My team and I were gearing up for a launch; deadlines were impending, and we were moving quickly. However, the week was riddled with miscommunication, and on the third occasion, I found myself wondering, “Why does this keep happening?”
“Is it me?”
As I heard myself, I paused.
The fact I had to ask the question, “Is it me?“ forced me to assume radical responsibility and turn inward.
I have set a precedent among my team that if a mistake is made, it ultimately falls on my shoulders. Simultaneously, they hold this standard for themselves. Therefore, in the context of miscommunication, I am likely contributing to or perhaps even the root of the problem itself.
This is radical responsibility: Looking inward to assume agency over my Self.
If I wish my team to maintain this standard of responsibility, I must lead by example by honestly assessing myself and my contributions.
Conducting an honest analysis of your business starts with you and me. Regardless of our role, whether we are the founders or junior staff, wisdom dictates that we take a regular pause to self-analyze.
In this particular context, I realized I had been going too fast. I was not adhering to my standards of excellence regarding communication. And that directly impacted my team.
When was the last time you conducted an honest analysis of yourself concerning your business?
I scheduled an internal SWOT analysis with my team at the beginning of the year. I took the lead by analyzing my own mistakes and, consequently, lessons learned from 2023.
And not just professional but personal mistakes.
The objective is Freedom.
Our objective is the Freedom to operate as we were made to by the Divine to maximize our capacity and capitalize on our calling.
The problem is Blind Spots.
Apart from knowing the truth, we cannot walk in its light and thus live as free.
Below are six lessons I learned in 2023 that can help you to navigate this well.
Lesson #1: Lead with the transformation, not the service.
Focus on the transformation and make the client the hero of the story while you serve as the sherpa.
Examine your pitch, proposals, and processes. Ensure that the client transformation is at the forefront, with relevant case studies featuring proof of concept through storytelling and SOP’s as the necessary guardrails.
Lesson #2: Present proposals virtually or in person rather than email them.
Challenge: Switch from emailing proposals to in-person or virtual presentations. Face-to-face facilitates real-time questions and answers, allowing you to observe what resonates and, ultimately, solidify your competitive advantage.
Lesson #3: Consider your portfolio before launching new projects.
Before beginning a new project, archive the current landscape.
Whether capturing the “before“ of a site ahead of a new build, relevant Google Analytics ahead of Search Engine Optimizations, or data of existing Marcom campaigns, chronicling allows for proof of concept and strengthens your portfolio.
Lesson #4: Record everything.
Incorporate the practice of recording every internal and external meeting into your SOP’s
Recording meetings powered by AI transcripts and note-taking facilitates visibility for participants who may not have joined. Most importantly, the audio, visual, or transcribed record powers the objective accountability of each party regarding new steps and goals.
Lesson #5 – Don’t wait too long to fire.
Develop a Roles & Responsibilities document outlining KPIs and timelines that new employees must sign.
The agreed-upon document provides an objective benchmark of the success or failure of their performance at the outset of employment. If you lean toward empathy in your leadership, the document serves as your guide to inform your firing and their guide to inform why.
Lesson #6: Don’t behave as one who is beholden.
Put yourself in the driver’s seat of your business, especially when client-facing.
The moment you begin saying “No“ to new business, you have taken control of your own. Develop a list of qualifiers that deem a client worthy of your time and services, and “interview“ each as they interview you. If you don’t, the partnership is bound to fall apart from true alignment.
Lesson #7 – Possessing the bravery to know what is broken and the humility to be changed by it for the purpose of Freedom.
First, we must know.
Knowing the truth can be the most equally daring and devastating of all this life offers.
Awakening to that which is broken forces discomfort and never-ending questions about the past, present, and future.
Yet, knowing marks the very beginning of the quest for Freedom.
Second, we must “break free” to live free.
There is a reason why the term “break“ or “jailbreak“ is associated with Freedom itself.
Break free from old habits, patterns, behaviors, or mindsets.
This reckoning with brokenness is the catalyst to Freedom.
Third, we must allow ourselves to transform.
The knowing of truth that reckons with brokenness brings us to our knees in humility. In my personal experience, even to the ashes themselves.
Yet from the ashes rise the beauty and strength and transformation to which the greats liken the phoenix.
Transformation is the very road to Freedom.
And this road never ends!
This is the best part — ever becoming, we constantly remove those who are not on the same path.
On this road to Freedom, we learn that living as if free is a state of being…a state of being we can assume on the road itself.
We are five months into 2024; I encourage you to consider professional and personal mistakes from 2023 and allow the light of truth to inform areas for growth and even discomfort in the year ahead. It is never too late!
