EIGHT (8) SELF MANAGEMENT TIPS FOR A SUCCESSFUL HOME BUSINESS 1. CREATE A NEW LEADERSHIP VISION Now is the time to clarify and refine your leadership vision. This requires both articulating your values and reexamining your goals for the future. Start by identifying the four or five most important episodes in your life – moments that defined who you are today. For each episode, articulate how it shaped your values. Then draft a statement of your personal leadership vision. This is a compelling image of an achievable future. Describe the kind of leader you want to become and the major contributions you want to make to the world between now and 2025. What will you be doing in 2025, and what impact do you hope to be making? 2. GIVE YOURSELF A LEADERSHIP WORKUP Many of us wait until we’re sick to see a doctor. However, preventive medical assessments have been shown to improve health, save lives, and reduce medical costs. Prevention can be beneficial to leadership assessments tool. Often people are asked to see a coach or participate in a 360-degree assessment when troubles surface. Yet, time and money (not to mention headaches) could be saved if leaders underwent thorough assessments before problems arose. Ask the people around you for feedback about what’s not. Be sure you understand their expectations and where you may not be meeting them, or are unnecessarily exceeding them. Having a complete understanding of where you are as a leader since it gives you a greater sense of control and power to shape your future.
3. INCREASE YOUR DESIRE TO LEARN Don’t let your ego get in the way of your desire to learn. Successful leaders keep their minds open to new things because they know that no matter how high their level of mastery, there is always more to discover. If you’ve become an expert in one field, seek out other fields where you can transfer and apply your expertise. When facing challenges, even ones you’ve faced many times before, adopt a learner’s approach – ask questions or find new ways to solve the problem.
4. INCREASE YOUR PRODUCTIVITY We live in a demanding and distracting world. Being productive can sometimes feel like an impossible feat. Here are three ways to get more done without burning out:
a) Keep one to-do list. Include everything you want or need to do in one place. Writing it down helps get it off your mind and leaves you free to focus on the task at hand. b) Do the most important thing first. Before you leave work in the evening, decide what one thing you need to accomplish the next day. Do it first thing in the morning, when you’re likely to have the most energy and fewest distractions. c) Schedule time for non-urgent things. It’s easy to get caught up in the pressing issues of the day. Block off time in your calendar to do things that would otherwise get squeezed out, like writing, thinking creatively, or building relationships.
5. MANAGE WITH MINIMUM TIME Do you strive to be a good manager or mentor, but feel you do not have the time to do it well? Don’t get trapped into thinking that leadership is an extra commitment on top of your day job. How you lead, not how much, is what counts. Here are three ways to maximize your management in minimum time: a) Turn dead time into development time. Look for every small stretch in your day when you could be talking to someone and convert each into a coaching opportunity. Walking out of a meeting? Use those two minutes to give your direct report feedback on the presentation. b) Show up in people’s work spaces. Once per day, get up and walk over to the desk of someone you haven’t spoken to recently. Take two minutes to ask him/her what he/she is working on. c) Make two contacts per day. Every day, email two people you met with that day and offer “feed forward.” Persons who know that you’re trying to develop their skills will stay engaged. 6. TAKE OWNERSHIP Autonomy, influence, and a sense of meaning are all associated with lower stress. If you need to find more joy, take on a new project that will improve your job, team, or workplace. While you may not have the same degree of freedom that an accomplished entrepreneur does, you can find ways to set the agenda and claim ownership of tasks and projects. This ownership will likely
improve your job satisfaction while adding an important accomplishment to your resume.
7. TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR GROWTH Responsibility for your professional development and team growth lies squarely on your shoulders. No matter your situation, use these tips to keep sharp: a) Meet with two former success partners each month. Talk about your industry and where it is headed. This will keep you tapped into the community of established entrepreneurs. b) Have one major learning experience each quarter. If your company isn’t giving you the necessary challenges through promo and task, then seek out other ways to give yourself a target in order to get to the top of the opportunities available to you in the company. Volunteer for a nonprofit assistance, by frequently training the prospects at the weekly seminar or conference, or take a class at a free venue of yours at a set time daily. c) Give yourself a performance review. Reflect on your growth and performance, whether through a formal process or not. Be honest with yourself about your strengths and weakness and what you should focus on immediately and in the coming year. 8. TRUST IN YOUR DECISION – MAKING SKILLS Yes, knowledge is power, but too much knowledge can take away your power. When solving problems, many leaders gather an abundance of information and conduct in-depth analyses to give them what they hope are the right answers. This can lead to analysis paralysis or to data-driven, but illogical, answers. Often the best answers are educated guesses informed by your past experiences coupled with new information and insight. Don’t put too much faith in information analysis alone, and don’t disregard your decision-making skills. Remember to always check answers with your gut feelings before acting.
