realize that a bubble bath and a good book are just as important in your life plan list as a weekend spa getaway.

Take care of yourself. Take care of your family. Live while you are creating your business.

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Yesterday I talked about planning for the holidays, and how that has to happen not only for yourself but for your employees. As we focus on the last few months how are you staying connected to your team?

You know it was easy to focus on everyone in March, April, and May. We assumed this working from home stuff was going to end by then. But when we hit July, we realized it was going to continue. We settled into it. Now, instead of purposeful team building and connection, most leaders are simply pushing forward into the business. The connectivity has been lost.

So think about rebuilding the connection now, and then as you move through the holidays. In the spirit of being empathetic to your team, send each of them a gift card for lunch, or a pizza for the family if they are doing virtual learning with their kids. Maybe they can join you for a Zoom lunch and everyone can reconnect. (Note: I’m not talking about asking them to stay after hours to spend even more time in front of the computer. No one wants that.)

Maybe they can't do that because of the kids, and you need to see that for what it is. Still send the food, still appreciate them. Find another way that works for everyone to connect, like asking them to share photos of their kids or pets or selves for Halloween, and you do the same.

For Thanksgiving or Christmas, you can’t do the typical potlucks or parties. But you can ask everyone to share their favorite recipe for a Thanksgiving dish as a virtual potluck. Maybe a little note about why it’s their favorite so you get to know them as well. If you have the time for it, you could have everyone send a recipe to you. You make it, then do taste testing in your family to see what everyone likes the best, and then the top-voted dish wins a gift card. Something fun, simple, a contest, etc.

If you normally have a Christmas party, maybe you send out drink recipes and a little box of ingredients so they can make the drinks and join you in an afternoon holiday celebration. Instead of drink mixes, you could send holiday decor, a new technology support item like a headset or a lift for their desks, something that shows your appreciation but is also work-related and appropriate.

The point is this. Think outside of the box. Be creative. What did you do in the past? How can you do something similar but do it virtually and do it in a way that SUPPORTS your team; that shows you know them, you care about them, and you are still there supporting them. Don't forget to ask them what they want to do too!

You planned your holiday schedule out yesterday. Go add 1 or 2 team holiday events to your schedule now as well. Have fun! Show you care!

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It’s the end of October and you know what that means, you are going to blink and it’s going to be Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day all in a 2-second time span. So here's what I'm encouraging you to do today, plan your holiday time now.

If we aren’t aware of the time of year, not only will we lose time in our business, but we will lose time in our lives and in the lives of those who matter to us. So today, I want you to plan your holiday events and schedule your to-do's. I’m not talking down to the hour, but I am talking about doing this for both personal and work time.

For work, how much time are you going to spend working in your business? Are you going to pull back? Do your KPI goals and financial goals align with that shift? Can you still deliver and pull back? How do you make it work? Note, I'm not telling you to not pull back. I want you to spend the time you want to spend. I simply don't want you stressing about KPIs if you haven't planned effectively. So here's the deal, just plan. 😁

If you have employees, how are you supporting them? Do you have holidays off per your company policies or events that you can try to do virtually? Does your business metric plan support them being off as well?

From a personal perspective, how much time are you going to spend with family? Are you traveling or is anyone traveling to you? How will you make sure you are fully present, not missing a moment?

Plan it now. Commit to what matters to you. Make sure your time at work and time away align and that you don’t have unrealistic goals for the next two months that will cause you to miss out on the season with those who matter most to you. If you plan now, you will have plenty of time to prepare, in both areas of your life to ensure you deliver on the balance you want to achieve.

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Today's challenge: as you are eliminating the gray, include underperformance. I am getting feedback from friends and clients that they are considering the restructuring pathways for their businesses (reducing headcount, changing the overall structure of their businesses, etc.). If you haven’t listened to that series, go check it out. As they are working through it, what they have all realized to some degree or another, depending on how long they have been in business, is that inefficiency is costing them money.

Yes, no surprise. If you hire someone to do a job, but they aren’t doing it, you are spending money for no reason. It’s why I tell you, if you hired someone to do a job but it’s not getting done, that person doesn’t need to stay on your team.

I get that you like them. I get that they are a good person. But you have to keep the business on an efficient pathway such that when life changes, the business is spending only what it has to spend to work effectively.

Now, if you are like these folks and you are realizing that you need to reduce expenses, you are going to look at the people that aren’t performing as expected. You want to remove the wasted payroll, so you sit and you slice and you think and you debate and you drag your feet.

Why are belaboring the point? You have done your research. You can see that you are spending money without a return. Why are you waiting? Yes, there are people involved. Yes, you need to handle it respectfully and with a true process. But you need to handle it nonetheless.

But if you know that your business needs to change to improve as a business, go improve your business. Take action!

Don’t drag your feet on making business improvements, even when the decisions are hard. The decisions are always hard. That’s not going to change. But focus on addressing the underperformance. Deliver the accountability discussions. Move through the process.

Today's challenge: eliminate underperformance as you are eliminating the gray that exists in your life and your business.

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You are excited now! You are committed to your business, ready to jump in, run, and start making it happen. But now you are asking yourself the next important question in this process: what should I pursue? How do you start to feel really good about what you want to sell in your business?

You need to look at what fulfills you.

Think about waking up each morning with a feeling of excitement. You're wake up excited to do something . . . what is that something? That’s where you want to land. What makes you happy?

Another angle to consider is figuring out what you do well. What do people ask you to help them with? What are you known for? If you don’t know, ask people who know you!

Do you throw great parties? You could be an event planner.

Do you give great advice on a specific topic or have lived through an event that others would benefit from learning from you? You could be a coach.

Do you like to write? You could be a copywriter.

I mean, there are a ton of things you could do. Teach painting, music, gardening, organizing, prayer, sleep training for infants, dealing with divorce, death, marriage, bookkeeping, beekeeping, etc.

You can also do things like the food business, bakery, home catering, etc.

The sky is the limit.

Sit down and make a list of all the things you believe you are good at. List everything you would enjoy doing. Add the feedback you received from asking others. Then look at the list. What makes you HAPPY when you think about doing it? What could you do that gives back to others?

Pick one idea. This is your passion project. Your Legend Zone. Your gift. Commit to pursuing that and creating a business around it.

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Another common question I get, because those of us who have worked in the corporate world understand this very well, is that most of our friends are also in that same world. Because we live similar lives, that's how we became friends in the first place. As you start to become a different person, you are going to start looking for new friends. So today's question is: when leaving my corporate job, how do I find a new inner circle?

Here’s the deal, you can be friends with anyone. Period. Anyone. But if you are friends because you shared common experiences and could talk about work as your bond, then no you won’t be able to do that anymore in your friendship. You’re going to be on a path of becoming a different person, which means you won't share the same concerns, fears, or worries.

That may sound crazy but it's true.

You are going to be a new person because you are going to grow, change, learn, adapt, and become the woman who runs a million-dollar-plus business. You have to become that woman.

Because of your growth, your current circle may not get it, may not recognize you, may not want to get it, or want to support you. Now here’s the deal, don’t sweat that. You are becoming the person you were meant to be!

Remember, your friends are probably being the people they are meant to be I would expect. If you want to still be friends and they don’t, so be it. If you don’t want to be friends anymore, so be it. Decide what you want, have the conversations you need to have based on what you want, and keep moving forward.

The point here is that you are going to become a very different person because again, you have to. And the topics and events that bonded you don’t exist anymore. The things you supported each other on, vented to each other about, etc. won’t be there anymore. Because of that, and because you still need a group of women who are going through the same experiences you are, most women want a new circle.

Not only should you want a circle, but you also need one. Entrepreneurship is a lonely road, because each day you are forging a brand new path. So find a new circle.

Find facebook groups. (We have one here at Legend Leaders. Come join us. We will support you!) Start with finding circles on social media. Be active in those groups. Find other people doing what you are doing, just like you did in the corporate world.

We all need the support.

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Today we are going to focus on the next most commonly asked question when women are trying to step out of the corporate world into the entrepreneur world: How do I get my spouse on board?

What a great question! Seriously. That’s another fear that many of us face.

Ultimately, you have to believe in what you are doing. If you aren’t certain this is what you need to do, if you don’t believe this is your path, no one else is going to believe it either. Not your spouse, your best friend, your mom, no one.

So, first and foremost you need to believe.

Second, you need to go and tell your spouse this is what you want, why you want it, what it means, how you think you want to do it, etc. You have to be ready to tell your spouse what you are going to change and why it matters to you.

You don’t need to ask for permission. Don’t set yourself up, saying “I’m going to ask my spouse.” NO! You are going to “talk WITH” your spouse. Big difference. You are a grown woman. You don’t need permission. You need a partner in this process. So talk to this person like a partner, not a parent.

Mindset is everything, remember. So go in confident, certain this is your path. You don’t have to be certain as to HOW you are going to do it all. But you do need to be certain this is your path and be certain as to WHY that’s the case.

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Once you commit to starting your own business, you are ready to take some action, right? So the next common question I get is something along the lines of I'm committed to starting my business, what's next?

Great question. I recommend you look at your current life. You need to ultimately decide several things:

1. Can you stay in your current job until you get your other business up and running and replace your income?
2. Do you need to find a slower-paced job, if yes, what does your income need to be to do that?

You need to push past the money and the time barriers. Decide how much money you need to be making right now as you stand up your business and how much time you have available to do it.

Here’s the deal, if you can stay where you are and focus your extra time and money on your business, do it. It means you can focus on your business now vs. waiting a few months to get your life a bit more organized.

If you can’t do that right now because you don’t have time, don't sweat it. When I was in my corporate job, I tried to do both. I couldn’t. Now, at the time I stepped down, I did it just to step away from the insanity of that world and to really find my path. But had I had my mindset established as you do now, I still would have had to step out of that company because it was just too much. It was the right decision, I just didn't know it at the time.

If you can afford a pay cut in exchange for a time back, do that. Even if you have enough money right now to step away from your corporate job for 6 months, I want you to find a part-time job.

So if you are leaving your company for a different company, you are taking a step on what I call a stepping stone, do it. Then get super clear on how to go from idea to cash flow, which we teach you here at Legend Leaders. We speed up the timeline for you. Then you focus on the 9 pillars.

So that’s what you do, you find the time balance and the money balance so each day you can work on your passion business.

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Another common question I get when talking about going from corporate to confident entrepreneur is something like, “OK Katrina. So you are helping women who know they want to step out of corporate and start their own business, that’s cool. But how do you help them overcome the fear of leaving the corporate world?

Fair question.

First, let me tell you. We are ALL afraid. All of us! I am a confident, direct, handle my crap type of person, but I was terrified. For the same reasons we are all terrified, "what if I can’t make the same money I’m making now, what if I become less of a person than I am now, who will I be without this job, and ultimately . . . what if I fail?!"

Tons of questions swirl in our brains. "I see everyone else doing it, but if I do it and fail . . . it’s because I’m no good." That’s truly our fear.

So, I tackle that head-on, both within myself and when I am coaching. First, I ask tons of questions, because hers is the deal, that’s what good coaches do, we ask tons of questions. Ultimately, it’s not me telling them the answer, it’s them telling themselves when they answer the questions. We all know, deep down, that we can fail. It’s possible for any and all of us. The true question to ask is not “what if I fail?” the true question to ask yourself is “How do I ensure I don’t?”

Stop worrying about what might happen. Instead of focusing on setting goals, getting a mentor or a coach, and learning how to ensure your success.

As I continue to tell you, Tony Robbins says the chokehold on the growth of any business is the leader: 80% of success is psychology.

I need you to believe you can do it if I am going to then teach you HOW to do it.

My role is to help you have the right mindset (the 80%) and then I teach you the strategies (the 20%). I give you both, but you have to maintain the 80% to move forward.

So for me, what I tell my clients is two-fold: how they CAN do it, how they ARE doing it. I remind them of their pathway or roadmap we have created together, I remind them of them why.

And so that’s the second piece, mindset is saying you can and focusing on the right piece of the problem. Then I need you to know WHY you are doing this. So when things get hard, you stay focused on your why and keep moving forward.

I have a lot of conversations about staying focused on your mindset, you're why, your motivation, focusing on the roadmap, and celebrating milestones as you climb the mountain.

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I have people ask me regularly, “Katrina, you are a pharmacist! Why did you shift from pharmacy to Legend?” It’s a reasonable question.

But before I dive into it, let me tell you this. You will forever be asked why you left a career you developed, a degree you attained, a pathway you started to go down, in order to pursue something else.

Remember that we have all been taught to respect titles, power, and money--in general. Pharmacists have all of that. So most people can’t fathom why I would create a business that doesn't use my pharmacy degree. And you know what, that’s ok. Because here’s the deal, I didn’t create Legend to please people. I created Legend to help a specific group of women, who are where I used to be in my career path. And usually, people who don’t get it, don't understand because they aren’t one of my Legend Leaders. Because my women in Legend, they get it. Because they are doing it too. So just keep that in mind.

So now let’s dive into the question. I started a business outside of healthcare because I learned a long time ago that I loved taking care of my peers. I did that in pharmacy school, I did that in my corporate career. I served fellow pharmacists so they could serve patients. I enjoyed working with others to develop them, teach them, and help them grow their businesses.

Now I do the same thing with female business leaders, who over the years, have become my peers as well. All of the work I did prior to Legend got me to the point of finding my passion and starting Legend.

So what fulfills you? What do people tell you you are amazing at or they need your help with or you love doing?

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The best decision I made when I changed companies was this: when moving from corporate to a start-up, take a week off, Now remember, I had no one telling me this; no one advising me or guiding me through this process. It's the main reason why I coach. So I can help women who want to step forward, do more, contribute more, make an impact, and feel fulfilled, step out of the corporate job where they don't have that and into an entrepreneur role where they do.

That said, I did the transition from corporate to a small startup, a privately-owned company several years ago. And when I did that, I took a week off between my corporate job and my new job. Let me tell you, that was the best decision I could have made for myself.

Why?

No phone ringing. No emails blowing up my phone. No meetings. For the first time in years, I actually had time away from work. It was so nice. Now, I will tell you, I felt a bit like Rapunzel in Tangled (the Disney movie.). You know when she first steps out of her tower and she goes from excitement, to fear, excitement to fear, back and forth back and forth like 10 times? Yep, that was me too.

But by the end of the week, I was at peace. I was happy. I had moved closer to my family. I knew I was going to contribute to the company I was going to start working for and I knew I was going to add value.

The point I'm trying to make is that you need time to go through those emotions before you start your next role. You deserve that time. So if you can afford it, take it. Come to the realization that there is life outside of that huge machine you were in, that your identity is so much bigger than your job title, and that you can have time with your family and work a successful job at the same time. It does exist.

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Yesterday I spilled some personal details about my life and my career change, and why I am so passionate about helping other women find their pathway out of corporate and into their calling. Let me save you the 7 years and the lost time so you can live your life! 😁. Today I want to continue on this topic of stepping into your fear by talking to you about mental preparedness. If you want to free up your time, but you are doubting your move out of corporate, have someone create your resume for you.

Here's why. When you are thinking about leaving a large organization that you have ties to, your friends are there, your life has been created there, your identity is tied to that company, that title, that income, etc., it's hard to tackle this mentally. There's more fear than confidence. So how do you take the first step forward?

For some of you, you will want to step out of the corporate world into a smaller organization. It's the safety net, or the in-between role that lets you feel the freedom, gain your confidence, but also ensure you have money coming in and if you had to stay there forever, you could, and life would be just fine. Right?

So if you are going to step into a smaller company, my recommendation is to have someone create your resume for you. I don't mean take what you have written and smooth it out. No, you need someone to ask you questions, come up with the details, and actually write your resume for you.

You are in a place of fear, self-doubt, and overwhelm, nothing good comes out of those emotions. You need to ask for help. The help you need, outside of a coach, is someone who can help you work on your resume. Find a company that will sit down with you, ask you tons of questions, formulate all of the amazing work you have done into a 2-pager, and turns that around to you.

Because you don't need a resume that says "well, that was really no big deal" or "the team really did that not me," when in reality, you are downplaying your contributions and skills.

So hire that person. Then look at what they put together for you. Be proud of who you are, what you have done, and know that the company you are currently working for did not do you any favor by promoting you, you earned it because you are skilled!

That said, take that resume and now use those details to prepare for the interview.

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As you all know, I share with you the details of my experiences, either personally, the experiences of my clients, friends, family, inner circle, and even the role models and mentors I have. It has taken me some time to get to the point where I could share this episode, simply for the same reasons it may be taking you some time to go after your dreams. I want to talk to you about leaving the corporate world for your dream and how I stepped into my fear, instead of running away from it.

I had a great corporate career. I got promoted 4 times in an 11 year period. That's an average of fewer than 3 years per role. So why did I give all of that up? What happened that caused me to step out and make a huge career change? Super fair question.

It was me feeling like I have more to give this world. It was the tug inside of me, that whisper in my ear that said, "Katrina, you can do more than this. You are meant for more than this." And that was a hard voice to listen to . . . a hard tug to pay attention to, so I avoided it for a long time.

I actually started a business with my family 7 years ago, 5 years before I left the corporate world. I wanted to have my own business, the freedom, flexibility, and just do something on my own terms. It was a business to make and sell liquor. We secured our license to produce liquor. But before I could purchase the equipment, I got promoted again, and I had to move 3 states away from my parents, and then eventually I had to move 12 hours from my family, all within a 2 year period.

I struggled. I asked myself questions like: why am I acting so ungrateful for all of the gifts that I have? I have an amazing house, I can buy anything I want, I'm sort of making a difference in the world, I have two amazing kids, etc. I felt like I couldn't even acknowledge the voice inside of me because I would be saying I deserved more than what I already had.

Then, I started going through a divorce. My choice. We didn't have a marriage, we coexisted and it worked for the kids and my travel. But I couldn't let that continue and so it ended. And I remember being home with my kids for the first time during the week I had them, and I didn't cook. I was never home to cook. And I had to figure out what to fix them, how to fix it because I hadn't cooked what they liked before. I remember having to cut their fingernails and toenails (they were 7 and 4 at the time) and realizing I had never done it before that point. And I was like, what in the world is wrong with me?

That realization gave me the push to start listening to the voice that said I was meant for more. Because I figured out, in those moments, that a job or a career that is truly fulfilling, that fills you up and confirms you are living your purpose, those jobs, those businesses, those career tracks don't compete with what matters most to you in your life. They work together, in harmony.

So I started pursuing my life coaching and executive coaching certifications. I decided to leave the corporate world and take a step into a startup because I needed my income to be replaced while I figured out my full passion (I didn't intend for that to be the reason I left the corporate world, I just wanted to stay in healthcare, used what I already knew, and help another company impact lives). Now, I see I did it to help me also take that mental break, give me financial security, and allow me to feel fulfilled.

If you are in a place like this, if you want to leave the corporate world to pursue the whisper in your ear, let me know. That's exactly what we help with at Legend Leaders.

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As we continue to move through the year and have entered into what seems like an eternity of working from home and working remotely (with the sad reality of eternity actually only being 7 months), we continue to see the people around us struggling with the new responsibilities of the world. In these times, it's not enough to be supportive, you need to focus on being empathetic to your team.

I read an HBR (Harvard Business Review) article the other day, because yes, I'm learning as we talked about yesterday. The article was called Preventing Burnout Is About Empathetic Leadership by Jennifer Moss. It was a super good article.

Jennifer talked about the fact that we can't simply assume that because we are ok with something, aren't stressed out about something, or that a change in the business that doesn't impact us won't in fact affect or impact our teams. The reality is that none of us are dealing with the same issues, stressors, responsibilities, or mental fitness.

Moss challenged that instead of following the golden rule of doing unto others as you would have them do unto you, she said to take it a step further and: do unto others as they would do unto themselves. You see, we don't know what people need unless we ask them. We don't know what is stressing people out or overwhelming them unless we ask, connect, listen, feel their pain, empathize, and support accordingly.

She talks about burnout as well, as this was her primary focus. The interesting piece that stuck with me is that when people burn out, it's not because a brand new project dropped into their lap, or a huge piece of the business failed. No, it wasn't that complex. It was simply a daily task that simply tipped them over the scale and pushed them to the point of burnout and mental overload.

I envision one of those quarter types of gambling machines, where you drop the quarter in and if you put it just in the right place it will cause an avalanche of other quarters to be pushed into your change drawer. That's what burnout is like, you dropped a quarter, the same as all of the other quarters, into this same environment. But this one quarter caused a chain reaction of events that resulted in everything falling down.

We have to be empathetic to our team. We have to care for them, support them in the ways they need us to support them, and understand that if we don't, the chances of burnout are higher.

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Hey, what are you learning right now? Yes, you. What are you learning right now? I know that may seem like a silly question, but it is actually a critical question.

We have talked about what you need to remove from your life that isn't productive, isn't giving you the best vibes, isn't 100% motivating and supportive, right? But what are you putting into your life that is filling you up, reinvigorating you, and helping you get ready for the next iteration of you?

Yes, You 2.0, the next iteration of you. You see, we have been down and struggling and changing and evolving. We have watched our world change and our lives change. But you are in control of how you handle it. You are in control to how you respond to it.

Tony Robbins said that the chokehold on any business is its leader and that 80% of business success is psychology. This means we have to be pouring into ourselves the ideas, perspectives, mindsets, and growth perspectives we need to build the confidence we have to have to be successful.

2020 has been a crappy year, yes, it's true. But the only way to ensure 2021 doesn't follow the same path is by you simply saying, "Nope, I'm in control and I am confidently driving my business forward." The way you do that is by learning.

So what are you learning right now? For me, I have 8 books that I want to read and am going to read, by the end of the year. Now that may seem like a lot but if I commit to it, I can do it. And I'm committed. So besides this podcast, what are you going to learn? What book are you reading?

If you're not, then why not grab Choose. by Ryan Levesque? I just finished it and it is a great book, helping you pinpoint and choose the audience you want to serve. Then go on and read his other book, which he is better known for Ask., which teaches you how to ask the right questions to your target audience. Even if you already know the details, even if you already have an established business, isn't there something new you could learn? A nugget you can take away? The confidence you can then gain from it?

Of course! So again, what are you learning right now?

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I want to share another story from a client interaction. As always, please know the details and information in this story have been changed to protect their confidentiality. 😁 Here's the question I want you to think about as we dive into this: how does someone earn back your trust?

You see, my client has a business that is growing rapidly. She is to the point in her mature business where she wants to add some additional product lines. It's a super exciting time! But the problem is that she has allowed two underperformers to stay on her team. During this time of growth, she is having to restructure her team and move the leaders around so each business arm is now covered by a leader.

These two guys are guys she has been micromanaging, not by choice but by necessity. So now that she has moved them to a role with even more responsibility, the fear she has in her gut is overwhelming. Rightly so.

So let me share with you what I shared with her, they are not delivering on their productivity and execution frameworks, two of the 9 fundamental pillars of business. Remember how we always talk about you need to master the 9. Well, when you have a team that is made up of leaders who can very much influence the 9 pillars of your business, they too must master the 9. If they can't, they are going to damage those pillars within your company. And that is exactly what is happening here. They are not productive and they are not executing, so the two arms of the business these guys are responsible for are failing in both of those areas.

A conversation must be had with each of them individually. She needs to level set and ask them how they are going to resolve the situation. Then, she is either going to support their answer, address their answer because it's unacceptable, or adjust their answer because it's a reasonable suggestion but not the best suggestion. And based on what they come back and say, they will either adjust their mastery of the pillars and stay onboard or she will terminate them. Either way, the business has to have the 9 pillars and each person has to carry his or her own weight.

Are you going through something similar? Do you see how underperformance not just hurts your team and keeps you busy, but it actually damages your 9 pillars?

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Don't frustrate your team with innovation. I was working with a client recently who was frustrated with her team. But upon talking through the situation, we realized that she was the one actually causing the frustration. You see, like many entrepreneurs, she is an innovator. However, at this point in her business, she cannot focus on innovation as she used to in the past.

My client is dealing with some changes in her industry due to COVID. She has a great business that has transitioned from the startup phase to the growth phase. But what she is doing is having weekly meetings and throwing out 5-6 ideas in each meeting. "We should do this, we should do that, we should pivot here, what about this?" It's constant. And her team, rightly so, because they are the implementors, they are asking her two basic questions: How do you want to do this and which one should we tackle first?

Now, remember, she is the CEO so she is the person giving the direction to this team. Yet, she is frustrated and angry. Why? There are two reasons. First, she is an innovator at heart. Innovators want to spend their time coming up with good ideas, they don't want to get down into the weeds to figure out how to do them. Second, the reality is that she is frustrated with her team because they continue to put her on the spot with their questions and the reality is that she doesn't know the answers to their questions.

None of us have the answers to everything. And that's OK. But the reality, and what I shared with my client, is that she is causing this problem. Her productivity framework isn't in check for the phase of business she is in. In a startup, it was constant innovation and pivoting. Now in the growth phase, it's growing and slight adjustments to make that happen. If she wants to be an innovator, that' fine, to a degree. But she has to keep her team focused within their productivity framework. This means she needs to adjust her priorities to focus on growing her business not innovating new pieces of it. She also needs to not share all of her ideas to then derail her team.

Don't frustrate your team with innovation. Understand where your business is in the process of growth, know what you should be focused on and what they need to focus on, and ensure your behavior and leadership align with that.

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The second most common question I get when I talk about mastering the 9 fundamental pillars of business is: once I master the 9, am I finished? Usually, this question is posed by a business leader who is in the startup phase. You understand the hustle, the focus, and the work that goes into a startup. So naturally, you want to see some light at the end of the tunnel.

Well, the short answer is no, you're not finished once you master the 9 in a startup phase. Because what happens next in your business? You move from the startup phase to the growth phase. As a result of that business shift, you have to take the 9 pillars and expand them, grow them, and build upon them. The foundation got you to the growth phase, if you want to move past the growth phase successfully, you have to successfully apply the pillars in a way that supports growth.

Is your communication style or your brand the same? Sure. But how you use them, share them, communicate them, will change to support the growth phase. Will you still need a marketing funnel? Of course, but you have to apply it at scale. That's different than how you used it in the startup phase.

In other words, for every business phase, the 9 pillars have to be mastered in a way that supports that specific phase. It's like building a building. You put 9 pillars into the ground to build the ground floor. Once you are ready to add the second floor, you have to extend the pillars. The same analogy holds true in your business.

If you are ready to master the 9 but want some support along the way, or simply want to run faster, check out the Self Made Legend Program. It has been created to help you quickly generate revenue while building your business foundation.

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As I teach and talk about the 9 fundamental pillars of business, a question I inevitably get is: Why don't I hear about the 9? It's a great question. The key here is that you do hear about the 9, just not in the direct way I teach it or share it.

You see, out of the 18% of first-time founders creating successful businesses, a small few of those people get lucky in some regard. They have skill sets and knowledge of the business from a parent, a mentor, a coach, a friend, etc. and they know what to do, so they get it done. Some of those founders work with a great business partner and together, they divide and conquer, both of them bringing skillsets and knowledge to the table that helps them master the 9. The point is that they absolutely understand what the 9 are, although they may not call them the 9 or even understand that that's what they are doing.

Every successful business, no matter the market, industry, niche, or product has to master the 9 to be successful.

So while people aren't out in the world teaching you about the 9, what you can do is look to the businesses that are failing in the world and point to a lack of at least one pillar as a reason for their downfall.

ToysRUs had issues with their financial pillar.

DeLorean had issues with their brand.

Circuit City had issues with its sales framework.

Blockbuster had issues with its funnel.

No matter the business, no matter the size or how long they have been in business if a company loses, damages, or destroys a pillar, they don't recover without rebuilding the pillar.

My challenge for you today is to look at the businesses in the news that are going out of business. I bet you can point to a pillar as to why they are in the situation they are in.

If you want to master the 9, build your foundation while generating revenue in your startup, come join us.

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This is the last pillar on the list, the financial pillar. Again, a no-brainer when it comes to realizing this is a fundamental pillar of business. I get it. But you would be surprised at how many female business leaders avoid this pillar.

You know this, I have done several episodes on this before. I'm passionate about this pillar, I'm passionate about all of the pillars. But I'm passionate about this one because this is the one I see women avoiding the most.

It's like you wake up tomorrow, quit your job because you have decided to play professional rugby. You've never played before, know very little about the sport, but you think you are going to start tomorrow being an athlete in the sport and get paid for your efforts.

Sounds crazy? And yet, this is what women do every single day in life when it comes to playing the "game of business." You don't know much if anything about the business world. So why would you quit your job and expect to be paid for doing a job you've never successfully done before?

Why would you also take on a sport for which you had never learned the rules? If you are going to play the game of business, you must learn the rules. Knowing the rules of the game is the only way you can win!

If you are unsure of the key financial pieces, that's absolutely ok. It's ok to say you don't know something. But. you have to then go and find the answer. If you acknowledge you don't know something but then do nothing about it, well, that's pointless. If you want to confirm you have the right understanding of the basics, go check out a recent episode I did on the 3 key financial terms.

Do you understand the rules of business and how to win at the game? If not, how are you going to close that gap?

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As we continue to move through the 9 fundamental pillars of business, today we are going to talk about your sales and marketing funnel as well as your sales framework pillars.

Your marketing funnel sounds fairly obvious, and again, it is. This funnel is a combination of tools and strategies you use to advertise and bring your target audience into your business in order to generate a sale. Your sales framework is the exact techniques, methods, and processes you use to sell your product. They sound similar, but the nuances are different.

I am going to keep this high level here.

The funnel pillar takes your ads, your landing page, your offer, your email marketing tool, and your payment processor, and through the strategy, you create, focuses on using those tools in synergy to generate revenue.

Your sales framework is exactly how you sell your product. Do you have tiered offers? Do you have seasonal products or percentages off? Do you do a buy one get one free promotion? What are your price points? Do you use sales letters and sales videos? The pricing, the packages, the offers, and the way you discuss those products are your sales framework. Even your guarantees and return policies are part of your sales framework.

These two pillars are usually where most people start a new business, and I would agree that these two pillars are a great place to start when you are trying to generate revenue. The key here is to build out both pillars. There will be some trial and error, some failure and growth, etc. That's perfectly fine.

You do need to build out these pillars though so you know what works, what doesn't, what to change, what to keep, etc. This is where most new business leaders get it wrong. They just start throwing things against the wall to see what sticks, but they don't focus on creating a strong pillar around what actually does work. This, in turn, weakens their ability to grow.

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No doubt these are the most obvious pillars out of the 9, the productivity and execution pillars. You know without a doubt you have to be productive and you have to take action or execute. But you would be surprised at how obvious, yet how often, first-time founders don't get these two pillars right.

Productivity is the framework that ensures you are doing the right work at the right time. Yet, how many of you know someone or you are that someone that spent 3 weeks on the design of their logo? Remember that in a startup, your focus is revenue generation because you are trying to validate your offer. If you aren't focusing all of your efforts on generating revenue and laying a business foundation, you are not being productive.

Furthermore, if you spend your time productively on the right work, it all goes to waste if you don't take action on it. If you spend 2 weeks researching your market, your customer, your competitors, and yet you don't do anything with the data. If you take zero action on what you have learned, you don't have an execution framework. I see many business leaders who do training, have a mentor or a coach, and line up all of the right resources, yet they do nothing with them.

Most people fumble these pillars because they think, "I just need to get my business off of the ground and then I can worry about being fully productive" or "then I can worry about taking action in the right areas." The most critical time to be fully productive and executing is now!

How are you doing when it comes to the productivity and execution pillars? Do you need to tweak your focus and your actions?

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We are going to continue with our discussion of the 9 fundamental pillars of business; the pillars you have to have in place if you want to create a sustainable business. Today we are talking about the mission statement and life plan pillars.

Your mission statement is how you tell the world what you do each day in your business. It truly is your "what." What do you do each day? For Legend Leaders, we help female business leaders create successful, sustainable businesses so they can live a Legendary Life. Simple. It's what we do each day. The world knows this is our mission.

The second piece to this pillar is guiding principles or core values. The mission statement piece and the guiding principles piece are all one pillar together. The guiding principles tell the world, and your employees, how you will deliver to your mission. Many business leaders think they can wait to create a mission statement or guiding principles. I will tell you that you need to solidify them out of the gate so they can anchor you within the marketplace. Customers can trust your consistency. New hires can use the guiding principles to help them make decisions within the business.

The life plan pillar is something we have discussed many times. It's a huge part of the Legend Leaders mission statement, as you already know. You have to have a life plan to prevent your burnout, prevent you from losing relationships that matter to you along the way, and ensure you don't disappoint yourself when you wake up tomorrow and you're not living your dream life.

Take a look at your business. Have you built these two pillars?

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We are diving in, talking about the 9 fundamental pillars of business today. I want to kick off this discussion by talking about the communication and brand pillars.

Here's the deal, the 9 pillars aren't mind-blowing or earth-shattering. They are business fundamentals that if you sat down and truly thought about business, you would say, "Oh, of course, I need that!" What most people don't understand though is that they get the order wrong or they think they don't need to apply the pillars "right now. "

That said, let's talk about communication. No doubt you are thinking, "Well of course I need communication, Katrina." And yes, you do. But let's talk about what that looks like and why. Communication is a two-prong process. You have to have your communication style established for how you communicate within the market, to your customer, or out into the world. You also have to have the communication style that you use internally, to yourself and your employees.

Communication builds connection. Connection builds trust. You have to build the proper connection with your customer to generate revenue and you have to build a connection with your employees to empower and get an execution. Deciding what that looks like now, doing it well, and creating it solidly (not waiting), will build this foundational piece within your business.

From a brand perspective, brad goes hand in hand with your communication style. Now, your brand is not your logo. It's not your title or the cool swag you want to create. Your brand communicates (see, hand in hand) with your customer what their problem is, how your product solves their problem, and how they will feel once it's solved. Your brand is about your customer, not your product.

Take a look at your business and decide how well you are doing on these two pillars, then course-correct accordingly.

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Today's episode is near and dear to my heart. I'm sharing with you the fundamentals of what we teach and train within Legend Leaders; mastering the 9.

Only 18% of first-time founders create a successful business. That means if you and 99 of your closest entrepreneurial friends are in a group together, only 18 of you are going to actually create a successful business. That's heart-stopping and almost defeating, right?

The point is that starting a business and creating a successful one is hard. As we regularly say, if anyone could do it, they would and we wouldn't be one of the few out there trying to run our own businesses.

What most people are focused on out of the gate is generating revenue. And I will tell you that fundamentally, is right. We do need to be focused on generating cash at the start of our business. But most people get distracted by the tools and who they can meet/who they know and they don't realize there is so much more to business success.

Can anyone have an amazing two-week launch? Sure. If you hire the right marketing team, even more so. But what do you do after that? You haven't created a sustainable business, you had a rave. The party popped up, everyone enjoyed it, and now it's gone.

What we do at Legend Leaders is help you create a successful, sustainable business. We do that by teaching you how to master the 9 pillars of business. We call it: Mastering the 9 so you can become part of the 18.

Over the next few episodes, I'm going to introduce you to the 9 pillars. I'm going to keep those introductions at a high level, but you are going to be introduced to them nonetheless.

As always, if you want to run faster, master the 9 without having to search and claw and try to find what you think are the answers to the 9 pillars, we are here to help.

Go check out the Self Made Legend Program and join us if you are a female business leader ready to generate some revenue and create a sustainable business.

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In this final episode of the series, we are going to talk about one of my favorite traits, the fact that the best leaders are actually rule breakers.

I'm not talking about the speed limit, or laws, or even proper manners for that matter. I'm talking about the rules of a market, an industry, or a business as a whole. The best leaders do exactly what we talked about in a recent episode about creating the best product. They look at the industry and say, "How can I make that better? Which rules exist in people's minds but not in reality and how can I create something that steps outside of those rules?"

As we talked about in another episode in this series, Jeff Bezos in starting Amazon said: How do I use the up-and-coming internet to create an online shop and deliver an unlimited selection of books at great prices? Steve Jobs said: How do I create a device that allows you to have music and a phone in your pocket? Russell Brunson said: How do I create a website that's not a site, but a page that will only allow people to buy my product so I can truly have a page that sells?

All of these guys, and women too, women like Oprah and Jamie Kern Lima, have looked at a business situation and asked how they could make it better for the consumer? Realize that anyone you know from history, from business, from the world, the reason you know their names, the reason they are famous is that they probably broke the rules. Every inventor, every well-known business person, they broke the rules and created something better. This is exactly why you know them, why you cheer for them and celebrate them and their success. From the printing press to the cotton gin, to the computer, to video streaming, to telescopes, to cars. We celebrate those inventors because they created something that broke the rules.

Equally as important, they may have been afraid to break the rules, but they did it anyway. They did it because they believed in the impact their product, service, or idea would have on the world . . . or at least their customers.

So to end this series I want to ask you, are you breaking the rules? Do you have this last trait of an amazing leader? If yes, I love it! Be a rule breaker! If not, step outside of your worry and self-doubt and start breaking the industry rules to find your place. Maybe you haven't found your place yet because you have to create it.

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In episode 10 we are talking about the trait amazing leaders have when it comes to optimism and how, quite frankly, they all seem to be realistically optimistic. Or, the term that I use is an optimistic realist.

The best leaders aren't problem avoiders, remember, we said they are the master of their fate. In order to be that, they know they have to see the world for what it is. They can't only allow themselves to see 25% of the problem because then they will only be able to provide 25% of the solution. The best leaders we admire and follow are those that are realistic about the world and the situations at hand. They know that they can overcome whatever they face, which is where their optimism comes in. But they also are very aware of the fact that they can only overcome a problem they fully acknowledge.

That is the key. Anyone can be blindly optimistic. True leaders are optimistic realists in that they control their path, they see the path for what it is (remember, life isn't supposed to be easy), they face it head-on, and because they know they aren't afraid to see the problems and face them, they are optimistic about the next steps.

Remember the series I finished before this one, where I talked about restructures? Your best leader will look at a restructure, face it head-on, understand the ins and outs, and walk out telling the entire team why the restructuring is a good thing. Why it will improve the business, improve customer service, and improve the lives of the people that will be let go--realizing those individuals need to successfully forge a path down another road and the restructure is giving them a chance to do that. They see the silver lining in everything.

The challenge for you today is to ask yourself if you are an optimistic realist? If yes, keep going. If not, today's the day you can start to be. Ask yourself why you shy away from seeing the full problem or avoiding the hard issues, or maybe it is the optimism that is holding you back. Decide which piece of the process it is, optimism or realism, and tackle it.

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In episode 9 of our series focusing on the top 11 traits, the most amazing and influential leaders share, today we are going to talk about money management.

As I reflect on all of the leaders that I have followed, learned from, admired, and have worked with, I have to say that they are all good at money management. Discipline is a key feature of leadership and so of course it's no surprise that we are going to see the best leaders be disciplined when it comes to money and how they invest their money to work for them later.

The key is that none of them really talk about money, investments, or how they are having their money work for them. So this may be something you have to ask the leaders that you are thinking about. "Hey, how do you invest your money?" 😁

Ultimately, what the best leaders know is that instead of buying 15 vacation homes, 4 boats, 10 cars, etc. that the money they earn needs to be invested in assets, not liabilities. They live a nice life, they have the things they want, they have a nice car, a nice, home, etc. but they know that money sitting around in 10 cars is not a good investment since cars depreciate for example.

If you want to be like the top leaders, how are you managing your money? How are you investing? While some people tell you the stock market or 401K, I'm going to tell you that's not the path I follow. Go check out Brad, Ryan, and Jimmy at CashFlow Tactics if you want to learn how to manage your money like the super successful leaders you know. At some point, when you make enough money, you are going to start asking the right questions about where to invest, how to do that effectively, etc. You are going to realize that putting your money in the bank isn't where your money is going to work for you. Instead of waiting until you have that kind of money, start learning about it now.

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In episode eight of eleven in this mini-series discussing the top 11 traits of amazing, influential leaders, today we are talking about the fact that the best leaders own their path.

Have you ever been around someone who said things like, "The world is against me?" Or, "I'm just not going to try, nothing I do ever works so I'm just going to let things happen as they may."

If you have heard it, wasn't from the leader you admire most, I can assure you. Now, I'm not talking about someone saying that God is in charge, no that's not the debate here. What I'm talking about is the fact that there are really two types of people in this world. The first type is passive, a glass-half-empty if you will. They see the world as a place where they can't influence anything, they can't make anything happen, and that they are at the mercy of life.

The other type of person knows that they can influence their own pathway. They realize that they are in control and they are in control because they have the ability to influence what happens in their lives. They are owners. They are decision-makers. They don't take defeat lying down. They acknowledge that life is hard and that there was never a promise that it would be easy. (If you want to learn more about this idea, read The Road Less Travelled by Scott Peck.) Instead of feeling sorry for themselves, that life is hard and that business is hard, they own it. They realize that yes, life is hard, but then they move past it and own their own path.

You are in control of your life. What happens to you is up to you. The best leaders know that. How are you owning your own path?

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In episode seven of eleven, we are going to spend a few minutes acknowledging that the best leaders have mentors. Having a mentor is truly a trait of an amazing, influential leader.

Why? Because they became amazing and influential by learning quickly from the mistakes of others, being coachable, and learning how to run faster and do better than those around them.

Mentorship is critical to our success. When I got my first big promotion from pharmacy manager to district manager, I thought my life was going to be amazing. Freedom. Flexibility. An amazing life. Instead, I was sleeping on a mattress on the floor, sitting in a camp chair, using a TV tray as a desk. I worked nights, mornings, and weekends. My life was far from amazing. And just when I thought I was going to throw in the towel and go back to being a pharmacist, the company went through a restructure and I got a new supervisor. He quickly became my mentor and taught me all I needed to know about how to do my job.

I wouldn't have made it to where I am today without him. Eventually, he was no longer my boss, we were peers but I still would reach out to him and ask for input, thoughts, perspective, and guidance.

I still have mentors even today.

Remember, mentors, don't have to be someone you interact with one on one. You can be in a group coaching, mastermind, or inner circle relationship and still have them be your mentor. The point is that it is someone who has "been there done that" that can tell you what you need to do next and help you avoid the pitfalls. Coaches also do this.

Do you have a mentor or a coach? If not, close the gap. Be coachable. Learn from others so you can move your business forward faster and grow yourself along the way.

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In episode six of 11 in this mini-series identifying the key traits of amazing, influential leaders, I want to talk about courageous action.

Recently, I was working on a webinar and I wanted to use Amazon as a case study. I pulled out my copy of The Everything Store, a book by Brad Stone, to remind myself of the key aspects regarding how Amazon came to be. I wanted to remember exactly why Bezos started Amazon, what motivated him, etc.

Amazon was started in 1994 at a time when the internet was just starting to become . . . well, something. The book says that Jeff left his job on Wall Street to pursue his dream of starting a business on the internet. Or, actually, it says he left because he knew the internet was going to be big and he would very much regret it if he didn't pursue his idea of starting an online business.

Jeff Bezos took courageous action. He had a great job. A solid income. He was perfectly fine from both of those perspectives. But inside of himself, he had to take courageous action to create his business and impact the world.

Being a leader isn't easy. It takes guts, determination, hard work, and courageous action. Leaders take the action that other people fearfully observe and watch from the sidelines. If you want to start your business, make your mark, serve others at the highest level, take courageous action in your business.

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In this fifth episode in this mini-series of 11 focusing on the key traits and characteristics of amazing leaders, we going to talk about time vs. money. All of the impactful leaders I know recognize that time is more valuable than money.

You can always make more money, but you can't make more time. The time you have allotted to yourself is as much as you are going to have, but you can always find a way to make more money. Don't be so shortsighted to think that you should sacrifice the time you have right now to make money, assuming you will have more time later when you have more money; the two are not equal commodities.

When I was coming up in my career, I worked nights, weekends, early mornings, it didn't matter I worked it. And I worked it because I thought of my career and my job like I thought about house chores. If I can wash the laundry tonight and run the dishwasher, I'm a step ahead tomorrow. Well, in the business world, when you finish those two tasks, there are 5 more coming up behind them.

You can't treat business work like you treat life tasks. Business is always changing. If you want to be ahead, you are always going to be working hard to stay ahead of the curve, which means you will never reach the point of "being ahead." This is the lie we tell ourselves many times, but this is the lie that the best leaders have uncovered and are not telling themselves anymore.

Do you live your life knowing that time is more valuable than money? How do you display this each day so that your life is fulfilled?

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The best leaders say no, right? That's what we are going to talk about in episode 4 of 11 in this mini-series discussing the top 11 traits of amazing leaders. Remember, throughout this series you are to be looking at your mentors, the leaders you have worked with, etc., and ask yourself: Do I see these traits in them?

You see, the best leaders do indeed say no. They understand something super important about their time that not a lot of people actually understand or apply. I was reading an article in the Harvard Business Review the other day by Max Bazerman called: A New Model for Ethical Leadership. And of course when you hear "ethical leadership" you kind of zone out. But hang in there with me for a second. You see, in all of this information (and it was a great article by the way) he mentioned a female professor who constantly received an inbox full of requests for her to complete tasks that were of no benefit to her, but of extreme benefit to the requestor. She in turn got with several other female colleagues and they did some research on how many requests like this each of them received. Ultimately what they discovered and shared was this: you can consider a request for your time as a request for a limited resource.

The best leaders know this. They know that time is just like money (actually more valuable but we will get to that in a future episode). You aren't going to take your entire business budget and blow it on a girls-only weekend trip, are you? No, because you know that your working capital in your business is critical to your business success. Money or cash is a limited resource and we treat it as such. But can you say you treat your time in the same capacity?

Do you overcommit to work? Do you take on too many projects or try to do it all? That's not treating time as a limited resource.

Do you clean your house, mow your grass, sit by the pool to watch the kids swim, go watch one of your children play sports, or handle a client phone call your direct report simply can't handle? While all of those things need to get done, you shouldn't be the one saying yes to all of them. The kids in the pool, the ballgame, and the bath are all yeses. The cleaning and mowing are tasks you can delegate or hire someone to do. Last but not least, the call to the client should be something your direct report does, if they can't, why do you need them? Hire someone who can do their job.

There are things in your business and your life that only you can do. Focus and allocate your time like the limited resource that it is. When you say no, then you can start saying yes to the right things.

So again, do you see this trait in the influential leaders around you? Do you exhibit this trait? How do you start saying no so you can say yes?

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In episode number 3 we are going to focus on the idea: failure should fear me. If you think about the best leaders, mentors, and influential people you have known or learned about, would you agree that they all have this attitude? Failure should fear me. That's super powerful, right?

You know that we cannot fear failure if we are going to be successful in business. We have talked over and over again about the fact that we have to fail in order to get the answers we need in order to best chart our course. Being afraid of failure means being afraid of getting the answers you need. We can't be afraid of that.

So for me, I say, failure should fear me. Because I am going to take failure, I'm going to use it to my advantage, I am going to learn all that I can about that failed attempt, I am going to take that knowledge, I'm going to be stronger, smarter, and better for it, and I am going to make it happen.

I have failed in my business. Jeff Bezos of Amazon failed. Russell Brunson of ClickFunnels failed. Sam Walton of Walmart failed. Steve Jobs of Apple failed. And so on and so forth, right? The biggest brands that we can think about. Those leaders failed. If they can look failure in the eye and say, "failure should fear me" because of the power I'm going to gain over my business because of it, then why can't we?

So as I always do, let me ask you, do you agree that the trait of an amazing leader is to not fear failure? if yes, do you embody that attitude and skill? If you don't, how do you start?

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This second episode in this series of 11 is focused on taking action while finding answers. I would absolutely say of all of my mentors, leaders, and those that I follow and admire, this is a key trait across all of them.

We have talked about the fact that action must occur if you are going to create a successful business. You can't solely be learning or strategizing, you have to act. But many times the perfectionism, the hesitation, and/or the reckless mentality of leaders derail those actions. So let's go through this analogy for a second:

You are driving your car at 60 mph down a road when suddenly you start to see road signs that say the road is closed 1 mile ahead. Essentially the road has been destroyed and there is a huge cliff (per the signs). However, you look at Waze and it shows no issues. What do you do?

The perfectionist leader will pull her car over on the side of the road and just sit. She will wait until she can get enough information given to her from where she sits before she proceeds forward or turns around. She takes no action until she can determine the perfect action. This means she wastes time trying to find an answer that she will not be able to get by sitting still.

The hesitant leader will pull over right away, but then gets out of the car and will walk the 1 mile to check the road herself, then goes back to her car and keeps driving accordingly. This results in some action, she does get the answer she needs, but she wasted time being fearful, hesitant and doubting herself because she didn't want to commit to any action, only to find the answer.

The reckless leader will keep driving at 60 mph towards the potential road hazard banking on the fact that the signs are wrong and Waze is correct. This is taking action, but it is reckless action because you could drive off of the cliff and die (in business terms, you could tank your business). Sometimes the risk works, sometimes it doesn't.

The action taker that acts while learning sees the signs, sees Waze, slows down from 60 mph to 25 mph. She slowly approaches the area where the road is supposed to be damaged. She got to her answer as safely and as quickly as possible, she wasn't worried about having to turn around and go the other way, she just wanted to know what she needed to do. Driving slower stops her from going off of the cliff. Driving forward allows her to find the answer quickly, make a decision, and take additional action to help her arrive at her destination.

This last leader is who you want to be. You want to find the answers but you want to keep taking action in order to get you where you need to go. Don't pull over on the side of the road, don't hesitate, but don't recklessly drive off of the cliff. Act and learn. Do them both simultaneously. You will continue to pivot, grow, learn, and achieve just by moving forward a little more each day.

Do you believe a key trait of a successful leader is taking action while finding answers? If yes, do you embody that trait? If you don't, how do you get yourself there?

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We are diving into another mini-series. Call me crazy but I just enjoy being able to connect with you on a common topic for a few days, not just a few minutes. 😁 So we are going to kick off another mini-series focused on the top 11 traits of amazing leaders. And today, we are going to talk about the first trait, being a lifelong learner.

You see, I get emails from tons of places. I subscribe to email lists so I can read, learn and engage. I got an email a few weeks ago from someone who shared their list of top 11 leadership traits and I had to think through that one for a while. I mean, I really wanted to ensure I agreed with all eleven. So through these next 11 days, I'm going to share with you what I think are the top 11 traits of the amazing leaders I have worked with, been exposed to, or followed, and I want you to do the same thing. Do you agree it's an important trait? You have to decide that. Then, if you agree that it is, you have to look in the mirror and ask yourself if it is something you embody. If it is, awesome. If it's not, how do you get on track?

With that said, let's jump into the trait of being a lifelong learner. You know, we talked about this in the mini-series addressing the top 10 mistakes, where we said that we have to become the leader who leads a million-dollar-plus business, right? The only way we can do that is by learning and expanding our knowledge.

Inherently, if we want to be an amazing business leader, we have to be lifelong learners to grow, develop, and change into that leaders. Whether that learning is reading, listening, watching, or conversing, or be it simply engaging with new individuals and asking questions (being inquisitive). Both of those attributes lend themselves to being lifelong learners.

Ultimately, you have to care about what you are learning or why you are learning it. You are because you are learning to better serve your customer, your team, your stakeholders, and your family. You are asking questions to your customer because you care about them and want them to be successful. You ask questions and seek input from your team because you care about them. You listen to your kids, you ask what they care about, what they have learned, what matters to them because you care about them. What matters to all of those people, matters to you.

Do you agree that being a lifelong learner is a trait of an amazing leader? If yes, do you consider yourself a lifelong learner? If not, what can you do to make that change?

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As business leaders, we know how critical our product is to our business. In essence, the product is the business. So from time to time, I will get questions about products. "Katrina, how do I know I have an amazing product?" Or, "How do I create an amazing product?" But the problem is that most people are thinking about their product in the constraints of the market they want to play in. But what about this idea, create new rules in order to create a better product.

You see, every market has a rule. These rules are established by the industry, the companies, and the marketers. As a result, most people look at that industry and say, "OK, how do I fit into that?" Instead, what I want to challenge you to do is to step out of that mindset.

Think back to the days of driving in your car, having a full stack of CDs that you were flipping through in the passenger seat, driving with one hand, eyes sort of on the road but mostly on the CDs you were flipping through while you tried to find the perfect song to play at the moment.

Then look at Apple. They didn't say, "How do I make a better CD or CD player." They didn't say, "How can I help consumers burn better CDs to listen to their mp3s?" They said, how do we eliminate the need for CDs altogether? They changed the game. They didn't want to change the genre of music people listened to or the fact that they wanted to listen to it in their car, they changed the way they stored music and made it more accessible.

So when you are thinking about your product, how do you look at your industry, look at your customer and the problem at hand, and create a product that doesn't follow the rules of the industry, but at the same time truly solves the problem . . . maybe even a problem people are simply settling with but would much prefer an easier pathway if it was an option.

That's how you make a better product.

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If you want to learn more about products, launching, validating, market research, generating revenue, and how to master the 9 to become part of the 18, check out the Self Made Legend Program.

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As we enter into the last part of September, we have to realize that 2020 is almost over. Now, some of us may be celebrating that fact, while others are realizing just how fast time is flying by. No matter your perspective, we have to realize that we have 3 months left to get ready for 2021. To do that, you need to eliminate what is holding you back.

I listened to Dean Graziosi the other day, and if you have listened to most of my episodes you will realize that I listen to Dean quite a bit. I have a lot of respect for him and I appreciate his perspective on life, business, and leadership. That said, he shared a few nuggets about eliminating the gray, and it's something he talks about quite a bit.

Essentially, we have to eliminate the gray as he calls it. The gray in our lives is anything that doesn't 100% build us up and propel us forward. Think about that long-time friend you have, you love him or her to death, but s/he is so negative. Or, the fact that you want to watch the news because you want to stay up to date on the economy or part of the industry you are involved in, but to do that also means you have to watch the mostly negative information coming your way. So you can see, there are some positive aspects in both of those but at the same time, they are not 100% positive.

Anything that's not 100% positive is going to damage our confidence and hold us back. Now, I would say that 2020 has been full of truly unfortunate events that have been out of our control and have held us back in some instances. Today you are challenged to look at your life, identify the gray, and start removing it over the next few months so you are 100% ready, confident, strong, focused, and energized as we approach 2021.

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We have talked about situations at work where a colleague or direct report got emotional. Today I want to talk about diffusing a work argument before things go too far.

You know, there are times when you are in a meeting, you are having a healthy debate, but then suddenly the situation turns and the tone, the words, and the temperature in the room changes. How do you handle that? What if you are part of the discussion? What if you are simply watching? What if you are the leader in the room? What if you aren't but your supervisor is there? How do you handle all of those pieces of a situation?

The overarching point here is that we cannot allow healthy debates to escalate into disrespectful arguments. The workplace is definitely not the place to let that happen as it will damage trust and the ability for individuals to work together in the future if we aren't careful.

If you are in the room and you are part of the discussion that starts to go sideways, you need to find a way to take back control and stop the argument. Saying something like, "Hold on, I think we are going down the wrong path. I want us to take a second to reset this discussion because I think we may be missing each other's point and I know we both want the same things for the business." Anything to stop the discussion, tell the room why you are stopping it, your desire to hear the other person's perspective, and that you know the intentions are good.

If you are observing the conversation, then you have two pathways to handle this, and it depends on if you are the supervisor in the room or if you are a peer.

If you are the supervisor and your team is starting to argue, stepping in, thanking the team for caring so much about the issue at hand, letting them know that a break is needed, that you don't want anyone to be misunderstood or feel as though someone isn't respecting their perspective is all key here. Then announce how you will rotate through the room, allowing time for everyone to speak, and then open it up for comments.

If you are not the leader in the room, this is difficult because no doubt you are looking to your leader to step in. If you wait too long, the opportunity to get things under control is lost and damage is already done. If you see things escalating, stepping in, telling everyone we are all on the same side, to let's just take a break for a second so we can all think through how we want to go down this path together, that we all want to support each other and support the right steps. In other words, step in, talk to them like a peer and describe how you want to be on the same page with them. Reiterate alignment. Don't take control or display authority, simply step in and remind them of the purpose of the discussion and the known intentions of the group.

Today I'm going to challenge you to decide how you will handle yourself when you are either directly involved in a potential argument at work or whether you are an observer. Deciding this now, before you are in an emotional state or situation, will allow you to recognize the situation faster and do what you have already committed to doing in this moment, without the emotion.

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In this last episode of the series focusing on strategies for a successful reorganization, we are going to focus on creating and using feedback methods.  

You see, going through a reorg as we said is not a foolproof process.  Sometimes we get it right on the first try, sometimes we miss the mark.  But we have to know immediately when we miss the mark so we can fix it and continue on the path of business recovery.  To do this, you need to create a feedback method in your business to hear from your employees.  Yes, this communication flow needs to flow towards you!

The way you create this feedback loop is through grassroots sessions and regularly surveying your employees.  Your goal is to determine what is working, what isn't, and what needs to change.  The faster you get the feedback, the faster you can react.  So creating this feedback methodology is a must.

The way you win in your business with this method is by putting it into place before you need it for a restructure.   Create annual employee surveys and build expectations around grassroots meetings.  If you create this process now, giving feedback and sharing improvements will become part of your culture.  That's exactly what you need it to be in order to survive the post reorg process and truly ensure the changes you made result in the business improvements you need.

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In this seventh episode, we are going to talk about fast and clear communication as a key strategy to successfully reorganizing your business and team. The key here is to put yourself in the shoes of your employees.

Many times we say that it's best to communicate face to face, or at least on camera. The need to see expressions, hear tone and inflections, all of those pieces are critical when it comes to important conversations. However, in this instance, the goal is to ensure people have access to the information as quickly as possible. How long will it take you to communicate verbally with 500 people vs. emailing 500 people? You get the point.

The worry and the stress of the situation is much worse than the answer. So provide those answers to your employees as quickly as possible. Don't make sweeping promises in the process. Don't use words like "never" or "always" as those are too strong and typically those promises get broken. Be honest. Be clear. And share the details around the changes.

Let them know what is going on in the business. They already know the business isn't doing well if you share the daily performance results with them. So don't hide the actions you are going to take. If they see the business underperform for 2-3 months and yet you aren't saying anything about it, they are going to start stressing. Stressing leaders reduce productivity, which makes your financial situation worse, and it leads to your top talent starting to search for other jobs.

Don't be disrespectful to your people by staying silent and don't lose your top talent by failing to communicate.

If you want to execute this strategy before you go through a restructure, build a cadence of communication in your business that focuses on transparency, speed of communication, a main method of communication, etc. Build these now so you will have them later should you need them.

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In episode 6 of 8 focusing on the key strategies needed for a successful reorganization, we are going to talk about freedom with the framework. You see, just like you have to involve your leaders in the decision-making process, you also have to give them some freedom on how to execute the resulting play.

Now, I'm not talking about every team having its own methodology. But I'm referring to the same theory we talked about relative to blanket cuts. We aren't going to cut 25% from every team and call it a day. In that same fashion, we aren't going to expect all teams to stay at a certain headcount, or perform the same tasks, or hit the same revenue growth goals. It simply can't happen.

If you have 5 teams that report to you and 2 of them are exceeding revenue targets and need additional headcount while the other 3 are missing revenue targets and are having headcount eliminated, you have to allow those 5 leaders to approach their teams and the business differently. Allowing your leaders to have the freedom to deliver to the goal, or strive for a higher target, is exactly what you need to allow for in this situation.

The way you can prepare for this strategy is to establish business-specific expectations that apply to each team. Set higher targets for those that are performing better and can deliver. Set lower targets for teams that are taking on new talent that has to be trained as well as for teams that have significant headwinds. Is this anything new or different from the way you would run your business in a standard situation? No. And that's the point. Many people start to think that they have to run the business differently because of a reorganization, but overall, you simply need to make sound business decisions.

Allowing for freedom within the framework will set you up for success should you run into the need to restructure your teams within your business.

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In today's episode, we are focusing on the strategies for a successful restructuring. In this 5th episode, we are going to dive into why you need to involve your leaders if you want the reorg to happen successfully.

Remember, you need your leaders to execute the reorganization plan. While you may be the idea generator, they are the doers. The doers in your organization have to understand why they are doing what they are doing and how it benefits the people and the company. They have to be bought in. You can't get buy-in after a 1-hour conversation. They have to have a chance to engage, ask questions, share suggestions, and take part in owning the decisions that are being made. Then, they will own the message and execute it as needed.

Beyond this, the leadership group is valuable to you, as always. They should be your sounding board. Listen to them. Allow them to suggest ideas, push back, and provide clarifying details. You're not going to get everything right. And, you've never created a plan completely by yourself in your business in recent years (especially as a mature or evolving business), right? Why would you start now? Keep involving your team.

Saying you aren't going to loop in your leadership team or allow them to weigh in due to "time constraints" is just another weak leadership comment. You are stronger when you work together and allow your leaders to have a voice.

If you start allowing for this now, this will be second nature should you ever get into a reorganization situation.

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In this fourth episode in a series of 8, we are going to talk about the strategy and overall mentality of no blanket cuts when it comes to executing a successful reorganization. Remember, executing a restructure isn't a one-size-fits-all process within your organization.

You see, there are some weak leaders when it comes to executing a reorganization. As we have already said, business decisions are hard. And making sweeping changes in a business can be even harder. So some people will say, we need to cut 25% of our expenses. I don't want to be unfair, or I don't want it to take forever to figure out the solution, I am just going to cut 25% across every team and every department.

That is a receipt for disaster. Remember the entire point of this reorganization is to feed the areas of the business that are doing well and eliminate those that are not. In the same way, you will keep the talent that is a top talent and eliminate the underperformers. To do that, you can't take the one-size-fits-all approach when you decide on your plan.

Some teams will have more underperformance to eliminate. Some teams will have none. Some teams will be able to take a 50% cut, some teams will not be able to make any cuts because of their talent and because of their contributions to the business. The key here is to be in the right frame of mind as you make decisions regarding the types of cuts you will make. You must focus on being precise.

The goal is to hit your overall 25% reduction in a way that keeps your top talent and eliminates the underperforming parts of the business. This could also mean eliminating total teams and moving the remaining top talent into a team that needs additional support.

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In episode 3 of 8 of our mini-series about the key strategies to successfully execute a reorganization, today we are talking about the need to assess your talent. Why? Because you are reorganizing your people after all.

You see, in a reorganization, you need to move people around to get the most efficient business results. Meaning, you have to put your talent in the right places to get the best, overall production, execution, and revenue generation while also saving money. At the same time, if you are eliminating headcount, you also want to eliminate underperformance. But, how will you know what that looks like or who fits that criteria if you don't assess your talent?

You won't. If you do not institute a fair and consistent way to assess talent on a regular basis, you will be left with assumptions, opinions, bias, and potentially even discriminatory behavior when it comes to recommendations on who to keep within the company and who to remove.

The best pathway to follow here is to do a talent assessment. Minimally, if you are a company entering into the mature phase of business, you want to do annual talent assessments with quarterly reviews to ensure nothing has changed. Laying this foundation early will mean you have to tools handy to quickly make sound talent decisions and formulate a plan.

The last thing you want to do is eliminate top talent as that will further harm the financial status of your business. Imagine eliminating the best talent and keeping the worst. I couldn't think of a more horrible business situation. But many companies do just that, and they essentially take themselves further down the rabbit hole of revenue loss.

Don't go down that pathway. Build a talent assessment routine in your business.

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Welcome to episode 2 of 8 in a mini-series focusing on the strategies you should follow for a successful reorganization. Today we are going to talk about speed and a plan.

You see, in reading the HBR article by Paul Buchas, he and his team talked about speed and a plan. He said that those businesses that don't make the necessary changes within 6 months, will most likely fail. Add to that the fact that they have no plan at all or have created only one milestone to aim for, and the business has more against it than for it.

The key here is to remember your business is like a ship. When you are in the middle of a storm, you start throwing the cargo overboard to help the ship survive the storm. This is, in a very generalized way, is what you are trying to do when you are going through a reorganization in your business. You need to eliminate all of the unnecessary product lines, teams, etc. that exist so your business will survive.

Next, you need to get your ship out of the storm. The longer you stay in it, the more likely you are to sink. So figure out a path, commit to it, and get out of the storm. The same holds true for your business. You can't simply sit in a financially poor situation, you have to create a plan and start executing it to get yourself out of the financial hardship.

Last but not least, you may not know your way out of the storm or the best way to get out of it, but you have to pick a direction and start going. You have to create a plan and start executing. Again, the same holds true for your business. You have to create your plan for getting out of the financial storm and execute on it.

Your challenge today is to think about how you apply this process of speed and a plan to your business. You are always making hard, but solid decisions in your business. That can't change once you get into a reorganization situation. Continue to practice acting with a solid sense of urgency combined with a plan in order to move your business forward, no matter the situation.

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Many companies, especially companies in the mature and evolution phases, are going through a reorganization right now. (Remember, these are the businesses that are super specialized in their staffing, have multiple layers of leadership, several product lines, etc.) As your business gets bigger and the economy or the industry takes a downturn, the need to reorganize your headcount can present itself. This 8-part mini-series is going to focus on the strategies for going through a reorganization.

The first question I get most commonly when discussion reorgs is, "Katrina, why do companies choose to go through a restructure?" The answer to this is because reorgs happen to companies that need to save money. They are spending more than they are making, which doesn't work in business. In order to reduce expenses, they look to their largest expense line on the P&L, which is payroll. If they can reduce labor in the right capacity, they can still generate solid revenue and also save money. This is their aim.

If you are a mature or evolving business and you are considering a restructure, continue listening to this mini-series. If you are a startup or a growth business or if you are not currently considering a reorganization, listen to this mini-series anyway. The strategies you learn here are tactics you can start executing as you approach the mature phase in your business. Then, should you ever need to restructure, you can do so quickly and appropriately.

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We talk regularly about leadership and how building relationships with your team is critical to the success of your organization. Today, we are going to talk about being a patient leader.

I have to say that being patient isn't one of my virtues. I have gotten better at it, especially after I had my kids. It's true that kids teach you patience. Simply because you love them so much, you are willing to take your time to let them solve the problem, or figure out the situation. And I will tell you that eventually, you will look to your team and think of them as your family. Not necessarily like your kids, but definitely people you care about and therefore are willing to give them the time it takes for them to solve the problem or learn the best pathway.

Given the craziness around us that continues on in our world, it's critically important to show some extra patience. Remember to display patience not just in relationship interactions, but also in task-oriented interactions.

Do things like have those private, one on one discussions about performance. This builds the relationship with the direct report and with your total team, by maintaining the trust you have built with each of them. While at the same time, it allows you to give task-oriented feedback that moves the business forward.

You have to display patience in both areas of your leadership. If you are embarrassing your team in front of each other, you are not showing the patience you need to display on the relationship side.

If you are sending new directions and asking every hour, you aren't showing patience on the task-oriented side of your leadership.

You have to maintain the balance. The best way to do that is to figure out which situations cause you to lose your patience. Once you identify those, think about the way you will handle those situations when they occur. The point here is that you will decide the best course of action when you aren't frustrated or angry. Then, when you get into a situation where your patience is running thin, you already have a solid plan to execute because you created it before you got into the situation.

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We talked in one of the recent mini-series episodes about understanding finance and gaining financial knowledge to generate the revenue you deserve. Today we are going to take it one step further and gain some of that financial knowledge. We are going to focus on understanding the 3 key financial terms that you need to know in order to run your business.

I always say that if you can take care of your personal finances, you should be able to take care of the basics when it comes to business finances. Business finance isn't complicated at the start. Eventually, it will become more complex and that's when you hire help. Until then, you need to understand the 3 basic terms to get you going.

1. Revenue: this is money coming into your business. Also known as cash flow because you want cash flowing into your business. Anything you do to generate money coming into your business, this is your revenue.

2. Profit: this is the money left over from your revenue after you pay your bills and monthly expenses.

3. Expenses: those bills that you have to pay for your business, including your own salary, are expenses. They usually are reoccurring, meaning they happen monthly, quarterly, or annually. You have to generate enough revenue to pay for your expenses in order to have a sustainable business.

Ultimately, these are the 3 key terms you need to know. Do you see? Not bad at all.

Now that you know the 3 terms, create a revenue target and start moving your business towards that goal. Also, make a list of extra expenses you want to add to your business. Maybe you need to add to your headcount or you need some additional tools to support the sales process. Take your list of extra expenses you want to add to the business, then set your revenue target to exceed the monthly expense of the first item on your list. Once you achieve that revenue target for 3 months consistently, you can consider buying that item and you should have the ability to pay for it each month as a result.

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When I started Legend several years ago, I had some amazing ideas for all of the work I wanted to do and how I wanted to support my clients. After months of working hard and being strategic, I realized what I am going to tell you today, you need to pick a pathway.

You see, I would get emails, invitations to webinars and workshops, etc. And in each one of them, I would take tons of notes, write down ideas for how I could apply that in Legend, and I create my business plan. I had ideas about memberships, webinars, workshops, week-long mastermind events, etc. I realized that I enjoyed being in that entrepreneurial creative space. Not only that, I really want Legend to provide the services my clients need.

But in reality, I was spending so much time reading, learning, digesting, and planning, that I wasn't executing! So all I was doing was getting excited about the plans I had created but couldn't execute on until a year plus from now, which doesn't work when you are in the startup.

So here is my advice to you if you are in a similar boat. Create an email folder in your email that is called "future ideas." Whether you get the email or you send yourself the email with the idea, file that info in that folder. It serves a two-fold purpose.

1. All of those ideas are in that folder. This means they aren't lost, they aren't going anywhere, and you can go back to them when you are ready.

2. Your brain can now focus on what you truly need to be doing in the present moment. You see, if you spend time mapping out a strategy for what you want to accomplish 6 months from now, but your business pathway changes during that time, you wasted 2 days of strategic planning over something that you will never use. At this point, you don't have time to waste.

Go execute in your business. Pick your one idea, your one product, and start validating that one idea. After you have done that and you have scaled it, go back and look at the other ideas in your email folder. Then you can focus on those new pathways and it will be time well spent.

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Recently, we spent an entire Saturday working in the yard, around the house, inside the house, you name it we painted it, caulked it, trimmed it, or cleaned it. During that weekend of work it struck me when you need a win, sometimes you need to look outside of your business.

You see, we set out to do the work around the house because we wanted to teach the kids how to do some of that work, giving them some additional life skills they can rely on, and we knew how to do the work and figured it would be easier than hiring someone. Now, we did try to get our yard guy to help us with the trees but he was unavailable, which is why that specific task landed in our laps. Nonetheless, we got the work done and we all felt a sense of pride and accomplishment. It was nice.

You know, as business leaders we push ourselves to get wins in our business. But there are times that we can't go at the pace we have set for ourselves. Sometimes our work or the work we need to get done is dependent upon someone else on the team, an outside vendor, etc. Instead of finding peace with that perspective and moving the deadline, sometimes we can get into that "check the box mode" where we say, "Nope! I am going to hit that deadline."

When that happens, it's usually because we need to feel that win in our lives. We need to feel accomplished like we are making a difference, or like we are controlling what we can control. If you are facing that right now, realize that pushing through and delivering to a deadline because you committed to doing so, unless it's a deadline for a customer or an employee, isn't one you want to power through. You need to remember that you are in business not simply be in business and hit deadlines. You are in business because you want to serve a customer, solve a problem, care for the team you have created, or fundamentally serve your personal "why," which is usually your family. If your push to deliver or achieve is to serve one of those reasons, fine. If it isn't, then you are simply trying to achieve for the wrong reasons.

When that happens, look outside of your business to get the win. Do not turn into the machine that simply gets work done. Remember what matters and get a win somewhere else so you can come back, look at your business, and make the best decisions for the right reasons.

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You have made it through to the very last episode in this mini-series, Episode 11 of 11, where we have been talking about the 10 most common mistakes we, as female business leaders make, that prevent our businesses from generating a million dollars plus in revenue a year. This last mistake of the 10 most common mistakes is the personal growth mistake.

Plain and simple, you have to invest in yourself. The reason is that you are not the person today, that you need to be in order to run and lead a $1 million company. That doesn't make you a bad person or an incapable person, it simply means you are developing yourself while you are developing your company.

If you don't develop yourself, you will not have the foundational knowledge you need to make the right decisions for your business. You, yet again, become the rate-limiting step when it comes to your company's growth.

So the challenge today is this, to prevent this 10th mistake, create a priority around learning, growing, and developing yourself. When you get a coach/mentor, they will create a development plan for you. (If they don't, they are not a coach they are a cheerleader and that's not what you need.). If you don't yet have a coach, you can create your own development plan. Pick a topic you are going to learn more about for an entire month. Example, for the entire month of September I want to learn more about marketing funnels.

Then, for the entire month of September, you are reading books, blogs, articles, listening to podcasts, attending webinars, seminars, or workshops and expanding your knowledge about marketing funnels. Such that at the end of the month, you should have a solid knowledge foundation, you have developed yourself into a person who can help your business navigate and execute marketing funnels. That's the goal.

You cannot be "too busy" running the business that you don't grow yourself to be the business leader your business needs you to be. You cannot slow your own business growth by being the rate-limiting step. If you haven't picked up a book or engaged in some business content in several months (outside of this podcast), you are making a personal growth mistake. So let's resolve it!

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Welcome to episode number 10 of 11 in a mini-series where we have been talking about the 10 most common mistakes female business leaders make that prevent us from generating a revenue of over a million dollars in our businesses. Today we are going to focus on advertising, specifically the marketing mistake.

We already know that this isn't like Field of Dreams "build it and they will come." We actually have to take action, create ads, work for the Facebook groups, etc. if we are going to bring traffic in. Ultimately, we have to have a marketing campaign.

The mistake relative to marketing comes in when we don't create parameters, define what good looks like, establish the intent of the campaign, maintain a spending limit, and truly manage this process.

You've got it right. Many of us shy away from marketing if it isn't our gift so we let someone else handle that for us, At the end of the day, no one is going to care more about your money, your business, or your results, than you. So do not hand over the keys to the marketing kingdom and never open the door.

What happens regularly in marketing is that money is lost. You spend money to make money. But you can't play a losing game when it comes to advertising. If you are spending $2 to make $1, you will never achieve your revenue targets. Your goal is to spend $1 and make $2, or spend $1 and make $3. Ultimately, you have to make money in each of your advertising ventures at this point in the business game, to create the revenue you are striving to achieve.

Do not make the mistake of running ads, creating a marketing strategy and then not follow up on it. Define the intent of the campaign and what should be achieved within it, such that if the campaign is going well per your definition, you can then maintain it. But if it is going poorly or you are losing money, you know when to turn it off and go a different pathway.

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This is episode number nine, in a mini-series of 11 where we're talking through the mistakes that female business leaders make that prevent us from taking our business to over a million dollars a year in revenue. These are some pretty fundamental things that we've been talking about. But at the same time, they are very impactful. Today's topic is the inaction mistake.

You see, business leaders have to be action takers. You have to be willing to take the risk, step out into the spotlight, and make it happen. Do we need to be able to do research, ask questions, think, be strategic, formulate plans, and create a vision? Absolutely! We must be able to create our plan. But once the plan is good (it doesn't have to be great, just good), we have to step forward and take action on our plans.

Customers cannot and will not pay for an idea that is only in our heads. We have to take that idea, the solution to their problems, and take action to get it in front of that customer. Then continue to take action to tweak, perfect, and improve that product and that offer if we want to generate revenue.

Now, this is logical and it's an obvious need in the business. But you will be surprised at how very few people actually do this. They think they are taking action by working emails, talking on the phone, getting opinions, etc. And while all of that is work, that's 5% of the action you need to take in your business to truly generate sustainable revenue.

You must take the action of prioritizing your time and creating a productivity plan. Then, you must commit and take action around that exact plan. You also can't let the worry of perfectionism creep in and derail you from taking action either.

You have to figure out today, are you an action taker (a doer) or are you more of an innovator (an ideas person). You need both in a business. Understanding where you sit and which pathway you lean more towards will help ensure you bring in your spouse, best friend, coach, or even a business partner to help you do the action pieces that are required in a business in order to get the revenue you are looking to deliver.

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We are right in the thick of our mini-series focusing on why women make the mistakes we make that prevent us from making and creating a business that will earn over a million dollars in revenue annually. What in the heck is holding us back? We are now in episode number eight of this series and we are talking today about the cashflow mistake.

Picture this: you have just thought of an amazing idea. I mean, light bulb moment. So you sit down, your research, you plan, you learn your market, you figure out how to market that product, etc. You are so excited. So the next day you go into your day job, and you quit. I mean, you are so amped, you've done the research, you're ready to roll. Is that what we do?

Today, I'm advising you to NOT take that pathway. Do not quit your day job. This is a big part of the cash flow mistake.

All businesses must have a steady flow of cash coming in as means of supporting that business. In the beginning, YOU, your money, your day job, your part-time job, your spouse's job, etc. someone is actually putting their money into this business. If you stop that flow of cash before your business can successfully sustain the cash flow on its own, you will not be able to grow.

The old saying "it takes money to make money" is true. It doesn't take a lot in some instances, but it does take some. When we walk away from our income stream to create a new one, we have to very quickly figure out how to make that business generate revenue, or not only will the business fail, but we won't be able to take care of our basic needs.

As a result, we start making bad, rushed, damaging decisions in our business to simply start to generate revenue. We start focusing on making money instead of making a difference.

When you are focused on money, you look for short-term wins instead of long-term wins in your business. Do you make short-term decisions like which product will sell best right now? What price point can I offer to make money now?

Every decision is about today. But in a business, every decision needs to be about today and tomorrow, so that you can have a business that is around tomorrow.

Today's challenge is to look in the mirror and ask yourself if you have been making short-term decisions to win today, vs. playing the long game and creating a long-term sustainable business. If you quit your day job and you are struggling, consider a part time job. Find ways to remove the stress of money so you can build a business that makes a difference.

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This is episode number seven, in a mini-series of 11, focusing on the top mistakes that female business leaders make that prevent us from making $1 million-plus in our business. Today we are talking about the financial knowledge mistake.

You know, we absolutely can do this, we can absolutely push forward and move our businesses to the next level. But we have to understand the barriers that are in our way, either mentally, internally or the things that we're just not seeing externally that are holding us back. Now it's one thing to be afraid to make money, which we have to overcome. But it's another thing altogether to take that fear and let it prevent you from learning the key fundamentals that you have to have in order to successfully run a business.

If we can agree that money is a tool, then now you have to accept the fact that you have to learn how to use that tool effectively in your business. You cannot avoid, ignore, or shy away from gaining the financial knowledge you need to successfully run a business.

Running a business doesn't require an MBA, but it does require a basic financial knowledge base in order for you to then set financial targets, understand how much revenue you need to cover expenses or create a list of investments that have to occur once revenue starts to come in. Basic financial knowledge will allow you to successfully navigate these pieces and naturally grow your business as a result.

If you are avoiding this part of your business, if you are not learning the basics regarding business finance, then you aren't setting revenue targets. If you don't have clear revenue targets to aim for, measure against, and achieve, this is what is preventing you from generating the million dollars plus in your business.

So ask yourself today, do you have a solid understanding of key financial components such as revenue, profit, expenses, investment strategies, etc.? If you do not, learn it. Do not let this hold you back.

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We are continuing on with our mini-series focused on helping female business leaders avoid mistakes and take their businesses to over a million dollars a year in revenue. Today we are talking about the isolation mistake.

What is the isolation mistake? It's pretty simple, we simply decide that we've "got this" and so we don't ask for help, seek out a mentor, look for a coach, or in any capacity acknowledge that there is someone out there that could help us.

Call it pride because we are so used to solving all of the problems around us anyway, we might as well solve these too. Or call it problem avoidance because we are so used to not quite hitting the mark, be it with forgetting someone's name or forgetting to run by the store this afternoon, that we simply excuse our behavior, downplay it, and move on.

Whatever the reason is, we don't ask for help when we should be. You see, we know we can make it around the pothole in the road when we drive up on it. But what we aren't readily acknowledging is that a coach, someone who truly has been there done that, is going to help you tremendously!

How?

Your coach is going to tell you, "Hey, instead of going 25 mph down the road so you can avoid the potholes as you arrive at them, go 55 mph and let me tell you what the potholes of business looks like, when you are going to find them on your journey, and how you avoid them so you can continue to go at a faster speed and get to your destination without issues or delays."

That's what a coach does for you. A coach helps you go faster, get results faster, and they allow you to learn from their mistakes so you don't make the same ones.

Why not, right? Is there any of that that you wouldn't want to have? Of course not.

So look in the mirror today and decide if you are making the isolation mistake. Are you trying to navigate this world all on your own? Are you slowing yourself down and preventing your ability to scale and generate solid revenue as a result? You know how to fix that. Find a coach.

Legend Leaders is always here to help!

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This is episode number five in a mini-series of 11, focusing on the mistakes women make that prevent us from generating $1 million-plus in annual revenue. Today's focus is on the scalability mistake.

We've talked about the fact that a business that's making less than a million dollars a year is still considered a startup. That phase of business is the most cumbersome phase I would say because it's constant validation, constant pivoting, constant questioning, and growth both in the business as well as in us professionally. So the faster we can get out of it and scale our business, the easier life will be so to speak. To do that, we have to know which horse to bet on.

Think about a well-known business. Nike. Apple. One of the large companies. Think about how they function in today's world. The problem when you think about them is that the way that they work today is not the way in which they started to operate. That's really important to understand. Many times we will look at businesses that we admire, or that we want to mimic or copy in some capacity, and we see them in a different phase of business. We don't see them as the startup they used to be, we see them as the evolving machine that they are. But because we see them as successful, we want to be like them. But we can't jump to where they are today, we have to start where they started.

We can't sell shoes, and clothes, and sporting equipment, and bags, and accessories like Nike does today. No, we have to start like they did, with just the shoes. Said differently, we may have 10 great ideas. But we can't work on all 10 great ideas. We have to pick the one that is going to generate the most revenue, that is scalable, and we have to run with that one.

The mistake that many women make is either they try to create too many products and too many offers, so their capital is spread too thin and they can't scale any of those ideas. Or, they pick the wrong offer to start with; they pick a short-term revenue generator instead of a long-term scalable revenue generator. We can't let our "fixer" mentality take over and push us to solve 10 problems at once. Nor can we let the inner villain of self-doubt creep in and convince ourselves that we should pursue the lesser product out of the gate in order to "play it safe."

If you look in the mirror and this sounds like you, you have acknowledged it. Then you need to accept the truth, you need one product and one offer that, after doing the proper market research, is the scalable product you want to establish your company around.

If you are trying to chase too many revenue lines or are thinking about starting small with a few little projects, shift gears. Don't make the scalability mistake.

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This is episode number four in a series of 11, focusing on why we as women hold ourselves back and can't make millions of dollars in revenue when it comes to business. Today's focus is the mindset mistake.

We've been talking about the fact that 40% of the US own businesses are owned by women. And yet only 1.2% of those businesses are earning over a million dollars a year. Each time we talk about that stat, we're all scratching our heads and wondering what in the heck is standing in our way. If you've listened to the previous episodes so far, you can realize pretty quickly that it's us. Most of the time, we are standing in our own way. It has to be us, because our male counterparts are generating that kind of revenue in the same industries, the same businesses, etc.

Outside of perfectionism, the other two key mindset barriers we create within ourselves are fear of money and a fear of failure.

When it comes to money, many of us were taught that we shouldn't worry about money, want money, or think about money because money is evil. I want to challenge you to realize that money itself isn't evil, money is a tool. Putting money first, getting it at all costs, sacrificing who you are for money, that is evil. In business, money is a tool. That tool is given to you in exchange for the goods/services you provide. You then use that same tool to pay for your personal and business expenses, care for your family, etc. It is a tool and it is a part of our economy and our way of life. You have to change your mindset around money and see it for the tool that it is so you can use it in your business.

The second is the fear of failure. The worry is that if you try to create this business, run this ad, present yourself as the expert then the people that "know you" will judge or question your capacity. They will see you as a failure before you even start. In those instances, I tell my clients to imagine the worst-case scenario. When we do that, we realize that whatever we come up with is actually not that bad, and we can deal with it, work with it, and move past it.

Furthermore, when it comes to failure, we have to accept that business failure and school failure are two separate situations, as we have discussed in the past. Business failures help us find the answer we wouldn't have found otherwise while school failures were typically the result of our focused efforts to learn, memorize, and regurgitate facts. The fear you learned in school cannot be the same fear you experience in business when it comes to failure.

Change your mindset.

Today you are challenged to look in the mirror and ask yourself if you are holding yourself back due to your perspectives on money and/or failure. If the answer is yes, change your outlook to change your business's success.

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Welcome to episode number three in a series of 11, focusing on the mistakes we make as women that prevent us from making money and moving our businesses to over a million dollars a year in revenue. Yesterday, we talked about perfectionism. If you haven't checked it out, please go listen to it. Today's episode is focused on the sales automation mistake that is holding us back in our businesses.

Today you are challenged to look at your business and determine how much of the sales coming into the business is personally generated by you. If you went on vacation for a week or were completely unplugged, could your business still generate sales without you? If the answer is no, that's the sales automation mistake.

From being the advertiser to generate organic traffic, to being the email automation tool that manually sends emails to every current or potential customer, you can't be "everything" in your business. You will only generate as many sales as you can personally create.

Look for automation tools like paid Facebook ads, ClickFunnels for your landing page (to present your offer), email marketing tools for automated emails like ActiveCampaign, etc.

Remember that it takes 3-7 views of your product and your brand before someone will engage and purchase what you are selling. If you are having to remember to manually follow up with the same person 3-7 times, you aren't going to generate the revenue you want to see. That's simply too much to manage and that in and of itself is a full time job.

You should be able to make money while you sleep. If you can't, this is a rate-limiting step, preventing you from increasing your revenue.

So again, you have to look at your business and confirm you are not making the sales automation mistake. Do you have the tools you need? If not, now you know where to go to get yourself on track.

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Welcome to episode number two in a series of 11, focusing on the mistakes we as female business leaders make that then prevent us from generating strong revenue. Why can't we move our businesses over a million dollars in the world of business, especially in the United States, with 40% of those businesses being owned by women? Why is it that only 1.2% of those same businesses earn over a million dollars? Today we are going to talk about the perfectionism mistake.

Remember that throughout this series we are going to be looking within ourselves and asking, what are we doing to hold ourselves back? What decisions are we making that aren't helping us? And we've got to eliminate those. So today we are going to eliminate the desire to be perfect.

Perfectionism, as you know, is when we simply think that we have to have everything just right, in order to be able to move forward. In this episode, we go through an example of how a to-do list continues to grow because we simply have to make the work perfect. Or, we think we can't delegate to any else because we should "own" those functions both in the business and in our homes, no one else knows how to do this but me, or I can't afford to pay for help with these other pieces.

Are you telling yourself those "reasons" to justify why you won't let go of the work or because you want to ensure it is 100% perfect before you let it go? Are you sabotaging yourself and your business success with this mindset? If the answer is yes, this is one of the reasons why your business isn't generating the revenue it is capable of generating.

I want you to look in the mirror and change your mindset to, "Please, replace me!" Shift from a perspective that you have to own it all to the idea that you want to be replaced on all tasks but those that only you can do.

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This is the very first episode in a series of 11, where we are going to walk through the top 10 mistakes preventing female business leaders from generating strong revenue, and when I say strong I mean a million dollars plus.

I know that sounds crazy. And I know it's baffling because we're all running a business in some capacity. But I posted an article on several of my social media pages recently. It was an article that came out in January in Entrepreneur Magazine focused on the top 10 mistakes that keep women from scaling to a million dollars in their businesses. I have gotten some different comments on the article so wanted to do a mini-series on this topic and tell you what I see specifically within each of these 10 mistakes so that you can change those habits or avoid them altogether. I think it's super powerful, and it's something that we teach all the time at Legend Leaders. As a matter of fact, the entire point of Legend is to help you, a female business leader, overcome any barriers in your way so that you can create the business that you want and live the life you deserve.

What happens the bulk of the time though, is that we as women, get out into the business world, and we try to apply what we know, using our assumptions of what we think business is like. We end up struggling because there are different pitfalls that we have within ourselves, that either we've told ourselves or, in full transparency, that society has told us, and we let those beliefs hold us back.

This entire mini-series is going to focus on some of those mindset pitfalls, some of the things that we think we have interpreted to be true in business simply aren't true.

The reason I am motivated to share this with you is due to this staggering fact.

As of 2018, 40% of all U.S.-owned businesses are owned by women.

Yet of that 40%, only 1.2% of them are generating over a million dollars of annual revenue.

However, 9% of all small businesses in the US earned over a million dollars, which means we as women are well behind our male counterparts.

Naturally, we have to solve this, because we are 100% capable of earning this type of revenue. And we need to solve why we are not seeing it.

So, we are going to spend the time over these 11 total episodes understanding the most common mistakes, pitfalls, and missteps that are holding us back as female business leaders so that we can expand that 1.2% and move our businesses forward.

Join me for the rest of the series.

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In business, we are constantly having to pivot. From validating our offer to determining which areas we need to scale, to which pieces we need to solidify, to going through the entire process again as the business evolves. Business is all about pivoting, and it can be exhausting. Today I'm going to challenge you: when you are tired of pivoting, pivot once more.

Running a business is hard. We have all heard it said: if it was easy, everyone would do it, right? We get that, no doubt. I have said it a thousand times, if we had known how hard it would be when we started our business we may not have jumped all in. That too is another good point. It's like having a baby. You didn't realize all of the pain and fears you would have while you are in labor, but it's too late to back out or change your mind at that point! The same holds true after you have invested your heart, a piece of you, all of your capital, and thousands of hours getting your business running and successful.

When you pivot, you get exhausted. Now, we are mentally pivoting in our businesses. But what about physically pivoting? Stand up, anchor your foot into the ground, you pick which foot you want to pivot on. Leave the ball of your foot and your toes connected to the floor and rotate around for a minute. If you are in great physical shape, do it for five minutes. 😉

Now, we all know that in business and in basketball, you won't be pivoting for a minute or five minutes. But the entire point of a pivot in basketball is to prevent a turnover, move the ball, and eventually try to score. If you don't pivot, but walk, you turn the ball over. In business, you miss the chance to move your business forward in the same way you miss moving the ball forward in basketball. The reason you pivot is that you see a defender coming your way or you aren't in a position to score, so you have to move the ball. In business, you have learned something new about your customer or your product, for example, so you have to pivot the action or the direction your business is going in order to score (sell your product).

While both basketball and business are exhausting, the entire point of doing either or both is that you love the game, you want to bring joy to others, and you want to win. So no matter how exhausted you are, when you are tired of pivoting, pivot once more. Don't give up.

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You have worked hard to create your business and validate your niche. You have some great customers who are loyal and support you. But what happens when you get asked to do something outside of your wheelhouse? How do you handle a request for a product outside of your niche?

Let's go through an example. You own local embroidery business. You monogram, put names, images, etc. on all types of woven fabric. That is your niche and you are known for this in your community. You have a loyal customer who lets you know she is throwing a shower and wants to have you make all of the guest gifts. She lets you know that in addition to embroidery, she wants you to monogram all types of gifts, let's say a makeup bag as well as a mirror, a comb, and some additional non-fabric gifts. She's asking you to create vinyl monograms.

While honored that a loyal customer wants you to be the single business to support the shower, you immediately start thinking about how to provide this service for your customer. If you say yes, you are going to have to purchase more equipment you don't have and will have to learn techniques you have never applied. If you say no, you could lose this amazing customer and possibly lose the ability to grow your business in this new product line. What to do?

First: Ask questions of your customer. Don't let her be vague or general in her asks of you, ask all of the questions that come to mind.

Second: Understand exactly what she is asking of you. Again, to deliver to her expectations, you must understand what they are. Understand all of the gifts she wants to provide, if she has already purchased them or needs to purchase them through you, when she needs to have everything put together, etc.

Last but not least: Offer alternative options that are within your niche. You very well may want to expand your business and this is something you have been considering. But do that on your terms.

Maybe now is time to expand your services. If that's something you have been wanting to do, how many additional pieces of equipment will you have to purchase? How much will they cost? When will they arrive? How will you learn to use them? Can you deliver to the deadline she has given?

You have to consider these questions and more in order to be able to deliver to the expectations of your customer. If you aren't wanting to expand your services or you simply cannot do it at this time, be honest with your customer. Thank her for thinking of you and thinking so much OF you. Let her know what you can and cannot do. Do this immediately so she has plenty of time to find an alternate pathway if she doesn't want to consider additional products you can provide.

Staying true to your niche, especially while in a startup phase, will help you run that much faster. Sometimes saying no is better than saying yes.

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I think this is the last episode, at least the last one this week, focusing on the customer. 😁. The customer is why we do everything we do, right? So you will find that I love talking about the customer. Building trust and talking about the customer are my two favorite subjects. So you know I had to combine them at some point! I have talked about trust before with the customer, but today I want to answer the question; how do you build trust with a potential customer?

In previous episodes, I have addressed the trust aspect with current customers. Today, let's talk about the same customers you have found either through your local chamber or most likely, in today's environment, through social media.

You have worked hard to first find them in the millions of people on social media. Then you started working to figure out the pain your product is going to solve for them. You have learned what they need and what they want. You also figured out how to connect with them, by being you and speaking their language.

All of these actions build you up as an expert. This in essence will start to build trust in you within that community.

In addition to these actions, there is one additional action you can take to build trust. It's something you have been doing in your social media interactions already; you're probably not even thinking about it.

Give more than you receive.

As we have already talked about in other episodes, when you are interacting with others within social media, you are going to ask questions to learn about your customer. At the same time, you are going to answer their questions. You are going to support them as much as you possibly can. Why? Because you can! Because you have the answers.

Now, you're not going to give away your product, that's not the goal here. What you are going to do is give answers, support, and encouragement, more so than you take from the group. Be known as the business leader that is a giver of support. This builds trust.

We can all see through people who are out to get something for themselves. So before you engage in the group, think about why you are joining. Think about what you can give equally as much as what you can gain.

So while I spent an entire episode teaching you how to get what you need out of the group, so too am I spending an entire episode teaching you how to give back in order to build trust. Remember that you can generate organic traffic from these social media interactions if you work through these interactions correctly.

So how are you going to build trust in your social media interactions? It's not going to happen overnight. But just remember, give as much as you want to get, if not more. You will be seen as a trusted expert.

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So let's keep this topic going! We are going to continue to talk about the customer today. These are just basics, I know. But sometimes we all have to get back to the basics in order to truly get our business off of the ground or take it to the next level. Simple is truly where it's at. So let's keep it simple. Today let's answer the question: how do you connect with your customer?

Now, when I'm talking about connection, I'm talking about having them see you as an expert. I'm referring to how, through your interaction with them, they realize you truly can help them with the issue they are having. You connect and you build trust. So how do you do that?

There are a few key elements but the first one I always recommend is to be humble and be yourself. Don't be pompous or stuffy. Don't be overly professional, especially in a Facebook group. No one needs a "know it" or someone who has all of the answers. Just be human and supportive.

Remember, people don't want to understand, they want to be understood. Instead of selling your product, meaning-making them understand why you can solve their problem. Instead, make them feel understood. Listen to them. Support them. Provide answers to their questions. Naturally, have them start to see you as the expert. Because you are.

Last but not least, speak their language. As you have joined this group, you have learned their pain points. You have learned how they speak about their problem and the issues they have as a result. When you are interacting with them, use the same language. Abbreviations, common terms, common words, and emojis, all of this will again, make them feel heard.

This is how you connect. Listen and give.

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Yesterday we talked about figuring out what our customer needs/wants. We have to understand that in order to resolve their pain with our product. Today, we need to answer the question: how do you find your customer?

What if you are just starting out, you have an amazing idea, and you are trying to put together a business. You think you know who your customer is, you have an idea of what they want and how you can give them both what they want and need, but you need to validate it. You just need to find your customer . . . where do you look?

If you are a brick-and-mortar location, get involved with the local Chamber of Commerce. The business owners in the city should all be involved and you can support each other. From there, you can learn where your customers would be located throughout your town, how you would best get their feedback, etc.

If you want to find your customer online, focus on social media. Based on the age of your customer, you're going to find them using different apps. Most people tend to use Facebook, with the 30-year-old + group using it more so than other apps while your younger customer uses more Instagram, TikTok, etc. You can use all of those platforms, but if your customer base is 50 years old for example, realize that the bulk of your customers may not be on TikTok. Some, yes, but . . . the data says probably not a lot. So spend your time wisely.

For Facebook, go find and join the Facebook groups that your customer would join. There are tens of thousands of groups out there now. Facebook is really leaning into groups as one of their business strategies. So search for the pain/issue your customer has as a group. Find the groups that best support your ideal customer.

Once in there, ask questions and answer questions. Give support and seek to understand. Remember, yesterday we talked about figuring out what your customer needs/wants. This is where you can find the answers to those questions.

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What does your customer need/want? Do you know? Do you think you know. . . but maybe you really don't? Do you confidently know? This is what I want to dive into today during this episode.

You know, our customer is everything to our businesses. They are why we have created the services and products we sell; to make their lives better. But in order to have a product that achieves that status "making someone's life better," we have to know what pains of our customer.

So again, what does your customer need/want? You have to figure this out if you are going to have an offer that is irresistible and a business that can scale.

The key here is to ask and listen! If you have found your target audience, ask them questions. Then ask some more questions. Listen. Take notes. In addition to learning in general, you need to understand the difference between a need and a want.

We all purchase things because we want them. Rarely do we buy something because we need it. The fact that we also need it, validates the idea that we should buy the product because ultimately, we want it. As you connect with your customer and seek feedback, learn what they want. Learn about the pain and what they want to resolve it. As the expert, you know that mostly what they want, isn't what they need.

That's fine, sell them what they want, give them both what they want and what they need. Fulfill both. Your customer will continue to vote for you with their dollars when you do this.

Are you listening to your customer? Do you know what they need/want?

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Yesterday, I talked about fear, and how fear can either paralyze you or propel you. Today I want to take this a step further and talk about action. What action are you going to take?

You see, we come up with ideas all of the time. Business ideas. Solutions to organizing our home. Best routes to drive to and from, etc. We have ideas every single day. Some ideas are a no-brainer to go put into action. Some require more brainpower. And I have realized that the more brainpower an idea requires, the less likely it is that we will do something about that idea.

If you own your own business, you are one of the few that had an idea and took action. Think about how many people do not take action on the entrepreneurial ideas they have. Tons! Why? Because it's too hard!

I watched a TEDx video the other day with Steve Garguila. He said that action is a muscle. So true, right? So true! If you think about the fact that you can sit down on your couch, and you tell yourself "I'm only going to watch one episode on Netflix," and yet suddenly you are 4 hours in, you have lived this theory. Action is a muscle and if you don't build it, you won't take it.

We have to practice taking action, which is why I said in yesterday's episode that fear has to propel us forward. We have to take action. We can't get into the habit of inactivity or we will never be able to move forward.

The other impactful quote I took from the TEDx talk with Steve was this, he said: Everything in life that is hard is just a series of things that are easy. 🤯

I had a business coach a few months ago that said take the hard, big, difficult, scary next steps in your business and break them down 3 levels. Break them down until you can look at the actions required and say, "Oh, I can do that!" Because most big steps in our business are hard. We have never done them before. We are unsure. We don't want to mess up. We don't even know where to start. So start by breaking down the hard steps into a series of easy steps.

So again, let me ask you, what action are you going to take? How are you going to build your muscles and create your series of easy things to accomplish the big things?

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We continue to talk about the ever-changing world that we are living in. And even if we weren't in a pandemic environment, we would have fears. We always have fears, both in our business and in our personal lives. Fears will always be present. The question I have for you today is, what are you afraid of?

You see, you can allow your fears to do one of two things. You can either allow your fears to paralyze you or propel you forward. If you recall, I did an episode several weeks ago about finding your new inner circle. I'm finding that people are terrified of the changes occurring around them and they are allowing their fear to paralyze them.

I'm going to challenge you to NOT let that happen to you. Do not freeze, do not stop, do not watch and wait. Use your fear to move you forward.

How do you do that? Usually fear is scary because it is an unknown. Just like we have discussed in the past, when we name something, like our villain, for example, we take away her power. Do the same with fear. What are you afraid of? Call it out. Name it. Write it down. Acknowledge it.

Then, look at your worst-case scenario. What's the worst thing that could happen to me if this situation came true? Look at that answer, search yourself for it. When you do that, again, you take away the power that fear has and that bad situation.

This last piece is an action many of us rarely do, and that allows us to look at that fear and say "but what if the best thing happened?" So do that. Ask yourself what would happen if the opposite of the worst-case scenario occurred in this instance?

Guess what, by acknowledging your fear, outlining the best and worst-case scenarios, you have taken back your power. The situation doesn't seem to be as daunting, it doesn't hold all of the power over you that it once had, and you can use your fear now to empower you as opposed to oppressing you.

Each day we live with our fears. But we have to take action if we are going to be successful if we are going to be the business leaders we need to be, the moms, the wives, the girlfriends, the best friends, the daughters, the change generators we need to be. So if you are afraid, realize, you can still be afraid, but you can't be frozen.

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In this fifth and final episode in a series focusing on the different business phases, the attributes, and the focal points of each, today we are focusing on the phase I call evolution. So let's dive into business phase 4--evolution, shall we?

To get to this phase, you have had to go through the startup, growth, and mature phases. No doubt you have felt like you have personally evolved through each of those, phases and the reality is that you have. Both you and your business have evolved. The key to phase 4 is the fact that you have to continue to evolve in order to survive.

You have created a machine by the time you are in phase 4. It's a machine that, because of your focus in each phase, will continue to move forward as long as nothing gets in its path. And that is the key.

You see, in this phase, you cannot stay status quo. It may feel like you should just keep doing what you have been doing, but that isn't the case. Realize that as you run your business you are going to have changes in the industry. That's not a surprise, but the way you think about those changes may be. You see, just because you are big doesn't mean the changes in the industry won't impact you. They absolutely will. And if you don't keep your eyes open, look for industry changes down the road, turn your machine of a business to the left or the right and change the course in advance of the change, you could have a head-on collision which will result in a business decline.

In essence, phase 4 is a mini business cycle being executed over, and over, and over again.

You see the changes in the industry, you make a change or launch a new product: start-up phase. You validate those ideas and when you find what works, you scale growth phase. After you scale it, you stabilize it: mature phase. Then you continue to evolve and start over again.

So you see, you take what you know, what you have learned within your business from inception to today, and you do it over, and over, and over again.

OK, so outside of this overall process, what else do you have going on? Your people focus is strong here. You should be expanding your legal and HR teams because the larger you get, the more risk you will have from a legal perspective. It's just a reality.

Relative to your headcount, you have super-specialized teams at this point. You have multiple layers of leadership and you have a c-suite of leaders at this point as well.

From a revenue perspective, it's strong, your pay is solid, you are able to recruit top talent because of how stable your company is as well as the ability to pay them competitively. In this phase, you are going to take your profits and you are going to invest it in more passive income pathways so you have passive income assets to generate revenue outside of this business alone.

Internally, you may feel like you want to sit and rest. You feel like you have arrived and there is nothing else to do. The reality is that you have to start over again, on a smaller, cyclical scale as I have already mentioned. While this may seem exhausting for some of you, it should be exciting for most of you.

Now, if you do not evolve, if you do not look ahead and stay innovative in your industry, your business will decline. If you get to a certain point of decline, there is almost no way to pull your business out of that decline, and ultimately, your business will die. So be aware of the risk of not evolving.

Does any of this sound like your business? Go take the quiz at legendleaders.com/quiz to find out!

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In this fourth episode of five, in a series focusing on understanding the phases of a business, we are going to talk about business phase 3--mature. We have already talked about the startup and growth phases over the past few days. If neither one of those phases sounded like your business, maybe your business is in the mature phase. Want to find out for sure? Go to legendleaders.com/quiz and get your answers today.

The mature phase is a solid place to be. You are starting to say to yourself "Yes, I made it!" And when you say that in the mature phase, you would be right. At this point, you have actually made it.

From a revenue perspective, you are bringing in steady revenue and you have profit that can actually start to accumulate in the bank. Yes, instead of having to reinvest all of your profit as you did in the growth phase, now you can actually let some of that money sit in the bank for a bit while you decide what to do next.

From a people perspective, you have expanded your workforce at this point. You probably have 100 people on your team, maybe more. You have a management team to lead all of those employees and provide some hierarchy of direction and leadership within your organization.

Internally, you are facing another uncomfortable situation. And why wouldn't you? Your company has just gone through a shift and as such you have to shift as well. In the mature phase, you have an offer that has been validated in the startup phase. You have a product or service that you have massed out into the marketplace as quickly and efficiently as you could in the growth phase. Now is the time to build a strong infrastructure around your business in order to be stable. The mature phase is about creating stability.

So how do you do that? You put people and process foundations into place. Yes, you actually anchor yourself in. No more pivoting every five seconds like in the startup phase. No more running quickly "we will figure that out later" like in the growth phase. Later is now. So you must solidify your processes and procedures around people (hiring, firing, recruiting, discipline policies, attendance, etc.) and processes (SOPs, training programs, etc.).

This is a hard phase for entrepreneurs because we like the freedom, flexibility, and fast pace of the startup and growth phases. To now have to focus on anchoring ourselves in, to have to focus on the details of creating foundational processes, that isn't a strong suit of most entrepreneurs. So it's without question that this phase feels counterintuitive.

The point here though is that you must lead through it. You must create procedures and processes in order to stabilize the scaled business. Without rules and without consistent processes, you will start to decline. You don't need or want that. Stability here is necessary, and it is a requirement to successfully navigate phase 3.

Does this sound like your business? Go take the quiz to find out for sure! legendleaders.com/quiz

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In this third episode in a series of five, focusing on helping you figure out which phase of business you are in, we are going to talk about business phase 2--growth. If you are unsure of which phase you are in, go to legendleaders.com/quiz and in less than 5 minutes you will know exactly where you are sitting.

Let's dive into the growth phase. So, as you know, if you just entered into the growth phase you have found an offer that works. You generated revenue in the startup phase that proved your offer was worth something in the marketplace. Awesome job!

In the growth phase, you transition from focusing solely on cash flow to now focusing on profit. Yes, you need profit, dollars left over after you pay all of your expenses, so you can reinvest that money into your business. Why? Because you want to scale!

You're ready to scale at this point. Your idea is sound, it is selling, people want it, etc. The last thing you want now is to be held back by your inability to fulfill orders fast enough. To overcome that limitation, you have to make money and reinvest it in things like additional equipment, more headcount, and more overall business tools to improve speed and production. You could even seek investors at this point and take on some investment capital if you want to scale faster than your profit investment will allow.

The point of the growth phase is rapid scale because you want to take your product, produce it quickly, get it into the hands of every customer who wants and needs it, and generate as much revenue as possible. The revenue stream is just a cycle of money flowing in and then right back out as you grow your business.

In this phase, you are feeling cautiously optimistic. You can breathe for just a second because you are realizing that your idea is actually a good one and it might just work. Instead of constantly pivoting though, you have now found a horse and you need to get on it and ride it. This causes some apprehension because you just left an emotional state of "adjust, pivot, fail, try again." You're not failing on a broad scale anymore, you can commit to this one idea and grow it. But you can't help but continue to look around every corner, waiting on this opportunity to fall through.

The point is that all of this is normal. You feeling like a fish out of water so to speak is normal. Your business has just gone through its first of 3 facelifts. When the business changes, you have to change. The faster you can do that, the faster you can embrace this success and start to run quickly with your business. That's the mental state you need to be in.

Also, in addition to everything else, remember that you are starting to hire talent to help your business run faster. If you aren't sure how to recruit, interview, and hire you will have to learn that skillset now. Seek coaches who can help you with this. It will be critical to your current and future success.

Does this sound like you or your business? Go take the quiz at legendleaders.com/quiz to find out if you are in phase 2 or not.

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In this second episode in a mini-series of five, we are talking about the 4 phases of business. The key to moving yourself and your business forward is knowing which phase your business is in, so you then know what to focus on, what success looks like for you in that phase, etc. Today we are talking about business phase 1--startup.

When you are in a startup, what are you doing, what are you focused on, what should you be focused on, how are you feeling, and how do you define success?

Those are all great questions. Let's get down to the answers.

In a startup, you are focused on validating your offer, period. You have to validate that the idea you came up with is something someone actually wants to buy. So you are working on crafting the right offer, the right product, the right advertising, and copy. You are trying to find your audience, your customer within the marketplace. It's all about finding the one thing that's going to move the business forward.

You are agile, adaptable, and you pivot constantly. It feels like a large amount of failure happening in this phase, but failure in the business sense is good because, for everything that fails, you learn what to double down on because it works.

Emotionally, you are focused on making your business successful and you can't see much of anything outside of that. You are pouring in a large amount of time and personal capital into getting the business running. You are learning at a rapid pace and with each new nugget of information you learn, you wish you could have applied yesterday. You constantly feel behind when it comes to your business. You want to run faster than you are, you want results faster than you are getting them, and you feel like your knowledge of the time available is the rate-limiting step in all of it.

Success in the startup phase is defined by your revenue. You are all about cash flow right now, putting money in the bank. Dollars tell you when your idea has been validated so you are all about seeing that money come in to prove your idea is a solid one to continue to build your business around.

You have very little headcount if any at all. You are probably a one-woman show. You may have a virtual assistant. You may have up to 2 employees. But the reality is that in a startup, you are trying to generate cash flow. You don't have any money to pay salaries. So you don't yet have a team.

Startups are usually defined as a company that is validating their offer, focused on cash flow, and making less than $1 million. Again, these are general facts.

Does this sound like you? Is this where you are right now? Go take the quiz: legendleaders.com/quiz and find out for sure.

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This episode is the first of five in a mini-series diving into the details regarding the four phases of a business. Did you know that businesses have a life cycle just like a living being? It's true. And just like we all had to learn how to do different activities at different stages of our lives, and we have had different priorities throughout our lives, so do our businesses. This mini-series is going to help answer the question: which business phase are you in?

There are 4 specific phases that I refer to within Legend Leaders:

--Startup

--Growth

--Mature

--Evolution

It's critically important to understand where your business is along this lifecycle. Why? Because if you aren't sure where you are, how do you know what you need to focus on in order to be successful? How do you know if you are doing the right work a the right time?

What if you are doing work that should be delivered upon in the mature phase but you are only in the startup phase?

Beyond that, there are key fundamental steps that each business must take in each phase to be successful. It doesn't matter which phase you are in, you have to execute on those key fundamentals around execution, prioritization, hiring, revenue, etc. How they are executed are different in each phase but they each have to be delivered upon nonetheless.

As we go through this mini-series, I'm going to encourage you to go take the "What Type of Business Legend Are You" Quiz. There are 8 short questions, you will get your results immediately, and you will also get them emailed to you so you can refer to them later. So go check it out. www.legendleaders.com/quiz (I say backslash in the episode but it's a forward slash.)

I will see you in the next episode where we dive further into Phase 1: Startups.

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Yesterday I did an episode on taking a stay-cation. In this episode, I want to take it a step further. You see, not only do I want you to walk away understanding that you need to take time away from work for your mental health, to build up and develop your team, but I also want you to understand that when you do take time off, you must truly be off. Ultimately, working while on PTO puts you at risk both personally and professionally.

Imagine you are sitting by a pool, an adult beverage in hand, a good book on your lap, and your family just left for a few minutes. They are coming back in about 10 minutes or so but you have a few minutes to yourself. You are smiling. Happy. At peace because of the time away from work. You look at your phone and you think, "Let me just take a quick look to see what is going on at work." So you pick up your phone and as you are scanning your emails, you see communication back and forth about an issue. It's not an urgent issue, it's just a standard business issue.

Feeling generous, you decide to reply and give a few pointers on how to handle the situation. You whip out the email, hit send, put the phone down, and smile. You feel accomplished like you helped the team out and now you are back to your vacation. It's a perfect day.

But let's just take a look at that perfect day for a second. The generosity, in your mind, that you displayed actually could cause problems for you and your team.

First, because you answered, the team now feels like they can continue to ask for your input, seek advice, guidance, etc. They don't want to mess up, so now they are going to run everything by you in this situation. Bye-bye vacation time.

Second, let's say they didn't want to keep asking you questions, instead they assume you are now taking over fixing the issue. You did respond to the group after all so you essentially took control of the situation being the senior leader. Instead of continuing to resolve the issue, they go back to their daily work with the assumption you are handling it all. So nothing gets fixed with you back to family time by the pool.

Even worse, let's say you work for someone else, you're not the business owner, and they see you respond. They may directly ask you to take control of the situation, so you have definitely lost your vacation time for the day, maybe even longer.

Last but not least, how do you know your advice was sound and complete? Your brain is on vacation time. Your drinking and enjoying your time away, as you should. But the point here is that those two worlds should not mix. Your judgment is impaired, even without the drinks, because your mind isn't focused on work. You could be giving poor advice or even incomplete advice for the issue itself.

Are you starting to see all of the issues and risks?

In my career, I removed a direct report from his role because of the work he did while on PTO. He had an issue in one of his businesses, he decided to be generous and show up to help with the situation. He didn't fully follow protocol, he was picking and choosing how he helped out because "he was on PTO." I removed him and explained to him that the minute he decided walked through that door and decided to put himself in the center of helping to resolve that issue, he became responsible for fully executing the company protocols and policies. It didn't matter if he was on PTO or not. He made a decision to help. Once you decide to help, you have to do so completely. He didn't do that so he lost his position.

It's plain and simple to me. If you are on vacation or PTO, go be on vacation or PTO. Don't be generous, be safe.

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While you can't go on a vacation like you have been planning or even like the ones you have had in the past, you can and should still schedule a stay-cation and put down the work. You need the mental break!

At the start of the pandemic in the US, I recorded an episode about preparing your team for your next vacation. Oh yes, this was during the time that we thought we would be back in the office by July, and life would be more normal than not. Fast forward to today and we know just how wrong that was. But the training that I shared, the methods you need to follow to prepare your team to run the business in your absence still holds true.

You need to take the mental break a vacation affords you. If you are like me, and I'm sure you are, you push yourself hard while you are at work. You are problem-solving, negotiating, influencing, building, and changing. This takes a significant amount of mental focus and energy. So let me tell you that I love vacations! I love knowing that for a few days during a set period of time, I can step away from the business world and simply enjoy life without distractions. I also love to travel as I have shared in past episodes so that's always a benefit of vacations as well.

But don't let the fact that you can't travel outside of your home or your local city hold you back from taking the mental break that you need in order to continue to be the creative, problem solver, a strategic thinker that you are. If vacations are about getting away from the business and taking a mental break, a stay-cation can accomplish that just the same. So take a stay-cation.

The key here though is that you must step away from work just like you would on a travel vacation. If you don't, the entire point of the stay-cation is lost. So how can you do that?

It's the same theories that I shared relative to preparing your team that I shared in that earlier episode back in April. You need your team to know the details, have the answers, be able to make the decisions, and run the business without you. If you haven't prepared them for that, that's step one.

Additionally, you can't be sending them messages while you are away to "simply check on things." Nope. That's not a mental break. Set expectations around the types of issues or events that need to be shared with you should they occur while you are away from the computer. Then tell them how you want them to communicate those situations with you. Just like we discussed yesterday, having proper communication methods established will allow you to take a break without feeling like you have to check your phone every 10 minutes.

Last but not least, you can put apps on your phone that prevent you from accessing other apps. Or, you can use the features built into most phones and tablets that prevent you from using an app after so many minutes. It essentially locks you out. You can have your spouse or friend create a password for the app and have them keep that password confidential from you. Then put the app on your phone, computer, tablet, etc., and lockout the work apps. You can also set time limits set for email and texting, etc. so that you are forced to break away from technology and try to breathe for a few days.

Whatever methods you put into place, the point is that you should create some sort of methodology to allow yourself the mental break of a stay-cation. Schedule yours today, prepare your team, prepare yourself, and then take a breather. You deserve it!

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Isn't it obvious that I love to talk about talking? 😁 I mean, everything stems from communication in my world so naturally, one of the key aspects I want to help you with is communication. So today, we are going to focus on how you as a leader can help your team establish communication times.

You have a life you are trying to live, right? We call that our Legendary Life. When you took a job at any point in your life, or started your own business, or got promoted, with that change in employment you envisioned the life you were going to live as a result of that. Money, influence, time, tangible purchases, etc. All of these things are things you think about and associate with a change in your career. So if you are trying to live your Legendary Life, you must also acknowledge that every person on your team is trying to live theirs too.

They created that vision in their minds the first day they said yes to working within your company, on your team, etc. However, this remote working life is probably taking a toll on them. Expectations of people working all hours because of the mentality that they are always going to be close to the computer, or "they can't go anywhere anyway so they might as well get some work done," is an unfair expectation to place upon them.

Everyone needs to have a mental break. Everyone needs time to decompress and get away from work. You should be setting the example as their role model. Modeling the behavior of standard work hours. However, the other activities you can take is to establish communication times within your organization or team. It could be 8am to 5pm, or 9 am to 6pm. Whatever the timeframe is, that's up to you.

The point is that you make it clear within your team that work communications should occur within that window of time. This means if someone gets a wild idea, decides they have a question, wants to learn about something another team member is doing, etc. they can email whenever they choose. But the recipient of the message isn't expected to respond outside of the communication hours.

For this to work, you have to show them you mean it. You have to encourage behavior that supports this change in communication. And you also have to set clear expectations of what is urgent/emergent, and how that will be communicated. For example, if it's after communication hours and there is an emergency, that message should be shared via a phone call, not a text, not an email. This allows for everyone to leave their phones on a table, not feel an obligation to constantly check their email, but have peace of mind knowing that if something urgent comes up, they will hear the phone ring and they can be responsive. Otherwise, they can enjoy their time away from work without stress.

Think about how establishing communication times within your team would benefit everyone, allowing all team members to decompress and have the mental breaks everyone needs.

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Have you experienced someone having an emotional outburst at work? I definitely have, most of which has been crying episodes. I have had several people cry in meetings throughout my career and had it has always shocked me. Not because we can't be emotional at work. We have already discussed how emotions build connection and connection builds trust. So we have to be emotional. No, I'm surprised because I wasn't prepared for the emotions they were displaying. And if this has happened during your time in leadership, I would imagine it has happened to you to. So how do you handle it?

If the emotions start flowing in a meeting or a discussion, you must determine if the emotions are a result of the discussion itself. If it's obvious someone is dealing with a non-work-related issue, respectfully, empathetically ask them to leave the meeting and tell them they are welcome back when they are ready. You or someone else should help them leave the meeting room (if in person), and whoever goes with them simply needs to have a caring conversation to confirm the person is ok, doesn't need anything, etc.

If the emotions are a result of a workplace issue, maybe you are having a performance discussion, providing feedback, or maybe you are going through an internal restructure, etc. You expect emotions to be running high in that situation. But nonetheless, you will handle the situation in much the same way, but with one minor tweak. Should someone become emotional, crying, yelling, being disrespectful, it doesn't matter the exact emotion, you should acknowledge it, give them about 10 minutes to collect themselves, then ask them to return to the conversation.

Yes, that's different than the first situation in that you are asking them specifically to return to finish your discussion. Because you see, you cannot control the situation causing the emotions in the non-work-related emotional outburst. In this second example, you are actually the direct cause (as the person delivering the information), of the pain or frustration. At the same time though, the conversation you are having must be had and closed out. If you are delivering a performance review, that review must be delivered. If you are giving candid feedback and setting expectations of a behavior/performance change, that conversation must continue. If you are reading talking points to the employee detailing the company's restructure, that conversation must continue. Because of that, you must still acknowledge the emotion, give them time to collect themselves, but you must finish the discussion.

Saying something like, "I respect the fact that you are upset. Let's take 10 minutes to let you collect yourself, you can step to the restroom, get a breath of fresh air, whatever you need; then let's come back and finish this discussion."

Give them the time to get themselves back on track mentally. You would want that if you were in their shoes. And, we all want to maintain some level of dignity at work. Beyond that though, you are having a conversation that must be heard. The entire point of the discussion is that the message has to be received and action taken as a result of the discussion; a change in behavior, a change in attitude, a change in job functions, etc. You need the person to collect him/herself so you can ensure they truly hear the message. When emotions are running high, messages are lost. Don't let your conversation fall on deaf ears.

In both situations, you want to maintain the trust you have built. Be empathetic. Give them time to collect their composure and their thoughts. If you are delivering work-related emotional news, ask them to come back to finish the discussion. Use your emotional intelligence.

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We regularly discuss doing. your monthly review of your business performance. It's a no-brainer and very much part of your monthly routine. But what about a monthly review of your time and personal goals? How did you do with sticking to your calendar, spending your time where you needed to spend it, etc.? Ultimately, did you achieve your personal goals?

Remember that we are working to grow a business, but part of growing your business means you have to live the life you deserve. You have to be able to do both. So if you don't have a routine around assessing how well you are living your Legendary Life, create that routine.

Sit down and look at your calendar. What did you say you would do each day? Did you do it? Did you get sucked into work you shouldn't have been involved in? Did you accomplish the work on your calendar that you committed yourself to?

Take some time today and do a true assessment of your time, your activities, and determine what you truly accomplished.

What goals did you establish for yourself within the month of July for example? Not just business goals, but in your total life. Did you set out to spend a certain amount of time with your spouse? With your kids? With yourself? Did you set aside time to do those things? How many times in the month did you live up to that?

Creating a life worth living isn't going to be worth much to you if in the process of creating a business you lose all of the things that you are trying to live for. Your monthly review of your time and monthly goals is critical to ensuring you deliver to your life goals.

Your challenge is to create a monthly routine to review, assess, and gauge your performance within the time and personal goals you committed to each month. Be clear and purposeful, just like you are with your business. What did you set out to do? Did you accomplish it? How do you repeat it or change it accordingly? Your life will be more fulfilled because of it.

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Oh, I hate to fail. I mean, let's be honest for a second. People say all of the time that failures teach us what we need to grow through to be stronger. Failure teaches us to be better. And while I appreciate the political correctness of those statements, for just a second I want to tell you that I hate to fail. But I have had to get over it. Because here is what I had to realize, business failures are different than school failures.

Yes, I can count on one hand how many times I got a C on my report card or a C in college. I just didn't get bad grades. Not because my parents had unachievable expectations of me, but because they always said that I needed to try my best and they would know based on the grade if I had done that. I mean, if you step back and think about it, grades in school were indicative of how well you could listen, learn, and memorize facts. Tests in school were simply a regurgitation of the lessons the teacher taught you. Therefore in school, to fail meant you simply didn't apply yourself, listen, learn in the way they were teaching the material, or put forth the effort you needed to in order to excel. (I'm speaking in generalities here.)

Failure in school meant you were told the answer but you chose not to remember it or learn it. So you failed.

Failure in business is very different. When we fail in business it's because we don't know the answer. We are working diligently to figure out what the answer is because we are facing new situations with no clear pathway. For example, you are trying to determine which of 5 different offerings resonates most with your customer. You have no idea which one they want, so you offer all 5 and you wait. There will be one distinct winner and essentially 4 failed offers. But in reality, the failure of the 4 offers is exactly what you needed. You needed a clear winner in that situation to figure out which path to follow in order to grow your business.

So you see, business failures are different than school failures because business failures help us find the unknown answer while school failures were us simply not applying the answer we were already taught. If you see it this way, understand that business failures truly are opportunities to grow, succeed, overcome, and get better at your craft. You just simply need to wrap your brain around the fact that the two failures aren't equal and therefore you can't be frustrated with business failures.

Instead of saying, I hate to fail, say I love to fail in business because I get the answers I need to run faster. It's all about having that understanding and perspective!

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As business leaders, we are constantly learning. If we aren't learning, our business isn't thriving. I think that learning and business leadership go hand in hand. We are constantly learning about our people, ourselves, our business, and the overall business world. But let me ask you a question you may not have thought about, how do you learn?

You see, if you are a lifelong learner, you have to know how you learn best. I teach my clients in a stepwise fashion. In other words, I give you step 1, then step 2, then step 3, etc. If you don't like to learn in a stepwise way, you probably wouldn't enjoy learning from me. But given that you are listening to this podcast, you have already figured that out. And the fact that you're listening means stepwise training appeals to you.

But if you don't like to learn stepwise, maybe you like the Roomba approach. You know, the little vacuum that goes throughout your entire living room, crisscrossing pathways but somehow at the end of it all it has vacuumed your entire room? There is no pattern it seems, the robot is simply randomly pulling the information together until the end result appears.

There is no wrong way to learn, it's simply just your way. And you need to know your way such that when you have to learn something big, a new method, a new strategy, a new process, etc., you know how to tackle it. For example, if you are a DIY person. Someone who likes to learn on her own and apply it all at her own pace. That's one method. If you like self-learning but want an accountability partner or someone to bounce ideas off of each step of the way that's another methodology. Or, if you very much want someone to handle the work for you because it's not a topic you want to spend weeks learning but the overall lessons still need to be applied to your business, that is yet another way.

For me, I like DIY, for the most part, with the ability to ask someone for some input if I need it. Think about the college you went to. If it was a large class, hundreds of people, you were one of many, but you knew you could ask a question during office hours, you are a DIY like me. If you went to a small college with an average classroom size of 20, you are a one-on-one coaching person most likely.

Once you figure out your learning style, you need to apply this as you move forward. Learn what you need to learn, in order to move yourself and your business forward. Don't buy a course without coaching if you aren't a DIY learner. Don't buy one-on-one coaching if you are going to feel bothered by someone wanting to connect with you weekly, asking you questions. How do you learn? Answering this will save you stress and worry as you get into learning situations in the future.

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How do you communicate? What is your communication style and who are you attracting as a result? For me, I communicate directly, or as I normally say, "I'm clear and direct."

The clients and people that I have worked with and currently work with understanding that. They appreciate my style, they want information shared with them in this manner, and they don't want fluff or indirect feedback. Is that how you communicate? What is your style?

Have you asked your team recently how they perceive your style of communication? Does it match your intentions?

All of these questions are important for you to answer. By knowing your communication style, you will know the type of people you will be successful working with/leading. If you speak directly, but you work with individuals who like to be given information indirectly, or want time to digest the information vs. immediately act, or need to be made to feel good no matter your message, you may have a hard time communicating in a way that makes them feel supported.

Now, I can tell you that while I have always been a direct communicator, I had to learn how to make people feel a bit more comfortable with my directness. I had to work on making individuals feel comfortable because after college when I would meet friends of friends, the feedback I always received was that people didn't like me. They didn't like me because I was confident, strong, and I didn't need their approval. I carried that confidence into the conversations, and they were intimidated by that. That isn't something I need to apologize for, I know myself, I know what I bring to the table, I'm proud of who I am, and so I am confident in a way that some people are bothered by that. That's just a fact.

However, I had to learn how to make people understand out of the gate that my confidence and directness were a part of me that shouldn't be perceived as targeting to make them feel "less than." I had to learn how to warm people up to my communication style and my confidence. Note, I didn't apologize for it. I simply met them with a style they were comfortable with.

If you are direct, you get those other people who will be "turned off" by your style. It happens both in and out of the business world. But here's the thing, if you are direct and like direct, you will be "turned off" by indirect communicators. It goes both ways.

So today, answer the question: how you communicate? Who you are attracting to work with you as a result? And remember, be prepared to communicate differently if you have people on your team that prefer a different communication style. Use this knowledge to move you forward in your leadership.

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This episode is all about you! I want you to learn how to create and build your accomplishments routine. You see, we are business leaders and as such we expect that we are going to learn something new and grow through problems each and every day. Because we have these expectations of ourselves, we actually downplay the growth we experience as business leaders.

That's so unfair! Just because we know we have to learn and grow, doesn't mean that that understanding somehow negates our ability to celebrate when we do it! Athletes know they have to go out and play hard and win. When they win, they don't prevent themselves from celebrating. Heck no! They celebrate every win! So why don't we? We work hard, we strive to overcome the barriers in front of us, and when we do that, we need to see that for the accomplishment that it is. We need to celebrate!

So how do we acknowledge our growth throughout the year? Create an accomplishment document; a place where you will make a list of all you have learned in a week, a milestone you have achieved, any new barriers you overcame in your business, etc. There is nothing too small or too big. If you did it or learned it, put it on the list.

I created a page in the back of my writing journal. When I finished my first journal this year, I reviewed my accomplishment list as part of finishing out my journal book. It was an amazing reminder of all I have learned and done since the beginning of the year. Many things I had already forgotten about so it was a great reminder of what I have overcome so far this year.

I guarantee you will be surprised at all you have done in a year if you will create a routine around writing down your accomplishments. I would also tell you that this list is great on a crummy day when you feel like you aren't doing anything right. Taking a look at this list will remind you of how far you have come and help you remember that the crummy day is just one day in your journey, it doesn't define you.

Your challenge today is to create a place for your list, build a routine around adding information to that list, and then decide to review your list at least once a quarter (I would recommend a monthly review) so you can celebrate all of the amazing growth and work you have accomplished at that point.

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We have talked regularly about how the pandemic is impacting our businesses. In various episodes of the Legendary Leaders podcast, we have discussed how it can affect mindset, and how we push ourselves forward; we have discussed changes in business processes because we could be producing or providing our services in a new way, and we have discussed leadership methodologies because we are all working remotely. But what we haven't actively discussed is how to handle the customer service impacts.

My overall recommendation is to treat your customers the way you want to be treated. The golden rule, right? Beyond that, look to larger companies and steal shamelessly from how they are handling similar issues.

If you have a product you are producing and shipping, for example, put an alert on your website letting customers know there could be a delivery delay due to the pandemic. We have all seen these alerts on various websites, why not add it to yours as well? Even if the risk is small, you don't want an uncontrollable delivery issue to damage your brand.

If you have a service product or you have a call center taking orders and you are struggling with the call volume, are you setting the proper message your potential customers will hear on those inbound calls? If you have the financial means, can you buy the phone system software that allows you to automatically call the customer back when it's their turn in the call queue? I don't know about you, but if I have a 45-minute wait on the phone, I am happy to allow the system to call me back if my first option of being immediately served isn't available. Think about how you let the customer know they are valuable to you, that you recognize their time is valuable, and offer any solutions you can to help them be served.

The point here is that you need to be proactive, transparent, and honest with your customers about your ability to serve them. Everyone is usually forgiving if you can simply let them know what the situation really is. So don't hide issues.

If you do have a customer complaint, apologize to them. You don't have to apologize in a way that makes you responsible for the error, especially if you are unsure if the issue was caused by you or the shipping company for example. But you can always apologize that they have a concern and that they are having to spend their time reaching out to you to get it resolved, right? And so you should.

The faster you acknowledge a customer's concern, the faster you apologize, the more likely they are to understand and are willing to give you another chance at earning their dollars.

So remember, in all of the changes you are facing in the business world, how are you also changing to better communicate and serve your customer? How can you apply this in your business today?

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You don't have to be liked to be a leader. I completely agree with that. Now, don't freak out and say, "But Katrina, you said I have to build trust in my team, and to build trust, I have to be trustworthy. How can I be considered a leader of someone who doesn't like me?"

I'm glad you asked. 😁 The answer to that is that your direct reports do need to be able to trust you. Inherently, they will see you as trustworthy. But being trustworthy doesn't mean that they would hang out with you or consider you a friend outside of work. This is what I mean by, "liked."

When you think about your work relationships, most people you work with are individuals you respect for their work ethic, their commitment to the mission and the business, etc. However, most of the people you work with are not individuals you would befriend otherwise. And that is perfectly fine. The key is that you interact with these individuals so regularly in the work environment, that you appreciate what they bring to the table. The idea that you have to like them to consider them a leader goes out the door. Of course, you see them as a leader, they are an asset to the company.

Now that we are working remotely, the ability to see these individuals in action has rapidly declined. You (and others) are having to simply trust that the person in question is a good leader, is trustworthy, etc. The ability to accept the "I don't have to like them I just have to see their work value" mentality is harder to achieve in this new world.

Why? Because in reality, you never actually sought out the ability to see this peer, senior leader, vendor, contractor, etc. before going to work remotely. The opportunity to see them in their element naturally existed and you took advantage of it. Now that that opportunity is gone, it is harder to build trust with someone you don't necessarily like, or connect with on a basic level.

To overcome this, you must take purposeful action to close these gaps in a remote environment. Talk to your team, ask them who they are struggling to trust, work with, or give the benefit of the doubt. Have them tell you who that is as well as what would help close that gap. Also ask your peers to do the same with their teams in case you also need to join any of their calls, build rapport and trust with others in the matrix environment.

You don't have to solve this problem alone. And it may not be a problem at all. But you won't know until you ask.

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In various chats, business-related Facebook groups, etc. I'm consistently seeing that the number one issue people are facing right now is hiring for their businesses. First, I love this because this means their businesses are growing. It's a good problem to have, right? If you are struggling with hiring right now, I want to challenge you to hire for the job you created.

Now I know this sounds intuitive. But you would be surprised at how fast we can get away from this mindset when we get into the interview and job offer phase of our hiring routine.

First, people make the mistake of hiring people that look, talk, act, and sound like them or like a successful person already on the team. Don't go down that path. Look, I get it. We all want to display good judgment. And judgment is essentially the culmination of our experiences in similar events, or lessons learned, that help us make the best decision in a situation. So naturally, when we are trying to use judgment, we gravitate to what we feel is a "sure thing." But let me tell you, you don't want to hire someone exactly like you or like you already have. You need diversity at every level. Diversity of thought, experiences, education, and perspective. So that's the first challenge I am going to give you in this one, don't hire based on what you know looks like you; hire for the job you created.

Second, and this is the important one, because we start to look at people who are similar to us, or we find the candidate we "just know is the one," then we start to visualize having that person on our team. And when that happens, we get distracted. We become so enamored by the idea of that candidate joining us, that when we call and make the offer, we get off track if they don't respond with excitement and appreciation. If they respond with anything less than those positive emotions, we actually start trying to scramble to have them accept the offer. Have you ever seen this happen? I have.

The hiring manager is so convinced that this person is THE person, that when the candidate gets wishy-washy about the offer, (they don't like the hours, they don't like the compensation, they don't like the actual job functions, etc.) the hiring manager helps with the negotiation.

Now, I don't know about you. But compensation negations are expected. So here is the thing, at this point, the candidate should have already been fully educated on the hours and the job functions. If they were not happy with those pieces of the job, they should have had that conversation before the offer phase. Or, decided that this job wasn't for them and moved on. I am fine with either of those decisions, but I'm not ok with someone waiting until the offer to essentially say, "Oh there are 5 functions to this job, I only want to do 3."

Because respectfully, my answer will be, "Thank you for your candor. Given this information, you are not the right candidate for the job." And I would retract the offer.

Why? Because I am hiring for the job I created, not the job they want to create for themselves in my business. But unfortunately, many hiring managers don't think that way. Again, they can already see this new person in their company. So when the candidate asks about adjusting their hours or taking away some of the responsibilities (but still getting paid the same amount), they will start scrambling, trying to make their requests work.

Remember, you created this position to fulfill those exact hours and those exact functions. That's the point of this job. So don't change it. Decide in the beginning what you are hiring for and what the job looks like, then stick to it when you hire.

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I continue to focus on sharing information around business processes, business improvements, and how to have the right mindset to propel your business forward. We all change our messaging to try to land our communication in a way, in a tone, in the right words, etc. that resonate with our customers. As I continue to work on the messaging for Legend, one of the key learnings I want to impart is that you have to have a plan to be able to lead your business vs run your business.

What's the difference? The difference is that we all had to start our businesses with us running them. That means we built various inefficiencies into our businesses to simply get them off of the ground. It's not on purpose, it's not that we wanted them to be inefficient, it's that we had to do what we had to do to create our businesses in the first place. And when we started them, it was just us; a one-woman show.

Now that you have grown your business, you are still living with those inefficiencies, but you don't see them as inefficiencies. You see them as simply part of the business you created. So instead of improving your business, you throw money at headcount, a sales team, more ads, and marketing, etc. When the answer is sitting right in front of you.

So instead of running your business, I want you to lead your business. I want you to learn a new method of how to have a better, more efficient, more revenue-generating business. To lead means you see it for what it is and make it better, you're not so close to the business itself that you can't see the needed improvement.

Think of it this way. When you were a child, you learned to eat with a knife and a fork. You put your fork in your non-dominate hand and you held the fork how? With all 4 fingers wrapped around the handle of the fork. For some of us, as we got older, we realized that wasn't the most efficient way to hold the fork, so we adjusted and now we place our first finger pointing down toward the tines of the fork. The next time you go out to eat, have friends over, etc. watch how adults eat with a knife and a fork. Some of them have made adjustments. Some of them still eat like that 4-year-old child.

Businesses are the same way. Just because it worked before and got the job done, doesn't mean that it's the best, most efficient, most revenue-generating method to perform a process in your business. That original method got you far! But is there a way to do it better? Until you step out of your business and lead it (vs. being so close and running it), it will be hard for you to see areas where you can improve.

I want you to realize there is a better way, a way to lead your business and not just run your business. At Legend Leaders we are here to teach you the business and leadership strategies you need to create and live your Legendary Life. When you are ready, we want to teach you how to transition to leading a business. It's the only way to have the business you want and live the life you deserve.

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If you are like me, or how I used to be rather, sometimes you get trapped in the cycle of dissatisfaction. It's the cycle perfectionists and overachievers fall into on a regular basis.

Essentially, we look at a business metric and we want to improve it. Let's say we want to grow our email list from 10,000 people to 50,000 people. As soon as we make a commitment, as soon as we align our minds around a business goal, we think that "once we arrive" we will be happy. But we are wrong. Because you see, we will arrive at the 50,000 individuals on our email list. That's what we do, we figure out how to achieve a goal and we achieve it. But where we get it wrong is by thinking that destination is what will make us happy. Because will we be happy when hitting 50,000 people on an email list? Absolutely. Until the following day. And then you are dissatisfied and you have to establish another goal.

You are chasing happiness.

You know you hear people say, "if only I could get married, I would be happy." But we know that the wedding day isn't the day of happiness, it is the life spent with the one you love, every single day, that is happiness. The journey, not the day, is what makes you happy.

Or, when someone says "if only I could have a child I would be happy." But the day of your child's birth isn't the single point of happiness. Raising your child, watching them grow up to be an amazing person, creating those memories, that is happiness.

When we put it into those terms, we understand that. We know that one day in time isn't what happiness is about. It is about the events leading up to the day, the day itself, and the days after. It's the entire experience that creates your happiness. If we can acknowledge this about every other part of our lives, why can't we put our business goals in the same terms?

Yes, we need goals, targets, deadlines, milestones, and KPIs. That will not change. We will continue to strive towards them. But what we must do is allow ourselves to experience the journey. Instead of seeing the goal as the point of happiness, realize that the journey and the results thereafter are your happiness; your Legendary Life.

When you have 50,000 people on your list, instead of the goal being your happiness, realize how much impact you are going to have on 50,000 people! Realize what you will learn from 50,000 people; things they need and want that only you can provide.

How can you pull yourself out of the cycle of dissatisfaction and realize the journey and the time thereafter is happiness? Think through that today.

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Do you want to be a more effective and efficient leader? Have you established your expected communication routines with your team? If not, build a cadence of communication.

You know that I regularly talk about communication as a part of your leadership. But I have watched leaders move forward with a team and hound them to death each day, asking for updates, wanting to know every detail on a new project, etc. It's completely inefficient on several fronts.

First, as a leader, you can't bog yourself down by trying to "remember" to ask for updates. Your brain needs to be focused on strategic initiatives, visionary work, etc. You must focus your brain on doing the work that only you can do. But if you are constantly trying to remember to ask for this or get an update on that, you will never be able to focus on your most important work.

Additionally, if you are constantly messaging your team randomly for updates, they can't focus on their work. You are treating your team like an admin, a person who is waiting for your direction in order to respond to your needs. Your team doesn't exist to perform in that capacity. They are responsible for getting results. If you treat them like an admin, they will never have time to move the business forward. They will be frustrated, overwhelmed, and they will most likely end up leaving you and your company. Why? Because they never have time to accomplish anything!

So create your communication routine. Establish the updates you need in your touch bases. If there are projects, launches, etc. that are happening, you may need updates more frequently than this, and that's your call. Establish it. Talk with your direct report about what you need, why you need it, and establish the expectation. Ask for the update in an email so you can get to it at any point during the day.

Now you are more efficient, your team is more efficient, and you have the information you need without creating an environment of fires and inefficiencies.

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I have recently talked about you being the anchor for your team, right? How there are still a large number of unknowns in the minds and lives of our team and therefore we as leaders have to be their constant, their anchor. The other action we must own and execute regularly with our teams is providing clarity around team goals and roles.

As you sit down and look at your business, what do you want to accomplish in the month of August? What are your business goals? Define them. Write them down. What does a successful August look like? If you don't know, your team definitely doesn't know. It falls on you to remove the fuzziness in your own mind, so you can provide a clear vision to your team.

Once you define success for the month of August, work your way backward and define what you must achieve each week in order to deliver to the full month. This is the clarity your team needs to receive from you.

When you define what good looks like, each member of your team needs to clearly understand the goals you have established. And then they need to understand their role in delivering to that goal.

Let's say one goal depends on 3 teams to contribute to delivering that overall success metric. Each of those 3 teams needs to understand the goal you have established and what they are specifically responsible for relative to that goal. What is their role in helping the company achieve that August goal?

When we can provide clarity around a goal and the role a person plays in delivering to that goal, you have eliminated a gray area for them. Success should be an open book test and you have provided exactly that. This further solidifies their ability to perform in an ever-changing world.

What is your goal for August? What does good look like? Which teams need to contribute to delivering to that goal? What is each team's role in the process? Map it out. Then go share it with your team. Follow up weekly and course-correct along the way to deliver to your goals.

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When I ask individuals how they run their business, execute a process, or simply get stuff done I have heard this same response off and on, "I just get it done" or "this is what I do." 🤔 I don't know that that's the right answer, my friend. You see, both action and documentation are needed in order to be successful.

You need to have a process around documenting SOPs. Just because you do something, doesn't mean that it can be replicated. It's the theory of being hit by a bus. If you were hit by a bus tomorrow, would your business be able to continue down its current pathway, with everyone else in the company being able to consistently execute in the same way you did? You hope you can answer yes. But wouldn't you much rather know you can answer yes?

To do that, you need standard operating procedures, or SOPs, which we have talked about before. Documentation that outlines the best, most consistent, most efficient method of execution in your business. Such that when/if you hire people onto your team, you can hand them the SOP and they can perform the function in the way you intend them to perform it.

Let me also say though that it isn't all about documentation. If you document all day but never take action, you are still not hitting the mark. You see some people are action takers but don't document. Others document to death but never take action. You want to be in the very middle of this, where you take action, refine your process, perfect it, then document it so it can be replicated.

If I had to choose which pathway for you to start with, I would tell you to take action every single time. The action gets results. And results drive businesses forward. You must take action, or you don't have a business. At the same time, without documentation, you won't be able to grow and scale.

So what's today's message? Do both! Action and documentation are needed to establish and grow a successful company.

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You know I recorded an episode recently about self-care and being a role model to others when it comes to self-care. I mentioned routines as a way of ensuring you are taking care of yourself and as you know, I regularly talk about my morning routine. I teach my clients about a solid morning routine and having a win to carry forward into the workday. But it struck me yesterday that I haven't yet talked about an evening routine! What is your evening routine?

Do you have one? You know, we can work hard to create a morning routine, we can work diligently to keep our calendars on track and when we end the workday, we feel amazing. Then, we shift ourselves to our families, our spouses, and what an ideal evening should be and if that isn't up to par, we feel like the entire day has been wrecked. Isn't it amazing how that happens? All of that work was negated by a crazy evening.

Today I want to talk about two pieces of your evening routine.

First, I want you to create an evening routine. Now, it doesn't have to be set in stone. I like spontaneity in my life just like the next girl. So remember, you don't have to map out each detail. You simply need to have some times and some overarching activities you want to do. For us, it's dinner together around 6pm. It is an evening walk in the neighborhood after dinner. It's time spent with the kids. It's bedtime for the kids, or at least in their room time until they go to bed, at a set time so we can have adult time together to talk about our day, etc. So as you can see, I'm not super specific about what I will do in that time slot, only that I have that time dedicated to those events, because those events matter to me and to my family.

Second, don't let your workday trickle into your evening routine. Your evening routine needs to force you to end your workday. And yes, that is the point. You have worked enough. If your to-do list had 15 things and you only got 5 done, realize 15 is too much. You don't need to sacrifice your evening to get it done. Do you need to feel fulfilled, remember? Your evening time is part of that fulfillment process for you, just like it is for me. I want and need that family time. It's part of how I have defined my Legendary Life. So I have to stop letting work trickle into that family time if I am letting it.

Now, will fires happen from time to time? Yes, but deal with the fire, contain it, and move on. Don't let 5 minutes of business insanity derail your evening routine. Get it back on track and keep going.

Sit down and create your evening routine today!

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You know I always bring forward questions that people ask me, conversations that I have, etc. So just FYI, you have been warned that a conversation you and I have together will come upon this podcast (confidentially of course!). That said, I talk about stories a lot, and I share stories, as you already know because you are listening to my podcast. I tell stories because telling stories defines your brand.

Think about it, we watch movies, read books, and listen to other people's stories because we are interested in the journey, the lessons, and we want the hero to win. We want to see others succeed because we then know we can succeed as well. We know "it can be done."

When you think about your business or your personal brand as a leader, stories are just as important here as in any other part of our lives. As a leader or business owner, our stories tell our teams or our customer why they can trust us, how we have overcome, that we are credible and experienced, etc. So first and foremost, stories allow others to see us or our brand as the expert. It builds our credibility.

The question I was asked recently was, "Katrina, why do you tell the same stories? Don't you get tired of telling them? Don't you think people want to hear different stories about your life?" Great questions, but the answer across the board is: No. Here's why:

I tell the same stories because they serve a purpose. They focus on a lesson I am teaching at the moment and that lesson is critical to the growth I want my team or my client to achieve. Not only does it show me as the expert or a person who has been in their shoes and can empathize with them, but it teaches them a lesson. That's the purpose.

I am not tired of telling the same stories because each story I have decided to share, and I have like 5-6 of them, are true-life events stories that truly convey the lesson I am trying to teach my team and my clients. The more I tell it, the better I get at conveying the situation, the event, the lesson, and how that lesson will help whomever I am talking to. Repetition makes me better.

People don't really get offended when you remind them of your life story. When you share the same story, most people are like "Oh, yeah I remember this story, this is when she . . . " and they fill in the blank. Do you see how powerful that is? They fill in the blank. So because they already know the story, they take my story and associate it with the lesson. I need them to remember the lesson and act on it. And guess what? They do!

Think about that last point for a second. I tell a personal story . . . that story teaches a lesson . . . when my team/a client hears that story again, over and over and over, they associate the story with the lesson and they start to take action. Now they have a success story to tell themselves when they are afraid they can't do it, shouldn't do it, or they are afraid. Now they can remember my story and say, "Katrina did it, I can too!"

Just like the kid watching Superman on TV and he starts trying to fly around the room, believing he too can have superpowers and save the world. Just like he identified with that story and started to take action, other people do the same things when they hear my stories and your stories.

So my question for you today is, are you telling stories? Do you have 5-6 stories picked out that teach fundamental lessons in your business? Have you practiced them, perfected them, and are you sharing them? Remember, telling stories defines your brand. So start practicing, keep practicing, and let's get good at it!

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Are you sitting in a state of overwhelming right now? As you know, I connect with a lot of people on a daily basis so I tend to hear some common threads from time to time. What I am finding is that a lot of people, especially female business leaders that are also spouses, moms, and the like, are all experiencing overwhelm due to a lack of answers.

What does that mean?

It means you are used to having all of the answers. You are used to knowing what is happening in the world, or at least your world, so you can use good judgment, make sound decisions, and plan. Ultimately, you want to PLAN. But you can't. You can't because we all thought we would have answers right now, and we don't.

We all thought that when the "fall" rolled around, and for us in the US when we say fall we really mean the start of school and football season, we thought that we would have answers. Answers that would then help us create plans. And we aren't talking crazy plans, we are talking simple plans like when are the kids going to start school, are they going to go to school or still be at home, are we going to be able to come together as a community to enjoy football this year or will that be eliminated too (we love our sports!). We need these answers.

We need them because we need to be able to plan our lives. That doesn't mean we are downplaying the seriousness of the virus. It doesn't mean we are selfish and we don't care about the impact this virus is having on all of us. No. It simply means we have responsibilities in our own worlds that continue and we want to know how to carry forward with those responsibilities.

Do we need to buy the kids new school clothes or just new school shirts (for the camera-only school)? Do they need paper and pencils or an extra cord for their laptops? Do we need to invest in a better "at home" school space or is that unnecessary? We need to know these things. These things are things we have always had to take care of and now we don't know what to do.

We also need to be able to plan because we need to know if we are going to be able to go back to the office, if we need to try to find someone to help with the home responsibilities or not, if we can even establish a routine around grocery shopping, etc. It's simple. It's basic. But we want to be able to plan because again, we are all still responsible for ensuring these pieces of our lives happen.

I'm here to tell you, I get it! And I want to help you eliminate your overwhelm. So here is what I want you to do:

--Write down your list of the situations you need answers on. Write down ALL of them.

--Next, write down the worst-case scenario for each of those situations. For example, if you have school-aged kids, the worst-case scenario is that they have to do virtual learning this fall.

--Last, write down your PLAN for that worst-case scenario, for each situation. What will you do in that situation?

Now you have answers which means you also have plans. No longer are you overwhelmed? Do we want the worst-case scenario to happen? No, but can you handle it if it does? Yes, you can now. You have taken control over the situations, you have determined what the worst-case scenario would be, how you will work through them, and you have a plan for your life.

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Have you ever worked with someone who has a bad attitude? I'm talking, someone who is just a jerk? They are hateful, act as they know it all, and ultimately piss everyone off. I have. What I don't get is why do companies allow that person to stay? Don't they know that employees with bad attitudes damage your brand?

You know exactly who I'm talking about don't you? You can see that person in your mind. The person you worked with 10+ years ago, they don't escape you. They have been etched into your brain, the person you never want to be like and the person you will 100% steer clear from in business for the rest of your life.

It's easy to remember and tell yourself, "Whew, I'm so glad that's over with!" But if that person still exists in your business today, and they work on another team for which you aren't responsible, you are doing a constant avoidance dance. Am I right? But that doesn't fix the issue. So how do you correct it?

First, if you own your own company and you have someone like this who works for you, I'm calling you out. You absolutely have to fix the situation. I have seen other "leaders" keep people on their teams who have a bad attitude and are disrespectful to others on the team. When the owner of the business does nothing to stop the jerky person and actually says "Oh it's worth it to have this person on the team, look what s/he brings in to the business financially!" Or even worse, the owner promotes that person within the company, the owner is pretty much done in the eyes of the team. The trust is gone.

Why? Because the owner is the person who establishes the culture, the core values, and the brand. If the owner says one thing but then rewards a completely different behavior, no trust can follow that situation. Additionally, the brand will be damaged, because the brand the owner says s/he wants and the brand they are forging with this disliked, a disrespectful person is completely opposite.

So if you are a business owner and you have this happening in your business, you have to fix it. To save the rest of your team, your brand, the culture you want to create, and the core values you have tried to establish, you have to get that person on track or remove them from your organization. Financial gain can't trump the foundation you are trying to build in your business. It isn't sustainable.

If you're not the owner but a leader in the organization, and this person isn't on your team, you need to pursue two pathways. The first is to talk to your peer, give him/her the true feedback on their direct report, and support your peer through the conversion s/he needs to have with this person.

If that doesn't work, the peer is too weak, etc., then you can always have a conversation with someone. I would say that technically it's your responsibility to do so since you are a senior leader in the organization and therefore charged with upholding the values, the culture, and the brand. So go address the behavior with the person. They need to own it and change or they won't be able to stay with the company.

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I have done a previous episode on working a 9-5 and creating your own business on the side, aka running your own business and someone else's. But I continue to run into questions from friends and clients around the best course of action, and if it has changed during the pandemic.

You see, I continue to see posts on social media that say something like "celebrate with me, I just quit my job to start my own business." When I read that I'm like, WHAT?! The word "start" is what kills me. Why would you ever give up a steady flow of income that pays your bills and cares for your family in order to "start" something that may or may not work, that you haven't even started investing in or creating yet, etc? The risk is extreme in this instance.

My advice in the past still holds true today. If you have a 9-5, keep it. Don't feel like you need to quit this steady job in order to pursue your dreams. You can do both.

Realize that running a business for someone else, besides the cash flow, is exposing you to situations, business decisions, and lessons that you wouldn't see in your own business for years probably. So soak those learnings up!

Also know that if you quit your job to start your business, you have just put another demand on yourself and your business to perform, which means you will make less sound business decisions in order to survive. You may do things like discount your product one month because you simply "need sales." Now you have devalued your product, you won't be able to safely increase the price again the next month unless you run a flash sale or something that was a true "one-off." In order words, don't quit your job and therefore make bad business decisions because you put the stress on the business to care for your family and your lifestyle when we all know that new businesses typically take more money than they earn at the start.

Just be smart. Set your business up to succeed. Set goals that are reasonable. Realize that yes, you will spend a bit more time getting your business off of the ground if you are working for someone else and this essentially is your side-hustle to start. But you will get your business going nonetheless. And the foundation you build while working a day job is going to be stronger than the one you try to build by placing heavy financial demands on the business right out of the gate.

I also get asked if there is something wrong with working a 9-5 and having your own business, with the intention of never quitting the 9-5. The answer is that there is absolutely nothing wrong with that! Remember, we simply need to be fulfilled. If working your day job and running your own business on the side fulfills you, do it! Give back in both areas. There is no judgment here. Just remember to keep your target and your goals reasonable for the amount of time you will be able to spend in your own business.

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You started the year strong. You had a group of like-minded women around you to help you stay focused, listen to your concerns, share suggestions and ideas, and you were ready to knock out 2020. Then, to everyone's surprise, COVID hit. Now you are questioning if the Inner Circle from January is still the same group. Do you need a new inner circle?

The answer could actually be, yes. Now, I know that we typically create inner circle groups, or masterminds to stand intact for 1-2 years. It takes time to learn everyone, their businesses, to build trust, to find the value. Finding "your people" is hard. So to have another something change on you this year, to have potentially lost your sounding board and your voice of reason, that's hard to deal with. But it could be the case.

If your group has changed in that the bulk of the members are calling it quits in the business world. Or, if they have the "wait and see" attitude, I would encourage you to find another group.

If the current group you are in is full of negativity and is trying to hold you back or tell you that you shouldn't try to figure out how to adapt today in order to prosper in the future, I would absolutely encourage you to find another group.

In those instances, the people you have surrounded yourself with are no longer like-minded individuals. Can you try to get them to see the bright side, can you encourage them to adapt, can you push them forward? Absolutely. If they are receptive to it. But if they are not, you still need an inner circle.

You still need a group of people who will challenge you, brainstorm with you, and provide a level of accountability across the group. So go find that new group.

And remember, I'm not saying you can't be friends with your current inner circle. Being friends vs. being the group that helps you take your business to the next level, are two different things. So if you want to maintain a friendship, that's totally fine. But you still need the group that will get you to the next level.

If you are struggling to find a group, join the free Legend Leaders Facebook group or shoot me a note and I will happily support you on your journey.

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I continue to connect via phone/video with friends, colleagues, family, clients, etc. throughout this social distancing period. The one thing that I continue to see is people putting their heads down and working. They are hustling; trying to get it done. But they are going to a place of tasks, not a place of happiness. In this ever-changing world, I'm challenging you today to do something that fulfills you.

As I said, I am constantly getting feedback where the people I know truly have intentions of breaking away, of doing something besides the routine task work, but they are getting further and further away from that mindset day after day. Tunnel vision is setting in. They can't see anything in front of them beyond their to-do list. It's a race to get as much done in as much time as they have. And what is happening, as a result, is that their ability to serve, their focus on their customer, the time they should be spending with family, it's all lost.

Remember how we started this quarantine period celebrating the idea of more time with our families? Now, either we have since come to realize that we don't like our families, or, we need to stop cramming more into our days than can possibly get done, and go back to breathing more and appreciating the balance we allowed ourselves to feel in the beginning of all of this.

Create the balance. You deserve to be fulfilled. The entire point of why you took on the role you have, why you started the business you own if that's your path, the reason for all of it is that you wanted to be happy. There are things that you do in your position or in your company that leaves you feeling completely excited, and there is time spent with family, friends, and/or alone that leaves you feeling excited and fulfilled as well. Both are important.

I did a Facebook Challenge last week and I will tell you. I taught, I coached, and I helped some female business leaders take themselves to the next level. I empowered them and helped them see themselves through a new lens. I loved it! I love coaching, teaching, inspiring, and moving people forward. It fulfills me. This week, I am spending more time with my family. So what can you do to fill your cup back up and re-energize yourself?

I'm challenging you to get out of your to-do list and do something that fulfills you. You deserve it!

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From time to time you know I share with you my pet peeves. They pretty much stem from a lack of fairness in the way someone leads, inefficiencies in processes, and things like a lack of ownership that then impact my ability to be successful. So I'm going to share another pet peeve today, it's around emails. And I'm going to challenge you to build solid email routines.

Yes, I know, overarchingly I hate emails too. Only because they are a time suck if they aren't done right. So here are the pieces around email routines that I am going to challenge you to build.

First, teach your team what a proper email looks like. If it's 3 pages long, that's too much. Educate them on how to reduce it down to a single 5-sentence paragraph. If they can't do that, then that information shouldn't be shared in an email but a phone call. People typically don't respond to emails when they are overwhelming in their content. Who can respond to something they didn't read? Who wants to send an email that wasn't read and responded to? Teach your team how to properly craft emails so everyone wins.

Now, once you have a properly crafted email, you need to set expectations around responding. Responding isn't hard, it simply takes expectations and commitment.

Every email that comes to you where you are the "to" recipient, you need to respond to in some capacity. Period. If you are cced or bcced, no response is required. I'm giving you permission on this one to not feel like you have to respond.

The key emails you must respond to always are emails where you have asked your team to send you information on a topic. Why? Because if you don't, if you don't respond and if you come across like you didn't read it, they will know it. And you will damage their trust in you! Remember that like it or not, they will comply with your requests, but behind it all, they are already thinking you aren't going to do anything with their work. Don't prove them right. Respect their time and show that when you ask for something, there is a purpose behind it. You show that by responding.

Let's take this a step further, not only should you respond to emails from your team, especially the ones that you have requested to be sent to you, you need to acknowledge all of their emails. If they are sending too many or they are too long, again, address proper email techniques, don't simply just avoid their emails. That's not what leaders do.

You can respond with "thanks" or "Agreed' or "Noted." Anything is fine. The point is they want to know you saw their note and you are on the same page.

Another situation where you must answer, and this one is the one that probably bothers me the most, is when I am asking a question, need information, or need some follow-up, and no one responds. Now notice, I am asking for something. I NEED something in this instance. It's not an FYI. It's a need. But what happens in those instances is that the person I'm asking doesn't know the answer. So instead of telling me that, they avoid my email until they have the answer. As a result, I think they don't care about my email or my need. So even when they do respond 3 days later with the answer, they have lost credibility. So how do you handle that?

You respond to that email, thank them for the note, admit you don't know the answer but will follow up with XYZ team, and you will give me an update by ______, fill in the blank. Then give me the update on that day, remember, you said update not answer. So give me that. Just keep me informed.

It really is that simple. If you can't answer me 100% in the same day, tell me you are working on it.

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I read an article the other day in the Harvard Business Review by Whitney Johnson and Amy Humble focusing on the idea of putting your oxygen mask on first. Now, we all know that when we fly, this expectation is set with all of us. Why? Because if we don't ensure we are ok, how can we care for anyone else in the long run? We can't. Said differently, we have to be role models for our teams and those around us and the way we do that is by using self-care as a role model behavior.

As leaders and owners, we care. We care about our families, friends, our teams, and our community. We care about the clients/customers we impact every day. Because of that, we focus on them first. We ask how they are doing, how they are feeling, if they are making it, etc. We offer support and ask what they need.

The challenge that was presented in this article is essentially the fact that we go around checking on everyone else, but do we do the same for ourselves? Do we ask ourselves: how am I doing today? What do I need?

I would wager a guess that most of us don't. We say to ourselves, "I'm fine." Or, "I'm just going to keep pushing through, I can take a break later." And what we quickly realize is that we have built-in a routine behavior of not caring for ourselves.

So if we aren't asking or allowing ourselves to self-reflect, if we don't give ourselves a chance to provide self-care, then how will we continue to care for others going forward? How can we tell other people to take care of themselves when they can see that we aren't practicing what we preach so to speak?

One suggestion Jonhson and Humble provided was to keep a routine. Now, we have talked about routines in various episodes. But I wanted to bring that point up again. Practicing routines, especially a good morning routine, is critical. It allows you to start your day with a win, it helps you to take time for yourself, and it allows the self-reflection time we all need to honestly ask ourselves: "How am I doing?"

During this period of work from home and social distancing, if you have gotten out of your routine, find it again. Build into that routine the time you need to self-reflect and provide self-care.

Your family, team, and friends need to see you displaying self-care as a role model behavior for them to believe they too deserve to take care of themselves. It starts with us. Give yourself the oxygen you need so you can be fit to serve others in your life.

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I have shared this mindset with you in previous episodes, but with everything happening around us, it begs the discussion once again. Are you thinking like an optimistic realist?

Remember that we define this mindset as one where we are honest with ourselves about the gaps, problems, opportunities, whatever you want to call them, in our business. We can't make our businesses better, we can't adapt to the changes, we can't progress if we don't have this mindset. Why? Because this mindset is two-fold.

One, I know that I can find a solution to any problem. I don't have to be the change, I can find the change! But no matter the solution, there is a solution out there and I can find it.

Second, in order to actually find a solution, I have to acknowledge that there is a problem. I have to be willing to be realistic about my business, the business world, etc. I can't put my head in the sand and pretend all is well. I can't weather the storm we are facing right now in the world if I refuse to acknowledge that there is indeed a storm.

I see many people, clients, friends, whoever acting like everything is going to be OK. They have the optimistic part down, but they aren't realistic about what is in front of them. The only way to survive the change is to embrace it. To embrace it means you have to actually see it. (It doesn't mean you have to like or approve of it.)

Moving forward today, and beyond, I'm challenging you to maintain this optimistic realist mindset. I want you to take your business and your team to the next level as we create our new normal. Acknowledge what that new normal is, realize your business may not be equipped to survive the change as is, see those realizations as the problems that they are, and then optimistically charge forward, knowing that you can find the answer because know you know what you need to solve for.

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I read this post the other day on Facebook, it said: You're not an imposter, you're a beginner. When I saw that my brain immediately went, "YES!" This is what I tell my clients, just in a slightly different way: You're not an imposter, you're up for the challenge.

Our inner villain wants to tell us that because we are starting something new, we are trying to fool other people into thinking we are "experts." Now, you and I both know that in reality, we aren't trying to be something we aren't. But we are trying to do something new; become a better person, share our gifts with the world, etc. But our villain wants us to think that if we don't have all of the answers or we don't have all of the information, that we are simply falsifying who we are to the world.

That's not true though.

When you start something new, a business, a new position, even a new relationship, you aren't saying you are anyone other than you. Remember that, first and foremost. You aren't saying you are anything other than a person who cares, a person who has skillsets, and who has just shifted her mindset to be involved in this new adventure.

Beyond that, remember that in taking on this new adventure, you never said you had all of the answers. That's not at all what you are saying when you start going down this path. You are simply saying, "I'm here to help, I'm up for the challenge." Up for the challenge means you are going to give the venture everything you've got. You are going to listen, grow, stretch, learn, advise, support, help, guide, and collaborate.

Can you do all of those things? Absolutely!

So are you an imposter? Of course not. An imposter walks in the door saying, "I can do all things, I am all things, watch me do it," and then can't back it up. You are saying none of those things. You are saying, "I'm here to help, tell me more about what you need." Because you are learning!

When your villain starts to tell you that you are an imposter, you are trying to be someone you are not, and/or you are struggling with feeling like you are making promises that you can't keep, pull back and say to yourself "I'm saying I'm up for the challenge!" and go show that in your actions.

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We all continue to feel a little out of sorts when it comes to the changes in the world. We continue to hope that we will be able to get back to a little bit of normalcy, although we all know that "normal" has now been redefined. In that same perspective, there have been and will continue to be consistent changes in the way in which we work and operate our businesses, which means our teams are out there trying to navigate a storm we all hoped would have calmed by now. To that end, they are looking to you, their leader, to guide them. Today, I want you to realize that you need to be the anchor, get buy-in from your team to help them feel some sense of security and normalcy at work.

You see, your team has always looked to you and will continue to look to you for guidance and security. It's part of what happens when you build trust within a team. When things are a bit hectic or the world has shifted under them, they look to you. You are their guiding force, the answer in the confusion.

Now, no doubt you have been providing that guidance and supporting them along the way. But as you continue to face business challenges, sometimes it may seem easier to simply make decisions, inform your team about the changes, and move on. Innocently, you think that you make a decision for them will alleviate some stress. Quite the contrary.

In a world that is ever-evolving, you being the anchor means they can count on you to continue to ask for their input, listen to it, consider it, and come up with a strategy that is a melting pot of ideas and suggestions. When you take that away from them, you have now just become one more change in their world. You have now become inconsistent.

Beyond that, because they are used to providing input and aligning with you on an idea before you proceed, you sharing the "answer" with them without giving them a chance to think through it, digest it, get comfortable with it, is yet another change they weren't prepared for.

So you have hit them with two changes in one event, one change with your leadership style the other with the actual business change itself.

They need you to be the anchor they are used to having when weathering the storm of business changes. Don't assume or think that you making decisions without their buy-in or input is what they want. They want you to be the collaborative leader you have always been, that they can count on. And they want to continue to have a voice in the way the team operates.

Your challenge today is to think about if you are being the anchor. Are you getting buy-in from your team or are you giving direction without collaboration?

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As I mentioned yesterday, I have been trying to catch up on some podcasts and some self-learning. Yesterday I talked about Tony Robbins, today I am going to talk about Dean Graziosi. He shared some information about comparing ourselves to others, and that's what I want to talk about today. Don't compare yourself or your journey to anyone else.

Ultimately what Dean talked about, and I agree, is that we are all different. We are all on different journeys. I can't compare mine to yours because I have a different path, I have different circumstances.

Each of our journeys is different, even if we are trying to get to the same endpoint: a successful business or career. How we get there, what we define as "success," and where we go from there, can't be compared.

Now, I would add to this that when we compare, we also give fuel to our villain. Remember that our inner villain looks for situations to tell us "we can't, aren't good enough, or aren't deserving." So when you compare yourself to someone else, and you see that they are ahead of you, your villain (the part of yourself that causes doubt) will use that comparison to say, "See, I told you you couldn't do it. Look, even that person is ahead of you." Or, "See, you knew you wouldn't be able to move forward in this. They are already making money and they started doing this 6 months after you started."

Comparisons don't serve us well, because usually, we won't measure up. But the entire point is that we aren't supposed to! Because each of us is on our own journey, there is no measure vs. someone else, only a measure within yourself.

Look at other people and celebrate them. Look at other people and steal shamelessly from how they are succeeding. But don't look at them and allow your villain to give you a hard time or tell you that you should simply give up because you won't make it. So many people quit because of comparisons. So save yourself from that. Just don't do it.

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Adapt now to win, no matter the future changes that will happen to the industry or the world. That's my challenge for you today. I was listening to Tony Robbins the other day and he did a podcast on the 6 actions you need to take in order to win. One of the key things he said was essential, don't wait, adapt.

Tony went on to say how his life has changed with COVID and how it has impacted his business. If you know anything about Tony, he's constantly on the go, always traveling to different countries to do his workshops and his events. So no doubt, his world changed. He talked through the fact that he could have waited, hoping that the countries would open up and would allow his events to move forward. Or, he could adapt and say, "How can I still reach people, without being there in person?" So of course, he started doing virtual events. He didn't wait, he adapted.

Now, we talked in both the months of April and in May about creating a recovery plan, making adjustments to your business, etc. We said, don't wait, adapt, right? We said that then, because when issues happen in our business, we don't avoid, we don't wait, we respond. But I wanted to remind you of this once again.

You see, I don't think any of us thought that COVID would essentially blow up again in the US like it has this month. And yet, it has. You know, I remember people saying that it would die down in the warm months, etc. But we can see that that hasn't happened. So all of the restaurant and bar owners who thought they would be back on track by now, or at least open again, are going through reclosures and some truly heartbreaking situations.

Don't be in that situation. Don't wait, adapt now to win, no matter the future. What these changes have taught me through this second wave is that we seriously don't know much about what our future looks like. So for us to plan on being open again, or operating as normal by a set date just can't be banked on. And when it comes to my business, I want to bank on it! We all want and need that.

So instead of waiting to see what will happen, make the changes now. How do you adjust today such that you take control over your business; such that no matter the changes that may happen in the world, you still can serve your customer? If you can solve that, then no matter what happens around you, you are safe.

Figure that out for yourself. Ask the hard questions. But ultimately, find the answer you need to move forward safely, confidently, and securely in this ever-changing economy.

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As I have shared with you in other episodes, we all have an inner villain. That villain is our voice within us that causes self-doubt. Some of us have stronger villains than others. It doesn't make any of us better or worse, only the reality we each live with. Each day we wake up, try diligently to silence our villain, then move forward solving the problems we are facing in the day to move ourselves and our business forward. This episode is all about shutting down your villain.

For me, I have found a way to hear the creak of the door my villain hides behind. When I hear the creak, I immediately focus on slamming that door closed before my villain can exit. When I can do that, I spend less time fighting myself and more time problem-solving.

That's what I want you to learn how to do. If you can hear the creak of the door, you can immediately react. Unfortunately, most people don't know when the villain has made her way out. When they finally realize it, the villain has been hanging out on the couch, drinking coffee, eating all of your snacks, and leaving a mess in every part of your house. At that point, you have spent days cleaning up after your villain instead of focusing on the problems in front of you.

You have lost days and momentum all because you haven't identified the situations that draw your villain out of her closet.

Your challenge today is to sit down and reflect. Look at the situations where your villain consistently comes back and challenges you, tells you you can't accomplish something, tells you you don't deserve something, etc. When does that happen? Identify the events, then start to listen to the creaking door of your villain exiting her closet. When you hear it, slam it shut and then focus on the problem at hand.

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Do you have a good mentor? If you don't currently have a mentor, I'm sure you are working on finding your next one, so in this instance think back to your best mentor. How did they support you? I'm sure upon reflection you would say that the best mentors listen and ask questions.

Right?

Do you have that person in your mind? Can you see them? Do you remember your conversations? Think back to one of the most critical ones. I'm sure you called or went to meet them in person, and you shared their concerns or a situation you needed help with. And they probably cut you off, talking over you, and told you everything you needed to do, right?

No. Absolutely not. Your best mentor listened. Your mentor took in everything you had to say, and then s/he asked you questions. Question after question after question until you found the answer within you. Ultimately, you knew the answer, your mentor helped you have the confidence to make it real.

The best mentors listen and ask questions. They are a guide. They allow you to be the hero in your own story. Of course, if you called them and asked how to do a tactical action, I'm sure they told you how they taught you. But when it came to emotional and psychological decisions, they asked questions and supported you through it.

As you work to mentor your team, your employees in your company, or even in your community, what type of mentor do you want to be? I would encourage you to be the best mentor someone else has ever had. Listen and ask questions. Help them find the answers within themselves. Give them the courage to push past their villain and share their gift in confidence.

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You are working your butt off. You truly want to make a difference! You are putting out free content, building funnels, you have a webpage, you are paying for ads, and you are starting to build a following. People start to take notice of what you are putting out there. You are finally finding your clients, the people you want to support . . . you start to get excited. Then, you do what we all do, you start to send out weekly campaigns, giving additional freebies and access to content. You are loving on your people and then suddenly, you have someone unsubscribe. 😱 What?! But hear me out here, don't get frustrated when people unsubscribe.

It's going to be OK. Seriously.

I know it feels like you are in middle school again and you are trying to get the cool kids to like you and you think you are in, then suddenly one of them pulls out of the deal and you are like, "Wait, what just happened? What did I do wrong?" Or, it's like high school and you are hanging out with your 3 best friends, the ones that you have known since elementary school. Suddenly one of them just decides to start spending time with another group. No notice. No conversation, just poof, 💨 gone.

I get it. When I have people unsubscribe, no matter how long they have been in my group, it's hard not to look internally and ask how you failed or what you could have done better. A little bit of that is our villain trying to get under our skin. The other part of that is you want so very much to serve your people, your customers, the people you have created your business for.

But I'm here to tell you that you have to remember it isn't you, many times it's them. They may not have ever been your target customer. They may not be ready to take part in what you are offering. Either way, they aren't someone you want to get worked up over and get distracted because they left.

You have an entire group of hundreds, thousands even, of people that are there, reading your emails, taking you upon your free content, appreciating the love you are giving. Following you and what you are teaching, doing, providing, so keep giving it!

If you are worried you aren't giving the right information or support, ask your group. Anytime you start to have several people start to leave at once, start inquiring as to what's happening in the community, what their needs are, their worries or fears, etc. Ask so you know what to give. This ensures the person who unsubscribed is truly a one-off and not a sign of things to come, like a mass exodus due to something you are completely unaware of.

Don't get frustrated when people unsubscribe. It's going to happen. Think of them as your "no customers;" those that are interested in your services but that you would probably say no to help because they aren't your ideal client/customer. Change your mindset. Then focus on the people who are still seeking what you have to offer. Pour into them!

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I get asked from time to time about the tools I use in Legend, specifically, what I use and why. So I thought I would spend a few minutes creating this episode to answer that question. Now, I recorded this while simply trying to think of all of the tools I use. If I left something out, or if you have a question about a tool, shoot me a note or join the Legend Leaders Facebook Group and come chat with us in there.

Here we go:

• I use Anchor for this podcast. It's free and it also publishes the podcast on Apple, Spotify, and Google. There are other platforms that Anchor connects to as well, I just haven't gotten that far yet.

• WordPress is the hosting platform I use for my website, www.legendleaders.com.

• I use ClickFunnels to host my funnels and help get my courses and offerings in front of my ideal clients.

• Teachable is the online course hosting platform that I use. It houses all of my courses and I enjoy it because it allows you to create completion certificates, quizzes, and you have the option to insure your clients follow the modules in order, allow them to jump around in the course, etc. Lots of options and control features.

• ActiveCampaign is my email marketing tool and small business CRM. I use to use the free versions of other email marketing tools but they haven't compared to ActiveCampaign. I think of ActiveCampaign like an iPhone, it's so intuitive it's just super easy to use.

• Of course, I use Facebook for the Facebook ads and groups and pages. All of the FB ad details are of course within Facebook in the ads manager.

• Laurel Portie--if you want to learn about Facebook ads, super-fast, super easy, from a true expert check her out. Her course is $7 a month. You can't beat it!

• Hopin--I haven't used this as a host but I have as a participant. This is a great platform to do virtual conferences and events. I have been in four events hosted on Hopin and they have been amazing. The software is super easy to use on both sides (host and participant) as the host in one event actually walked us through how to use it in a Q&A session.

• If I record my voice and need it transcribed I used Rev or Otter.ai. It just depends on which one I grab first.

• When I record myself on video, I have a Mevo camera that I use. It's super small but powerful. It can connect directly to FB or can download the video on the removable card. You can then still Bluetooth download the final video to your phone. It also moves with you, keeping you in the frame if you decide to move around in your shots. Pretty cool.

• I have a Mac laptop, pretty simple. A pro.

• To edit my videos and my voice recordings as needed I use ScreenFlow. Just like ActiveCampaign, it's super easy to use.

• I use Trello to keep myself on track with different projects and ideas

• Basecamp is the communication and project management tool I use with my VA.

• Of course, I use Google Drive and G Suite for my email and my shared documents.

I think that's mostly it. If you think of something I left out or have a question, as I said, just shoot me a note or post it in the FB group.

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If you are like most of us, you ask yourself that question off and on for . . . oh let's say at least once a week, right? The question I am referring to is: am I strategic?

You see, when we think about being strategic we think we have to speak in business language. A language that, no matter our education or life experiences, can be intimidating. Whether you have an MBA or you have been responsible for a billion dollar business, when it comes to running your own business, the stakes are different.

When all of it is yours, the business, the results, and the responsibility, the villain wants to tell us we can't do it. In those moments, our education and experience start to leave us.

So instead of worrying about the right words, terms, or phrases, look at creating your strategy like fighting a battle. Yes, that's right. I'm a huge history fan, WWII is my favorite period, and I enjoy learning about battles, missions, and the overall war.

So for me, instead of getting stressed out about "creating a strategy" that fits the ideal definition in my mind, I just look at it as a battle.

• What town am I trying to liberate and take control over? (What is my focus/vision, what am I trying to accomplish in my business?)
• Who am I trying to help? (Who is my customer and what do they need?)
• What tools do I need to have in order to win? (What products or services do I need to create?)
• What does victory look like? (What are my goals and measures to define business success?)

And then ultimately, I have to take action. I can't wait for the perfect time, the perfect day, or the stars to align. Just like in any war, it started on a day that was planned. One side picked a date and said, "This is when we will attack." So pick your date. When will you launch your strategy?

Train/prepare your teams. Get them ready. Get your tools ready. Prepare for your "battle," and then execute.

Just like any battle, it won't be perfect. You will learn things along the way that will help you win in the long run, if you are observant enough and if you allow yourself to adjust based on those learnings.

So you see, when you view it as a battle instead of a "business strategy," you are strategic. You can be strategic. Just get out of your own head and tell the villain to be quiet. You've got this!

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In business, sometimes we forget that we have to actually have emotions when we lead. It's funny but true. We get that we need to care, support, take notice, and take action in our personal lives, but because "it's business," we sometimes leave our feelings at the door. Watching clients and friends throughout my career, I had the conversation many times where the inevitable question gets asked: why should I apologize?

Usually, the leader has misspoken, taken a wrong turn with their team, or simply had a bad day. When that happens, as servant leaders, we have to own our mistakes. Not because we need to be overly emotional, but because our team deserves to see us be the role model we are supposed to be for them.

Realize that most people don't need "apologies" because their feelings are hurt. They need an apology to validate their judgment. You see, there are people on our teams who trust us (that's why they follow us). We need to maintain that trust our team has placed in us.

Beyond that, the individuals on our team are smart. That's why you hired them, right? When you take a wrong turn and go down a path that would be deemed a "failure," you have to own it, for two key reasons. One, they need to know how to own failure and missteps themselves. Show them how it's done. Second, they need to know that the path was indeed the wrong one.

You see, many times the people on our team are going down the path with us, trusting us, but knowing that the path is wrong. When you acknowledge your wrong turn, you own it, and you apologize for it, your team feels more confident in themselves. Don't take that the wrong way, they aren't gloating in your failure. They are learning from it.

When you own it and apologize for it, they learn to trust their gut even more. Such that next time, when you start going down the wrong path, your team will speak up. They will have the courage to share their perspective because you have validated that their perspective, their gut, was right with your previous apology.

Them speaking up will save you time, money, and effort. And this is exactly what you want!

So yes, you should apologize! Be the role model they need while also validating their gut and giving them the ability to speak up and help lead the team in the future.

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I was chatting with a friend and she asked the tough question, Katrina how do you start over?

Well, my first thought was to start over at what? Marriage? With your kids? Work? There are a lot of places we can start over. I can’t really help you with the personal relationships, so luckily she was talking about work. I started to panic a bit . . . but no, it was about business. Whew.

The first thing I tell my clients, friends, even my family is that every day we wake up with a chance to be someone better; someone different. Each day we can be better than we were the day before.

That said, how do we start over in our business? The first step is to simply decide. Decide you are going to start over. Decide you are going to be better than you were previously.

Then commit to that decision. Tony Robbins says it best. You can take years wanting something and thing about changing, but it takes only a moment to decide and commit. And at that moment, you change.

The reason it takes days, weeks, even years to change is because our villain tells us we can’t. That little piece of self-doubt inside of us can delay our progress and make us waste all of that time. So ultimately what you are doing is pushing past your villain when you decide and commit.

Next, you must learn what you need to learn. If you want to start over and be a better leader to your team for example, what do you need to learn to help you achieve that? Seek those learnings and those internal growth tools.

Once you learn how to be a better leader, or you learn what you need to do in order to start over, take action! Do something. So many people get e-books and courses to then never apply what they have learned. Don’t decide, commit, and learn but then not take action.

Last but not least, create goals or targets to define when you have achieved your change or your growth. If it’s leadership, maybe you do regular feedback surveys and you establish a target relative to the improved feedback you are getting from your team. Measure your change.

Now, the other pathway we can go down here is t actually start completely over in starting a brand new business. That’s a completely different topic. That requires finding something you are passionate about and creating a brand new pathway. You can do that too, it’s the same overall steps we have just covered. But for this episode, let's focus on starting over in our current business.

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As we continue to face unprecedented changes in the world and in business, our villain will be the first to tell us we simply don't have what it takes and that our business is going to fail. Don't let her distract you. Remember, continue to focus on serving.

It's easy to stress about our businesses, the idea that we have poured ourselves into something and that it may not work. We stress because we don't have the experiences in the changing world to solve all of the problems we are facing. Our thoughts spiral and we lose focus.

Go back to what you know. Go back to why you created your business in the first place. If you focus on giving what your customer/client needs, the revenue will follow.

Listen to your customer. Ask them what they need. Maybe they don't need your product or your service now, but in this time of isolation, they need a community. In the US in particular, we are 💯 a social society. Going to games, concerts, shows, parties, etc. With the pandemic, people are more isolated than ever. You know this, you feel it too.

In your business, you have created a group of customers/clients that are all similar. So why not bring them together? Create a group, bring your people together, support them, give to them, and listen to them. Find out what they need and provide it. Help them get through this difficult time and they will remember how you have supported them. Be the creator of their community and the revenue will come.

Legend Leaders has a community, a free but private Facebook group. If you are a female business leader, I invite you to join us so we can pour into you. You are welcome to steal shamelessly from what we are doing as well.

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I used to teach the Time Management Matrix or the 4 quadrants of time management in a training course I supported during my corporate career. I was chatting about this tool with a friend the other day and thought I would share it with you in case it's something you can use to your benefit.

If you're not sure what the time management matrix looks like, I will do a rudimentary drawing below. You can always google it as well.

Q1: Urgent and important. | Q2: not urgent and important

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Q3: urgent, not important. | Q4: not urgent, not important

Q1: This quadrant in the top left is where urgent and important functions land. They are typically your fires/emergencies. Ultimately you want to spend as little time here as possible because this quadrant is stressful. Your goal is to try to solve problems while they are in Q2, before they make it into Q1 if possible.

Q2: The top right quadrant, is not urgent but important. This is a good space to work in, your ideal quadrant for the majority of your work. You don't want to spend time on unimportant tasks. But you also don't want to be stressing over everything because it's urgent. This quadrant is your planning, strategic, vision quadrant. If you solve problems while they are here, they don't become urgent.

Example: If you start driving with a full take of gas, and then 4 hours later you have 1/4 of a tank, getting gas is a Q2 (not urgent but important) task. If you wait 2 more hours to get gas, you have now made it a Q1 task, it's urgent (because you are essentially out of gas) and it's important to get gas if you don't want to be stuck on the side of the road.

Q3: This is the bottom left quadrant and focuses on activities that are urgent and not important. These are flow killers for me. They are things that typically other people call "urgent" but are truly not important to you at all. Instant messages, texts, DMs, etc. create tasks that are urgent but not important. The sender, in her mind, believes the situation is urgent because she needs an answer now. So she makes it urgent by taking your attention from your current work to her priority. Any type of interruption is a Q3 task.

Q4: This last quadrant is the bottom right and it focuses on tasks that are not urgent and are not important. This is typically called the "time-waster" quadrant. If we do anything in this quadrant as it relates to work, we have simply spent our time and energy on the wrong task. Think about time on social media. You grab your phone at 2pm, you go check out Facebook, or Insta, maybe a little Snapchat or TikTok and when you look up again it's 2:30. You lost 30 minutes of time in the blink of an eye and got nothing done.

Now, I'm going to caveat Q4 for a minute. When it comes to working, we want to stay out of Q4. When it comes to life, we need to have Q4 activities. These are activities that allow our brains to decompress and our bodies to relax. Things like reading, lying beside a pool, watching your favorite TV show. We need those things! Don't eliminate Q4 activities from your life, just reduce them in your workday.

If you like the matrix, grab a copy and write your work activities into one of the quadrants. See where you are "living" and make any necessary adjustments.

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As I have mentioned in previous episodes, I have been listening to the free summer webinar series by Gravy and recently they had Susie Moore as the guest. She focuses on helping leaders build their confidence, amongst other things. You know me, I join every conversation, webinar, podcast, book, etc. with the intention of learning at least one thing. I know I can learn at least one "something" from every conversation, I just have to be open to it. When I entered into learning from Susie during the webinar, she dropped some great information. But one thing she said resonated with me the most, and it started with the fact that you don't have to know it all.

Susie said: You don't have to know it all, but once you learn it, you must take action. No regrets."

Mic drop. 🎤 I loved it. This is exactly how I feel, exactly how I live my life, and exactly how I guide my clients.

Our inner villain wants us to feel like we are failures because we don't know it all. Now, what we do know, through previous episodes, is that simply is not the case. There is nothing wrong with not having all of the answers. None of us have all of the answers!

The key though, is that once we close that knowledge gap, we have a responsibility to act on it. Why gain the knowledge if you aren't going to use it? It's like taking pilot lessons but never flying a plane. What was the point of gaining that knowledge if you don't actually use it?

Yet, that's what I see people doing. When they finally push through the barrier in their minds their villain has created and they start to learn what they need in order to move forward, they learn it, but they don't apply it. 🤯

It's insanity to me. We do have a responsibility to take action. We can want to change or move forward for days, weeks, months. But it doesn't take that long to make a decision, it takes a second to decide. Once you decide you are taking action, that's the moment your life changes.

If you don't want to live with regrets, another topic we have talked about recently, don't beat yourself up for not having all of the answers; however, once you get those answers, do something with them! Make your business better, make your life better! Don't live with the regret of having the ability to improve or change and simply saying, "Nah, I'm good."

Think about this today. Do you have the knowledge you need to change your life? If you don't, get it. If you do, are you acting on it? Are you using it to create your Legendary Life? If not, what are you waiting for?

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We talk regularly about how to get results. We also talk about how we must be intentional, or purposeful in our planning. Today's episode takes another step deeper into the conversation of intentional vs. accidental results.

We want our business results to be intentional. We wake up each day, we set a foundation, create a strategy, and work diligently to build a brand that generates consistent measurable results. Intentional results are those that can be replicated, sustained, and built upon.

Conversely, accidental results are results that happen due to luck. Think of these results as the lottery winner. They happen once, for no apparent reason, can't be sustained or replicated, and therefore essentially are a one-hit wonder.

None of us are in business leadership positions to be one-hit wonders. Ultimately we want to continue to see sustained revenue generated from our business. We need it in order to thrive. Additionally, we created our business as part of our Legendary Life. How then can a lottery-winning day, an accidental, fluke performance, help us live our Legendary Life each day?

While most people will say they would love to hit the lottery and accidentally become a success overnight, realize this, even businesses who look like overnight successes are not. They have spent months, years even, laying the foundation and creating the strategy. They did all of this work to be able to capitalize on meeting a need society didn't know they had until now.

Think Facebook. As we all know, they are a social media platform. They started as a social media entity and they are still a social media entity today. When the world decided to adopt social media and therefore Facebook exploded, it may appear accidental but it wasn't. Facebook met a need and it did so through a carefully planned, developed, strategic business and advertising model. Facebook has evolved but through it all, they are still a social media platform.

How do you create an intentional foundation, strategy, and plan such that when society is ready for your offer, you can capitalize and get the results you intentionally planned to achieve?

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I was listening to a webinar the other day provided by Geoff Woods, focusing on the book The ONE Thing. The webinar shared a lot of different nuggets found in the book, but one of the questions the presenter asked was: What life-shaking event has caused you to change? When I heard that, I paused. Why would you need something significant to cause you to change? Why not make a change when you feel the tremor instead of waiting for the earthquake?

Many people have events that occur in their lives that make them pause, assess, and change course. Usually, those events involve significant loss or a sudden realization for which they have regrets.

I decided to start Legend after realizing I could help other women run their businesses; that I have obligation to share my gift with them and support them. I had to make a change in my life because I felt the tremor. I didn't wait for the earthquake. I didn't wait to live with the regret of not taking this chance or not changing my path.

We can all look at situations like our aging parents and realize we want to spend more time with them before it's too late. Or spend time with our kids before they grow up and go off to college. All of these things are basic life events. And we know each one of them will inevitably happen. We will all have our loved ones pass away or grow up. This acknowledgment that "this part of life" is going to happen is the tremor.

We at that moment, realize that if we don't make changes if we don't adjust our course, will have regrets. Don't want for the kids to be gone or a loved one to pass away before you change. You know it's going to happen!

So my challenge for you is, don't wait for a significant event in your life before you make a change. Look at what you want out of life and decide you won't have regrets. Make the changes you need to make in order to prevent the need to make the change that would be too late in many instances.

Make the change when you feel the tremor instead of waiting for the earthquake.

What do you want out of life? What do you know will inevitability happen, such that before it does you live your best life, your Legendary Life? Make those changes now. No regrets.

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I have shared with you through various episodes that I focus on being a fair leader. Part of being fair is assigning responsibility.

Stick with me on this for a second. I want each person who works for me and with me to know what their role is and what success looks like. I want to hire and have high performers. High performers need a bar because they are always going to strive to exceed it. If I don't tell them where the bar is, they can't be successful. I don't want to lose my high performers due to being unfair and unclear.

But that isn't the only way I need to be clear in order to keep my high performers, I also have to assign responsibility. I have observed throughout my career, leaders who haven't done this, and have lost an amazing talent. So let me give you an example and walk you through what I am talking about.

Let's say there is an issue with our sales performance. I have 4 direct reports and all 4 contribute to sales in some capacity. We sit down as a team and we talk through what is impacting our sales performance. Through the discussion, we discover a gap that Sally's team should resolve. Instead of announcing that the responsibility falls to Sally, I ask the group "who is going to own it."

Bob is a super high performer. He strives to help everyone and he is dedicated to the mission and the company. When there is an issue, Bob is the first to volunteer to help. Because I asked who would own it, Bob volunteers.

In that moment, I set Bob up to fail. The responsibility to fix an issue Sally's team owns can't fall to Bob. First, Sally is literally being paid to run that part of the business. The fact that she didn't step up to own that piece is, quite honestly, why she would no longer be on my team. However, the fact that Bob has the drive and the desire, doesn't mean that he can successfully win in this instance.

He can come up with great ideas, but his knowledge won't be spot on because he doesn't live in that part of the business each day. Additionally, he won't have the resources to put the fixes in place. Sally's team is the one that has the knowledge and the bandwidth to do the work, not his. However, he doesn't give Sally's team direction. He can only try to accomplish the work through influence. He has no positional authority.

At the end of the day, no matter what Bob tries to do, the likelihood of him being successful is slim. When he fails, the entire team will be frustrated and disappointed in Bob. In turn, he will be less likely to volunteer to help and he will be less committed to supporting initiatives in the future.

I have damaged Bob's high-performing nature.

I have also allowed the entire team to be frustrated with Bob for trying to be a problem solver. When in reality, the entire team should be frustrated with Sally. She's the one who should have stepped up and owned that piece of the business. Furthermore, they should be frustrated with me as their leader for not assigning responsibility.

If I had only started the meeting off as follows:

"OK, we have pinpointed the issue. Sally, this looks to fall to your team. I am going to ask you to follow up with your team and report back to the group tomorrow as to what your plan of action is and then we can determine how we support you."

Do you see that? I didn't let Sally off of the hook. I didn't let Bob get into a situation he couldn't control. And I effectively solved the problem by being fair, or by assigning responsibility.

Do you allow people to volunteer for work or do you assign it based on responsibility? Think about Sally and Bob the next time you contemplate "volunteer ownership" as part of a resolution.

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What do your brand and your customer have in common? In your customer's personal "story," their life story, your brand plays a part. The part your brand plays in their story is critical in developing a successful relationship.

Donald Miller of StoryBrand says there are 3 types of characters in every story, be it a movie, a book, our brand, or our lives. The hero, or who we see ourselves as and what we strive to be each day; the guide, who has knowledge and experience which she uses to help the hero succeed; and last but not least, the victim.

Of all of the roles we want our brand to play, the victim is the very last role we want to align ourselves with. The victim says "the world is conspiring against me." In other words, the victim is not in control of his or her life, decisions, or results. Because they don't take or accept control, they cannot get results or change course.

We do not want our brands to be identified as a victim. We don't want our "hero" clients, remember we all are the hero in our own story, to have to come in and "save our brand." Does the hero get to be a hero? Yes, but in this instance with our brand as a victim, they are only a hero because your client or customer did the saving. Once that saving has been done, they will move on. You don't want your customer to be one-and-done. You need to create a sustainable business.

Additionally, you don't want customers coming to your business that are victims. Again, they cannot control the outcomes, they are controlled by the world around them. This is a group that you will never please because they don't accept responsibility for their actions or even own the fact that they have a responsibility. They are the type of people that gives up before they even get started.

The role you want your brand to play is the guide. You want to help your clients be the hero in their own story, but you want to continue to guide them and help them continually, along the way. Branding your business as a "guide" will attract hero customers.

If you create a brand that focuses on being the hero, first, other heroes don't want to follow that brand. They want to be their own hero, they don't want you to save them from their lives and their story. So that won't work. You will instead attract people who need heroes, victims. And your brand will spend eternity trying to save and please those people who are never satisfied.

If you are attracting those types of clients right now, look at your brand. What are you telling the world you are? If you are presenting any type of brand other than being a guide, take action to fix it.

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In this last episode of the leadership principles Colonel Derek Lane of the US Marine Corps shared during a one-hour webinar hosted by Gravy, we are going to focus on the perspective: transparency creates successors.

I'm telling you, this one-hour webinar was gold. As you can tell, this is the fourth episode I have done on the details they shared. But I just couldn't help myself. When you have principles that resonate with you as a leader, you just have to share them. So here we are, on episode number four.

Colonel Lane said that he believes in transparency. He is transparent with his team about his decisions and methodologies simply because he is the one setting the goals.

It's like I consistently say, success at work should be an open-book test. Everyone wants to deliver to expectations, if not exceed them. If you aren't sharing what the expectations are and how you came up with them, how can anyone on your team be successful?

Lane went on to also say that his role is to create successors and that being transparent is how they learn from him. Again, another point I wholeheartedly agree with. Transparency creates successors.

When I am coaching female business leaders specifically on leadership development, one of the pathways I encourage is shadowing. Shadowing is allowing a direct report, or someone you are developing to take over a set of responsibilities, to follow you around, listen to your meetings and calls, and truly see you in action. This is supercritical. While we all believe we can "tell someone" how to perform well in a role, it truly is impactful to allow someone to observe you performing the functions well. They will pick up so many nuances of your leadership that they would otherwise miss. How you say something, how you make decisions, the questions you ask, how you prepare a room, how you manage a room, etc. All of these pieces are aspects you can't fully teach unless you allow someone to see it happen.

By being fully transparent about your day-to-day, your successor will have insight on how to perform the job similar to how you currently perform it. Remember that while "our way" isn't the only way, when someone doesn't have "a way" our way is the best way. So if you are creating a successor and they have never had to have a leadership conversation, host a meeting, or lead a team in the way you are training them, they will adopt your way because it's the only way they know. This has its benefits to you when you are continuing to build trust in them as you get closer and closer to allowing them to take on more responsibility in your organization.

Transparency creates successors. Today I want you to reflect on how transparent you are with your team, your direct reports, and your overall organization. Are you helping them understand how you think, make decisions, establish goals, and define what success looks like? Have you found someone you can develop to be your successor?

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In this third episode sharing some of the great leadership details from a webinar with Colonel Lane, we are focusing on the idea of culture and responsibility.

Colonel Lane said that 90% of people look to their leader to know how to act, win, and lead. You know, we all "feel" that. Or at least, I have felt that as a leader. That responsibility of modeling the right behavior. I used to say that once you become a leader, it's like being a politician. All eyes are always on you, so be sure you are showing them the right way to act, respond, and lead.

As a result of that, the next nugget that Lane shared was around culture. He talked about the fact that there is no way he could be responsible for the entire culture of the Marine Corps. He doesn't have that level of influence. However, if you are the owner or CEO of your company, that is your responsibility and your level of influence. If you're not, then recognize what Colonel Lane said regarding what piece of the culture he actually does own.

He stated that he is responsible for the culture within his chain of command or within his team. Having lived in the corporate world, I completely understand this piece. From having one unit, to 13 units, to 80 units, to 700 units of business, I was responsible for the culture within all of them during my time as their leader. That meant that I set the tone for how we would embody the culture. My team could have been known as a team that didn't care about the culture, or they could have been known as being the epitome of the culture. The decision was mine. I chose the latter.

If you are in a leadership position for a company you do not own, realize you are still responsible for ensuring your team embodies the culture of your organization.

In addition to leading by example and establishing expectations around culture, Colonel Lane talked about delegation and responsibility. He said: you can delegate everything but responsibility. 🤯

I truly appreciated that statement. I love simple but true statements that immediately hit home. This is definitely one of them. When I hire anyone, my expectation is that they learn all of the functions their team executes. I don't expect them to do the functions, but they have to know them, understand all of them, and be able to answer questions around them. They also have to attend all of the meetings and participate in the discussions. Once they do that, they can start delegating some of the work. But at the end of the day, the results are their responsibility. If the team delivers, if they don't, if they halfway deliver, if they don't deliver with quality, whatever the results are, the responsibility still falls on the leader I hired.

Many times people want to say, "Oh well that wasn't me, I sent Sally to that meeting." Nope. That doesn't work. Remember a recent episode where I talked about having my direct reports own their decisions and the results? That goes hand in hand with this idea Colonel Lane shared. We expect the people on our teams to do their jobs effectively and support the mission. That is what they are responsible for. No matter what functions they delegate along the way, the leader is still responsible for delivering the results and owning the misses.

These nuggets definitely made me think. I love a good conversation that challenges my perspective and this absolutely did. Did it for you? Are you asking yourself if you are embodying your culture? Are you being a leader someone can follow? Are you showing them how to act, win, and lead? Are you ensuring you and your leaders own what they are ultimately responsible for? Think about it.

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In this episode, I'm going to continue sharing some of the fantastic nuggets from a webinar led by the CEO of Gravy, Casey Graham, and Colonel Derek Lane of the Marine Corps. Today's leadership principle Colonel Lane called: Calm is Contagious.

Again, I loved hearing this described by Colonel Lane. I don't know about you, but when I hear "calm is contagious," I immediately feel calmer. Do you?

Essentially, he said that when he brings new leaders within his ranks, he provides them with a packet of information, and one of those pieces of paper says: calm is contagious. You see, he expects his leaders to remain calm, no matter the situation.

Now, he didn't provide any examples. And again, I haven't served in the military so what I envision in my mind is more of what I have seen in the movies. So please forgive my ignorance from that perspective. But I can see several movies in my mind, I think we have all seen them. Military movies where there is a group of men and women on the ground and they are executing a mission. They are asking for help over the radio and talking to the communications team. I can see the communications room, it looks a lot like NASA, right? Large TV screens, everyone in the room at a desk with headsets and computers.

So when something starts to go wrong with the mission on the ground, the communications team is there to help them find a way out. They use their ability to see satellite images and other intel to help them provide guidance to the team executing the mission.

Now, I have never seen a movie where the communication team freaks out and the team on the ground has to figure it out on their own. That wouldn't make for a good movie, number one. But number two, that's exactly why Colonel Lane says "calm is contagious."

He expects his leaders to stay calm, see above the fray, and help his team and therefore the men/women on the ground get the support they need. Beyond that, he talked about the fact that leaders who freak out cause two types of issues.

First, when they start to freak out, they ask for more and more information. Usually, people freak out because they don't have the answer to the problem, so they start scrambling. In order to help them make the best decision or feel like they are in control a situation is out of control, they start micromanaging and therefore asking for more and more information from their direct reports.

This in turn causes those direct reports to panic, worry, and ultimately start to lose trust in their leader.

Second, when leaders start to freak out, they instill panic and stress in their teams. Whether they ask for additional information or not, if they start freaking out, their team is going to freak out. What your team sees you doing is what they will do. Remember that. So when they start to panic, they aren't able to provide the answers that are necessary to execute their part of the mission. They are not able to support the team on the ground.

Now lets' think about this in terms of your business. Do you stay calm under pressure or do you start to micromanage, demand more information, or do you panic and cause your team to start panicking as well? If the answer is yes, how do you start to live by the mantra: "calm is contagious" and start coming at tough situations from a position of strength and calm vs. fear and anxiety?

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I recently listened to a webinar hosted by a company called Gravy and their CEO Casey Graham. They had invited a guest speaker by the name of Colonel Derek Lane from the Marine Corps. Colonel Lane shared how the Marine Corps organizes themselves, their focus, their leadership, and their efforts to be successful in protecting our country. To say listening to him was impressive is an understatement. I'm going to do my best over this and the following three episodes to impart some of the amazing insights Colonel Lane shared in that 1-hour timespan. His first topic is what I would call: have you identified the most critical position in your business?

Colonel Lane was talking about mission ownership and how they align the entire Marine Corps around a common mission. He stated (and please know that I have no military experience, so I'm providing you with my interpretation) that a Marine is a rifleman and that their job is to protect our country and our assets. Knowing that each person's role in the Marines is to support the riflemen, the men and women on the ground executing the various missions, that's how they are successful.

Everyone else exists to support those Marines on the front lines because they are the tip of the spear.

The discussion then went to civilian businesses. We all have company missions and "things we want to accomplish." Ultimately we all have to understand what our mission is in our business. Then we have to find our tip of the spear. Which person, team, or department directly executes that mission?

You see, for us to be successful in business, for us to achieve our business mission, we all have to understand not only what we stand for and what we are trying to accomplish, but we have to be abundantly clear about which team is EXECUTING the mission and therefore the honest fact that all other teams in the organization exist to support that team. Period.

I have seen businesses struggle with that last fact. They are in a customer service business. Therefore the tip of the spear is the team or teams that work directly with the customer, delivering that service. All other groups, sales, marketing, HR, IT, finance, etc., they all exist to support that customer service group. Until you can acknowledge this and align your entire team around this fact and around supporting the mission through supporting the executing team, your business will not be as successful as it could be.

Listening to Colonel Lane, resonated with me. Again, I have seen companies struggle with supporting the main team or teams that execute the mission directly. They want everyone to feel special or feel like they matter. The point is everyone matters. The tip of the spear wouldn't be successful without the rest of the spear behind it. But there can only be one tip, and many leaders struggle with telling their total team that fact.

My challenge for you today is to think about this. Have you identified the most critical position in your business? Are you trying to make sure everyone feels valued to the point that it's degrading the execution and achievement of your mission? How do you adjust to ensure everyone feels valuable while also understanding their role and how it fits into the mission?

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When you are working through gaps in your business, you have to decide not only what you are going to solve but when you will resolve it. Some people jump in and start with the first problem they identify, or what they consider to be the easiest fix. But at the end of the day, prioritize how you resolve your gaps in order to see the biggest return.

There are several ways you can create a priority. There is no wrong way, only the way that will work best for your business. For me, there are 3 general ways to prioritize.

First, you have to understand that of all the issues you discovered, are any of them foundational to the rest? Said differently, if you have identified 5 issues in your business, are any of those 5 foundational to the other 4, such that if you do not fix that one issue first, the other fixes won't matter or won't work? How do the issues work together and impact each other? Do they stack on to each other like a pyramid such that you have to resolve the 5 issues in a specific order? Knowing the answer to these questions will help you establish a prioritization that is most effective.

I would then ask you to determine if you get a significantly large impact for improving one of the 5 issues first. For example, if one resolution would improve your sales by 5% but the other 4 issues would only improve it by 0.5%, then naturally you should start with improving the one issue that will get you the most return.

Now, the caveat to that is if the 4 impacts would only take a month to put into place and see the improvements whereas let's say the 5th resolution at 5% would actually take you 6 months to realize. I would then say to go ahead and resolve the smaller 4 issues. 2% now is better than waiting 6 months to see the 5%, right?

The point here is that we should never blindly start to execute a resolution. We should have a method to our madness as they say.

At the end of the day though, I'm going to challenge you to do one thing above all else, once you have an idea of your path, simply START executing on a resolution. Improvement requires action. If you don't act, you are wasting precious time to improve your business. If you are paralyzed by the decision, just get started. You can always change the order or the priority once you start. The point is don't waste time trying to create the best method. Some action, however imperfect, is better than no action at all.

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I was reading a Harvard Business Review article the other day, and as you know, I refer to them off and on in these episodes. I love HBR because it helps me see different perspectives and look at concepts I hadn't considered before. The other day I read an article by Philip White about why your memory matters in leadership.

I enjoy reading articles on memory. You see, when I was in school, I could listen to a teacher read off test questions and then a week later recall all of the multiple-choice options as well as the correct answer, simply by listening to her share those details verbally. I can recall most song lyrics (I love music). And, when I was younger and didn't have my attention pulled in a thousand directions, I could have a conversation with someone and have total recall of the discussion, what each person said verbatim, etc.

When I was in pharmacy school, I would make study notes on one piece of paper. When I would get into the exam, I could picture the piece of paper in my mind and remember the information based on seeing the "picture in my mind." (Fun facts about Katrina 🤣)

So naturally, his article caught my attention.

He talked about the fact that we rely on our phones for almost everything, even using the map to take us to our favorite restaurant. We have probably driven that route hundreds of times but we still rely on our phone app to get us there.

We don't memorize phone numbers anymore. Our phones do that for us too. I have made my children memorize my cell phone number. They don't have cell phones and therefore need to know how to reach me in an emergency. But most other people don't memorize phone numbers anymore.

If we drove somewhere and something happened to our phones, most people would panic. "How will I call someone? How will I know how to get back home?" It should be logical to get back from where we came and let's face it, 20 years ago we could drive down the road without a map and without needing the ability to call someone every second. We would survive should something happen to our phone, just like we survived without them then.

In the article, Philip said that we are so reliant upon our phones, that we use the mental habits of "not needing to remember most things" in leadership situations too. Instead of remembering birthdays, names, important facts about someone's hobbies or family, we simply don't make the effort. As you know, this erodes the trust your team has in you.

Instead of treating the story of their most recent vacation like you read a Facebook post, you have to engage. You can't simply listen to the details but not "like it" or acknowledge it. We have to recognize important events and situations for our team members. We have to show them that they are valued, that what matters to them matters to us. We cannot allow anything to degrade the trust our team has in us.

Can you see how relying on technology and saying to yourself, "I'm going to let my phone handle that while I focus my brain on more important things" can bleed over into allowing your phone to remember the important aspects of your relationships with your team? Put yourself in their shoes and decide how that would make you feel.

Your challenge today is to think about how you interact with your team. How do you ask about their weekends, their time off, their families, and pets? How do you make an effort to remember what matters to your team? Be intentional.

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We have talked in the past about the not-so-great routines we started getting into as part of working remotely. I honestly thought those routines would change. But it seems what we intended to change, is still hanging around. Are bad habits holding you back?

You know what I am talking about. Now that you don't have an hour commute and you're not dropping kids off at school, you have a ton of free time in the morning. If you're like me that 9:30 bedtime and that 4:30 start have now gone to an 11:30 bedtime and a 6 am starts. For a person who is a morning person and does her best work in the morning, I have to be asking myself why in the world I have gotten into this bad habit?

Are you doing something similar? Are you spending more time on Netflix than in your business? Or more time binge-watching shows than spending time with your family?

It has happened to a lot of us. And I think I have discovered why.

At first, it was like a kid on summer break (or maybe like my kids on their summer break right now). Now that there is no defined routine holding them in place, they are staying up later and waking up later. They have freedoms that they hadn't experienced in quite some time.

It's the same with us. Working remotely has caused many of us to realize we can wake up later, stay in our pajamas (at least the bottom half) and grab snacks when we are hungry, play a few shows on the TV as part of a break, and of course work in-between.

And just like summer break, there was supposed to be an end date in sight. Many people anchored their changes to the day their company was returning to the office. The catch with this is that I think most of us expected a return to the office to happen in May or June. However, many companies have postponed their return to the workplace until October or even the first of 2021.

In other words, our behavior changes have been anchored into a date that is now well into the future.

So how do we solve that?

We have to anchor our changes, our return to normal, our "new" routine, into something that can't be impacted by the outside world. It has to be based on a date or an event that we can control. Say, the last day of the month (which will arrive as planned without any changes), or after you go to the grocery store this weekend, etc.

Look at your current routine. Are bad habits holding you back? Are you spending time on the wrong things? Are you out of a productive routine? If the answer is yes to any of these questions, pick a date or an activity that you control and commit to making the changes at that time.

The world needs your contributions. So let's get back on track!

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I was listening to Business Made Simple by Donald Miller the other day and he was talking about what customers want. He said that customers want empathy and authority. If you can give them both of those things, you will connect with your customer and generate a sale.

Empathy is being able to say, "I understand your pain." For me, that is easy to do in Legend. Helping female business leaders become Legends by teaching them the business and leadership strategies they need in order to create and Live a Legendary Life. I feel their pain because I know what it feels like to have the inner villain holding you back. Telling you you're not good enough and causing massive amounts of self-doubt. I have had those crying in the shower moments too. It's easy for me to talk about feeling my client's pain.

Authority is demonstrating competency. The reality is that you know more about the customer/client's problem than they do, per Donald Miller. So show them that and show them you are capable of helping them solve their problem. Use things like testimonials, case studies, and examples of how you have walked and their shoes. Again, easy with Legend.

I would say for most any service-based business, it's fairly easy. But what about a product-based business? For me, I started thinking about Determined, my backpacks. How could I display empathy and authority with that brand?

Well, I created the bag because I know the pain of having to travel and not having a bag that keeps all of your cords, chargers, money, keys, lipstick, etc. all organized. Everything we travel with should have a secure place in a bag. I know the pain of not being able to find a bag to suit all of your needs, and I get the fact that it's a pain to travel and not feel like you can find anything.

Relative to authority, I have definitely traveled throughout my career. Maybe I do know what people need before they realize it, given my experience. That's the point. In explaining the features of the bag, I can educate on why each feature exists, showing authority in the design.

Ultimately it seems this theory holds true whether you are selling a service or a product.

Try it for yourself. Come up with your one-liners for both empathy and authority. Use it in your branding in order to connect with your customers.

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I don't know about you, but I enjoy solving problems. I consider it one of my gifts; to be able to see through the problems, issues, and data and find the root cause of an issue. Because of that, I have people constantly asking me how I solve problems. My answer is simple, to solve a problem start at the end.

You see, you have to know where you want to be, what "good looks like" before you can acknowledge that there is a problem in the first place. So start with what you need to see, the end result. What is that target? Once you have the target clearly defined, now you can say you have a problem if you aren't delivering to it.

Next, I would challenge you to evaluate your target itself. We have to question if our target (goal, budget, plan, etc.) is what we truly should be aiming for. If you created a target for a pilot program, something you have never tried before in your business, you used an educated guess to establish that target. Before you can say something is wrong with your business because you aren't hitting your target, ask yourself, now that you have more information from running the pilot for a period of time, if the target is truly an accurate goal. Said differently, should you adjust your target now that you have more accurate information?

It could be that the business isn't the issue, it's a faulty target.

If you have a target in place, if it's an accurate target, and it's attainable, then you can start diving into your business to find the root cause of issues. At that point, you then ask yourself: what are the components of my business that make up the actual number vs. the target. In other words, if your target is customer satisfaction, how many teams do you have that impact that satisfaction metric?

Once you understand the teams and the processes that could impact your metric, you are finally ready to look at each one and identify gaps that may exist in any or all of them.

This is how I problem solve. I execute this methodology each time I run into a problem. Be it in relationships, business, or simply life in general. I start at the end and then I apply the AIR2 Framework.

How do you problem-solve? How do you know gaps exist in your business and once you discover them, how do you ensure you resolve the right issues? If you are unsure, consider letting Legend Leaders teach you the AIR2 Framework.

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If we are in business we are in one of two camps, either wanting to be promoted or we are looking for talent to promote. Sometimes, like in my past corporate life, I was in both! But what are some characteristics of someone ready and worthy of promotion? While there are several characteristics, this episode focuses on the 2 key traits of a promotable leader.

The first trait is so simple, most people actually screw it up or miss it. It is: do your current job really well. That's right! Do what you have been tasked with doing. So many people want to prove that they can handle the work at the next level, that they don't do their current job well.

I can't promote you into a more senior role, with more responsibility around the same tasks and work, if you can't prove you can do that work well to begin with. Sad but true.

Most people confuse the idea of "showing they can do more" with this perspective. I promise, if you can exceed expectations by delivering in your current role, or if you find someone who is doing that, that's who you want to promote to the next level. They should be able to easily teach direct reports how to perform the role they were just in, as well as know enough about the processes and routines to help their team execute effectively.

The second key trait is that the person has to be able to deescalate drama. I'm not talking about the drama between two individuals, I'm talking about business drama. Situations that come up within the business that most people panic about or stress over. Those individuals who can keep their focus, rally the teams, and come up with a sound solution is your future leader. S/he focuses on the tasks at hand and doesn't let emotion get the best of him or her.

Your challenge today is to think about yourself through this lens if you want to be promoted or think about your team through this lens if you are a leader developing talent. Either way, do you see these 2 key traits? If not, how do you change that within yourself, or how do you set the expectation within your team that these are the two primary traits you need to see in someone before they can be promoted?

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In this episode, I'm challenging you to boss up. Boss up and silence your villain. We all have our own villains inside of us that whisper in our ears and make us feel so unworthy like we will never achieve our goals. It's time to shut her down.

When we start to let our villain whisper about one decision we are struggling with or one situation we can't solve, she then starts to whisper about a second, a third, and a fourth. Pretty soon she has us doubting any action we are going to take or any goal we want to achieve. Today you are saying "Not happening, Villain!" We have to boss up.

Realize this, the reason your villain starts whispering in your ear is that you are facing a new situation. And I am going to say this on repeat from now until eternity because it's true. It's like this:

When you moved from Algebra to Calculus, would you have been able to do Calculus without learning Algebra first? No. There's a reason that you learn those levels of math sequentially. If you jumped from basic math to Calculus, would you think, "I'm just completely incapable of doing math?" No. You know you are capable of doing math. But very quickly you realize that you hadn't learned the math facts that would bridge the gap between your current knowledge to then allow you to learn how to quickly do Calculus.

So why is it that we allow the villain to make us feel like we are incapable of being a good leader when we face something new in our business? Just because we aren't learning leadership and business skills in school doesn't mean the same facts still apply. You are 100% capable of solving the problem and achieving your goal, you simply need to bridge the gap between what you already know about business and the decision you need to make. You just need to learn!

Don't let the villain tell you you are a failure or that you are unworthy of the goals or the life you want, simply because you have to learn something new. Learning is the exciting part of life! Embrace it. Enjoy it. Acknowledge that you can solve the problems. You are capable and worthy and smart. You are deserving. Boss up and silence your villain.

If you are facing a situation right now where your villain is trying to tell you "you just aren't capable," shut her down. Again, boss up and silence your villain. Tell yourself right now that no one knows everything, but that you are capable of learning what you don't know and you will overcome and achieve. You can do this!

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No matter what the changes have been to the business world, you still need short-term resolutions.

Lately, I have heard a lot of people talking about their long-term plans for business improvement. I love it. Fixing businesses is what I teach and enjoy talking about so let me hear it. I'm all ears. But what I have been hearing lately just seems a bit odd to me so I wanted to spend some time discussing it today.

You see, we all still have gaps in our business. Gaps in businesses existed in the old business environment and will continue to exist in the new business environment. The issues themselves may have changed, but issues still exist. Businesses are dynamic. But some people are thinking because they have different issues, they should solve them in a different way.

Let me give you an example:

You go into a room in your house or office and you try to turn on the overhead light, but the light switch doesn't work. It appears the switch is broken. There's the problem you are now faced with, a broken light switch. Your long-term solution is to get an electrician to come by, check it out, and repair it. But what are you going to do for 2 weeks while you are waiting on the electrician? Are you simply not going to use that room?

No, you are going to find a lamp and you are going to take it into the room. It's not going to work as well as the overhead light. It's not perfect. But it's a temporary solution, allowing you to fix the problem immediately until you can permanently fix the problem. The lamp is your short-term resolution.

What I hear business leaders talk about right now is the fact that many of them are opting to not use the room at all. They are waiting the 2 weeks and forgoing the lamp in their businesses. Why? The room hasn't changed so drastically since you discovered the switch was broken. Nor has your business changed so drastically that you don't need to use the room.

Think about that for a second. While the world around us may have changed, the need for short-term resolutions has not. When we find a gap in our business, the AIR2 Framework still applies. It works in any situation, no matter the situation. That means that R2 (R squared), or short-term and long-term resolutions should still be created and executed upon.

Failure to create short-term resolutions means you are allowing a known problem to exist in your business, damage you financially, damage customer service, or damage your brand. You don't want and can't afford that to happen.

Your challenge today is to think about the gaps in your business that you are working through right now. Do you have short-term resolutions in place to take care of the business and that customer while your long-term resolution is being finalized? If not, take action today to put short-term fixes into place.

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I don't know about you, but I know people and have done business with people that like to have calls just to have calls. Do you know what I am talking about? A call to talk about having a call? Or what I define as: phone calls for calls-sake. How do you take yourself out of these time-wasters?

The first action is to define what deserves a phone call. As the leader, you have the power to define this and then set expectations around it. So do it!

Calls should be reserved for several different endpoints: collaboration, education, to confirm understanding, or to send a proper message where tone matters. Think about those for a second. Those feel right, right? There may be one or two other instances I'm forgetting but I think you can see the overall pattern. Any situation that would require more than 2 emails being exchanged or when an email would cause more confusion than resolution, you want to schedule a call.

Calls should not occur to make people feel better about a situation. And let's be honest, that's what those time waster calls are. Feel good calls. Except the only person who feels good is the person who scheduled the call. Everyone else is dying and wondering why this wasn't an email.

This message today is super simple. Now that we are creating plans for returning to the office, now that we have had a shift in the way that we do business globally, you have a chance to level set and establish clearer expectations. If you are a person that holds calls to feel better about a situation, challenge yourself to limit calls for situations that truly require an active discussion.

Go through a process of evaluating the topic at hand. Realize that if the information is just informative or a call is just "easier for you," that it will come across as a potential waste of time to your team. Don't damage their trust in you by seeming as though you are more focused on life is easier for you than for them. Remember, we are here to serve them and to lead them in the way in which they want to be led. That includes using good judgment and not making them feel like your time is more valuable than theirs.

Are you someone who is scheduling calls with your team just to talk, or when you get a little fear in the pit of your stomach about a situation and you need some reassurance? Your challenge today is to reevaluate your methods. If you're not like that but you now know someone who is, hook them up with this podcast episode and let me help you out. 😉

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Do you know your business? Did you know you need to know your business in order to live your best life? It's true. In order to live the Legendary Life you deserve, you have to know the ins and outs of your business.

I have seen business leaders go from knowing every single aspect of their business to being out of touch in a matter of months. For some, it's a cycle. They get bored with business when there are no new projects or initiatives but once something new comes along, they can tell you every aspect of every decimal that exists.

I can't do that. I like to be plugged in and into the details at all times. Not because I don't trust my team, not because I feel like I can't unplug, but because to me, living a Legendary Life includes Legend, it includes my business.

Most people believe that their business is a way to afford the life they want, and that's about it. In other words, the business is good for the revenue and the financial rewards but doesn't serve any other purpose. Those are the people that go into business for the monetary aspects alone.

For me, that's not why I started Legend. I truly believe in helping others. I truly believe that living my best life includes me sharing my gifts and helping other people. In order to do that, Legend has to be running well. If it isn't, I can't live my best life. It's that simple.

While most people want to get away from their business and consider that their best life, know that if you have a business you are passionate about, that drives you and motivates you, that fulfills you, it isn't a chore to know your business. You find instead that you are motivated to know your business because you have to in order to live the life you want to live. They go hand in hand.

My challenge for you today is to ask yourself several questions and answer them honestly. Do you truly know your business? Can you change your mindset in order to tie your personal fulfillment and live your best life with running your business? Realize that if you can make your business part of living your best life, your Legendary Life, it no longer becomes a chore to stay engaged.

Be Legendary!

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We all get frustrated in our business from time to time. I mean, we are human after all and business isn't always easy. Today I'm going to share a personal frustration I have felt off and on throughout my career that you may be facing right now as well. And I'm going to empower you to fix it. Today I'm empowering you to stop wasting time on someone else's work or their drama.

That sentence speaks volumes, doesn't it? Wow. We spend so much time working on our team members, helping them develop and grow and progress. Sometimes we get blinded by the fact that they aren't growing or progressing and we make excuses for them. I have always been a firm believer in the idea of: If I have to do your job, I don't need you.

Maybe that's a bit direct, but it's true. When I have people constantly coming to me to ask me questions that they are simply too lazy to answer, I have the wrong person on my team.

The problem is that most of us question if we should let them go, especially if we are the ones who hired them. We get so frustrated by their behavior. Beyond frustrated actually. And we tell ourselves that that person just can't stay! "I'm having a direct conversation with them tomorrow!" Then they have a good conversation with us, or they start to show ownership and improvement, and we want to give them another chance. It happens to all of us.

But where my frustration lies is in the fact that I actually have to have the conversation in the first place. I'm just being honest here. I can be PC and say "it's an honor to have the responsibility of developing someone." And while that's always true, sometimes it's just crappy that all of the hard conversations fall on us. And so the frustration you feel, or at least the frustration I feel in those moments, is that this person has let me down. I counted on them to be what they committed to being when I interviewed them and offered them the job. The fact that they aren't delivering to that is just a letdown. Instead of being a win for the company, now there is a problem I have to fix.

The other scenario I find equally as frustrating is if someone is creating drama. Be it drama from gossip or just instigating issues between two teams. I don't have the time for that. Not because "my time is more valuable than anyone else's." No. It's because when I'm working, my time is dedicated to serving my clients to the best of my ability. And if you are taking my focus away from those I am serving to focus on drama, I get frustrated.

We are all adults. We all know how to be respectful, not be passive-aggressive, not act like we are better than anyone else, and have the right to demand solid performance from our peers. When drama is created just because someone isn't emotionally mature enough to work through issues any other way, I feel like that's a disservice to our clients.

Maybe you feel the same way. May you have had to deal with the frustration of doing someone else's work or dealing with their drama. I would tell you that luckily, I don't have these issues at Legend. But I have faced them in my past career and once you experience it, you hire differently, you interview differently, and you immediately resolve those issues vs. letting them linger.

If you are in a situation like this right now, my advice is to have an honest conversation, level set on expectations, and if it doesn't resolve, follow your discipline process. You are busy and your time is valuable, not to mention your customers and clients deserve the best.

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As leaders, we walk the tightrope of leadership. If we fall on one side of the rope, we take away decisions our direct reports should be made. If we fall on the other side, we allow our team to make potentially risky decisions that negatively impact the business. The way you stay on the rope is by demanding ownership of a decision.

When you have a direct report who is trying to make a risky decision regarding a piece of their business, be it projects or people, we have to find a way to help them feel like the decision is theirs while reducing the risk. To do that, I challenge my direct reports to own their decisions.

Don't get me wrong, my direct reports are owners. They have been empowered to be owners. But there are times when each person has a human moment and tries to delay a tough decision. It could be for many different reasons, but ultimately it's because they don't have a clear path or answer, so they delay.

Remember though, we talked about decisions being risky. If I allow my direct report to not take action, that could result in an even greater risk to the company, especially when it comes to a person's performance or lack thereof. If my direct report wants to give chance after chance to a person who is underperforming, I'm not going to take the decision away from them. I'm not going to have a conversation with that underperformer for example. Nor am I going to allow the business to be negatively impacted by the poor performance of an individual because we didn't take the proper action.

What I do instead is I set the expectation in very clear terms that my direct report owns their decision.

"Sally, you want Joe to stay on your team even though he is underperforming and there are risks associated with that? Fine, but then understand that missing your financial targets this month because of Joe won't be an option. Said differently, understand that I expect your team to deliver on their business targets and if that doesn't happen, it can't be because of Joe. To the point that if you have to personally step in and do the work in order to deliver the month, that is my expectation. I expect you to personally own this decision."

The conversation is clear, direct, and there is no guesswork as to what I am allowing them to do or what I expect as a result.

Sometimes I have had team members hear my expectations and they change their minds on their decision. It causes them to do a double-take when they realize they may have to do more work or that there won't be a pass provided if they don't deliver. When they do that, I celebrate them in the fact that they heard the message and they had the courage to reevaluate their decision and choose a different course of action.

If they stay committed to their original decision, I support them just the same. At the end of the day, the business won't suffer because they are charged with keeping it on track. The underperformer, in this example, Joe, will either perform or Sally will see that she can't pick up his slack and she will start holding him accountable for his performance. No matter the pathway, it's a win. The customer/client didn't suffer nor did the business during this time that we allowed our direct report to make a risky decision and own it.

Is there a situation happening right now within your team that you can apply this to? Try it.

Be Legendary!

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What are you waiting for, take time off anyway! I finally had to get to this place in my mind this week, more specifically, today.

I opened my email box and I had an email from HBR (Harvard Business Review) and the first article was about how to ask for time off during this time with remote work, etc. It was perfect timing because in our house lately, we have both been saying "I need a vacation!"

The problem is that I haven't been allowing myself to think about taking a vacation. And here's why. I LOVE vacations! I love to travel, go see the world, learn the history of a place (I double majored in undergrad and got a degree in history so I am one of those nerds!), stand in a spot people stood in thousands of years before me and envision what they saw and how they felt, and essentially just experience the world. I also love to go to places like Disney and be a kid again and buy huge servings of snacks and spoil the kids. Bottom line, there isn't a vacation I'm going to say no to.

Not only do I enjoy the experiences, but I also use vacations in my life as a reward for hitting milestones in my life, be it personal or in business. So the fact that I haven't planned one recently means I don't have a lot to reward myself with right now. And that has been a struggle.

The problem though, quite honestly, is that "vacation" to me is leaving my home, especially at this point when I feel like I have been trapped in my home for months. And since I can't really travel anywhere, I keep asking myself, "what's the point?" Yes, my villain is winning on this one a little bit, I have to admit.

I'm in a place mentally, because the world has changed and I am trying to adjust to those changes within my business, that I don't feel like I need to take time off. I sort of tell myself something like this:

"I can't go anywhere so why not just spend this time getting Legend 100% on track?" In other words, I sort of convince myself that because I I can't travel anywhere, I don't need to take time off or reward myself by taking some time away from work.

Talk about the villain trying to sabotage my life, right? Wow!

After reading that headline and checking out a few bits of the article, it struck me that I am looking at this wrong. I can't tie time off solely to vacations. I can easily take a Friday and a Monday off and just put the computer and phone away. I can go in the backyard and hang out at the pool, enjoying the sun and the fresh air, still social distancing, but take that mental break that we all need and deserve.

So I have now convinced myself that I need to take time off anyway. It won't be a waste. My mental health is worth it. And part of me creating my Legendary Life is unplugging, taking time away, recharging myself so I can come back and be even more creative. So take that, villain! 👊

If you have been convincing yourself that you don't need to take time off, even though your body and your brain are telling you you need a little time away, listen to yourself, your true self, and not your inner villain. Take breaks. Take time away. Get some fresh air. Recharge. Reconnect. That is a huge part of creating and living your Legendary Life.

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Have you ever been to the doctor's office, and the first time you go in they actually can't help you with anything? It's like the obligatory "office visit" before they can do a scan or an ultrasound or whatever you actually need. Are you doing that to your clients too? We have to move away from being like that in today's business world; we have to add value in the first client interaction.

I have a mild heart murmur. It hereditary runs in my family. I won't bore you with the technical terms or medical details. But the bottom line is that I have to go every 2-3 years to have an echocardiogram. The last time I had one done, I lived in a different state, which isn't new for me. I lived in 5 different states during my corporate career. So I am pretty used to having to find new doctors, dentists, etc. While that is fairly painful and cumbersome, the worse part is that first office visit. It exists simply to have me give them the full download of my medical history so they can listen to my heart and say, "Yep, you do have a murmur, let's schedule your echo." Well, duh! 🙄

Now, put yourself in the shoes of your client or customer. Is this how they feel each time they interact with you or your business the first time? I thought through this and realized that's not what I want Legend to be known for. I want my clients to feel like I am giving them so much value, that they always walk away feeling supported and just a bit stronger in fighting their villain.

So I took a few actions recently and I am going to share those with you and encourage you to think about how you might do the same.

The first thing I did was I changed the name of my consult call. Who likes the word "consult?" No one. It sounds too formal and stuffy, almost like an interview. I changed the name to the AIR2 Framework Health Check. Sounds better right? If I am going to help you create and live your Legendary Life, by helping you get your business humming, we need to do a health check on your business. And the process I do that is of course, my AIR2 Framework.

The second thing I am doing is giving a free, personalized AIR2 Framework Game Plan to the person at the end of the call. I want to give some immediate value. On the call we are going to talk about your business, what is frustrating you, holding you back, or just doesn't seem right. So I want to give you a game plan to help you. Whether you decide to work with me or not, that isn't the point, and that's where a lot of people get hung up. If I can give you something to help you fight your inner villain and get you on the path to living the life you deserve, that's what matters most to me.

I know that not every call will result in a relationship that is a good fit. So instead of worrying about that, or trying to withhold information that doesn't help me "get a sale every time," I would prefer instead to focus on adding value in the first client interaction, right out of the gate. It's about spreading goodwill, sharing my gift, and helping the community of female leaders get stronger and stronger. And you know just as well as I do, if I have a call with someone and she simply can't join Legend at that moment, she's going to stay in touch. I'm going to continue to pour into her and everyone else. And one day, she is going to be able to join, and if nothing else, she is going to tell her friends and colleagues about Legend.

So think about that. Ask yourself if you are adding value in the first client interaction in your business. If not, what can you change so your brand is known for overdelivering from the start?

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If you are like me, you wake up each morning and you do your morning routine. Part of that is reading your vision statement. After all, that's what all of the great leaders tell us to do, right? Reading the vision statement is a way to quiet the inner villain and keep us focused. It works. It's what I call keeping my eyes on the prize. It's me focusing on the Legendary Life I am creating, dreaming of, and working towards.

But since mid-March, each morning when I look at my vision statement, I feel frustrated. When we started the year, the vision statement looked beyond attainable. There were stretch goals in it no doubt, but it was reasonable. At this point, the world is so different. Even little things like vacations and travel have changed, much less my financial goals. So lately when I read my 1-year vision statement, I don't feel empowered. I don't feel like I'm on the path to my Legendary Life. I feel like the villain is winning because the vision has changed.

To combat this I adjusted my vision statement. I added a 5-year vision and a 10-year vision. Not only that, I wrote them in such a way that I start reading the 10-year vision first. It's so far into the future that I know I have time to deliver to it. Instead of reading it and feeling frustrated or maybe even a little panicked, it still feels attainable. This silences the inner villain.

Then I read the 5-year plan. It's obviously a little closer to today than 10 years, but it's still so far into the future that again, there is no panicking. It's the "in-between" timeframe that bridges the gap between what I am working on now and how I will deliver on the 10-year timeframe.

Last, I read the 1-year plan or vision. I have adjusted it to be more inclusive of what is happening in the world. Adjusting the vacations, for example, adjusting the milestones and some of the ways I define success. But it's still a stretch. However, now when I read it, I don't get frustrated. Because I have started with the 10-year, then the 5-year, when I read the 1-year it simply feels like I'm telling myself "this is what I have to do now to get to those other two phases in my life." I realize this is just a stepping stone, it's not the only stone. That feels much better to me. Reading these 3 pieces of my overall vision helps me stay grounded in how I deliver on my goals this year. I know that my life is more than just a 1-year plan. I will still deliver on my Legendary Life even with the changes in the world this year.

That's what I need to feel each morning. That's what I need to silence my villain and keep me on track. This is how I create my Legendary Life.

If you are struggling with your 1-year vision statement, try this practice. It doesn't have to be 10 years and 5 years if those are too hard to think through, it could be 8 years and 3 years. The point is that you need to create a vision for multiple years into the future so you anchor this year's vision into the future.

Try it! Then read these 3 statements each morning to keep you focused on what your Legendary Life looks like. When you write down your goals, consistently review them, and tie emotions to them, you're more likely to achieve them. So keep your eyes on the prize and let's get after that Legendary Life!

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No doubt you are working through a plan for allowing your team to return to the office. The challenge you are facing is to create return-to-office policies that support everyone.

You are probably in one of two camps right now. Either your business is a business that is customer-facing. You have an office where you provide services directly to the customer and therefore you need to open your office back up in order to successfully get back up and running. Or, you have an office that you use to have your team come together for collaboration and work, but working in the office isn't required to successfully run your business.

Most of us who are trying to reopen our offices at this point are in the latter camp. This means that for us to successfully run our businesses, we can continue to stay remote. Returning to the office isn't required. This is critically important to remember as you create policies around returning to the office.

The first policy you need to consider is masked. While some people may feel masks are unnecessary, there could be at least one person working on your team that would feel safer personally wearing and having others wearing masks. You need to create a policy requiring your team to wear a mask so that no one on your team is forced to create the policy themselves. Peer pressure is fierce and you do not want any of your employees to feel like they cannot keep themselves safe or that they have to compromise what they value in order to show their loyalty to you and the company. Don't damage the trust they have in you because you want to keep the environment "flexible."

The second policy to consider is mandating a return date. Many of your employees have children. With childcare unavailable, camps being canceled, not having any family members close by to help, or maybe having a family but those family members are high risks, parents will have to continue to work from home to be both a parent and an employee. If you require everyone to return to work, you will be asking them to essentially choose between their children and their job. This isn't a choice they can make, nor should they have to. Again, don't damage the trust they have in you. Allow your team to decide if they want to work remotely, return to the office, or a hybrid of the two. Allowing flexibility for all employees ensures parents do not feel they have to choose and it allows all employees to decide which environment is better for them overall.

These are the two key policies you should establish if you focus on nothing else. Other pieces to consider would be things like social distancing the desks, meeting spaces, and cleaning standards.

The overall goal in this situation is to be clear as to what the expectations are, what is required, and that you create an environment where all employees feel supported.

If you are working on returning your team to the office, think through how you can do that with these considerations in mind. None of this will be easy, but as long as you put your employees first, you will be successful.

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This is the fourth and final episode in a series dedicated to employee retention. Today we are focusing on the idea of ownership. If you can empower your employees to feel and act like owners, they will stay with you.

Before I jump into ownership, I wanted to throw out a little something from yesterday. Yesterday we talked about appreciation. One of the pieces I forgot to mention yesterday was around compensation. So let me talk through that for a second here. While many people don't tie appreciation with money, everyone wants to be paid what they are worth. If you are paying 25% less (or 30% less) than the competition, you will lose your talented employee whether they tie appreciation to money or not. In that instance, it isn't about appreciation, it's about feeling like you are being taken advantage of.

You don't want to damage their trust in you by making them feel like they are not worth the market price for the job they are doing. Ensure the compensation you are paying your team is competitive and then you can focus on appreciating them in the way in which they have defined appreciation.

Now, back to ownership. As I said previously, the fourth key pillar of employee retention is ownership. If you can make them feel like they are part of the team, part of the decision-making process. If you can give them a voice, make them feel heard, and ensure they feel like they are contributing to the overall company, they will feel like an owner.

Your goal is to be honest with your total team about how the company is performing, what's on the horizon for the company relative to the vision, any risk, concerns, problems, etc. Whatever is going on, if you will share that with your employees, they will feel like an owner. They will start to take responsibility for being part of the solution. When that happens you have 10s to 100s of people staying up at night thinking about the problems you shared and working to come up with a solution. Not only does it make your business better, it makes your employees more loyal to the company.

As we have been discussing, if they can be the hero, if they can contribute and make the business better, they will feel better about what they are doing personally. To have that feeling inside of themselves. To know they are making the business better. To know they are appreciated for it. To know they are trusted with the knowledge of what's happening in the business and they are not only empowered to do their job but to help the overall company, they feel like an owner. They are an owner without all of the responsibility. For most employees, this is the ideal situation. Fulfillment without risk.

As you reflect on your team, are you challenging them to be owners? Are you allowing them/expecting them to share their ideas, their feedback, their solutions? Are you empowering them to be more than just an employee in your company? Are you expecting them to be part of the solution or growth that the company is experiencing?

If you are, keep doing it! Continue to find ways to create owners within your team.

If you aren't creating owners, you just aren't doing it yet. So think about how you can share more information with your employees (without sharing more than you feel comfortable sharing). Build a routine around providing regular updates to your team and think about how you can regularly talk to the group about problem-solving, contributing new ideas, suggestions, and solutions.

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In this third episode in a series of four focusing on the key pillars of employee retention, we are talking about appreciation. How do you make your employees feel appreciated such that there is no reason for them to have a wandering eye towards a competitor?

Throughout this entire series, we have been talking about loyalty and how it is at the center of employee retention. If you can improve the loyalty of your employees, your risk of attrition declines. It's simply common sense.

We have already touched on trust and empowerment. Today we are walking through the idea that appreciation drives loyalty which in turn improves retention. To understand how this works, we must first understand what appreciation is.

Most people assume appreciation is a card, an email, or a few words of praise in front of a group. And while this is considered to be appreciated by some employees, I would tell you that surprisingly, it's not considered to be "appreciation" by others.

Take me for example. I don't want you to praise me publicly or thank me a thousand times for something I have done. That's more embarrassing than empowering. Thank me, that's fine. But if you want to appreciate me, don't make me the center of attention, especially if you make it a surprise. However, other people love this, thrive off of it, and will be loyal to you forever if you surprise them and praise them in front of a large group for 15 minutes.

The point here is that you have to have each person on your team define what appreciation is to them. It could be:

• Verbal/written praise--a note, an email, a shoutout, or something along those lines
• Money--it could be bonuses, pay rate increases or surprise monetary rewards for a job well done
• Status--it could be a change in title, conveying more authority and responsibility in the organization
• Time--it could be some additional time off, time at a workshop, or even time with you to learn more and to build a stronger relationship

These are just a few examples. But the point is you need to ask each person on your team, and have them do the same for their teams, and so on and so forth. Such that when you plan events in the company, you can know what your company prefers. (Instead of you assuming everyone will feel rewarded for a company cookout when in fact, they would actually prefer an amazing meal served in the office so they can enjoy the food but get back to feeling empowered to do their job.) Knowing how people define "appreciation" will help you maintain trust across your organization, and with trust comes loyalty.

If I feel appreciated, I don't need to look for greener grass. You are meeting my needs. You are telling me I'm successfully being the hero, I'm successfully overcoming, and I'm doing well.

Think about how you will learn about your employees or team members. Have them define what appreciation is to them so you can then follow up on that and appreciate it in the way they have defined it. Build loyalty on your team through appreciation.

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In this second episode in a series of four discussing how to successfully retain your top talented employees, we are focusing on empowerment. Empowering your employees to actually do their job is one of the keys to creating loyalty within your team.

Have you ever been in a position where you were hired for a job, paid to do a job, but then no one actually allowed you to do it? Maybe not. Or if you have ever been in that situation, you probably didn't stay there for long.

It all goes back to that hero mentality we talked about yesterday. We are all heroes in our own stories, creating a life we want to be proud to live. We want to work hard, overcome issues standing in our way, and at the end of the day, be victorious. Right? To do that in the workplace, we have to be allowed to perform the functions of a hero.

If you go into work, have conversations with your teams and agree on a project for example, but then someone changes it up on you, or answers the questions that should have been directed to you, or simply takes away any responsibility you have on the project, how are you going to feel? Most people get extremely frustrated. Why? Because it's like being a kid again when you lost privileges you were never given a chance to prove you could handle in the first place.

No one wants to fail at being the hero in their own story. So if we take away someone's ability to do their job, or their chance to prove themselves successful, we have removed their ability to be victorious. Top talented individuals won't stay around for that. They want an environment where they can live out their hero role, where they can be contributors, where they can feel fulfilled while contributing to the company.

No doubt, the reason you hired them is that they truly are a hero. They have the talent, the brains, the skills, and the drive to move your business forward. So don't hold them back!

If you are a business owner, no doubt you started your business because you didn't want people to take away your ability to do your job! You said to yourself, "This is mine, I'm not going to be at the whim of someone else's decisions, I'm going to be my own boss!" If that's you, you can easily identify with the fact that empowerment drives loyalty.

So in order to increase the loyalty within your ranks, do the simplest task of all. Let them do their jobs. Let them do the work you hired them to do. Allow them the ability to perform and be successful, or perform and fail and have you guiding them on how to become successful again. When you allow someone to grow and be personally fulfilled, they will be loyal to you for giving them that opportunity. And they will be loyal in the fact that there is no reason for them to leave. If they are fulfilled, nothing is lacking. They are doing the work they set out to do.

Today I want you to do another gut check. Are you taking away someone's ability to perform the responsibilities you hired them for? Are you preventing them from being the hero in their own story? If yes, find a way to start empowering those talented employees. If you don't, they will leave for a company that does allow them to contribute, feel fulfilled, and be their own hero.

Be Legendary!

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In this 4 part series on employee retention, this first episode should not come as a surprise. We are focusing on building and maintaining trust.

But first, some people may naturally be thinking, why do I care about retention? People will work for me or my company if they want to, there is nothing I can do to change that one way or the other. (I know you aren't thinking that, but some people do actually think that's the case.). The reality is that employee retention is very much within your control and sphere of influence.

Because of that, you need to work diligently to do your part in retaining the talent you worked so hard to find, hire, and develop. The first step in this process is building and maintaining trust.

To do this well, refer back to the series we did at the end of May: Taking Over a New Team. Realize that many of those actions you took then should continue within your business in order to maintain the trust you built from the start.

Touch bases. Those exist not simply to talk about the business, although about half of the time in that meeting is spent discussing business responsibilities. The other half is spent talking about personal events, challenges, goals, aspirations, training, encouragement, and honest feedback. In those conversations, the relationship is strengthened between you and your direct report, or between a manager within your company and their direct report. This is why touch bases are important to start and maintain within your routine. Spending dedicated time with someone on your team each month, mentoring them, developing them, and growing them, builds and maintains trust. They are going to feel like you are invested in them and their success. This in turn creates loyalty.

Training plans are along the same lines when it comes to trust and loyalty. If you have someone who put together a plan for you, to help you become more successful, to help you achieve your goals, and be the best version of yourself, you're going to be loyal to them. That person is your guide, helping you win as the hero in your own story. No one is going to leave their guide!

Honest performance reviews are another tool that builds trust. If I see that you are telling me where I am performing well and where I am failing. If I know you are doing that because you want me to succeed, I'm going to be loyal to you. I trust your feedback. I trust you to tell me what I need to keep doing and what I need to change. I trust you because you have consistently given me candid feedback that has helped me grow and improve. Because of that, I'm going to be loyal to you because again, you are guiding me down the path to success.

Last but not least, regular feedback. Be it at the end of a presentation or during a touch base, feedback shouldn't wait. It should be delivered the same day the event occurred and should usually be done in private (especially if it's constructive).

Remember, I'm the hero in my own story. For me to be successful, I have to overcome personal barriers. If you are giving me regular, timely feedback, I'm going to do nothing but overcome them faster. The feedback you are giving will always be a mix of praise and challenges. Sometimes your direct report will knock it out of the park, and you will tell them that. Other times, they will miss the mark, and you will walk them through why and how they can improve. Because you are giving regular feedback (good or bad), they trust you and see you have their best interests at heart.

Trust drives loyalty. Loyalty drives retention. Think about how you can continue to build trust in your organization to retain your talent and decide which steps you will proactively take to maintain trust.

Be Legendary!

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I was having a conversation with a friend the other day and she was talking about "accidental leadership." Let me tell you, I was totally confused. What in the world is accidental leadership? To me, leadership isn't accidental.

Through the discussion, I learned that she was referring to someone who was placed into a role where they were managing people or a team, a position they hadn't intended to be in. They went from being a single contributor in the business to then being responsible for the performance of others by having direct reports.

This is what I would define as accidental management . . . maybe. But not accidental leadership.

Leadership isn't an accident, it's a commitment.

I believe that leadership and the desire to lead, or serve others, is something you are naturally born with. Now, many people won't agree with me on that so let me explain.

I'm not saying people are born with the skills to be a leader. The skillset is acquired. I 100% agree with that argument. I would also say that some people learn the skills faster and apply them better than others. However, I believe that those of us that are leaders are driven to be so and have always naturally had that drive/desire.

If you think about great leaders that you know, no doubt they were leading their youth ball team, church youth group, school class, or club. They were active in college clubs or groups. They were speaking up, sharing ideas, and serving others, before their professional careers. This is why leadership isn't accidental.

Do people start in a position or a job and get asked to take over a team? Absolutely. Management can be accidental, in that you didn't plan on managing other people. Moving from a single contributor to a manager role could be accidental, meaning not planned. But true leadership, serving others and helping them be successful, isn't an accident.

Leadership requires you to give your time, your thoughts, your efforts, and your heart. None of these can be given accidentally.

Your challenge today is to think about leadership vs. management. If you are seeing this play out with friends or colleagues, chat with them. If you feel like you have created a company and you never planned on being a people leader, check your gut.

Maybe you never intended to lead other people, maybe that hasn't been something you have ever been drawn to, and you know what, that's fine. That's right! There is zero wrong with you for being amazing at business but not necessarily leadership. None of us can do all things, so don't let your inner villain convince you otherwise.

If you don't want to have direct reports, hire someone to handle the people leadership side of your business. Because at the end of the day, if you have a team of people in your organization, they deserve a leader. And if you don't want to be that, again, I'm proud of you for saying it and not being hard on yourself for not wanting to do it. But then hire someone to do it. We cannot allow the leadership void to exist, or be halfway filled, or even filled but with resentment. None of those scenarios work if we are trying to create a solid business.

If you love people leadership and consider it one of your driving forces, let this episode guide you in helping those around you who don't want to lead. Empower them to solve the problem, without them feeling like they personally have to be the solution.

Be Legendary!

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Today is June 6th so you know what that means, it's time to assess your May performance. More specifically, let's talk about assessing monthly results, customer feedback, and stealing seamlessly.

I want you to do a full deep-dive assessment for the month of May because May is the first month we have been trying to recover from COVID and the business closures, social distancing measures, etc. And May is also the first month you executed your recovery game plan. So we need to know how it worked out.

I want you to print out a calendar. Yep, taking it old school here. Print out a calendar for the month of May. Then I want you to look at each week and I want you to notate several key pieces of information. I want you to write on there the day you started executing your recovery game plan, the day you may have made adjustments or changes to that game plan, etc. Write down any changes you made or steps you took to impact your business on the day you took that action.

Second, I want you to write down any changes to business openings in the state you reside in, or the state you sell the most products in, on your calendar. If you sell your products online, look at the top 3 states you do the most revenue in and write down those reopening activities on the dates they occurred.

After you do this, you need to compare your dates with your results. Can you correlate your financial or KPI performance to any changes you/the state governments made in May? If yes, good deal. That's step one. You know that your plan did work because of what you did or what happened to allow businesses to operate with a bit more freedom. Keep going, and keep fine-tuning your plan. You are on the right track.

If you can't correlate any of your numbers to any events, and you are still struggling in your business. You have to go do some additional work. (I would recommend you do this work whether you delivered to your monthly plan or not honestly.)

First, reach out to your customers and ask them to complete a survey or join a quick 30-minute feedback session. Offer them a percentage off or a gift for participating. If you can get feedback directly from your customer on what they need, how they want to be served, how they want to pay, etc. then get it! Get it and then do something with it. Use their information to adjust your game plan and then execute.

If you can't get feedback from your customer, look to your competitors. Are they thriving? What are they doing differently? What can you steal shamelessly and improve upon in your business? (Even if you get customer feedback, I would still say steal shamelessly because it only makes your business better to learn from others without having to be the pioneer in that area. But you may not have time to do both of these right out of the gate.) Remember that you may serve a micro-niche that is different than your competitor so don't take exactly what they are doing and start running it in your business. Make changes that fit with your brand and your customer.

You may never find out exactly why your recovery game plan didn't work in May if that's what happened. But don't spend too much time on that. Research, but then quickly move to create new processes, offers, products, and services that your customers want and that you can steal shamelessly from your competitors. Your goal is to deliver to your business goals each month in 2020. Focus on rapidly making that happen, especially if you missed your financial targets for 2+ months so far.

Save this episode and listen to it at the beginning of each month to refresh your memory on how to assess your performance.

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We all have weaknesses. As women, we can tell you our weaknesses faster than we can tell you our strengths. But I recently watched a leader on multiple calls with clients continue to downplay herself over and over and over again. It was painful. Don't downplay your ability or authority.

While it's true, we all have weaknesses, no one wants to hear about them all of the time. Focusing solely on your weaknesses and constantly asking for help erodes the confidence people started off having in you.

When you first start dating someone, do you only talk about how horrible you are, how you can't get anything right, how you need help with everything? Of course not. So why would you do that in a business relationship?

Remember that when you are introduced to a client, a vendor, a peer, a colleague, etc. everyone naturally assumes you are capable of doing the job since you do in fact have the job. You don't have to prove that, but it is yours to disprove the fact that you deserve it. And I have seen many leaders, men and women alike, so focused on asking for help from everyone, that people quickly start to see them as incompetent.

Crap, right?! 😳

So how does this happen? Most of us want to be humble. And I'm not saying you shouldn't be humble. You definitely should be humble, kind, and unassuming. But highlighting your weaknesses is very different than being humble. Focusing on nothing but your weaknesses overshadow any capabilities you do have.

When people hear you call out a weakness for the first time, their first reaction is to tell you "that's so not true!" They may do this for a few occurrences when you say "I'm not good at staying on task/staying on track so you are going to have to keep me on point." They offer to help even. The next few times you say it they think to themselves, "I can't continue to build her up. I'm fighting my own inner villain here, I can't fight hers too." So they simply ignore your comments. If you continue to say it again on additional calls or in conversations, or emails, they will move from being supportive to silent, to then fully not trusting in you or your abilities. Why? Because all you have told them time and time again is how you CAN'T do something. At that moment, you have given away all of your authority within the position you hold as well as your ability to carry that relationship forward.

Seriously. Do not do that to yourself. We all have weaknesses. We are all human. But being humble vs. focusing on nothing but weaknesses is two totally different scenarios. Don't downplay how amazing you are.

Your challenge today is to acknowledge what happens when you consistently share your weaknesses in a business setting. Create a list of positive attributes about yourself. Every morning, read that list. Get your mindset right. Focusing on your strengths will allow you to move confidently through the day, focusing on what you can do, instead of calling out what you can't. Don't downplay your ability or authority. You're too good for that.

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Did you know that leaders set the tone in a business or on a team? I know, it sounds like common sense right? But you would be surprised at how many people know this and yet still don't set the tone.

I have seen many leaders in my career make this detrimental mistake. They say they own the tone, but then they miss something in their business or set the wrong focus point, and then they blame the team.

Epic fail!

If you have lived through it in your career, you know what I am talking about. You show up to work, you know what success looks like because your leader has defined it. (Success is supposed to be an open-book test.) But when you go to grab your book, it's been switched out for a different guide. You don't have the answers. This is how people feel when a leader doesn't set the tone correctly or if they don't take ownership for a misstep.

You see, when a leader blames the team for a misstep they created, it's another loss of trust. Everyone knows that the leader creates the vision and establishes the culture within the organization. Unless that leader has publicly handed off that responsibility, it still falls on her.

When a leader tells the team there is only 3 processes they need to execute to be successful, and then suddenly the leader discovers the 4th process, she owns the miss. To be a true servant leader, she acknowledges that she completely missed the 4th process and collaborates with the team to solve it. That is setting the tone, establishing a culture of ownership, having integrity, and acknowledging that your team followed direction and did all they were responsible for doing.

Where I have seen leaders fail time and time again is that they are embarrassed because they didn't see that 4th process. Or, they saw it but it didn't matter to them at the time of discovery. Then suddenly, that 4th process is damaging the financial results of the company or upsetting customers. At that point, it becomes a huge deal and this "leader" blames the team for not looking at all of the pieces and processes and questions why this was missed, etc.

Good leaders and top performers will only stand for that for a short period of time and then will leave that organization. They leave because they can no longer trust the leader, and they feel as though they will never be successful because the terms of success have changed without anyone being told.

Your challenge today is to reflect on your past interactions with leaders. If you ever had a leader like this, you will definitely remember him/her. How did you feel about them? Was it someone you trusted and wanted to follow? Now, look within yourself. Have you had missteps like this? If so, how did you handle them? Did you respond in a way that evoked trust and respect or in a way that undermined your leadership?

Once you reflect and assess, I want you to take the time today to chat with your team. Have a preemptive discussion with them now, before anything happens along these lines. Let them know you understand what your role is relative to the tone and the culture. Empower them and ask them to come to you and call you out if ever they see you acting in a way that isn't true to your brand. Do this now, such that if it ever happens in the future, you can potentially recover from it and quickly right the wrong.

Remember that leaders set the tone. Make sure that each day, you are setting the tone for the culture and the pathway you want your company to follow.

Be Legendary!

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There are lots of questions coming in around the episode I did recently regarding underperformance. One such question I received was: can I not just let the person who isn't performing leave at their own pace? Can I just let them set the tone for that? My answer to that is a strong no. You set the pace when removing underperformers.

If you allow the person to set the pace, it will damage your business, plain and simple. Why? Because the bulk of underperformers want to give it "one more shot." Even people who have told you, "Boss, when you see me underperforming or if you think I can't make it on this team, please just come and tell me so I can find another position." Yes, even those people are caught off guard with their underperformance 90% of the time and will ask for more time to improve, or will ask for additional training.

Your business will be damaged by allowing that person to leave on their own terms, at their own pace, because in the interim you will lose the rest of your team. You see, you already probably told your team that part of your brand is that you are fair and consistent. (Remember, we talked about that when we introduce ourselves to our team.) But when you are not being consistent by allowing an underperformer to stay on the team, you aren't being fair. Everyone else is working hard, they are meeting or exceeding your expectations, etc. But one person isn't. Yet, you aren't paying the team more for their great performance, you aren't giving them anything extra. But the underperformer is still getting paid . . .

You start to los trust from the rest of your team. Additionally, your business is impacted because your top talent stops pushing. This won't happen right away, but it will eventually happen. Their mindset will shift and they will start to ask themselves questions like: If she isn't get rid of this poor performing person, then why am I pushing so hard? Obviously I'm going to get to keep my job. There is nothing to lose." They lower the bar!

Other times your talent leaves the company altogether. They see that you aren't living up to the brand you shared with them, you aren't asking everyone to achieve the same results, and because your team is dependent upon each other, you are costing your other team members money, through bonuses, and incentives that are being negatively impacted by one person.

For all of these reasons and probably more, you must realize and own that you set the pace when removing underperformers. It starts with the initial conversation with the underperformer calling out the gaps. You then follow your discipline policy (create the policy if you don't have it!).

Even if you don't tell your team about taking action, they will know. People love to talk. So most likely the underperforming team member will share your conversations with their peers. And even if they don't, your team will see your peer trying to improve her performance.

You shouldn't share your actions with the rest of the team, maintain confidentiality. It should only take you several months to help this individual see they cannot perform on your team and help them find another position or remove them from the company altogether.

When you set the pace, your team can trust you, they can count on you to be consistent in your expectations of each team member, and they know you will take care of them personally by removing the barriers of underperformance holding the entire team back. This is where you want to be. This is the leader you want to be and the tone you want to set. So think through this, create your plan now, and be ready to execute on it when the time comes.

Be Legendary!

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In a recent episode we addressed underperformance, but what about addressing top performers? It was a great question that was posed to me recently and I am happy to share some thoughts on it.

You see, the way that large companies, or companies that are striving to be large, tackle this is frustrating to me. It's actually one of my pet peeves. What am I talking about?

I'm talking about the fact that financial budgets are created and HR teams create rules around the bulk of your workforce being "standard." It's true. I don't want standard people on my team. I want my team to be jam-up amazing because when they are amazing, we exceeded the expectations our customer has of us. Heck yeah! That's what we are in business for!

When I have amazing people, I can leave my business in their capable hands and have the freedom I want. I can live my Legendary Life because the talent around me runs the business and I can step away. Having standard employees doesn't allow for that.

Why do corporations create expectations around their workforce being standard? They allow the budgeting process/expense planning to override what they know to be true. You see, pretty much all companies establish their budget before the end of the current fiscal year. Most large organizations finalize the following year's budget (say 2021) in October of the current year (so in the example, they would be establishing the 2021 budget in October of this year). When it's established they want to create a bucket of money to give to people relative to their performance reviews. But how do they know what to give?

Well, finance lives in a world of average, and HR creates the "bell curve" of talent, so together they create a budget that allows at least 50% of your workforce to be average. Again, what?! That kills me!

In reality, I want 50% of my workforce to be well above average. I want to pay all of my team their max bonuses. I want them to know that they are doing exceptionally well and to keep doing it. I want to give them a rating on their performance review that truly aligns with their behavior, their effort, and their results. I don't want to be pigeonholed into having to rate everyone "standard" because that's what the budget allows for. I don't want my team to feel like they gave it their all and their all was equal to someone who just showed up and their breath fogged a mirror today. No. Those are two different performance levels and we should show that in our performance reviews.

As leaders, we need to actively reward our talent for being just that, talented. We need to give them an honest review. In the same way, I have challenged you to be honest with your underperformers, you have to be honest with your top performers. It is only fair. And if "fair" is part of your brand, you have to walk the walk.

So my challenge for you today is to create an environment where you don't settle for mediocrity, you give honest feedback and praise to your top performers. You give them the monetary compensation they have earned. If that is tied to the budget, then set your budget to the highest level. Assume everyone is going to be well above the standard in your budget, and then if the reality is that not everyone is there, then don't spend it. But don't rate someone's performance as less than just because you can't afford to pay them what they earned. That is one sure-fire way to lose the talent you have.

Create a process where talent is acknowledged, celebrated, and rewarded. Your teams will continue to get better because of it.

Your challenge today is to fairly assess your top talent, give the correct feedback, and build routines to maintain this effort.

Be Legendary!

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When I interact with potential new clients, friends, even family, just like you, I get asked "what do you do?" I start talking about Legend Leaders and then I get the inevitable question: tell me more. So today's episode is to answer that question, what are Legend Leaders, what do you stand for, why do you exist, who do you help, etc.? Tell me more.

As I mentioned in yesterday's episode, Legend Leaders helps female business leaders become Legends by teaching them the business and leadership strategies they need in order to create and live a Legendary Life.

We believe every female leader is a Legend; someone other people admire for her success. At Legend, we don't define what success is, you do. And once you define it, achieving that success allows you to live your Legendary Life.

Everyone deserves to live their Legendary Life! We only get one life so don't waste it, right? But many people are miserable, not living the life they want and even worse, not believing they have earned it or deserve it. Why? Because their inner villain is keeping them down.

An inner villain is a person living inside of us that works against us on a daily basis. She whispers lies and plants seeds of doubt within us to cause us to delay, pause, or freeze. She wants us to believe that because we don't have all of the answers, we don't deserve a Legendary Life. She starts to ask questions like "Who do you think you are? Why did you think you could have this impact or get this life?" And we believe her!

But here is the thing, you CAN defeat her. The entire reason she is taking over your thoughts is that your business isn't where you want it to be. Your business is what is taking up your extra time, giving you extra stress, causing the worry and the doubt that fuels the inner villain. If we solve for that, you silence the villain and you create your Legendary Life. You just need a guide.

That's where Legend Leaders comes in. You get to benefit from my 14-years of business experience, knowing that I too have been where you are. I have had those "crying in the shower" moments where you simply feel broken and have no answers. I have overcome them and you can too!

In order to be a Legend and get the life you deserve, you have to take action. If you do that, you will have an impact on the world that only you can have, you will have a business that you are proud of, and you will have the life you have always wanted. Legend will help you create a solid plan of action to help you confidently move forward.

Without action in your business, you will have regrets (coulda, shoulda, woulda), you will miss out on the life that you were created to live, and the world will not benefit from the talents you have within you. Who wants to live like that?

Our goal is to help you build and strengthen your armor. We know each day you are fighting your own personal villain. So Legend Leaders is here to be a community, a resource, and a place to help us grow stronger together.

It's the main reason that I show up each day to give you a new podcast episode. To help you build and strengthen your armor. Because you've got this. Your journey is 100% yours, but we are here to help you win. We are here to remind you that you are a Legend. We want you to know you deserve that Legendary Life and you WILL get there.

Be Legendary!

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This is the seventh and final episode in a series focusing on how to successfully take over a new team. Today we are talking about addressing underperformance which goes hand with yesterday's episode on talent assessments.

Remember, you created this team, or you were put over this team to raise the bar and drive change. In order to do that, you have to assess your talent and have honest conversations with your team individually on where they are. Praise conversations are easy. Anyone can do those. But true Legends have fierce conversations and give candid feedback to underperformers. It will never serve you to allow underperformance to exist on your team. So how do you handle it?

The first step started between 45 days to 3 months after you took the role when you had the initial conversations regarding talent and their talent assessments. You didn't push too hard then because trust was still being built and you need to ensure when you have these conversations, they don't have to happen too early into your role. Why? Because if you have them too early, your team will blame you for their failures, instead of them owning them. So let's just avoid that and not have these conversations until at least the 3rd month you are in the role, but no later than 6 months into the role.

When you do your talent assessment you are going to know which bucket the underperformer fits into. We already talked about personal issues, that one has been solved. You simply put them on notice, asking them and encouraging them to take time away for themselves because you will be forced to deliver discipline per the discipline policy if they continue to work and underperform. At the end of the day, whatever they decide, you have to follow through on.

Now, for the underperformance due to capacity or training plans, these are true underperformance you can address. So let's talk about both.

For capacity, this is where you realize you have raised the bar in asking them to deliver to the 3-5 items as part of your brand, and they are not able to deliver on them. In either situation, capacity or training, you are going to always ask questions. You need them to give you the answers so that they too realize the same answers within themselves.

First, start with clarifying if the underperformance is coming because of your leadership. Are you not clear? Are you not given enough time to execute? Ask them if it's you/your leadership. Then quietly wait for the answer. If it's you, fix it. You can control that. Then assess their performance again.

If it's not you, ask if they need more training or tools. If they do, give it and reassess. If they don't, then ask what the issue is. Why are they underperforming?

Sit quietly and let them answer you. Make them say it. If they are asking for things or backpedaling, challenge that. Remind them that you have removed those barriers and the solutions are working, etc. Your goal, if you make it to this point, is to help them see they are the gap in the equation. If they admit that, then you have a very easy conversation about how to help them be successful on another team. If they don't admit it, remind them that you are fair and consistent and that they have to perform or you will follow the discipline policy.

Those that won't own the issue will have to be coached out of the job. They won't see it any other way.

For those that needed a training plan to address underperformance, either the plan works or it doesn't. If they can't execute the plan, they move into the "capacity" group and you go through the same pathway we just outlined.

This can and should be used with all teams regularly when you have underperformance.

Be Legendary!

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In this sixth episode in the mini-series focusing on how to successfully take over a new team, we are talking about talent assessments. How do you assess your talent and have the action-producing conversations to move your team forward?

Talent assessments. When you read this, no doubt you cringed a bit. I get it. Talent assessments are hard. Why? Because most of the time we aren't 100% honest with ourselves regarding how our direct reports are performing. We think "I will get to that later" and then we continue to avoid it. Those of us who don't do that, those of us who do talent assessments, accept the reality that once we acknowledge underperformance, we have no option but to address it. And therein lies the problem and why most people try to avoid talent assessments. Once you acknowledge a performance gap, you are obligated to deal with it. But that's exactly why I want you to do them!

When you have been in the role for at least 45 days, no earlier than this, you can sit down and do a talent assessment of your team. If you feel like 45 days isn't long enough, you can wait up to 90 days, but please don't go any longer than 3 months. You will lose a significant amount of traction if you wait.

You will never get as much momentum as you do when you create or take over a new team. So don't waste it! Talent reviews help you move your team forward and carry forward that momentum.

Relative to the talent assessment, you are going to sit down and create a list of questions you want to answer about each individual. Create a list of questions before you start the review process. This ensures you are objective relative to every question for every team member.

Questions should be focused on how well the person is engaging with you and the team. Do they speak up? Do they seek to understand your perspectives and that of the teams? Other questions should focus on their performance in the role. Are they delivering to the goals? Are they performing to the expectations of the position? Whatever generates success for your team, create those questions and then ensure you answer each question based on your observations and interactions with each team member.

Your direct reports will fall into one of five possible performance groups. 1. Underperforming due to personal issues. 2. Underperforming due to capability issues 3. Underperforming but needs a training plan 4. Solid performer. 5 Exceeds expectations beyond what you expected

The last 2 options are easy conversations. You thank them, praise them, and you push them to take themselves to the next level. It's fine-tuning their behaviors and skills at that point, and that's a fun place to be in with the people on your team.

However, groups 1-3 are where you have tough conversations. And these are the groups that cause most leaders to avoid doing talent assessments.

If you have someone who is underperforming due to personal issues, you have to find the right way to offer them PTO or LOA. However, if they refuse to take the time, you have to put them on notice that you have to be fair and consistent which means they have to perform.

If you have an underperformer due to capability, this is where you start to have conversations to help them understand they won't make it on your team. This isn't a full conversation right now, wait until at least your 3rd month in the role before tackling this one.

If you have underperformance that a training plan will solve, you take action and create a more robust plan. Realize that you can use these tools every quarter in your business to assess talent as you raise the bar. The point is to be fair and consistent.

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In this fifth episode in a mini-series focusing on how to successfully take over a new team, we are talking about training plans and touch bases. More specifically, how do you use the two to continue to build relationships and create the T-word, trust, amongst your team?

The first part of this process, training plans, is something you are going to develop within the first few weeks of being in your new role or working with your new team. You may be wondering how you could so quickly create a training plan for someone on your team that you just started working with. Where will you get this information? And will your direct report appropriately receive your desire to support them?

The answer is, they already gave you the answer. When you asked the questions during your first week, one question you asked was "what can I help you with or support you on?" The answer to that is your first action item in your training plan. If they didn't give you a very complex or a developmental answer, you are going to ask for another "how can I support you" answer during your first touch base. The bottom line is that they need to provide you with this first action item and because they provide it to you, they are going to be open to receiving your support.

Once you start running down this path with them on this first part of the training plan, you will start to discover other areas where you can support them, push them, and help them grow. This is just to get you both started and start to get traction in their leadership. Beyond the fact that this is going to allow you to see how well they adapt, learn, and adjust to the changes you are teaching them.

As for touch bases, you want to schedule these within the first two weeks of taking over this new team as well. You have to decide if you are going to have weekly or biweekly touch bases with each direct report. I would recommend that if they have all be in their roles for several years, you do biweekly touch bases. If they are new to the role, within the past year, start with weekly touch bases.

The point here is that you have to decide based on the team's specific needs. They need to see these touch bases as a time for them to teach you about what they are doing in the business, get your support, and also learn more about you and how you lead. For them to understand that, you have to tell them that. So tell them why you are holding touch bases, the purpose they serve, and therefore how often you will be holding them.

I would recommend that you schedule your touch bases for an hour at a time. If you end early, that's great. But you don't want to go over the allotted time, so schedule these in a way that allows you to end early/on time, but never late. Show them you respect them by ending on time.

Let's go back to training plans for a second. You may be thinking, how do I know what to add to their training plan next? The key here is that you will be adding areas of growth for them based on what you are observing in their performance.

You are in the role or you created this team to improve the business. That means you are going to raise the bar relative to performance expectations. When you raise a bar, some will meet it, some will exceed it, and some will not make it. What you are looking for here is to help a person grow through the changes you are making. If they are struggling or need to improve in an area, that's your training plan focus. Realize though, training plans are not focused solely on underperformance, but simply improved performance.

Think about how you can take training plans and touch bases and apply them to a new team, or even your current team.

Be Legendary!

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This is the fourth episode in a 7 part mini-series focusing on how to successfully take over a new team. Your focus in taking over a new team is to successfully build relationships, trust, to then get traction in the business. Today's episode is centered around the idea of turning insights into action.

Yesterday you created a plan on how you were going to ask your team four critical questions. Today, we are going to walk through why those questions matter, what you will do with that information once you have it back, and how you will present it back to the team. So let's go through the questions:

1. What needs to change: This is important because it's going to tell you several things. First, it's going to help you understand what might be truly broken in the business. Instead of having to wait 3-6 months to figure that out on your own, you created a shortcut.

The other perspective the answers to this question gives you is what actually needs to change relative to your team's mindset. Maybe they are asking for changes to aspects of the business that cannot change due to legal, regulatory, or compliance reasons. You will have to educate them on those pieces in order to help them accept the process for what it is.

To use this information, create a document with 2 columns, one column is titled "change needed" the other column is titled "mindset change needed." Take all of the answers and put them in the correct column. You will then need to prioritize these lists so you will know where to take action. You're not going to start with the "mindset" list right out of the gate, not usually. You do need to pick a few of the "change needed" items because this is where you will start first with your team.

1. What needs to stay the same: This helps you understand what your team is fearful you are going to change. Learn what they want to keep so you can assure them that not everything they love about their job is going to change. Beyond allowing you to be supportive, this helps you understand what will really affect them if you do make a change to something they want to keep. (Not to mention this also helps you understand if they like shortcuts or policy violations you need to correct.) Take the time to review what they have shared and pick a few things you can definitely say you will not change.

2. What do you need my help with or support on: You will use these details in your touch bases with them. It will guide your individual discussions. If there are 2 or more people needing similar help, bring it up in your recap meeting.

3. What is one thing you are proud of your team for right now: Collect this so you can celebrate and appreciate it. Additionally, if they are proud of the wrong thing, you can address that one on one and get them on the right path quickly.

Once you have assessed the answers, go back and share the details with the team. Schedule the follow-up meeting for no later than one week after the deadline you gave them.

In that meeting you are going to tell them: the first few things you will work together to change, the few things you commit to keeping the same, acknowledge what you will support them on in their touch bases, and provide praise and appreciation for what they are proud of.

What did you achieve here? Instead of waiting to get the team aligned around a common mission that you had to create after being in the role 6 months, you did it in 2 weeks. Not only that, you made the team feel heard, you had them be part of the planning, and everything you do now is because of them. They get the credit, everyone gets the results!

Take time to think through all of this and create your execution plan.

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This is the third episode in a mini-series of 7 discussing how to successfully take over a new team. Today's episode focuses on the next step in the process, gaining insight into what matters to your team.

Gaining insight into what matters to your team is important for several reasons. First, you want your team to feel heard and you need to create an opportunity to allow that to happen. Second, you need to get some quick wins, some action, and you need to have your team "all rowing in the same direction." This is how you accomplish all of those important pieces.

So let's dive into this. The first thing you are going to do is you are going to ask them a series of questions. You want each person on your team to answer the questions individually and submit them to you. Do not make this a discussion, because you are going to need to compile the details and reflect back. (Emails will serve you well here.) But I will dive into all of those details a bit later. Let's focus on the questions right now. What are you going to ask:

1. What needs to change?**

2. What needs to stay the same?**

3. What can you help with or support them on?

4. What is one thing they are proud of their team for accomplishing and delivering on right now?

**The first question, and actually the second, are questions you won't be able to ask if you are creating a brand new team. They need to be asked only to a team you are taking over because they will have had enough time in their roles to actually answer those questions.

You need to decide how you are going to introduce these questions. I would recommend you introduce them either on a call, a video or even by recording a voice note and emailing it to them. Explain to them what you are doing and why it matters in a way that they can hear your voice, your tone, and your sincerity. Then send the questions in an email. In the email, give them a deadline to turn the answers around to you, remind them to work independently, and have them reach out to you if needed.

This episode is a shorter episode because the work really comes into place after you get their answers back. That's what the next episode will walk you through, how you create your plan of action. So let's not jump into that yet.

For today, I want you to create a draft document of how you would introduce these questions to your team: what you would say, how you would phrase it, the method of communication you would use to introduce the questions, and then I want you to create the draft email with these questions being presented. Decide how much time you will allow them to think and respond.

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In episode 2 of this mini-series on how to successfully take over a new team, we are going to piggyback off of the introduction session you had yesterday with the team, introducing yourself, and in this phase, you are going to focus on team member introductions.

You have already led by example. You have shared some personal information about yourself, you have told them what you stand for as a leader, and what matters to you. Now you need to learn them. So let's talk through a few questions you need them to answer to help with that.

First, ask them to share whatever they feel comfortable sharing about themselves. It's critically important that you say "whatever they feel comfortable sharing" so they don't feel as though they have to step outside of their personal brand to share whatever you have asked them to share. This will diminish their trust in you that you are working so hard to build. So, ask them to share whatever they feel comfortable sharing about themselves.

First, before we go any further, please DO NOT play introduction games! I'm begging you! As a person who lived in the corporate world for almost 12 years, don't do it! Think about it. When you get into a relationship, what do you hate? Games. Why? Because you can't build trust with that person if they play games. But what are you trying to build with these team members? A relationship. Because you need what? Trust. So should you play a game? 👊 Boom. Now you have it.

So what should you do? Give them a few ideas to get their mind focused on the right information to share. You can put questions on a slide. On a handout. Or you can email it to them for the meeting you are going to hold tomorrow. The point is to get the questions in front of them, and then give them time to think before they have to answer. Again, help them find their comfort zone. An example prompt could be: " Tell us what you feel comfortable sharing about yourself, some ideas could be things like: your family, pets, school, sports teams, what you do for fun, etc."

The second piece of information you want them to share is something they stand for that you will see in their work. In other words, ask them about their brand. An example way to ask this is: "Tell me one thing you stand for that I will see displayed in your work." This is important because once they tell you this, you can look for it and praise it right out of the gate. Everyone likes praise, so now you have something you can immediately praise each person on. (Note: It will also help you determine if they are a good fit for your team. If they don't have something they stand for . . . do you want them on the team?)

When they share, take notes! Write down everything. Your goal is to immediately start to create a personal relationship with them. If you have more than 2 people on your team, the likelihood of you remembering everything and getting it all right in the future is not guaranteed without some notes. So take them. Hang on to them. And use them in your conversations going forward.

Also, while they are talking, please don't interrupt them. This is their time. Let them have it. If you do have a question, ask it at the end. And when you ask, be humble about it. "Hey, I have a question for you if you don't mind." Or, "I have a question, and if you don't feel comfortable answering that's ok." Give them permission to not answer. That builds respect for you and the trust they will have in you.

Today's challenge is to create this framework of how you will do team member introductions. Create it now so you have it for the future.

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This is episode 1 in this mini-series focusing on how to successfully take over a new team, hit the ground running, align everyone, and have some quick but permanent wins. Today's episode focuses on introducing yourself.

Now, I'm sure you know how to introduce yourself. "Hi, my name is Katrina and I'll be your coach today." 🤦🏻‍♀️

But no, that's not the introduction I'm talking about here. Whether you are creating a brand new team at a rapid pace or taking over an established team, your entire goal out of the gate is to build trust. If they don't trust you, you won't be successful. The faster you build trust, the faster you get business results. It truly does start with how you introduce yourself.

The goal of your introduction is not to focus on your work history. Either you went through an interview, they went through an interview, or they know you from other roles in the organization. No matter which one of these applies to you, the point is that they know your work history most likely. This is probably all that they really do know about you. But today's introduction isn't about your work experience. Today is the day you are going to become human in their eyes. And they need to see you as a human so they can trust you.

In this introduction, you are focused on helping them understand who you are, what you stand for, and what matters most to you.

First, share whatever you feel comfortable sharing about yourself as a person. It has to be personal, but you can't share so much that it takes you outside of your comfort zone. They need to get to know you and your brand through this conversation. So if you feel comfortable talking about a spouse, kids, pets, the school you went to, the music you listen to, overall family dynamics, etc. then share it. Whatever you share will help them connect with you on a personal level.

This is critically important because you want them to be able to identify with you and find something you have in common. Why? Because then you are human and when you are human and there is a connection. When there is a connection, this becomes the foundation of trust. And again, that's the point!

After you introduce yourself as a person, then tell them how you make decisions as a leader. This is important. They need to know the lenses you look through and the judgment you use to guide the decisions you make and therefore the action you will be taking/asking them to take. They need to know this so again, they can start trusting you. When you tell them directly: "Here is how I make decisions. I use two key elements to guide my thoughts and the path I will take us down," and then you tell them the two and why they are important to you.

BOOM! You eliminated fear and filled the knowledge void that existed in their minds. Now they don't have to wonder what hair-brained idea you are going to present to them tomorrow. They know how you think. No guesswork. No surprises.

The last piece you will cover in your introduction is to tell them 3-5 things you stand for as a leader. Tell them your brand. Tell them what matters most to you and what they will see you continually focus on in your leadership. Again, it's all about filling the void in their minds. No surprises. Once they know these 3-5 things matter, many team members will start focusing on those 3-5 things from that point forward. Now you just got some immediate traction too!

So, now you know a solid way to introduce yourself to your new team in a way that provides clarity, builds trust and starts to create momentum. Your challenge today is to create a framework to use in the future when you are introducing yourself to a new team/member.

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Do you know what KPIs are? Are you using KPIs to take targeted action?

If you have been in business for at least a few years now, no doubt you have heard of KPIs (key performance indicators). But sometimes, business leaders get to a point in their career that when they hear something they think they should know, but they don't know it, so then they avoid learning it. It's the craziest thing! It becomes a pain point that makes them feel like they don't know what they are doing in their business.

KPIs are values you measure in your business that tell you how effectively you are achieving your business objectives. I like to think of them as any metric that helps me understand the success or misses in my business, the impact a new launch or new initiative is having on my business or something that reflects a change in volume going through my business.

An example of a KPI you probably already have in place is measuring your sales performance to your financial plan, be it monthly, quarterly, annually, or all of the above. How you are performing to that sales plan is a KPI. It tells you how well you are achieving the sales business objective.

Of course, there are financial KPIs, customer service KPIs, internal measures around production time by team, hand-off times between teams, etc. Anything you can measure in your business, you can make it a KPI if it reflects a business impact. The key though is that the KPIs you put into place has to be reflective of your business. You can't take someone else's KPIs and apply them 100%, as there will always be some differences from one business to the next. So make the KPIs are your own.

Once you have established your KPIs, you have to decide how you are going to measure them. Where is the data going to come from, can it be validated and trusted, can it be accessed regularly? Then you have to decide when you are going to review the KPIs to understand what they are telling you. Build a routine around reviewing and interpreting them.

Last but most certainly not least, is for you to take action on your KPI results. For each part of the business, you have to understand why the results are what they are. Once you understand how you go through those results, you either have to replicate them or improve upon them. Either pathway requires you to understand how you are currently getting the results you are seeing so you know what to keep, what to change, and what to improve upon.

If you didn't know what KPIs were before this podcast, now you do! So take what you have learned, decide what KPIs you want to establish in your business, finalize the data, establish when you will review them, then review and take action. Use your KPIs to push your business forward and take targeted action.

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Have you ever worked for or with someone who simply doesn't care to know the details of a business, a process, or a decision? Are you one of those leaders? If you have ever worked with someone like this, you already know what I am about to say. If you are one of those leaders, this may come as a surprise but either way, it's true, lack of details results in a lack of trust.

Wait! What?! Yes, you read that right.

Now you may be thinking, "I am a leader who doesn't care about the details. I hire people to know them and I trust them to handle it. I give them lots of trusts and that's a good thing." First, let me agree with you in the fact that yes, having trust in your team is indeed a good thing. And your team will and does appreciate that. But what comes with that trust is a level of responsibility that shouldn't exist for an employee.

That responsibility is an internal responsibility that that employee now feels to ensure you know all of the key details before you make a promise, sign a contract, or commit to doing some extra "something" in your business that actually can't be done. In other words, they are trying to save you from yourself. And no employee should have that responsibility.

What happens after an employee feels this level of responsibility is one of the most dangerous events that can happen to you as a leader, they start questioning your judgment and your ability to lead your own company. (Gasp!) 😳 Yes, it's true. They move from feeling trusted, to feeling responsible, to then starting to question if you know enough about your own company to make the critical company decisions.

Once they go from questioning your judgment, the next phase they step into is failing to execute your direction. Why? Because they feel like they have to be the gatekeeper on all other decisions you have shared with them, so they now feel that "responsibility" to ensure the direction you gave is sound, doesn't have flaws, and truly is best for the company. So they start picking and choosing what they execute and what they don't. Now you have lost your team because no one is following your leadership and everyone is rowing in their own direction.

So, how do you prevent this? Or worse, how do you get your team back to trusting you and believing in your leadership? First, you have to acknowledge that you are causing this behavior within your team. If you don't care about the details they are going to see you as not knowing enough to make the critical decisions and feel like they have to make sure all decisions are the right ones. So take that responsibility away from them. Learn the basic fundamentals of the business.

Second, clarify with them specifically when you are acting "outside of the details" and brainstorming with them because you trust them, vs. when you are giving direction. This ensures they know there are key times when you interact with them in both capacities. In turn, this will ensure they trust your direction and know when you are brainstorming with them vs. when you are giving direction.

Today's challenge is to truly think about how you show your team your level of understanding relative to the details of your business. If you love details, you are good. If you know the details but simply ask questions here or there to your trained team to confirm they know the details (trust but verify), you are good. If you give direction, set guardrails, and approve the end result, you should be good as well. But staying completely out of key details and not understanding the business is risky. Know the risks of "trust" that result in extra responsibility for an employee and ultimately a lack of execution on their part.

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Have you taken the time to update your procedures to reflect today's work? You know what I am talking about. All of the changes that have happened in our businesses now that we work remotely. Have you adjusted your standard operating procedures (SOPs) to reflect the way in which you expect those functions to be done at this point?

Before I jump right into this, maybe we should talk about SOPs in general. Hopefully, you have them. They are critical for the success of your company. You should be writing SOPs for any procedure that should be done consistently from one person to the next within your business. SOPs exist in all companies. They are written in such a way that anyone can walk in, read the document, and perform the task. They allow for improved training as well as consistency in execution. Ultimately, we want every customer to receive the same level of service no matter who they work with within your organization, right? SOPs accomplish that.

So, if you haven't created SOPs for your business, please create them! Sit down and put time on your calendar each month to review which SOPs need to be created and which should be updated. (As you get bigger, someone else should own this process, you just simply need to confirm it's being done.).

If you have SOPs, good job! Now you need to adjust them to reflect the changes you have made since we have created these new ways of working. If you are mostly an online business, you may not have had too many changes. But maybe you integrated a new process for some project management software, like Basecamp for example. If you added a new tool to use if you changed communication methods, reporting tools, etc. you need to update or create SOPs around those changes.

If you are a brick-and-mortar business, you have a lot more changes to make no doubt. Creating new procedures around cleaning standards, employee safety, limiting the number of people into your facility, maybe even not allowing people in at all, changing the way your employees interact face to face with your customers or clients, etc.

For example, I took our new kitten to the vet last night. Gone are the days (at least for now) of going inside to check-in, waiting for a room, etc. Upon arrival, we called and checked in. The tech came to the car to complete the paperwork. She then took our kitten inside to see the vet. They did the full exam and the vet came to my car to talk to me. She gave me the full rundown, gave me the results, etc. Then the front desk called my phone and I paid over the phone. Once that was done, they brought the receipt and the kitten back to me. I never left the car.

Can you already see the number of procedures they have had to document and change just through that basic office visit process? Not to mention that every employee had on a mask so they will have to document those safety procedures, right? It's a lot.

But it's the right thing to do, right? No matter your business venue, updating your SOPs helps every employee understand how to successfully and safely perform their job.

As an aside, should you ever want to have a disciplinary discussion or take disciplinary action relative to an employee's performance, having SOPs is a fair way to ensure expectations have been set and shared (which is your job) and therefore employees know exactly what to do to be successful (their job)?

Please schedule some time now to review, edit, change, update, and create your SOPs in your business; update your procedures to reflect today's work. Not only that, please add a planner to your calendar once a month so you can always stay on top of the changes in your business that supports your team members.

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So a few episodes ago we got your mind right when it comes to creating leaders in your business. (Go back and check out episode 126 if you missed it.) But there is one question that remains, how do I create leaders? The answer is to coach to create a leader.

Right now we are busy, super busy! We are working more while working remotely than we did while working at the office. (I continue to reflect back in my mind to that recent Harvard Business Review article that says Americans are now working 3 hours more a day while remote than they did in the office.) So no doubt we are stressing and feeling like we have no time.

Then, along comes Katrina and this crazy podcast and she's telling me to spend 30 minutes on a conversation "teaching" a person on my team how to solve this problem when it would take me 5 minutes to fix it myself. I get it. I get your perspective. But let's talk about mindset for just a second.

You are running a marathon in your business, not a sprint. You are fighting a war, not just one battle. Each time you take "5 minutes to fix it yourself" over the long run, you are going to spend 5 minutes here and 5 minutes there and that's going to add to hours of work you didn't need to do. It's also going to prevent you from taking vacations as we talked about in the past, because no one can solve those problems but you. So how do you overcome all of this?

You coach to create a leader. When a problem arises, no doubt your team member will come to you and share the problem with you. Instead of simply saying "let me fix it," ask them how they want to fix it. So step one, ask them for their solution.

If they don't have one, send them off to think about a solution and come back to you. (Remember, this is for non-fire situations.) Depending on the issue, you may allow them the rest of the day to formulate a plan, you may give them a few days, or you may only give them a few hours. But send them off to think about it. Do not brainstorm with them, make them come back to you with something. Also establish how they will follow up with you (email, phone call, text, etc.)

When they come back with their idea, or if they had an idea, to begin with, your role now is to listen and to ask questions. You're not suggesting. You're not "fixing," you are listening and asking. They should be able to tell you what their solution is, why this is the best path, and how it works. If they don't answer those pieces, only then ask questions to get all of the details.

Once you have a full understanding of their proposal, you have to decide if you let them proceed or if the idea simply won't work (the solution is too risky, it doesn't actually solve the problem, etc.). As long as the solution they come to you with gets to the right endpoint, within the right timeframe, and it doesn't present an unacceptable risk, support them in executing their solution. Tell them to go try it.

Establish when they will give you an update or follow up with you on the progress of the plan. If it is something that can be solved in a few days or hours, tell them: when to follow up with you with the results, the details you want them to share with you, as well as the method of communication. If it is a longer term project, you can ask them to give you updates in their touch base.

Not until the project is complete or they are running into problems do you provide them with feedback on "how it could have been better." You want them to take action without waiting for approval in the future, this won't happen if you tweak every plan in the beginning.

Try this strategy the next time someone brings a problem to you. This is the first step in creating leaders around you.

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Public speaking. For some of you, you love it. For others of you, your hands have already started to sweat and your mouth is dry just reading those two words. No matter how you feel about public speaking, I think we can all agree that a great leader doesn't always equal a great public speaker. Am I right?

Think about players on a sports team. They can't speak to the media but they are amazing at leading their team to a victory. But let's say you are not a sports figure but a business owner, because hey, that's what we are. And say you want to do some webinars or teach a small group, but you are terrified. While the world around you is saying, "Oh Katrina your business is so awesome, you can go talk about it in front of people!" in that "what's wrong with you" tone, right? These are the people that don't do public speaking!

So let me help you out a little here. In my corporate career, it was simply expected that the higher you went up in the ranks, the more public speaking you would need to be prepared to perform. Be it in a large company meeting, at a charity event, at a community event, etc. if you were there to represent the company or your area of the business, chances are you would be asked to speak. So knowing that I had to get over any fear I had super fast. How did I do it?

First, it all starts with mindset. Let me share with you what I have told myself and my clients over the years.

• Everyone is terrified because they feel like the group is full of strangers and they get fixated on the idea that people they don't know will be judging them.

Remember that no matter the event, you are going to know people in the room, be it, people, you work with or have just met. You may even have someone you invited to join you in your webinar to support you. Either way, you have at least one person that you know in some capacity. Instead of focusing on who you don't know, focus on who you do know. Talk to them in your mind while you are speaking. Realize they are there cheering you on, supporting you, and having your back. Not everyone is a stranger.

• What if I make a mistake and everyone realizes it?

Ok, we all make mistakes. Here's the key point: who is going to know if you made a mistake besides you? No one. Not one person. You are the expert in the room. So be the expert! If you make a mistake or misspeak, no one is going to know but you. And if you do misspeak, simply say something like I do in one of the many podcast episodes: "Hold on, let me try that again." Do you think that I don't know what I'm talking about when I say that? Of course not. So no one will think that if you correct yourself. The point is that one else is going to correct you, even those friends that are in the room with you, so don't stress.

Second, if you don't have a mindset barrier it could be a skill set. You may feel very comfortable speaking in front of a group but you're just not quite sure how to connect with people or present information in a way that will be impactful. Skillset. So let's go through a few things you need to do in order to present your topic effectively:

1. Meet people where they are. Identify what their issues are and speak to them.
2. Identify with them. Show them you have been there too.
3. Tell then how you got from where they are now to where you are
4. Teach them something

Your challenge today is to think through these pieces. Is it mindset, skillset, or both that you may want to think through and adjust a little bit, all in an effort to make you a great leader AND a great public speaker? Next, try it!

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Yesterday we did the hard work of listing out all of the work we do within our business under two headers, CEO work or employee work. If you didn't do that yet or you haven't listened to that episode (127), go check it out now and come back! Because today we are going to talk about conducting your time audit.

Yes, I know. Ugh. Time audit. Who likes those? Doesn't it just sound scary? Are you almost to the point where you don't even want to listen to this episode because it just sounds so laborious and time-consuming? I get it! But stick with me. I promise it's going to be worth it!

You need to do this time audit because while you have a list of your work, you don't know how much time you are spending on each function. One list may be longer than the other, but just because there are more "to-dos" on one side, doesn't mean that's where you are spending the bulk of your time. This is why you need the time audit.

Here is what I want you to do. Spend time today, about an hour, with your calendar. I want you to take ALL of the items you listed on your worklist from yesterday and I want you to put all of those functions on your calendar. Yes, I want you to officially schedule them. 5 minutes, 10 minutes, it doesn't matter. Whatever the function is and how long you think you take to do it, put it on your calendar. I want you to do this for every single workday for the next two weeks. Yes, two weeks. Map it out. Invest the time now, the results are going to be so impactful!

Tomorrow, go through your day just as you have it listed on your calendar. Also, find a piece of paper, use a note app on your phone, whatever you prefer, but use the same method for the next two weeks to write down two key pieces of information:

• anything that comes up in your day that wasn't on your calendar and how long you spent on it
• anything that took longer than what you scheduled or less than what you scheduled

Can you just make these adjustments to your calendar? Yes, but sometimes adding and adjusting the calendar is painful so minimally keep a list.

At the end of the two weeks, look back on the calendar and your notes. What did you learn? Are you doing tasks and work that you didn't have listed on your "work list?" Did you discover patterns with employees needing you or customer issues that you can solve for? No doubt you did find some patterns and some misses.

Now for the big reveal. Total up all of the hours for every function you listed under the "CEO work" header and then do the same for all of the functions you would qualify as "employee work." Now, you did this over a 2 week period, so divide those totals by 2. This should give you the average for a workweek.

Where are you spending your time? How much time are you spending being the CEO and how much time are you spending being an employee? No doubt this is eye-opening!

So now the next question for you is, how fast could you grow your business if you weren't the rate-limiting step? What if you could hire someone to do all of the employee work for the number of hours you need them each week? Because guess what? Now you know the work you need them to do AND you know how many hours a week you need them. 🥳

You can also then decide, once you remove employee work from your schedule, if you want to fill that time back up with CEO work or if you want to hire someone to help with that too, such that you can cut back on working all of these hours during a workweek. You have choices! This time audit gave you clarity on where you're spending your time, what you need to hire for, and it gave you choices. Totally worth the effort, right?

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We spend a significant amount of time, especially in the early phase of our business, trying to answer the question: are you the CEO or an employee today? Each day we wake up to a list of tasks, functions, and responsibilities to tackle in our roles. Each day it's us against the work, trying to figure out what we can do, what we must do, what we can pass off, or what we can hold out on until later.

So my question for you today is where are you spending your time? Are you working on your business or in your business?

For me, I would define the function of working on my business when I am doing things like hiring team members, training people, working on creating and validating my vision, thinking through and mapping out business strategies, or creating new business lines within my company. In other words, the work I have listed here is more thought and people-leadership-centered. I consider those functions more of a "working on my business" action than working in my business. And in essence, these are the key actions that CEOs take and deliver upon in their roles.

Conversely, answering emails, answering the phone for basic client inquiries, running data or numbers, pulling reports, packaging products, etc. are actions I would consider the responsibility of an employee. Those are pieces we can easily train someone to do. They have to be done. They are valuable and critical to the business, but someone else but you can do them. These are functions I would consider as "working in my business" types of actions.

Realizing now that there are two hats you wear in your business currently, I want you to sit down and do an activity. This is your challenge for the day. I want you to define what CEO work or "working on your business" means to you and then I want you to define what employee work or "working in your business" means to you. Create definitions for both of these work groups.

Then take a piece of paper and create two columns, one for CEO and one for the employee.

I want you to take at least 10 minutes to think about all of the work you do within your business. When an idea comes in your head, write it down under one of the columns on the paper. Is that action CEO work or is it employee work? List it accordingly. At the end of the exercise, you should have two lists of work actions you perform in your business.

Now, what is your list showing you? When you look at the finalized list you should have a better understanding of how you would answer the question: are you the CEO or an employee of your company? Are you surprised by all of the work that you do? Are you surprised at which list is longer, which column has the most information in it?

Reflect on this for a period of time today. What does this mean to you? How do you feel you are pushing your business forward now seeing this list?

Listen in tomorrow (episode 128) to hear how to use this list to do a time audit of your work week. While the list of functions may be shorter or longer for one of the work groups, where you spend your time is going to ultimately tell you how productive you are being as the CEO.

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There are always a thousand things we feel like we need to focus on as business leaders. But one of the most important focuses you can have is to be in the leadership creation business.

What in the heck is that? Said differently, you should be focused on developing people around you to help lead your organization. That should be one of your primary focuses.

However, I have seen women who refuse to grow leaders within their organizations. As I have worked with them, supported them, and befriended them, I have learned that there are two main reasons for their adamant refusal to be in the leadership creation business.

Either they are afraid to develop leaders because they feel responsible for their business and feel as though they are abdicating responsibility if they hand anything over to someone else. Or, they feel as though they haven't arrived and they haven't "earned the right" to have someone help them with the heavy lifting.

Now, we are all responsible for our businesses. That's a fact. They are our babies in a lot of ways and no doubt you remember when you left your child, if you have children (or even your fur baby), with someone else for the first time. It was scary! But we soon realized that everything was fine and while no one will ever do it quite like us, nothing bad happened. It's the same with our businesses. Yes, we are responsible for them. But being responsible doesn't mean that we are the only ones who can make decisions, provide direction, or do the work correctly.

I am going to challenge you to change your mindset if this is one of your fears. Part of being responsible means we are responsible for serving all of the clients who need us. Part of being responsible is also not being the rate-limiting step in the business. It's your responsibility to teach others how to successfully support your business/clients so that you can serve more people. It's also your responsibility to find those individuals whose gift is to be amazing in your business! They need you just as much as your clients do. So instead of seeing your business as your responsibility to keep safe and protect, shift your mindset to see it's your responsibility to step out of your own way and allow others to help you get your gift to the world.

Beyond that, if you feel as though you "haven't earned the right" to be in the leadership creation business. Meaning, you have to prove your worth. You are questioning if you are supposed to be at the table if your business is a viable business, or even if you feel you have to prove that you know the answers and know how to do things within your business. Let me take that load off of your shoulders.

My dear, by having your business and serving at least a handful of clients, that act alone has proven your worth in the business world, if ever you had to prove it. You have already earned the right to be where you are, there is nothing left to prove. Be kind to yourself. You are amazing and you are doing a great job. You have earned the right to not be the answer to everything within your business. Change your mindset.

Instead of focusing on "earning the right" focus on helping others prove how amazing they are. Develop those individuals around you to make good decisions, lead with a purpose, create projects and execute on them, etc. Most of us on some level feel like we have something to prove. Help those amazing individuals you have hired accomplish something big. If you don't, if you don't help those around you learn, grow, and contribute, they will leave your organization.

So my challenge for you today is to change your mindset, if needed, be kind to yourself, and be in the leadership creation business.

Be Legendary!

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I have to be honest, lately, I have felt a little stuck when it comes to my business. To me, being stuck means knowing I need to push past something but just not quite able to do it. This episode is focused on getting unstuck in your business. My goal is to share with you how I get stuck and the actions I am taking to get "unstuck" such that maybe you can do the same.

So what am I stuck on? It's the tactical work for me, not strategic work. I can spend hours on end brainstorming and problem-solving within my business and with clients. I love it and I thrive on those pieces of the business. Tactical work to me is things like copywriting and advertising. Yes, you have heard me say it a thousand times, but it's true.

I'm not a fan of copywriting. Or creating advertisements. I don't feel like either of those aspects of the business are pieces that I am gifted at. So I tell myself I can't and then I avoid them. But when it comes down to it, I'm not being honest with myself. I am limiting my ability and I am causing myself to get stuck because of my mindset.

I tell myself things like, "Katrina you don't know how to write, much less adjust your voice to your audience and get action out of an email you send." Do you see that? Three things I have told myself I can't do. So what has happened? I'm frozen. I'm stuck. Because my mindset is wrong. So how have I overcome this one recently?

I have to tell myself the truth. These words are not the truth. I simply have to look back on my life, both personally and professionally, to remind myself that I am being less than honest.

When I was in pharmacy school I worked for GlaxoSmithKline as an intern and then as a consultant. My job was to take clinical trial information and write abstracts and posters for physicians who wanted to present their clinical trial data at various conferences. I helped publish, and therefore was published myself, over 20 posters. 20 posters! Seriously? And I am telling myself I can't write. Come on!

Then I told myself that I can't adjust my voice to mirror my audience. Not true. As a pharmacist, I had to listen to patients and adjust my response to their needs. I couldn't speak to them "like a pharmacist" I had to speak to them and educate them based on their level of understanding and need. I also toured hundreds of stores in my career, meeting and building connections with employees. To do that, I had to adjust my messaging, my tone, and my approach to each person on the fly. So of course I can adjust my voice to mirror my audience. I've done it.

And last but not least, I have told myself that I can't get action out of emails that I have sent. Hello! I have led multiple teams throughout my career. I have given direction, set expectations, provided motivation, and generated action from thousands of emails. I. Have. Done. This.

So by looking back at my life and eliminating the lies I have told myself by remembering my truth, I can adjust my mindset. The next step is to look at the skillset. I have already proven through experience that I have the skillset to write. But let's say I didn't, at this point I would go and find a coach or take an online course on copywriting. And as an aside, I'm opting into tons of copywriting tools and training just to further build my skills and confidence.

So, that's how I am getting unstuck in my business. Are you stuck? Are you addressing your mindset and then closing any skillset gaps? Doing this will move you forward.

Be Legendary!

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Today's episode is all about me being the little voice in the back of your head that reconfirms what you already know you need to do. Yep, answering the question: how is your recovery game plan performing?

You see, it's the middle of May. We all created our recovery game plans at the beginning of the month. Why? Because we will NOT fail! We created our game plans and we got to work. And at this point, we have 2 weeks worth of data to tell us how our plans are doing. So today you should have time already booked on your calendar to review the results from the past two weeks; the internal business metrics as well as the customer satisfaction and feedback metrics.

No doubt this is on your calendar and there would be no way you would prioritize anything above it, right? 😏 Well, just to be safe, let me be that little voice just a little bit longer.

We have to ask the hard questions and we have to go one step further and find the answers. That's our role in our companies. That's what we own and that's what we must do if we want to be successful. We ask the hard questions. We question every piece of every detail. Then we go one step further and we find the answers.

We are going to find the answers to the tough questions because that's where we know our success lies. We already believe we are successful, we know it within ourselves. Our mind is right. Now we have to take the action to deliver upon it. Asking the tough questions and finding the answers to those questions is what separates us from the rest of the world. We do the tough work because failure isn't an option. Not because failure is a bad thing, but because we are determined to rise above it and have successful businesses. We know the world needs our gifts, so we are going to strive to find the answers, overcome the barriers, and get our gifts out there to the people who need us.

So, now that I have jogged your memory, having been the little voice in the back of your head reconfirming what you already know, go get it done. Go do what sets you apart. Ask the questions. Find the answers. Then answer the question: how is your recovery game plan performing? Based on the answers, keep what is working, adjust what isn't. Be agile. Do all of those things. Keep pushing. You will be successful. You already are!

Be Legendary!

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One of my friends asked me the other day, "Katrina, what are the mental enemies of success?" It started off as a simple conversation where we were giving each other updates about our families and businesses, and then she hit me with this. And if you have learned anything about me by listening to my other episodes, you know that when someone asks me a question like that, I have to think and then provide what I would consider at least a somewhat reasonable answer, right? 🤣

So let me tell you what I shared with her. I think that mindset is everything when it comes to success. In order to be successful, you have to already believe you ARE successful. Think about the times that you have been successful in your past. From starting your business to getting that promotion, asking someone out on a date and them saying yes, getting the grade on an exam, making it onto a sports team. The example doesn't matter, the point is that you accomplished it because you believed you COULD!

For me, I tell myself that I can and I have. Like Tony Robbins says, you have to believe that you have already done it. Your mind doesn't know the difference between reality and fiction. So if you believe it, it's real in your mind. So believe that it is true. Believe that you have already achieved success, and then you will.

So what happens when you believe that you have succeeded? Well, it helps your mind focus on getting it done and STAYING successful. Remember, you are already successful in your mind so there is no "don't let me fail" mentality it's more of a "keep winning" mentality. Because of that, there's no room for the mental enemies to creep in.

What are the mental enemies? Things like self-doubt, overwhelm perfection. I'm sure you can list at least 2 or 3 more but those are the big ones for me.

So how do you believe you are already successful in order to ward off the enemies of success? I simply establish what success looks like. I establish a realistic goal of what success is for a given situation. When I started Legend I told myself that success would be when I started running ads to educate people about Legend and how we can help them. I created timelines around when it would happen, realizing that there was a lot of work that had to be done in order to launch the ads. I kept the timelines fair but tough, I mapped out the work that had to be done in order to launch the ads, and each day I went to work.

How did I do that? I did it with a source of pride because in my mind, I was already successful. All I had to do was tell people how I was going to impact their lives. I was already good at doing it, I had already done it successfully in the past, and I established a reasonable vision of what success was relative to launching Legend. So I got to work and believed I could and quite frankly, I believed I already had.

The other action I took, and Tony Robbins says you should do this as well, is I made myself experience the excitement, the pride, the joy, and the exhilaration of having officially launched my business to the world. I did this before I officially achieved success. In other words, I anchored my success in feeling those emotions as a means of driving me forward. Each day I felt those emotions and used them to help me to continue to BE successful.

So what are you struggling with relative to your success? Sit down today and establish what success looks like. Feel all of the emotions related to that success. Wake up each day telling yourself you HAVE succeeded. Do this so that the mental enemies have no chance to creep in and take over. Watch yourself thrive as a result.

Be Legendary!

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As leaders, we are constantly having conversations with our team; some conversations are casual and some conversations deliver direction. Recently, I was asked how I deliver messages that generate action within my team. I honestly had to think about it for a minute. This episode is the result of that thoughtful "minute" as I walk you through how I deliver direction to my team where I expect action.

For me, the first thing I have to do is define the situation. Is this a business growth situation or a fire? Defining the situation sets the tone for how I deliver the message and everything I do thereafter. So let me walk you through how I handle both of those.

A growth situation allows me to schedule a meeting, present the idea to the team, and give time for them to provide feedback on the front end. Why do I do it that way? Because the second piece I have to tackle as a leader is knowing my team.

How does each person on my team want to be led? As the leader, I'm responsible for knowing that and leading in that way. Understanding that some people need no details but a deadline, some need all of the steps, some need time to think it through, and some need time to talk it through, I have to present the business growth message in a way that allows for all of that. Why? Because I want team buy-in. So how do I deliver on all of that?

I schedule the meeting. I talk through the project, the whys, and I set expectations. “I want an email or a phone call with questions, suggestions, or confirmation you are on board by X date.” This those who need time to think it through that time. It also presents the option to communicate with me to those that need that communication pathway.

Everyone has to communicate with me by the deadline I set, even if it’s just an email that says “I’m on board.” I establish and expect 100% communication from everyone by the deadline.

I establish a follow-up meeting date and I share that date with them on the front end so they know when we are getting back together to finalize the plans and start executing on them. (No surprises for my people who don't like surprises.). And then I have to be the leader that has time available on my calendar to respond to those emails and calls, listen, answer questions, and be open to feedback.

When the next meeting rolls around, I present the overall strategy we have come up with based on everyone's comments and feedback, and I expect the team to move forward and execute based on the established timeline. Action is now expected and because I have respected each person and their needs, they go execute.

Now, if this is a business fire situation, I don’t allow for feedback on the front end. There isn’t time for that in a fire, which I define as a one-off rare situation. I provide clear, stepwise direction, I explain the whys, and I ask for immediate execution. I clarify that this is direction, not suggestion, and that action must be taken as I have outlined it. I establish the feedback discussion after the problem has been solved by calling a COE (correction of errors) meeting so we can learn how to deal with the same situation better in the future.

In the initial discussion, I clarify the 2-3 reasons why I would need immediate feedback that should stop our action. For example, if the plan I presented to them is going to damage the brand, the customers, or is a legal issue, stop the action and push back. Otherwise, go execute and save the process improvement feedback for the COE meeting. (I’m assuming my plan doesn’t put them in harm's way either or I would add that as the 4th reason to give immediate feedback.)

Your challenge today is to think about how you deliver messages to your team. What is at least one new tactic you can apply to your next meeting?

Be Legendary!

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All of these memes continue to float around, you know the ones: “I’m coming out of quarantine with a new business.” I love the attitude! But how do you actually create a side hustle while working remotely? It may seem like you have a lot of time, but do you really?

In conversations with friends and neighbors, many people see this as a time to not just improve their current business but a time to actually start their own business for the first time or start a second business. And yet, they aren’t having much luck in finding the time to get it all done. I have realized through these conversations that they think they have time available that they don’t actually have. All of this "extra time" hasn't really shown up. That combined with no clear plan on what to learn or to do on a given day has set them up to feel the frustration they are living in right now.

Because people starting a side hustle already have a primary job, their 9-5 is full. However, they are setting mental expectations like expecting to get some side hustle work done during a 30-minute break between “day job” meetings in the. morning. But then in that 30-minute time slot, they have to handle additional phone calls or emails for that job.

Before starting the side hustle, they were taking normal breaks throughout the day; mental breaks, lunches, dinner, and family time. Now in their minds, they are committing that time to their side hustle work. But when those times arrive during the day, they can’t get the work done because they do need a break, or they do need some family time.

The overall point is that trying to squeeze this in won’t work. You have to be efficient with your time during the day, continue to take your breaks and lunches, continue to have family time, and find time between these pieces to work on the side hustle. You have to create actually dedicated, scheduled time that you can commit to this new business venture. At the same time, you have to take care of yourself and your family. You have to deliver to your day job. And when you do sit down to work on your side hustle, you have to have a clear plan of what you are working on and what you will accomplish each day.

If you are creating a new business venture while still maintaining your current company or your current job, be smart. Don’t get frustrated with the lack of time. Realize that the clock doesn’t stop ticking when the quarantine ends. It takes time to launch a side hustle. Give yourself the time that is necessary to make it successful. Set yourself up for success. Schedule dedicated time where it can honestly fit during your day and create a plan on what you are going to tackle each day so you can move this side of business forward.

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When you hear “start where you are,” do you get excited or scared? Does it make you feel like a weight has been lifted or placed squarely on your shoulders?

You know yesterday I finally got around to putting a desk together for my middle child. It had been sitting in the house for two weeks. I had delayed because I didn’t want to get into a project I knew I wouldn’t be able to finish. Who wants a half-finished piece of furniture in the house? So I waited. I waited until knew I had the time and the ability to focus on getting it completed and put together correctly. But isn’t that how we treat our business ideas too?

If we can’t commit all of our time and we can’t get it done perfectly, we don’t want to do it. In a world where we work diligently to show everyone we are 100% put together, we don’t want to show the world anything otherwise. You know in my corporate career I would have my suit tailored, the. jewelry, the hair, make-up, shoes; all of it had to be just right. I had to show the world perfection in order to be taken seriously, or so I thought. Many of us think that way. So why would we start a business only to immediately show the world our imperfections?

Starting a business or growing our business, taking the next step in pushing our business forward, takes time, it’s imperfect, and it shows the world just how imperfect we are. Lots of fears there! But you know what, we can’t approach starting a business like putting together a piece of furniture. There are going to be days we won’t get it right and there will be emails that will go out with a missing word. But people like to see us as human. So mistakes are ok. And we can’t approach our business with an all-or-nothing attitude.

We have to start where we are. We have to start! We have amazing ideas and gifts the world needs us to share. Waiting for the perfect day or the day we are perfect in knowing all things about the business we are in just won't work. It's crazy! Because that day will never come. So start where you are. The point is to simply start.

Today’s challenge is for you to start where you are. Forgive yourself right now for not being perfect and for not knowing everything. You are going to wake up each day and start working on a new piece of furniture. Eventually, it's going to look great! And remember, only you know the imperfections in that piece, while the rest of the world sees a perfectly put-together desk. Don't be so hard on yourself! Take the leap. Start the journey. Start where you are.

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Happy Mother's Day!

I have a challenge for you right out of the gate here. Today I want you to celebrate all of the women who have influenced you and your life. Yes, I'm not waiting until the end of the episode to give you a challenge, because today I have several challenges and you have to get past this challenge to get to the others.

Challenge #1: Instead of simply celebrating women who have, in any capacity, raised a child or raised you, I want you to celebrate the women who have influenced you. This year and beyond, Mother’s Day will be about celebrating women who have influenced all of us and who have made us who we are today.

If you are like me, and I’m sure you are, you have had women in your life who have impacted you outside of just your mom. Now, let me be clear. My mom is amazing. She has encouraged me and supported me and loved me through life. And I am celebrating her today, probably just like you are celebrating your mom. But let’s not stop there! Who are other women in your life that influenced you, encouraged you, and supported you? Who are the women who gave you the advice you needed to get where you are, pushed you to not be like everyone else, and gave you the tough love when you needed it?

Challenge #2: Make a list of those women. Today, send a note or pick up the phone and let that woman know how special she has been to you in your life. Celebrate the women who have influenced you. Expand the meaning of Mother’s Day today.

Challenge #3: I also want you to make a second list. (See, lots of challenges today.) I want you to make a list of the women you have influenced, encouraged, challenged, and pushed forward. Who is on your list? These are the people who are celebrating you today, whether they reach out to you or not.

Bonus Challenge: My bonus challenge for you today is this, if you’re not satisfied with your list of who you have influenced, spend the rest of the year changing that. Such that next year, Mother’s Day weekend of 2021, you pull all of those individuals together and you celebrate them and their growth. Because essentially, you are celebrating you too!

I wish all of you a very Happy Mother’s Day. Thank you for being amazing and making a difference in this world!

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It’s Saturday for me and I woke up dreaming of my next vacation. Now, I don’t know when that is going to be but I do know I’m ready! So why not start ensuring my team is ready to run the show while I'm gone? My question for you is, is your team ready for your next vacation?

Wait. 🤔 What do I need to do to ensure my team is ready you ask? Let’s talk through it.

But first, let’s remember the reason we are doing all of this prep work. Now, we can say we are preparing the team to ensure the business runs smoothly, and that’s true to a degree. However, remember that your team is running the business already each day for the most part. So, then the reason for this preparation is to ensure we feel like we can step away and unplug for a few days, right? The longer you work with your team and empower them to run the business, the less prep work you will feel like you need. So as I go through this list, be thinking about the steps you need to take with your team in order for you to have that peace of mind before you go on vacation.

Here are some suggestions, in no particular order.

As leaders and owners, we have to actually schedule the vacation in advance. No surprises/sudden days away unless it's a family emergency. Think about it this way, you have to have a target to work towards just like you work toward a milestone goal. Your team needs a date to prepare for in the same way. Picking a date, also ensures you aren't taking time away from the business when the business truly has to have you there, say during implementation or a launch.

You have to determine which activities in the business are ones that only you are doing (not ones only you can do). Teach and train the teams to do the activities only you are doing. Confirm they are doing them correctly before you leave. Now that’s one less worry you have while on vacation. (This one you can start doing now, there's no reason to delay.)

Move any standing meetings or events off of your vacation days. Reschedule them. Now you won’t feel like you need to call to check in or see how that meeting went. The meetings can wait. Again, reschedule them.

The day before you leave, send a summary email of the focus points your team needs to deliver on while you are gone. Send it around lunchtime that day, giving time that afternoon for your team to ask any questions they have before you go.

Last but not least, if you don’t have a team yet, you need to find someone who can cover the day-to-day basics while you are gone (like a virtual assistant). It will be next to impossible to unplug otherwise.

It’s never too early to prepare your team to work independently such that when you are ready to go on vacation, they are ready. What are some pieces you can be working on now? Go ahead and be working on those now so you are one step closer to being ready for your next vacation.

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How do you avoid burnout? It was a question I was asked recently. And honestly, I had to actually think about it. 🤔

Like most things in life, we each know that we handle certain decisions, scenarios, or events that come our way. We handle the daily actually. But many times we don’t truly think about them long enough to identify a pattern of HOW we handle them. It’s like when someone says “how are you so disciplined?” and you think to yourself, “I don’t know any other way.” Right? It’s simply who you are. For me, understanding how to avoid burnout is sort of like the “because I don’t know any other way than the way I do it” answer. So I had to think about it.

And I will be candid, I am not always great at avoiding burnout. What I realized when I was thinking through this answer is that I have limited my ability to put myself in burnout situations. Lightbulb! That is what this episode focuses on. What situations have you been in in the past and how do you avoid that in the future to therefore avoid burnout?

For me, it’s things like:

--Having a team of people who focus on the tasks so I can focus on the thought leadership aspects of the business that fulfill me.

--When finding an issue or a project that needs to get done, plan it out.

--Map out the functions that need to be done and work on those functions over several days/weeks/months, etc. vs. 24 hours a day for 3 days straight. Acknowledge that the work doesn’t have to be completed in only 3 days, that nothing “bad” will happen if we pace the work out.

--Identify and name the “true fires” that could present themselves in my business so I know when I absolutely have to roll up my sleeves and pitch in versus letting my team tackle the work. And once I identify those fires, I still put plans in place to decompress, spend time with family/friends, and therefore not live and breathe that project for that full period of time.

Because to me, burnout happens when I get so fully immersed in a project or task (an unfulfilling task), that I eliminate all other aspects of my life. I don’t move around, I don’t eat, I don’t read, I don’t sleep well, I delay family and friend time until after the project is complete, etc. I'm like a kid "Oh, just one more game, Mom!".

But when I give myself permission to do "just one more", what did I just do to myself? I have made myself focus on a task that isn’t fulfilling to me AND I eliminated all of the other pieces of my life that fulfill me outside of work. So that is how burnout happens to me. I’m not getting replenished by anything in my life at that point, because I’m not allowing it to happen. Now that I know that, the plans I put into place specifically prevent me from allowing that to happen going forward. Again, lightbulb moment!

So when you ask yourself how you avoid burnout, you need to first ask yourself what situations cause you to burn out in the first place? What do you do that causes burnout in your life. Identify those patterns of behavior and set yourself up to avoid those patterns in the future. I believe this is a "work in progress" activity for most of us. At least for me!

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I was recently asked how I would recommend a new program be implemented in a business. My answer was to focus on project management before implementation.

Most people do not think about it in those terms. Many of us get so excited about the end result that we forget about all of the development and planning that goes into a successful launch. In today’s episode, I try to hit the high points of project management. The goal is to share what I think about when it comes to creating a new business offering such that between my thoughts and your thoughts, you have a complete pathway.

• --Remember that you need to have someone manage the project because that's what this is, a project.
• --You need to have your endpoint in mind and work backward in your project. Where do you want to be, then create the path on how to get there.
• --Each internal team needs to understand and own their parts to the project.
• -- You need to get customer feedback so you know you are developing something they want.
• --You need to have a risk mitigation strategy.
• --You may need to have multiple phases of the project, especially if it is a brand new arm of the business that is going to be equal in size to your current business.
• --You need to establish targets, goals, and timelines for each phase, and actions that should be taken if the targets are hit or missed.

Once all of this work, and more, is completed, then you can implement it. Once you do go live, the challenge in phase 1 is for each team to track every customer that goes through your new program pathway. It’s an hourly focus for each team to ensure customers don’t get stuck at any point in the new process, identify gaps if they exist and get them fixed ASAP, and create a smooth process for the customer.

I hope Your May Recovery Plans are going well. If you are thinking about launching and implementing a new program, think about these pieces. Remember, while I know it’s a lot more fun to think about a launch or implementation and the success you expect to go with it, focus on project management before implementation.

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Did you know you can cut through information overload by selecting your mentors? Right now, I need to cut through what about you? My inbox has been blowing up these past few weeks with free webinars, classes, etc. Because of all of this free and valuable information, I have been trying to find a way to eliminate the noise and determine who I need to listen to at this point. It's the balance of not wanting to miss a valuable piece of advice that could help you solve a business problem versus being frozen because you are getting 10 pieces of advice and you don’t know which one to listen to first.

Luckily for me, and you, Amy Porterfield did a recent podcast episode on selecting your mentors. This was perfect timing for me because it definitely helped me eliminate information overload so let me share it with you so you can do the same. She said a few key things:

1. You shouldn’t have more than 3 mentors or it will stunt your business growth. This resonated with me because that's exactly what I was afraid of. Too many pieces of advice and I can't decide which one to listen to first.

2. You need to make a list of all of the people you are following. I would add to it the people you are considering following. If you are considering them as potential mentors, add them. so you can do a full consideration.

3. Find the people on your list that have created the business and life you want to create. I would also add find the people that teach in the way you learn. In order words, this is now your lens to look through to determine who you should be following. Very simple, three criteria to consider. Do they meet all 3 for you, if yes, they stay on the list?

4. Eliminate the rest that doesn’t meet that criteria and those are your mentors. I would tell you that if you have more than 3 still on the list, decide who your mentors will be this year based on where you are in your business and your personal growth. You can rotate them out once you take yourself to the next level. Whatever works for you in order to get your list down to 3 is the ultimate point.

5. This last point was super important and yet super obvious. Amy said once you have selected your 3, listen to them! Let their guidance actually guide you. Lightbulb moment, right? There’s no need to freeze and question and wonder if you should do what they are recommending at this point. You have already done this exercise to help you confirm why you should follow them and have confirmed that they are your mentor. The doubt has been eliminated. So now listen to them and get to work!

This was super helpful for me. I expect it will be for you too! Spend the time today deciding who your mentors are so you can listen and take action on their guidance.

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Did you know you can push past your frustration with a list? While you have been hanging in like a champ, pushing through and making it happen in business and in life, no doubt there may be a little frustration and exhaustion setting in at this point. You may be asking yourself, “Is this ever going to end?” You have been working, cooking, cleaning, teaching, leading, remodeling the house, landscaping, serving others, and the list goes on. So no doubt you may be a little frustrated and/or exhausted!

If you are in this space right now, allow yourself to be human today. Many times we push ourselves to ignore those emotions. We feel like they are emotions that prevent us from succeeding, so instead of feeling them and working through them, we push them out of our minds. If you are frustrated, mentally exhausted, or simply need a break, it is ok to feel those emotions today. But not only are you going to feel them, but I also want you to work through them.

Make a list of all of the things you have learned from March until May. What have you learned about yourself, your family, your business, the world, humanity, cooking, gardening, walking, healthcare, the environment, etc.? Nothing is too small to put on the list. Everything that comes into your mind while brainstorming goes on the list. Spend about 30 minutes reflecting and making your list today.

Then, after you have made your list, take an hour or more to get away from everyone (ask your spouse to watch the kids), and go spend some time alone. You may have started out in a negative place today, but once you have the list, you have changed your mindset from frustration to appreciation. Then the hour or more away will allow you to further reflect on your learnings and simply rest.

If you are in a tough spot today, feeling like people continue to ask something of you and that you have very little left to give, let’s change your mindset and take a little break. You can push past frustration with your list and then come back ready to be the business owner, leader, entrepreneur, spouse, parent, friend, etc, you want to be.

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Yesterday I spent time listening to some training, some podcasts, and some live webinars learning more so that I could be more and do more in Legend.  Did you know that you can grow your business by knowing yourself?  I think maybe I knew that on the surface, but after I spent time yesterday doing the Love-Hate Matrix by Grace Lever, it became a true reality for me.

The Love-Hate Matrix is an exercise whereby you list all of the functions, tasks, execution points, etc. that exist in your business. Then you place all of those items on a grid depending upon if you are good/bad at the task as well as if you like/hate doing it.  Once you map this out, it becomes abundantly clear, the areas in your business that are not getting the attention or level of execution they deserve.  In other words, grow your business by knowing yourself!  You cannot be the rate-limiting step, either due to a lack of desire or skill.   If you want your business to be successful, and we all want that, we have to overcome these limitations.

Today, take the time to make your list and create your grid.  What should you positions do you need to hire, outsource, or up-skill within your team to grow your business? 

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Do Work Around the House for a Mental Break: Working from home is probably taking a toll on the lot of us at this point. Not because it isn’t productive, but because it is mentally draining. We all need to feel moments of accomplishment throughout our day and week.. “I am going to celebrate my achievement of 10 conference calls today!” Said no one ever. The work we are doing leaves many of us feeling a bit uninspired and drained. This is because we aren't focused on celebrating the right wins, nor are we allowing ourselves to take the breaks as we should. We just keep plowing through those 10 conference calls each day.

For me, I do work around the house on Saturdays and I love it. I love it because I can actually see the results of my hard work. Tangible results make me feel accomplished. But in a world where the majority of what we are doing is virtual, how can I create tangible results? How do I set up that type of achievement and accomplishment during my remote work?

For me, I need to create specific milestones to celebrate each day. I have gotten away from that and need to get back on track. I don't need to celebrate the 10 calls, I need to celebrate the work we accomplished on the calls. So, focus less on the physical work, more on mental achievements.

I have been and will continue, without guilt, to allow myself to do chores around the house during my daily mental break times. I’m going to unload the dishwasher after I finish 2 conference calls. Or start the laundry before I start on that next work project. Or I’m going to step outside and check the pool just to stretch my legs for a bit and clear my head. I allowed myself to walk around, stretch, and clear my head at the office. Why not allow myself that at home? At the same time, why not allow myself to do something during my mental break that gets tangible results?

My challenge for you today is to think about what milestones you can add back to your day in order to celebrate the work you are truly accomplishing.. And, decide what household activities you will do that will serve as breaks and accomplishments.

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What are CPIs and how do you use them? In an article written by Gene Cornfield published in HBR recently, he talks about CPIs: Customer Performance Indicators.

Yesterday I talked about looking at your performance for the month of April, creating a solid, more specific, plan for the month of May, then executing on those plans. How do you create, measure, and tie to KPIs your new CPIs? And why would you want to measure CPIs anyway?

Gene says that CPIs are the most accurate way to measure growth in your company. (Sign me up!) That makes sense since growth in your company is determined by your customer, right? Customers vote with their dollars and you want them voting for you and voting often.

CPIs are points in your business or throughout the customer journey that the customers tell you are critical to them. It determines various measures like satisfaction and retention (these are KPIs, that are linked to CPIs).

I keep thinking about this and thinking about this. I am going to try with an example I think is right, but since this isn't my business and not my CPIs I'm not certain if this is accurate. But follow me. For home food delivery, customers want the food tracker linked to their order so that they can have full insight into what is happening to their food and when it will arrive. This is a CPI. If at any point it takes significantly longer than promised, causing the order to be delivered later than normal, the customer is left dissatisfied. As the customer watches, the delay could be on the side of the restaurant or on the side of the delivery service. The customer can see that, know that, and then decide if they don't want food from that restaurant again or if they want to try a different delivery service. If you order from a delivery service, remember that the next time you log into the app it asks you to give up to 5 stars for what? For two pieces of the process: 1. the restaurant's part in the service and 2. the delivery service's part of the process. Right? As a customer, you wouldn't be able to answer these two questions without the tracker information. So now the delivery company (say GrubHub or DoorDash) can determine how they influence the KPIs of satisfaction or retention by either not allowing that restaurant onto their service or improving the performance of their drivers. Now they know what to fix!

If you want to have your own CPIs, determine what matters to your customer. Find a way to measure those CPIs. Then test to see if you can link that CPI to a KPI. If there is a link, you can drive employee behavior and incentives off of that KPI because you know it will drive the CPI.

My challenge for you is to think about the idea of CPIs. If it is something you want to measure, spend this time strategically assessing your business. Keep your team executing on the May game plan while you listen to your customer and try to determine your CPIs. Once you have measures to test, involve your team.

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Today is May 1st, which means you need to assess April's results to improve your game plan. April was the first full month our businesses went through the remote work/stay-at-home orders. Schedule time to review your financials, customer feedback, volume, advertising results, etc.

Now, many people are going to say that April was an anomaly and they will write it off in their minds as such and move forward. Do not be one of those people! Your April results, the actions you took or did not take, will help you determine how to move forward in May and beyond. Said differently, April will tell you just how successful your recovery game plan is going to be.

People still aren’t feeling safe. Many states still have stay-at-home orders in place. Even when they are lifted, I firmly believe that many people will be slow to go "back to normal." Knowing this, what did you learn in April and how do you carry that forward into May? Going one step further, not just how do you carry it forward, but how do you start testing it to validate your ideas and start to see business growth as a result? Then, decide how you adjust your recovery game plan relative to your learnings.

My challenge for you today is to commit to spending at least one hour looking at all of your April performance data. Use the AIR2 Framework and start testing your resolutions. We have just started the month of May. Don’t wait until May 15th to sit down, assess April, and take action. Time is one of your most valuable commodities, if not the most valuable. Review and take action. Assess April's results to improve your game plan by testing your lessons learned in May.

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As we continue to work remotely, it’s time to re-establish a communication cadence with your team. Maybe you have noticed it, maybe it hasn’t happened to you yet, but if you’re like me, your team has started to bombard you with texts and calls more than ever before over the past few weeks. When I focused on finding the why, I discovered that it wasn’t because they were tackling new tasks or newlines within the business. This behavior is rooted in self-doubt. (Yes, that obnoxious roommate can find her way into the lives of your team too!) They are either doubting that you trust them or they are doubting themselves.

No doubt you want to help them because you don’t want them living with that anxiety nor do you have the time to constantly be on the phone with them for every routine action. The best way to handle this is to reestablish a communication cadence with your team.

Ask them to give you regular updates on the basic business, on projects, as well as to ask you for help. All of these routine topics should be handled by email, not a phone call or text. (Remind them of what you consider “urgent” so they know they do need to call you in those scenarios.) Establish the day of the week, if it’s not every day, and the time that you want to receive the email update, and move forward.

When they send you the info, your responsibility is to have time blocked on your calendar to review the email and react. If I have asked for the email at 3pm, I need to have 20 minutes blocked on my calendar at 3pm to review the email, respond with praise, questions, additional guidance, and potentially even a phone call if they asked for support. By doing this, you have a planned time to get the update and review it.

You are back in control of your time and your team is getting the support they need. By sending you the info and getting praise and support, the team’s confidence will return, so it’s a win for them too.

My challenge for you today is to assess your team. Are you getting bogged down in the day-to-day routine work that your team should be able to handle? Are you seeing self-doubt creep into some of your employees? Do you simply need time back in your day from the fire drill phone calls that don’t really fire? If the answer is yes to any of these, reestablish a communication cadence with your team.

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Today's episode is centered on resetting a work relationship remotely. Most of us are hosting the majority of our business interactions through webinar/video conferencing platforms. We know that this limits our ability to use our emotional intelligence skills to ascertain someone’s engagement much less their feelings. So what do you do when you think someone is upset by a comment or challenge you have made?

You need to give the person a call as soon as you notice or sense that things are off. You’re not in the office so you can’t hope to run into them and determine if something is wrong. You have to take purposeful action. Can you wait and go through a few more meetings with them during the same day to truly see how they are engaging? Sure! But don't let the day end without calling and clearing the air since you do not have the chance to casually check on them as you did in the office.

When you call, ask them what’s wrong and don’t dance around it. Be direct and clear in showing that you are concerned, hence the reason for your call. If they share that they are upset due to something you said or did, apologize. Apologize not because they said you did something wrong, but because your message landed in a way that you didn’t intend. In the conversation, level set on your intentions and how virtual conversations or discussions will happen going forward.

I would recommend you have a clear line in your meetings/conversations between personal discussions and business discussions. This clear line between the two helps each person on the call make the mental shift between a personal conversation and a business one, ensuring someone doesn’t take the business comments personally.

The challenge for today is to be more aware of each participant's engagement and responses during your video calls. If someone is acting different or closed off, don’t wait, call them today and get back on the same page.

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In yesterday’s episode, we talked about trying to regain control when we feel like our environment is out of control. But when it comes to leading a team, provide support not control.

Ultimately, our goal as business owners and leaders is to exceed our customer’s expectations. To do that, we start to believe that we must have the perfect business and the perfect product. But right out of the gate, we never achieved that. It’s impossible when you are the only person in your business. We're not good at everything, nor can we accomplish everything alone. So we start from a place of imperfection and then we hire hoping we can get closer to perfection as a result. This is where it starts to get dangerous for some business owners.

Once they have a team, they start to critique their team and they try to control the output. They provide feedback, but the intent of the feedback isn’t to make the team member a better employee, but instead, the intent is to make them, the business owner, personally feel better. Those individuals trying to control the output of a team because they have felt out of control in the past. This is damaging to the team.

My challenge for you today is to reflect on the interactions you have with your team. Are you giving feedback to build others up and help them grow? Or are you giving feedback to have control and demand perfection? If it’s the latter, realize that none of us are perfect and we all have different styles or methods. You want those differences to exist in order to create a strong team. Embrace the difference, don’t try to control it. Remember, provide support, not control.

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Are you thinking about building on your personal routine? I don’t know about you, but with the stay-at-home orders extended and school being canceled for the rest of this school year, I feel like the finish line I created in my mind just got moved. What do I mean by that?

Most of us create a point in time to focus on when we are going through a hardship or a significant amount of change. For me, it was the kids going back to school at the beginning of May that was my "finish line." Now that my children are going to be home until early June, and maybe even through the summer if there are no camps, my finish line just got moved. What do many of us do in that situation? We try to regain control by creating a "new normal" that is even better and more powerful than our old one.

I have heard several people say they want this time at home to be "worth something" (more than keeping ourselves and others safe), some people want to feel like they have achieved their personal "to-do" lists around self-improvement. You know what, that's great! Anytime you want to focus on self-improvement, I'm all for it. However, we have to be careful in how we approach it. In this super-charged emotional time, if you don’t create achievable changes, you are going to create more frustration for yourself, not less.

Start with micro habits. Create super small changes to your routine and anchor them with normal processes in your daily routine. These two methods will ensure you can achieve the new action with success and that it will stick. Once you are successful for several weeks, increase the amount of time you spend meditating, exercising, reading, journaling, or whatever the new self-improvement focus is. It's like lifting weights. You don't start with the 50 pound dumbbell if you can't lift 50 pounds. You start with 10 pounds if that's where you are and work your way up over time. Adding a new step to your routine is no different.

If you are focused on self-improvement as a means of feeling personally accomplished during this time, your challenge is very simple. Decide what you want to add to your routine, keep it small (30 seconds, 2 paragraphs, etc.), and where you will anchor it, then put it into action. Once you have achieved several weeks of success, celebrate, and then increase your time commitment toward this new action.

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Running and owning a business is lonely, which is why you have to be purposeful about your circle.

We all need a group of people we can turn to for feedback, answers, ideas, and celebration. We know that our families love us and our friends are happy for us, but until they are in business themselves, they haven't walked a mile in your shoes, right? But how do you find your circle?

You can network. There are large numbers of live networking events within each town, put on by the Chamber of Commerce. You can find similar groups on Facebook and join those. Now, many people love this and enjoy networking and connecting with others in a live environment. They don’t mind talking, putting themselves out there, and trying to build a relationship. If this is you, follow this path.

For others, what I just described sounds like walking through a haunted house; people jumping out at you without warning, smiling big smiles, shaking hands, and wanting to know all about you. For those individuals, networking is terrifying or simply goes against their personality. If this is you, buying your way into a mastermind is perfectly acceptable. There are tons of groups out there that you can pay to join.

The point is not how you create or find your circle, but that you do it. And once you find your group, you contribute. You must ask questions and answer questions. The value of your circle comes from the interactions you participate in.

My challenge for you today is to find your circle if you don’t have one, or if you are in a circle, participate more.

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Now that the bulk of meetings are through video conferencing, how do you simplify your video presentations? The problem is that remotely, we can’t use our emotional intelligence to read the room and gauge understanding or interest. The goal then is to try to eliminate this need as much as possible by keeping your presentations simple, clear, and direct. But what does that look like? Where do you start?

For me, I try to create a stepwise approach. Let me walk you through it:

First, decide if you are generating a discussion or simply providing an update with this presentation. In other words, what is the point? Determine your presentation goal. What do you want to achieve at the end of the presentation? Then move forward ensuring your slides achieve that. If they don’t, cut that slide out or change the content.

Cut your slide count in half relative to what you used to do in person. If you used to use 20 slides, cut it to 10. It’s so much easier to work on other tasks if you are in a remote meeting, right? If your presentation is exactly the same, month to month, people "know" when they can zone out and will naturally do so. You won't be able to pick up on less engagement so control the predictability to keep the group alert.. Cut the content in half to reduce the time commitment and keep engagement high.

Use images to make your point or tell your story. People can read and no one wants to listen to a person ramble on about a point they could have interpreted on their own. Put some responsibility on the audience to view, digest, and interpret the information in your presentation by using images, graphs, or charts. People want to interact so give them something on the slides to interact with and learn. This will also generate more discussion, which is the point, right?

Keep the bullet count down. (Notice I said bullets, not sentences. Definitely no sentences, please.) No more than 4 bullets with no more than 5 words per bullet. Remember, no one is showing up to read the next great novel so don’t make them. If they could read it all, the meeting could have just been an email. Don’t do that to your audience. Also, don’t feel like it’s your job to read everything to prove your value or worth. You are in the room, you are delivering the presentation. Those two facts alone prove your value and authority. You don’t have to prove anything, it’s already been done.

My challenge for you is to think about your next presentation. Apply the steps above to organize your slides and your personal notes in order to effectively lead the meeting. Once you deliver your presentation, come give me some feedback at Legend Leaders on Facebook (@makinglegendaryleaders) or Instagram (legend.leaders). Keep being agile and being the role model for change within your team!

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You have your vision map and your next step map. You have your recovery game plan. Now you need to pivot your message! 

In a previous episode, I challenged you to find your customers where they are, then speak to them based on your offer. This episode focuses on the fact that you need to pivot your message for today’s world. Your customers are still there.  Your product or service is still needed. However, customers may simply not realize it or understand the benefit you will provide.  So, share a new offer or voice, a new message that considers what is happening in the world. No scare tactics. That won’t work. But an honest message about how your service or product will truly help your customer or client.

If you aren’t sure where to start or just want another perspective, I listened to a webinar yesterday that hosted a copywriter, Ashlyn Carter of ashlynwrites.com. Check her out. She has some great content and she will get your brain going down the right path. 

Today’s challenge is for you to craft and update your message. Align it with your new recovery plan to ensure your plan comes to fruition.

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Are you keeping yourself on track? Yesterday I challenged you to create your recovery plan. But today is here and you still haven’t done it. Are you procrastinating? 

In this episode, I help you identify some behaviors and emotions that may be holding you back. Maybe you are getting lost in emails, or distracted by some great ideas that you want to research. It could be that you aren’t waking up and tackling the day with your normal morning routine to give yourself a win. Maybe you are prioritizing other events or tasks over creating your game plan. All of these are a sign of procrastination. 

My challenge for you today is to sit down and reflect and assess. Are you procrastinating and allowing other “priorities” to derail your time? If the answer is yes, I want you to anchor yourself in your why. In this example, it’s in your "why" relative to your game plan. Ask yourself: if you accomplish your game plan what will it give you? How will you feel? What will your business look like at the end of 2020 because of your game plan? If you can anchor yourself in your whys, no matter what you are trying to accomplish, you will naturally keep that event as a top priority in your day. Anchor yourself emotionally in your why and you will be able to push past procrastination.

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What is your recovery game plan? As various states and the nation as a whole start to reopen, what is your strategy for your business? How are you going to "reopen?" During the stay-at-home orders we have experienced, your business has naturally fallen into one of three groups: growth, status quo, or negatively impacted. In order to propel your business forward, all three of these groups need a game plan as we continue to move through the economic changes.

Now, let me address the mental side of this for a second. You may have even been frozen during this time, afraid to make too many decisions. Why? Because what you normally based your decisions off, your frame of reference, the "normal rules of business" stopped being normal. If that happened to you, know that you are not alone. In today’s episode I’m challenging you to do two things:

First, forgive yourself if you have been paralyzed and inactive in your business during this time. When we are used to trusting our gut and then feel like we can’t, that is a hard emotion to overcome. Self-doubt is powerful. So be kind to yourself right now. At this moment, forgive yourself if that’s the place you have been in. Once you do that, you can move out of it!

Second, now that you are in the right frame of mind, sit down today and create your recovery game plan for your business. We know that nothing will ever be as it was, but now knowing that you must find the answer to the following question: what do you need to do to find your customer and put your product or service in front of them so they can benefit? Today is the day to take action in creating your plan. Do not delay. Will there be more changes coming? Of course. But if you create a strategy or a game plan and map all of it out, when something does change you simply go back to your plan, make an adjustment, and then keep moving forward.

Last but not least, once you have your plan, take action!

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With the changes in the economy and job market, many people are trying to learn how to successfully start a new business. These new entrepreneurs, and maybe you are one of them, have had dreams of creating a business but never the courage. However, with the changes in the world today, many people are taking the leap. I am seeing this happen firsthand with some of the individuals I interact with within my circle.

As I am watching them get started on their business journey, I am seeing frustration abound. In this episode, I wanted to share with you the two reasons why the frustration exists and the two steps to take to overcome it.

The first reason I see people getting frustrated is that very quickly they are getting overwhelmed with all of the work. They have a great idea but then come to realize that there is so much more to a business than a good idea. The second is that the time from business creation to living the life they envisioned is also taking much longer than expected. Either or both of these situations can make someone give up on their dream, right? So how do you overcome these feelings to be successful?

The answer is: you map your flow. Yes, as crazy as that sounds you use the AIR2 Framework.

1. Map your vision. You may want to travel the world and speak in large venues. But you’re not going to start there. So what are the steps you need to take to grow your business, to grow your following, to build trust in the community of people you are serving in order to get you to a place where you are traveling and speaking at large venues? Map out the large steps in your business to get to that step, and maybe that large venue step is step 4 in your overall plan. It may take you 3 other major steps in your business growth to get to step 4. However, the point here is that when you can see it, when you can see your pathway, you can be excited about it and you then give the stepping stones of steps 1-3 value in your mind. You don't have to be frustrated, you are still excited because you can see you are still on the path to step 4 "large venues."
2. Once you determine what step 1 is to get you to step 4 of your vision, you need to map every single detail within step 1. You have to boil the actions down to the simplest steps. If it’s simple, you can do it. Execution is where you want to be. So map out every single process, action, and event starting with where the customer enters your world of business until they exit. Once you have this map, you boil every step down to its simplest form, you now have a clear map of what you need to do in step 1 of your vision to be successful. Now with this action, there is no barrier preventing you from achieving step 1 of your vision.

My challenge for you today is to create your flow maps of your vision and the step you are currently working on within that vision. If this is your dream, spend the time creating your plan to ensure your success!

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As we continue to work in a remote environment, the desire to eliminate ineffective remote meetings is an emotion we are all experiencing right now. Remote meetings are exhausting, lack collaboration and human connection, and waste time when done ineffectively.

If we want to feel like our time is being well-spent, video conferences have to change, and as the leader of your team, you have the ability to make that change. It’s time to establish or re-establish ground rules.

• Cameras must be on, no dialing in by phone only.
• Look at the screen, not the camera dot. You have to be able to "read the room."
• Send the presentation or document in advance so the meeting is a discussion where people look at each other, not a document.
• Reduce the meeting time if possible. If it isn't possible, be clear and allow team members to turn their cameras off from time to time to move about the room, but remind them the cameras must come back on upon their return to the chair.
• Teach your team what you want to be presented and how they should share the information.

These are just a few of the ground rules you can establish to make video calls a little less exhausting and a bit more productive. The challenge for today is to establish your ground rules for video conferences or reestablish them if team members have started to stray from your original rules. Everyone wants to be productive, creating the rules and holding the team to them will create the necessary environment for productivity.

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When remote work turns into procrastination: In yesterday’s episode, I challenged you to assess your team; however, I realized last night that I didn’t share with you a third performance level you could be encountering. Procrastination. 

While you probably have the majority of your team delivering in their zone or approaching burnout, a small group of people may fall into the "procrastination" camp.  Said differently, you may have someone on your team that has become so excited about working from home and creating an amazing self-care routine, that they actually aren’t getting to the “work” part of their day. In today's episode, I talk about the behaviors those individuals will be displayed to help you identify that level of performance.  I also give you some examples of how to have conversations with your procrastinators to identify the root cause reason and get them back on track.  Helping those people by establishing communication expectations, clear deadlines, and using their calendars will help them deliver to your expectations. 

Your challenge today is the same as yesterday's, assess your team. Determine where you’re people are performing: their zone, approaching burnout, or procrastination.  Once you identify where they are, you can support them in getting them to their zone and keeping them there.

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As a leader, the requirement to encourage self-care with your team hasn’t ended.  If anything, you may need to increase your conversations and direction over how much work you want to be accomplished during a day, what breaks need to look like, etc. 

What I am seeing right now are two camps of people. Both groups have mastered their “normal” day-to-day. But one group finishes that “normal day of work” and calls it a day. They take breaks throughout the day, spend time with family, exercise, and find ways to mentally decompress. The second group also finished their “normal day of work” but adds on more work. Instead of calling it a day, they take on more. They don’t get out of the house, they don’t spend time with family, they are working more than before. 

As leaders, it’s our role to help our teams take care of themselves. Your challenge today is to think about each person on your team and assess how they are handling the remote work situation we are in. If they are taking mental breaks and pacing themselves, celebrate them so they continue on that path. For those that are taking on more, create a strategy to discuss your expectations about work hours, self-care, and work quality.

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You're only people away from your next objective. I listened to a webinar yesterday by Casey Graham, the CEO of Gravy and this is one of the comments he made. He was talking about 7 moves to make in order to create a valuable company. There were tons of amazing nuggets he shared in that webinar, but what keeps going around in my mind was his focus on people, and that's what I am sharing with you today.

In creating your company, the goal is to hire such that you are no longer needed in your business. While that may be hard to grasp, it's true. We all want to have the choice to step away from our business, even if it's just one week a month to focus on family or simply to unplug. But if you don't set your business up so that you can do that, you will be tied to the day-to-day without a choice. So how do you solve that and gain that freedom? People.

You need to hire people who can take care of the problems that may exist in your business. If you have hired people on your team already, and problems exist, you haven't hired the right people. Let that one sink in!

Focus on hiring leaders, not managers. Casey said leaders create momentum while managers solve problems. You don't just need problems solved, you need problems solved and the business moved forward. So, have you hired the right people or do you have you created your hiring process to force you to hire people with the right mindset and skillset?

When you do hire, hire for your weaknesses and then for your own strengths. How can you pull yourself out of your business if you are the only person who can do certain functions? You can't, right?

My challenge for you today is to create your hiring strategy with this new perspective. What should your hiring process, your flow, or your strategy be around hiring? If you have already started hiring and building your team, go back and look at your strategy and make adjustments as needed. If you are fully staffed right now, ask yourself if you have hired the right people.

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When different passions create risk: In continuing to think about building a brand through creating teams, I thought about an article I read several months ago. The article was focused on business partners and essentially said there are three types of entrepreneurial passions: the creation of a product/service, growth of the business, or relationship development. If each business partner has a passion for a different part of the business, the business would probably fail. As a matter of fact, the article followed several businesses and proved this to be true. The businesses that had 2 or more partners with different passions did fail while the ones who had similar passions within their partners grew. Why did the businesses with different passions fail? They failed because there was no agreement on the next steps or alignment on the right path to take when an obstacle arose. In those instances, it seems the business simply falls apart.

That struck me! I don’t have a business partner but I am creating teams within Legend. Sometimes it is nice to think about having a business partner to take on some of the load and the responsibilities. Entrepreneurial life/business ownership is lonely, right? But this article made me stop and see the risk side of bringing on a business partner.

My challenge for you today is to consider the 360-degree view of adding a business partner versus simply creating a team that reports to you. (With a team, you get the work done but not the stalemate at the top, right?) If you have a business partner, be aware of the risk that exists with a lack of alignment and be focused on creating alignment in order to move the business forward.

The article I am referencing is a Harvard Business Review Article called "When Entrepreneurial Passion Backfires" by de Mol, Cardon, and Khapova, published 2/20/20.

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In this last episode of the 3-part series: three keys to building a successful brand, today's episode is centered on leadership. No doubt you saw this one coming, but you may be surprised by the 3 pieces of leadership Robert Kiyosaki shares that are required to help build your brand.

The first piece of leadership is being visionary. We have talked about this one in the past, so this piece probably isn't much of a surprise to you. Inherently you probably already have a vision for your business. You know where you want to go, where you want your business to be in 5 years, 10 years, etc. Our responsibility as leaders is to be visionary and to share that vision with our team. Are you sharing your vision with your team?

The second aspect of leadership is being a cheerleader. To me, this one was a no-brainer as well. Of course, we need to cheer on and encourage our team. If they receive praise, they understand what good performance looks like versus bad performance. They understand the behaviors you want them to model in order to be seen as a successful employee in your business. Praise, encouragement, and cheerleading help our teams perform correctly, perform well, and it propels them forward. Are you doing this regularly?

Now, the third role that a leader must play within their team is being a pitbull. And yes, this is the one that got me. I had to read that one twice as I read Robert's article. But when I digested it, it made sense. I knew the concept but hadn't named it as aptly as he has. So what is it? Robert Kiyosaki says we as leaders have to be Pitbulls when it comes to keeping our teams focused on the mission. We cannot allow our teams to get distracted by other issues.

As you move forward throughout the day today, your challenge is to think about your leadership through the lens of building your brand. Do you display this combination of leadership at a high level? Are there one or more pieces you need to be more purposeful about in your leadership? (For me, now that it has been named, I am going to be more of a pitbull about keeping my team focused. I do this already, but maybe not as aggressively as I should have been. Digesting this information has given me permission to be appropriately aggressive.) Spend the time today to self-reflect, create a plan on where you will focus more of your efforts and energy, and move forward being a stronger leader in these 3 areas in order to build your brand.

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Today is the second day in a mini-series of 3, focused on the three keys to building a successful brand; today’s topic is the team.

Robert Kiyosaki says that business is like a test you took in school, that tests were given to you to take alone. He says business is the same way, full of tests. Except in business, if you have a team, you can take the test together. Did you realize that?! Let that sink in for a minute. As entrepreneurs, we do everything ourselves because we are it, the only ones in the business. When you have a team, the efforts, the knowledge, the skills, the experiences get pulled together to pass those tests, and therefore the likelihood of passing that test increases exponentially. When you think about it that way, why wouldn’t you want a team to help your business be successful?

Now, teams can be created in two ways:

1. Hire other companies to help with business functions like taxes, payroll, and bookkeeping (things that must get done in the business but are not your “gift.”).

2. Hire people to work directly for your business to do the functions needed to provide the service/product for your customer. (Remembering the previous podcast episodes that those you hire do represent your brand so you need to hire for values over skills.)

You can do both of these. Most people only see a “business team” as option 2, hiring directly within their business. But once you realize your team is made up of both groups of people, it allows you to realize you can take the “business tests” together and be successful. I know my team right now is made up primarily of option 1, with other companies supporting me. I love it because the work gets done, there is an expertise there I can count on, and I can confidently move Legend forward because I have this team in place.

Your challenge today is to determine if you already have a team, and celebrate that if you do. Maybe you're not giving yourself enough credit for the fact that you do have a team based on option 1! If you do not have a team and you are still going at this from an entrepreneurial perspective, decide if you want to stay an entrepreneur or if you want to create a business. If you want to create a business, the next step is to decide how to create a team to help you create your business brand and move you forward. Who are some “who’s” you can hire that know the “how” so you can focus on your gift? Create your list of companies and start using their services to move. your business, and therefore your brand, forward.

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Today is the first in a series of 3 episodes focused on three keys to building a successful brand. Today’s topic is your mission. 

As we have talked about in other episodes, your brand is tied to who you are and what you stand for. That in turn will establish at least half of your mission. Robert Kiyosaki shared that a business needs a spiritual and a financial mission to be successful.

The spiritual side of the mission is who you are, what you stand for, who you want to serve, and how you want to serve them. If you can be clear on this, you will attract your focus customers. The financial side is where you will set targets and milestones to achieve in order to continue to serve more and more customers, grow your business, and execute the various phases of your strategy and vision.  A successful business has both of these within its mission.  It may not be in your "mission statement" but it will be in the overarching mission of your business.

Your challenge today is to review your mission, ensuring you have both the spiritual and the financial components in order to build your brand.

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When you have spent 6 hours sharpening the ax remember, when the ax is ready, use it! 

In episode 89 we talked about the Abraham Lincoln quote: If I had 8 hours to chop down a tree, I would spend the first 6 sharpening my ax.   So if you recall (and if you haven't listened to episode 89 go check it out!),  we should be spending 3/4 of the time preparing for action. Most people do too little prep work and the tree never falls because they weren't ready.  In business terms, the business never moves forward because the work required in advance wasn't completed.

Conversely, I know several people who have 20 beautifully prepared axes that they have taken months to sharpen and prepare, but they have never used them! They fall so in love with sharpening the ax, or the action of preparing for execution, that they never move forward and execute. Don’t do all of the prep work and not execute!

Today’s challenge is to set a deadline within the month of April to swing the ax you have been sharpening for months. Finish your 6 hours of prep work and get ready for those 2 hours of execution.

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As leaders, we have to follow up in order to ensure follow-through from our teams. Right now, in the remote environment, I see leaders getting frustrated with results or the lack thereof. 

Remember that in our businesses, the first place we need to look is the mirror. We need to ask ourselves, what role did we play in the miss? Realize that your follow-up determines the success of your ask. 

Follow-up allows for timely praise, teaching/training, and ensuring we are allowing people to win by clarifying what may seem like unrealistic goals. We own all 3 of those responsibilities as leaders. 

The challenge today is to look at your leadership practices right now.  How are you following up? What do you need to change in order to get the follow-through you want from your team?

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What is the difference between preparation versus action? I am seeing a ton of social media posts about people establishing side hustles right now. Are you seeing the same?

The challenge for all of us is to be productive during this social distancing period. And while I want us all to be productive, the fact is, many people simply won't be. Now, no doubt your first thought when you read that was "they will sit around watching Netflix and they just won't do anything." My opinion is that they won’t be productive because they do not prepare to be productive.

Abraham Lincoln said: “If I had 8 hours to chop down a tree, l would spend the first 6 sharpening my ax.” Most people do not spend 3/4 of their allotted time preparing for the action. So many of us get focused on the 1/4 that’s left, the action. “I have to go, I have to push, I have to do.” I'm sure those are some of the thoughts you have when you think about achieving a task or milestone, right?

Yes, we do have to take action in the end. But most people forget about the proper prep work required to start a new business or a new line in your business. In today's episode, I give several examples of why we must prepare before we blindly jump to action. This is one of the ways I use the AIR2 Framework, to ensure I properly prepare so the action is the correct action.

My challenge for you today is to assess yourself, are you spending the first 6 hours selecting the right tools and preparing them for the work? Then, are you spending the last 2 hours taking action and accomplishing the work at hand?

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What is the difference between teaching and coaching? Most leaders transition between the two, back and forth, throughout the day, never realizing they are actually jumping between the two methodologies!

In today’s episode, we discuss the difference between coaching vs teaching and acknowledge the fundamental fact: whoever is asking the questions in the conversation determines if you as the leader are teaching or if you are coaching.

If you are teaching, the other person is asking you questions to learn and receive all of the answers. If you are coaching, you are asking all of the questions because the answers are already within the person you are coaching. (So simple, yet something you may not have thought about in those terms.)

It’s important to start a conversation with questions coming from you, the leader, so you can then determine if you need to teach or coach. The answers to your first few questions will tell you the path you need to take. Do not make assumptions that because someone has just joined your organization they need to be taught. Conversely, don't assume that because someone has been with you for years that they should be coached. Each situation deserves the same initial questions so you can lead in the way the person needs to be led.

Today’s challenge is to establish your opening questions, acknowledge the difference between teaching and coaching, and let the answers to those first questions dictate whether you will teach or coaching that specific situation.

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Are you effectively using communication tools while working remotely? Do you constantly blow up your team with texts or IMs to the point that they can’t get anything done? Or, is your team doing that to you? 

If you feel like you have less time now than you did working at the office, chances are your feeling is and right, and it’s not 100% because you’re family is at home with you too. It’s because you haven’t defined which methods of communication should be used for each communication need. 

We have four primary methods: email, text/IM, phone call, video call. Use email for FYIs and give direction/information with a deadline attached. Texts/IMs should be used for faster awareness of a situation or immediate follow-up. Phone calls should be placed if you need to hear the person’s tone, if the situation is urgent, or if you want to show care and concern when checking on someone. Video calls are for when you need to see everyone’s facial expressions/body language and you want them to feel more aligned as a group. 

Knowing those parameters, establish your rules around communication in your organization. Then, model the behavior. Only then will you and your team feel less handcuffed to the computer.

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Give your top performers deadlines to help them succeed and reduce burnout. You read that right. Now, I know when you think about your top performer you think that you simply need to stay out of her way. She knows her part of the business, she is a strong communicator, and she always delivers. But you see, that last part right there, the "always delivers," that's what is killing her right now.

Your high performer wants to exceed your expectations. That's her goal, it's always her goal. Each day she wakes up trying to decide what she is going to overdeliver on in order to make you proud. But without deadlines to help her prioritize her work, she's stressed. You see, she has 6 projects on her plate and you just told her to get to them when she can. So that sounds like a test to her. That sounds like she has to show you she can juggle all of the functions in her job and deliver on the 6 projects today.

As you think about that you quickly realize that you never intended for that to happen. You simply wanted her to get to the projects when she got to them. You trust her judgment, again she always delivers, and you know when she has time she will get you the information you need. Do you see the two disconnects?

Right now, life is stressful for her, just like everyone else. She's trying to juggle working remotely, her family, the demands of her team also working remotely, and now she has to find the time to continue to exceed your expectations, which is her driving force and motivator. She needs your praise! So give it to her, as you are also giving her deadlines for each of the 6 projects so she knows when each one is due, can structure her day, and still exceed your expectations by delivering project number 3 on Thursday instead of Friday. This is what your top performer needs from you each day, but especially right now.

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When your confidence is low, your why will carry you forward. I have had people ask me over the past year how I am so confident. They assume that’s what is pushing me forward and helping me achieve various milestones in Legend. But the reality is that while I am confident, it isn’t my confidence helping me succeed. It isn’t my confidence that pushes me to get the work done. My whys, the reasons I created Legend, the reasons I want Legend to be successful, those are what push me forward. What are your whys?

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Please be different, or as Steve Jobs said, one of the crazy ones. Believe it or not, the world still needs that. 

As I was thinking about yesterday’s episode around hustling, I realized it’s not just hustling we need to deliver on right now, it’s the challenge we have all accepted and must continue to accept.  The challenge of being different. Because we have to be different! Our “difference” is what makes us the business owners, leaders, and entrepreneurs that we are. It’s the “being different” that helps us solve the problems the world needs us to solve. So today, be proud of being different! In this world, a world that is telling us we must all do the same things to stay safe, please stay safe and keep yourself and others safe; but don't stop thinking differently!  

Decide how “being different” will help you make the world better as we continue to move through the changes around us.  Don't conform your innovative thinking as you conform your actions; be different.  Be a thought leader, such that when you can take different actions, the ideas and the strategies have been developed. 

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Even though it’s Saturday, even though the world is a little different, don’t stop hustling! Instead of spending time catching up on Netflix and your recorded TV episodes, come up with a new business idea. Instead of watching Tiger King, work around your house, spend time with family, or volunteer if you can. Be productive! We all feel better when we accomplish something we set out to achieve. What do you want to achieve today?

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You have made it through the first quarter of the year. It’s time to look at how you are delivering your metrics and timelines. I can’t wait to celebrate your successes!

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We are all fearful to push our businesses into uncharted territories. Dean Graziosi once shared that we need to be the thermostat, not the thermometer. We need to control our environment not simply read it. Today’s challenge is for you to acknowledge that fear is natural, no matter what is happening in the world. It’s ok to acknowledge the fear, but you need to push past it and control your internal environment. Be the thermostat to push past your fears.

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Don't give up, lean in and push forward! Under the shelter in place orders, it can be very easy to start letting each day feel like a "Saturday." You know, those days that we wake up when we want, spend time with family, cook breakfast, eventually get to our emails, etc. When our habits no longer have to be "habits," how do you push forward to stay productive?

I'm going to challenge you to do 3 things today.

First, keep your morning routine! You need it, not because it was the only time you had to yourself. But because you know how powerful it is in helping you start your day correctly. A good morning routine helps you take care of yourself and gets you in the right state of mind to seize the day. And you need to seize the day!

Second, I want you to lean into your business. If you have a product that isn't yet ready to sell, that's ok. Spend this time getting it ready. We will be back to a more "typical" way of life soon. Your product or service will be needed. Don't waste this time that you could be using to have your offer ready when that day comes. If your product or offer is ready, get it out there! What are you waiting for? We all want a sense of normalcy back in our lives. How can your service or product help people get ready for that day?

Third, don't give up! It can feel like your business simply isn't a good venture in today's world. I get it. I went through that same emotion last night when my second sample of Determined bags arrived on my doorstep. But we have to remind ourselves, that we are sheltering to allow a virus to pass; to keep ourselves healthy and those around us healthy. Once we have taken care of ourselves and our neighbors, we will be moving about in our communities again. Knowing that, how will you come out of this pandemic with something you can offer the world, to help the world, to help your customer?

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This episode focuses on the idea of regaining control.  Right now it may feel like you have survived a sudden avalanche of change, only to be on a stormy sea, unsure of where or how to navigate.  It is time for you to focus on regaining control.  

To do that, first, figure out where you want your business to go and what needs to happen.  Explain the why's to your team (even if they are obvious), explain what they will be doing, and then teach them how you want it done.

Next, start to create playbooks.  Playbooks are great for situations that could occasionally arise in your business but are not day-to-day operations that you would create an SOP to support.  Remote work, temporary initiatives, weather-related actions, these are all topics that would fit in a playbook.

So instead of feeling like you are out of control right now, start to document what you are working on, how your teams are functioning, what's working well, what isn't, etc.  Learn from what you are doing today so you can quickly keep the activities that are going well and eliminate those that aren't moving you forward. 

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The AIR2 Framework will help you move forward, whether you are trying to find a way to take your business down a virtual path or your business is in demand and you need to scale quickly. Many times we become frozen in our path to growth and change. What we need is a consistent way to review our business, find the gaps we need to close, and put plans in place to fix them. Go check out the case study video here on legendleaders.com to get another overview of the AIR2 Framework.

We are all in this together. If I can help you and your business through this change, please reach out. I am here to help!

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About a month ago, I put this topic on the calendar to discuss today.  Today's topic was supposed to be "unplugging on vacations."  It's spring break season, the time we all typically try to take some time off and enjoy time away with family/friends away from work.  Little did I know the changes that would take place in the last 4 weeks.

Instead of talking about unplugging on vacation, this episode is focused on finding quality time with your family/friends/loved ones during this period of social distancing. Focus on finding gratitude instead of frustration or aggravation. For me, I am grateful for our evening walks, where I put the phone down, unplug, and spend time with my spouse and kids. I would have most likely not taken those walks if we weren't in our present state. I wouldn't have prioritized quality time on a daily basis with my family, sad but true. So I am choosing to be grateful for unplugging and creating quality time during this time of chaos. How are you unplugging and creating your own daily quality time?

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When we are placed in new situations, new environments, naturally we start to change as people, leaders, and business owners.  The emotions we feel, the actions we believe we need to take in this "new world," can cause us to change who we are and what we show the world.  My challenge to you is to be aware of what is impacting your personal brand.  

We have talked in previous episodes about your personal brand influencing and essentially dictating your business brand.  Through these unprecedented times of change, where we all feel those human emotions of fear, anger, frustration, grief, etc., some of those emotions could start to become part of your personal brand.  My challenge for you is not to prevent a change to your personal brand but to simply be aware that changes to your brand could be occurring, then decide if you want those changes or not.  Once you make those decisions, you then also have to decide if you want that to translate into your business brand.

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During this time of change and uncertainty, be kind to yourself. Whether you have a business that is directly serving patients, a business that is having to change and adjust in this new environment, or you can simply do your day job at home, give yourself permission to take care of yourself.

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When is it time to change external business partners? As we establish and grow our businesses, inherently we will rely on external vendors, companies, or business partners to support our needs; be it digital support, marketing, manufacturing, admin work, etc. But as your company grows or that external partner company grows, your needs and expectations may not be met with the same level of commitment or execution it once was. So what do you do? In this episode we talk about acknowledging the issues, asking questions, setting expectations, and even shopping around for other vendors in that space.

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In this time of heightened emotions due to the changes in the world, schools closing, people working remote, limited supplies, etc. we can all get frustrated with our team a little quicker than we normally would. My challenge for you is to not get frustrated when your team presents a problem to you. Seek to understand why they see the event as a problem. Let them be heard. Explain your whys so they can understand your perspective. Be willing to make adjustments to the calendar of events or overall procedures, when it makes sense, in order to let your team feel heard. If you have team members presenting problems with the expectation of you constantly being their problem solver, set the expectation that they come with both the problem and a proposed solution to share. Changing your lens, listening to why they want to make changes, and challenging them to be solution-oriented should eliminate some of the frustration and help move your business forward.

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Have you ever worked for a supervisor or observed a peer who lead from a cowardly position? It’s not true leadership, is it? Having one person who avoids tough conversations or praises everything or even says yes to everything will undermine and derail your strong culture in your company.

Ron Carucci in his book “How To Work for a Cowardly Boss” calls out how to address these behaviors and I agree, having worked under a cowardly supervisor in my career. We have to role model the behaviors we want to see in others and be direct about what we want and need.

Ultimately, if we allow the behavior to continue, we could create a culture of cowardly “leadership,” which will cause us to lose our best talent.

Reflect today on yourself and your team. Do you or does anyone you know lead like a cowardly supervisor? If yes, take action to change the behavior and adjust any negative impacts to the culture that may have happened as a result.

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As we face the rapid change and uncertainty of the world around us, we have two mental pathways we can follow: negative talk that derails you and your business or positive affirmations that push you forward. My challenge for you is to wake up each morning and tell yourself what you are and what you have accomplished. The world needs your gift. You are innovative and creative. You are smart and you have overcome. Tell yourself those statements and more each morning to keep yourself and your business moving forward during this time of change. Connect with other leaders and owners on the FB page Legend Leaders (@makinglegendaryleaders). Let’s stay connected and support each other.

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In this ever-changing landscape of business, we can become very unsure of what “good” is when we try to deliver to our customer/client. In those moments, we focus on perfection, and in those moments perfect becomes the enemy of good. We aren’t sure of what “good” looks like, but we know what “perfect” looks like in our minds, so we strive for that. However, in striving for perfection, it takes us weeks and months longer to deliver on “perfect” instead of quickly arriving at “good.” So how do you learn what good is? The answer comes from our customers!

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In this last episode of the mini-series " bad advice for entrepreneurs," today’s episode centers around the notion that good people make good partners. Now, good people make good friends, but that doesn’t mean they have the qualities you need to help you run your business. Do not let emotion drive your hiring or partnership decisions, including the loyalty you feel towards a person.  Know what you are looking for in a business partner and then find those specific leadership traits and business styles within them before you add them to your business.

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Have you been told, "your brand doesn't matter, just get out there and get started!"  I heard that from time to time in the early days of starting Legend and it was always perplexing to me.  Having come from the corporate world, I learned early in my career that your brand matters, both your company brand and your personal brand as a leader.  If you do not establish it, someone will establish it for you.  Your brand is more than just your logo or your ads, it's what you personally stand for and therefore what your business stands for.  It is the promise we make to our customers and the experience we deliver to them.  If you have heard this advice and have held off on establishing your brand,  take the time today to create what you want your business to stand for; the promise you want to make, and the experience you will deliver.

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In this episode, we focus on the bad advice that you don’t need to learn to sell. Now, no one wants to the typical “car salesman.” However, we do need to learn how to tell a story and solve a human emotional need in order to get our service or product in front of our customer who truly needs us. Listen to the podcasts to learn about how to change your perspective of selling and how selling your product will help you move from a small entrepreneurial business into a company, because of the revenue and the demand you will generate.

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I don’t know about you, but I regularly hear that I need to create a niche and focus in on a specific customer group, i.e., be a specialist. Sound familiar? While this is true in creating our offer and our advertising, many times entrepreneurs will become so focused on their offer, they lose sight of the fact that they are trying to create a business. If we want to be business owners and not just side hustle entrepreneurs, we can’t specialize.

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In this 5 episode mini-series centered on bad advice for entrepreneurs, this first episode is about bad advice #1: Listen to all advice.  Remember that while we need to seek input and listen to our customers, criticism is going to come faster than praise.  Instead of letting that derail you, step back and realize who this advice is coming from; your "no" customer.  The bulk of people who will immediately criticize you or ask you to adjust your product or service are the individuals you are purposefully trying to exclude with your offering.  Realizing this key fact takes the power out of that criticism. Now that you know who not to listen to, who should you listen to?

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How often do you thank others and is it enough?  At the beginning of my pharmacist career, I learned two valuable lessons, 1. that most people do not appreciate others enough and 2. that I was not going to be one of those people.  My challenge for you in this episode is to evaluate your appreciation methods for your team, peers, direct reports, customers, etc.  What expectations have you established around thanking others?  How do you model that behavior?

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Creating a culture of accountability does not mean that we are each individually responsible for ourselves or our own actions alone. It means we accept responsibility for the people we hire, work with, serve, and support. It means we give them feedback and receive feedback. We are invested in each other and in our collective success.

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When you hear of business success or a failure, it’s easy to have a knee-jerk reaction and add that new goal or eliminate that goal from your list. But before you change your 3-5 goals for the year, study those scenarios diligently. Learn the similarities and differences in those businesses versus your business. Learn how they executed the program, their leadership styles, their timelines, overall focus, etc. Learn all that you can in order to then decide if you want to make any changes to your 2020 business goals. Study before you take action.

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Do you ask for input from your team or inner circle before delivering a presentation or pitch? Getting different perspectives strengthens your message and will allow you to be more emotionally intelligent in those conversations.

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How do you present business performance metrics and improvements in your organization? Listen to this episode to hear some best practices on the simple but effective way to present business performance metrics and improvements. Overall, the best method is to create a routine in order to have complete understanding across the team. Talk about actuals, targets, performance to the target, why the performance is where it is, and discuss next steps.

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I love the word “resilient.” It invokes images of confidence, winning, overcoming, and battling in my mind. In order to be successful in the business world, you must be resilient. Each day you have to wake up with the right mindset, knowing who you are, what your business stands for, and what you need to accomplish. On the days you just want to stay in bed or let the doubters win, those are the days you must push forward. Those are the days you must be resilient! This episode is for all of you who are starting to feel a little burnout or frustration. You are resilient! Keep moving forward.

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Perfectionism is the downfall of a large number of amazing female leaders. Why? Because it paralyzes us from taking action. The most important step you can take each day in your business is taking action. So, what is holding you back? What are you trying to perfect before you move forward?

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When looking at your calendar for the week, what can you delegate, automate, or eliminate this week and beyond? Have you taken the time recently to make adjustments in order to allow you to spend the time doing what only you can do and what fulfills you? If not, now is the time.

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Preparing for your week allows you to ensure you maintain your morning routine, helps you keep control over your calendar, and ensures you are most productive. Do you have a day each week set aside to allow you to prepare for the upcoming events? Do you review your calendar and make adjustments accordingly? How do you prepare for your week ahead?

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Take a few minutes today to create your three to five go-to statements regarding your business/leadership.  Why?  Because all of us consistently find ourselves being asked the same questions about one or both of those topics.  In each individual conversation, we typically convey that message in a different way each time.  Sometimes we do exceptionally well and our answer is on point.  Other times we completely miss the mark and leave the other person confused or doubting our abilities.  In order to convey confidence and ownership, create your three to five go-to statements and eliminate the variability.

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You are empowered to establish your own definition of balance for your life. Stop letting the world define this for you! Once you have defined it for yourself (there is no wrong answer), you can then be aware of when you are too far to the left or too far to the right of your defined balance, and therefore get yourself back on track.

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Defining what your company is and is not is critical in making your target customer feel as though you are speaking directly to them. But how do you do that? To start, it is by defining your values, hiring for attributes over experience, and establishing your brand.

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Finding your strengths helps you ensure you are focusing on giving your gifts to the world vs. trying to improve upon your weaknesses. When we look at the world through the lens of “sharing strengths,” we start to look for leaders we can add to our team for a position of hiring for strengths vs experience.

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What are the key attributes of a leader? What do I look for when I am hiring anyone, no matter their role or position?

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We all go through periods of self-doubt as we run our businesses. But self-doubt is like an obnoxious roommate, and as such, you have to kick her out! In today’s episode, we are focusing on identifying the behaviors we display when we are doubting ourselves so we can quickly identify that roommate, and kick her out. No longer do we let her linger and derail us, but we quickly find her hiding in our home and we evict her!

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What 5 things come to mind when you think about all of the amazing opportunities your business has afforded you? Let’s be grateful for the life we get to live as business leaders!

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Think about who and how you influence and realize that yes, you truly are a leader of others.

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You have two months of 2020 under your belt. How is your business tracking relative to your milestone goals?

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Do you know your purpose and you're why? Knowing those two pieces of information will help you as you arrive at various crossroads and periods of overwhelm.

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We are essentially 2 months into the year. How much have you already learned?

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Of course, you are, be it business, people, life, or all of the above. But are you doubting yourself right now?

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How do you onboard a new leader or employee? I focus on 5 components: level setting, training, shadowing, small projects, and touch bases.

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When starting or growing your business, you can feel overwhelmed. Avoid the desire to stop learning during those times. Remember that learning and implementing are two different actions.

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Creating a flow map and operating procedures helps you pinpoint problems, improve efficiencies, and teach others how your company runs.

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When the days and weeks are long, and we start looking at our mentors, we can start to think that we have fallen short. In those moments, as simple as it sounds, you have to continue to believe in yourself and what you offer to the world.

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Take some time to look at your environment, including the people around you, and determine if this is holding you back from achieving your goals.

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Running a business is a marathon, not a sprint. Are you taking care of yourself in order to have the energy you need to be most productive?

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To complete your most important work of the day, you have to be able to ignore or delay focusing on the chaos around you.

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You have to decide who you will please be it customers, talent, potential investors, family, and even your professional self. Deciding who to please will determine your success.

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Don’t just be great at identifying issues, follow-through, fix the problems, and make your business better.

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How do you model being receptive to feedback and why is it important?

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How do you give gifts? Feedback is 100% a gift we give someone to help them make a positive change. In order to help someone make that change, you have to deliver the feedback in the proper way.

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Once you have a pathway for the business stress you have been dealing with, take it to your team. Show them you are human and motivate them to the next level.

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When you are stressed, one of the best ways to motivate your team and yourself is to find the wins in your business.

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When you are stressed, don’t go MIA.

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When sharing concerns as a leader, how do you do it such that your concerns don’t derail or demotivate the team?

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When you are stressed about work, focus on praise and status quo until your team can be part of the solution.

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Why are you in business? Continue to reconnect with your why as you move forward.

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Before you add additional clients or a new product/service line, is your business ready?

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When growing your business or personal leadership, focus on the needs of your customer, not the task at hand.

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What are your rules and how are they holding you back?

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My signature method for problem solving and what I teach in the Legend Leaders courses.

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How do you start the day strong, no matter what you will face in the day, and maintain your confidence throughout?

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You are motivated to tackle your “one thing” during the week but how do you do it on the weekends?

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January is in the books. Do you have your 2020 goals established for your business?

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We have all made bad hiring decisions. How do you identify it, accept it, and react to it?

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Are you a good “heart” in your company? Do you want to be? How do you navigate that?

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You need all three to be successful as a business leader. Which one(s) are you and which ones can you start finding help with?

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It may be tempting to say yes to other business offers that don’t fully align with your passion, but you truly need to say no in order to grow faster.

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Naturally, when you start a new business or simply focus on changing your leadership style, you personally change and grow.  Changing is a part of this process.  But what do you do when your changing pop causes you to not fit in with the old circles you have been spending your time with?

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When thinking about controlling your thoughts, we know that fears and doubts can derail us.  But what about frustration?  Are you allowing your frustration of "not running fast enough" to creep in and derail you?

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When we start to face tough decisions in our business or lives, we start to face self-doubt.  Was there a time in your life when you realized you could do anything you put your mind to?  How do you control your mind in order to move forward?

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Are you indispensable to your customer? Have you positioned yourself such that you are the only company someone thinks about when it comes to your offering?

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Don’t let the world lull you into thinking you can’t control the pieces of your business.

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Do you have an insecure individual on your team? How do you address it?

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Have you ever gotten an email from someone and thought “what in the heck?!” Here’s how you address that.

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Instead of being afraid that it will take too long to accomplish your dreams, ask yourself what you would be doing with that time anyway.

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By asking questions of a mentor or coach, you can skip years of making your own mistakes and propel your business forward.

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Ask questions to be inclusive and stay relevant

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Set a regular time to reflect, challenge yourself, and find your people to help remove those negative thoughts!

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In our business, home, and life as female leaders, we feel like we have to do it all. But is that really the case?

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Who is Katrina Jamison?  What is her story?

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Staying productive and focused through effective scheduling

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When you are running a business, it's easy to have a thousand things on your mind and on your plate.  How do you prevent being overwhelmed?