Don't forget to reassess.
Recently
I was speaking with a former executive of a
major company who had left her company "to
pursue other interests." In other words, she was
down-sized, or more bluntly, she was
fired.
I asked her what had
happened and she responded, "I don't know what went
wrong. Every time the company asked me to do
something, I did it. I was loyal and
responded to their every need and request."
That is what went
wrong. She never stopped to reassess what she
wanted and she never said no. She
took on jobs she wasn't excited about. She
moved to cities she didn't want to live in.
She worked for bosses she didn't respect.
In the end, because of all these
choices she made out of loyalty, she was doing
something she didn't like, working for a boss she didn't
respect and living in a city she didn't want
to be in.
A recipe for
failure.
Like this former
executive, you might have
the assumption that business
requires a sense of self-less sacrifice and loyalty,
where you don't have the ability to say no, if you want
to get ahead. Wrong.
Business today,
whether in a large corporation or in a small
entrepreneurial business, requires results, not
loyalty. When you make choices that
don't support your strengths, abilities and needs, you
aren't in a position to bring your best to the table.
Results in
business require your best! Loyalty works against
this.
When my company wanted me
to move to a city I didn't want to live in, I said
no. Moving to a place that I didn't want to be,
where my family and I would be
unhappy, would not allow me to offer the best I had
to give. This was a tough decision because in the
past I also had been too loyal. The result was to
part ways and to build a new business,
which suited my strengths, abilities and
needs. Now I am fulfilling my needs and can give
my clients my best.
What about
you, are you too loyal? Are you blindly going
along with what is requested of you, without reassessing
where you want to be? Are you fully
leveraging your strengths, abilities and needs?
Are you in a position to bring your best to the table
today and every day? It might be time for you to
set the loyalty aside and reassess.
Reassessing your position
is key to your success in business. When
you reassess, you are adjusting your
actions to align with your vision. When you
reassess, you are defining/redefining your work/life
balance needs. When you
reassess, you get clearer about your authenticity and
are more likely to be a better leader at work and in
your life. Leaders know that reassessment makes
them more effective.
There isn't an employer,
customer or client that doesn't want your best.
When your reassessment process leads you
to say "no," be sure to explain why it isn't
working for you, your vision, your brand, your
strengths, your work/life balance needs,
etc. Whatever your reason may be, it is
valid...in order for you to be the best you can
be.
Remember, its best to keep
loyalty where it belongs, at home with your loved
ones. Loyalty in business doesn't serve
you, your company or your business. Lead
your business forward by reassessing continuously.
Forget the loyalty, achieve results by being true to
yourself, your strengths and your
needs.
Start your reassessment
now! Leadership skills include the
ability to self-reflect and reassess.
Join Laura at her next workshop in Houston on
February 9. Click here for more
details:
www.Laura-Lopez.com/workshops.htm
