You Need To Lead

Lead your way to success

As I move around and speak at various events, I am constantly left with the impression from many business people that they are in a ‘slump’. They want a fresh approach, but don’t want to take risks. You need to lead your way out – it starts with you!

Many years ago, when I first took on the job of leading a large advertising agency in Sydney, the leadership team of working directors was in a slump. Some key clients had begun leaving us and other clients were reviewing their options. A series of poor decisions had left the staff with low morale.

Realizing I was now in charge, I determined to get on with the job and learn along the way.

We needed to:

Create momentum - positive forward movement
Lift people to new levels - encourage rather than criticize
Expand their thinking - challenge rather than consolidate

So we reviewed where we were going. We set the vision for the company. We asked ourselves questions like:

What do we want to be known for?
What do we want to achieve?

As a team, we began to plan our future. And pretty soon I noticed that staff were starting to get excited. It gave me hope that the plane was about to take off. I felt like the journey had just begun!

Then we set in place short-term and long-term goals towards our new vision. These goals were realistic and showed us that our vision was achievable. The vision started to come to life, and we found ourselves saying for the first time, “We can do this!”

Next we outlined the steps needed to grow the business, to retain current clients, and to attract new ones. We determined who would do what and by when. The details began to become clearer. Everyone began to understand their role in the overall vision.

Rethink your way forward

Easter is a time to rethink. It’s all about the ultimate price paid by Jesus, when he led the way to resurrection life. This should encourage you to stop, rethink and lead your way to success.

Peter Irvine
www.peterirvine.com
Peter is Co-Founder of Gloria Jean’s Coffees, author of "Win In Business", speaker and business consultant.

'Failing Forward' is available for order at www.peterirvine.com.au

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