The Truth Hurt, and Leadership is Hard
I told you last week that something happened to me that reminded me of a powerful lesson.
That lesson is that the truth hurts, and the email… definitely touched some nerves.
It’s amazing. Even with the snowflake warning, still got some upset people.
Like this guy “Scotty” who said “f u moron.”
Without need to look him up, you know what I know about Scotty?
He isn’t running a 7 figure business.
How do I know that? Because highly successful people take 100% responsibility for their results.
And they don’t mad at hard truths.
And that’s not always fun, but it is incredibly empowering. If you’re 100% responsible for your failures up to that point, it means you also have the ability to make the necessary changes.
You see… it’s WAY BETTER to be in a bad situation where you have 100% of the control, than a bad situation where you have 0 control.
It’s pretty obvious when you state it that way.
However, with that lack of control… comes the benefit of not having to feel responsible.
You can wipe your hands of it and say…
”well, that’s not my fault” or “there was nothing I could do” or “well at least I tried”
For what its worth, those statements… well, they’re not worth much.
There is no participation medal in business.
Are you 100% responsible for your business? Because if you’re not, you should be.
Excuses don’t pay bills…. And there was a unique experience with a tech of mine earlier this week that really reminded me of that.
One of my techs was really unhappy this week.
And it was noticeable.
He was clearly upset and honestly, I should have noticed it sooner.
We had it out, and I am to blame. It’s my responsibility. It was a lack of leadership.
I am the problem.
It’s easy to get caught up in the never ending list of things that “have to be done”… and forget whats most important.
Lots of people think running a cabinet shop is just about painting cabinets.
But it’s much bigger than that. My business is about my employees. It’s about my customers. And the more I take care of my employees, the more they take care of our customers.
In this case, I had to face a hard truth. I wasn’t being the best leader I could.
I wasn’t letting my team know I appreciate them.
I wasn’t complimenting them on completing great work.
Thanking them for the little things.
Showing up on time.
Paying attention to details.
The kinds of little things that my customers love.
And if that goes on long enough, people will feel under appreciated. And they will leave.
And you have to start over again.
And it’s not always fun to admit that you’re not being the best leader.
It took me a long time to learn how to run a large team effectively.
And the hardest step, was admitting that I was the problem.
As tough as that was, it was also empowering.
The first step to recovering is admitting you have a problem.
The first step to growth is an honest assessment of your current situation.
So let me ask you.
Are you being the best version of yourself?
Are you being the best leader you can be?
Are you actively working to improve everyday?
Getting mad is easy. Blaming others is easy.
The hard thing is to accept responsibility, and take ownership of the changes you have to make.
Comment and let me know, what are some things you’re doing to improve yourself?
Happy Monday,
Steven “getting better” Jordan
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