Last week I talked about how important it is to begin aligning ourselves with our values. This is so important because often times when we are stuck we need make time to notice what we are responding to or reacting to in life. Once we have a good idea of where our time and energy is being spent, we can align ourselves and our work-life with the value we bring.
Align yourself with the value you bring
It doesn’t matter if you have built your business from the ground up and are making millions of dollars, or you are just starting out. You are valuable in ways you don’t even yet realize. One way to get clear on the value you bring others is by asking them (make sure you want to hear their answer though). Know the value you bring to your customers, employees and even your family. If we don’t value ourselves, we can’t possibly recognize how special or unique we are, and we will painfully base our measure of success on numbers or how our boss sees us.
If you are transitioning away from a profitable business or career you’ve built, know the value you contributed and make sure that your successor can sustain or increase the value. In other words, who really is the best fit versus who you might feel obligated to transition over to. The bottom line is we must be aligned with the value we provide, or we will lose confidence in our legacy as a leader and settle for less than what we deserve.
Align yourself with the market
Know YOUR value to the market. This is KEY! We must know our value and the value we offer our business. The one with the lowest price is not always the winner. Quality, service and reputation add real value. In 2008, everyone was saying we were in a recession, YET I kept quoting the same rate I quoted before all the downward pressure on pricing. You know why? My clients saw value in what we offered and the fact making a business more efficient is one of the solutions to pricing pressure. As a result, I was not compelled to participate in the recession.
Making it real
- What do you know about your impact as a leader?
- What is stopping you from having a super team you can rely on to be there for you always?
- What is one thing you can do right now (yes right now) that will contribute to being the leader you admire most?