Are you a Visionary Leader?
When you started your business, you probably had a vision in mind of what you wanted to accomplish, and the legacy you wanted your company to become. However, as time passed, and your business grew, you found yourself with thoughts and feelings that many business owners share, such as:
- I've built my own business … but feel like I am working for someone else
- Plan? I don’t have time to plan. I’m too busy
- Business Development has to wait, because I’m too busy putting out fires
- I'm afraid my business won’t be ready to sell, because I’m doing everything.
Maybe you’ve lost sight of your vision, maybe not. But you have definitely become an Operational Manager and are no longer a Visionary Leader.
Don’t get me wrong, Operations is vitally important. But as the President, you should be spending the bulk of your time setting the direction and the plan for your business. Not turning all the wheels and “doing all the doing.”
Of course, if you are in the start-up phase, you may be the only person on the team. But at some point you will fill the boxes on your organizational chart with names other than your own. When that happens, you must transition from being the Doer, to being the Leader.
I once had a friend that ran a very successful company with a staff of over 100 very dedicated and qualified people. But my friend, the owner, still decided everything. Including when to buy the coffee. There’s a difference between keeping an eye on the till and doing things below your pay-grade.
If you have found yourself doing things that your staff could be (and should be) doing, not only are you wasting your money, you are wasting your time.
Spend some time thinking about your vision… Both, your personal vision and your business vision. Then build a plan to achieve those visions. Then LEAD your team toward making that plan a reality.
If your business is not providing you with the time, money and freedom that you wanted when you first started, perhaps you need to step back from the operations and regain your vision.
To your success….