Ten Lessons in Leadership

Attending EntreLeadership Summit this past June was an excellent experience and one we plan to repeat. Our takeaways were tremendous, so we wanted to highlight a few that might be helpful for you as well.

Embrace the Superpower of Mental Toughness

Dave Ramsey is a leadership expert, and we are thankful for his willingness to motivate, encourage, and lead well. One of his most inspiring quotes was, “Mental toughness is becoming so rare; it’s like a superpower.” That should be a mic drop moment for leaders today. Mental toughness has always been important, but now more than ever. It takes grit to stick it out through the tough times, a superpower to be a successful small business owner. We must be willing to work hard, stick to it, and lead others well.

Be Relentless in Leading Well

Nailed it! Patrick Lencioni encouraged us to be brutally intolerant and exclusive in what we look for when hiring new team members. He spoke about being intolerant of mediocrity and exclusive in limiting our candidate pool to those who are a good culture fit. We agree the ability to define the culture of our organization is a vital one. The same goes for those we serve, our clients. We want every client to know what qualities they want their team members to possess so we can be relentless in finding them. Don’t settle for merely filling the position. Determine to find the best fit that is right for your organization.

Be a Coach, Not a Counselor

One leadership lesson that resonated with us was a reminder from Ken Coleman about the importance of leaders being coaches and not counselors. Leading people always includes coaching well. The key is making sure your coaching doesn’t morph into counseling. As a small business owner, you were built to lead and not take on the role of a mental health professional. Easier said than done and something we will consistently remind ourselves of over time.

Identify Your Weakest Link

Identifying and seeking to improve your weakest link was the lesson we learned from Malcolm Gladwell. Our organizations will experience ripple effects if we focus on the rockstars and ignore our most vulnerable ones. When we lead well, learn from others, and are willing to have difficult conversations, we can identify our teams' weak links and help improve or replace them. His assertion that "achievement is talent plus preparation" motivates us to roll up our sleeves and work towards becoming good leaders.

Have an Attitude of Gratitude

Brian Buffini shared a powerful message for leaders about gratitude. He quoted Cicero saying, “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues but the parent of all the others.” As an emigrant from Ireland who came here with nothing, Brian has built an incredibly successful real estate business. His reminder that America is still the greatest place in the world to live and pursue a dream is a message every small business owner and entrepreneur should take to heart. 

Control Your Reactions

The reminder from Alison Levine that you can’t control the environment around you, but you can control your reaction to it is one we want to put into practice. And sometimes, the response must be to cut our losses and pivot to something else. Keep in mind that changing direction is never a failure but rather an opportunity to go in a different direction. Another gem from Alison involves the importance of building relationships before things start to unravel. When faced with tough times, you can find yourself alone if you haven’t taken the time to cultivate bonds with others. A lesson we don’t want to forget.

Use Your Common Sense

Willie Robertson was a breath of fresh air who imparted a great deal of common sense. One piece of advice that hit home with us was that you probably have diamonds on your team but might have them in the wrong spot. He encouraged us by saying that nothing we’re learning goes to waste and everything we’re experiencing on our journey is helpful. We’ll revisit this whenever things aren’t going our way and then rely on our common sense to get us out of any sticky situation. 

Identify the Cause of Anxiety

The powerful message from Dr. John Delony about mental health and staying healthy reminded us that our brain is designed for security. If you are surrounded by chaos, your brain can’t function properly, leading to anxiety. And anxiety is not the problem; just a symptom. You must discover what is causing stress and anxiety, then either deal with it or eliminate it. There are a few simple ways to help alleviate stress and anxiety. Set boundaries to stay safe, healthy, and whole. Take ownership of your life, or someone else will. When something gets to you, choose to walk on by, change the channel, or disengage. Words to live by!

Make an Impact

We were inspired by the message from John O’Leary about making an impact. He encouraged everyone to continually reflect on how to make an impact on the future. Ensure you focus on creating joy because happiness is fleeting, but joy lasts forever. Even though life is imperfect on this side of eternity, John challenged us to see, hear, laugh, learn, and love every day. We were challenged to think differently from his words, “You can’t always choose the path you walk in life, but you can always choose the manner in which you walk it.” The joy we choose can last a lifetime and make an impact on those around us.

Never Stop Learning

One of our core values is to never stop learning. Attending the Entrepreneurship Summit was a bucket list item for us at We Recruit Well, and we drank it all in. What an inspiration to hear from leaders who encourage others and help reignite the fire within us. We’re motivated to continue to serve our clients well and help them find team members who contribute to a positive culture and increase their bottom line. Won’t you join us on our journey?