It's time to ask critical questions courageously!
Being a CEO and leading a team(s) sound great!
However, chances are you may struggle because:
- You feel stressed and lonely at the top
- You think you are the only one that worries about the company’s cash flow, business direction and performance
- You feel you spend a significant amount of time putting out fires created by your staff and nothing can progress smoothly without close monitoring
- You believe you are ‘expected’ to have all the answers every time…
- You feel the more business you bring in, the less time you have to spend away from your business…
- You feel the more ‘successful’ you are, the more likely you are to rely on an external crutch, for example, alcohol, luxury expenses to recover, and it is getting harder and harder to maintain close relationships with loved ones…
- You sometimes feel confused, discouraged, unsure of yourself or your decisions, and want to withdraw and retreat to your comfort zone, which may be a smaller team, a smaller business, or maybe smaller ambitions…
Great business leadership is not about having all the answers, but is, more often, having the courage to ask critical questions at the right time!
Great business leadership is not setting grand goals — it is, always, about having the discipline to create the habits that lead to achieving goals… by default!
I have been working with business leaders for over a decade, either as an in-house or external consultant. The people I serve tend to possess the qualities of great ambition, driven, commitment, self-discipline and they strive for excellence. These are great traits that enable them to start a business in the first place, but, only a few harness the power to actualize their potential.
What I have noticed is that a KEY difference between people who reach their potential and those who don’t is the HABITS they create to deal with difficulty and discomfort. Therefore, it lies in whether they know
- HOW to step back;
- WHEN to ask critical questions, diagnose the situation, assess the alignment to refocus' and - HOW to take action to move forward.
In general, there are EIGHT categories of question that driven business leaders shall ask themselves and their subordinates periodically to gain accurate insights into their businesses, to save them from solving problems reactively and building a solid foundation for growth.
Do understand WHEN and HOW to ASK critical questions at various stages of business, WHAT questions can let you step back, gain insight into your business, diagnose any issues, ASSESS alignment and FORM action plans to move forward effectively.
