Leadership in your home-based business is never constant; there are ebbs and flows, just like the rest of life. And while steady, consistent growth is ideal, there are bound to be times when you get stuck as a leader.
So what do you do in this situation, when it feels like there is no forward momentum happening in your own business or on your team?
Here are 5 strategies you can use to help you when you feel stuck as a leader in your home-based business.
- Remember your WHY
When you are stuck, it is essential to remember why you got started in the first place. What was your deep motivation for beginning your business? Has it changed? Did you reach that initial goal, and now it’s time to adjust your ‘why’? Or perhaps your ‘why’ wasn’t strong enough, and you need to re-evaluate your reasons.
Often when we first get started, we may think our why might be “to earn more money.” Money is never the WHY. We need to ask “why?” a few more times to get to the real heart of the matter. Why do we want to earn more money? What will it do for me and my family? Why does it matter? How will I use this additional money?
Once you remember or re-evaluate your ‘why’, write it down! Keep it somewhere you will see it on a regular basis. Share it with your mentor and/or your accountability partner. This will help you to push through the plateau and on to bigger success.
- Get back to the basics
Many times leaders, as they grow and develop a team, get very focused on the “leadership” side of business, such as training and mentoring others. When we allow ourselves to spend too much time on ‘management’, we move away from the basic building blocks of the business, which are essential for consistent growth.
While teaching and coaching your team might be fun, it’s vital to continue to do the basic fundamental activities for yourself as well. Whether this means booking more parties, developing new contacts, or recruiting your own team members, don’t neglect the basics.
If you get back to the basics, you’ll find your pipeline will be full again. This will help you get “unstuck” and move forward in your business. And you will find the ‘fun’ again in your business!
- Focus on helping someone else
Instead of focusing on your own situation and how you are feeling, try spending some time focusing on helping someone else. Does one of your team members need help setting appointments? Do you have a friend who is dealing with a health issue that you know your product line could help with? Take the focus off yourself and put it onto helping others. That next phone call you make could make a huge difference in the life of someone else. When you do this, you’ll create new energy in your business. You’ll also feel better because you were able to make a difference for someone else.
- Try something new
While getting back to the basics is essential to the growth of your business, you might also need to freshen things up a bit. Perhaps there’s a particular strategy you’ve been using in your business that has not been effective. Talk to some mentors and see if they have suggestions for you that will help you experiment with new ideas.
Of course, you’ll need to use common sense. Trying something new does not mean abandoning everything you’ve been doing in your business. Perhaps you simply choose one new strategy to try out for 1 or 2 months and see what kind of results you get. Often small tweaks can yield big results, and you won’t know unless you try!
- Develop yourself
Lastly, in order to get unstuck as a leader, you must commit to developing yourself. Leaders need to continually be growing and learning. If you have reached a point where you think you’ve got it all figured out, that might be a clue as to why you’re stuck.
Leaders are learners, and they will always be open to feedback and growth. If you are truly up for a challenge, ask a mentor or team member where you need to change. Then look for resources to help you grow in that area.
When you commit to growth and learning as a leader, you set an example for your team, open yourself up to new ideas, and set yourself up for success.
If you are ready to get unstuck as a leader, review these 5 strategies and ask yourself which ones you need to implement. Then commit to taking action, and have someone hold you accountable. Success is just around the corner!