Why Do You Do What You Do?

There are two questions that demand the attention of leaders:

1. The first one is familiar: What keeps you up at night? What are the worries that nag at you?

2. The second is less familiar, but perhaps more important: What gets you up in the morning? What keeps you more committed than ever, more engaged than ever, more excited than ever, as the environment around you gets tougher and more demanding than ever?

Bottom line – we need to know our mission and what will keep us going. Leadership is a big deal in a small business. And often, leaders begin to burn out over time as they face the daily battle and have to deal with a never ending amount of problems, people, and frustrations. Without knowing the “why,” the odds of us staying in business and making an impact drop off quickly. Part of the deep dive process is making sure people know “why.” “How” doesn’t really matter if the “why” does not exist.

Ask yourself – What do you want your business to look like in 3-5 years? In 15 years? Most of us have a one year business plan that really is probably about 6 months worth of plans. We may say we have some idea of what we want the next few years to look like, but few have defined their “castle on the hill” for the long term. And even if they have, it is very rare that they have shared it with anyone, including their spouse.

That’s a sad way to plan, or even to dream. We need to involve the people who will be part of the journey. All of us are guilty of having way more information in our head than we share, and even more likely is the fact that we have feelings in our heart that we never let see the light of day.

Time for some transparency in leading!