Monday Motivation |How to be your own boss (literally).

Motivation
I hear a lot of people say that they want to be their own boss.   Maybe you're tired of working for someone else, or perhaps you have a grand vision of running your own enterprise. Great! That's really awesome. But before that happens, I invite you to first practice the art of being your own boss.

And by that I mean, "operating like a boss to elevate your own personal performance." Basically, I'd like you to act as if you hired yourself to achieve your goals.  And your job is to ensure those goals happen.  But in order to experience those outcomes, you've got to create some guidelines to make sure those outcomes are met. I've put together a list of three boss moves for you to start your journey.

Be your own Boss tip #1: Create the End Game
Every person reading this post, who is gainfully employed, has goals.  Maybe you have detailed objectives to meet, maybe your job is to satisfy every customer.  No matter where you work, you are expected to meet certain goals every day.  But what about your personal life?  Have you set any daily goals for yourself?  If not, then you aren't operating like a boss.

In my last position, I had to send a weekly list of actions/goals to my supervisor on Friday for the upcoming week.  She wanted to know that her team was identifying our top priorities and planning ensure those priorities are met.  Every quarter, we'd send detailed updates on where we stood with our Annual Objectives.  But once I left my position, I said to myself "I'm glad I don't have to send in those weekly emails anymore."  That, my friends, is not an example of Boss Thinking.  Planning for the week to come isn't a chore, it's a tool to ensure that I stay on course.  Without the weekly plan, how would I reach my goals?

Wanna be your own boss? Then create clear goals for yourself and break down what you will do each day/week to make them happen.  Be accountable, don't let a week go by without planning.  Sometimes I'd be traveling and wouldn't send in my report on time, by the time I landed, there was an email in my inbox with a reminder from "boss-lady" about my weekly report.  Real bosses follow up. So make sure you don't let yourself slide. Be consistent.

Be your own Boss tip #2:  Be Unreasonable
Has your supervisor ever gave you an assignment that seemed darn near impossible to achieve?  Sure they have.  That's what bosses are known for.  They have a knack for always raising the expectations just as you're getting the hang of what you're doing.

A boss' job is to move your out of your comfort zone.  They constantly raise expectations and demand more out of you.

  If you had to you rate yourself on a scale of 1-10 on how much you demand from yourself, what would it be?  Are you constantly challenging your negative thinking and pushing yourself out of your comfort zone?  Or, are you the type of boss that let's their people slack off?  That type of boss may be fun to work with, but they don't stay in their positions too long.  If you aren't challenging yourself into a new level of action, please give up your boss dreams, 'cause they ain't happening.

Let's talk about the term "being unreasonable" for a second.  Your boss tells you take on a project even though your workload is packed.  Suddenly, you spew out a bunch of silly excuses reasons why you can't take on anything new.  You boss remains unmoved by your multitude reasons and still demands the work be done by the unreasonable deadline.  You somehow still work your magic (like you always do) and make it happen.
Be your own Boss tip #3:  Measure results and reward your outcomes
Sometimes, we'll set a goal for ourselves and never measure our results. Repeat after me: "This is not a boss move!" Bosses are constantly in meetings reviewing numbers and discussing their business.  They don't write their goals at the beginning of the year and forget all about them.

Bosses have to know where they stand with their goals at all times.  If they don't know their numbers, they don't know their business. If they don't know their business, they aren't managing it.  Plain and simple.  You call yourself a boss? Then get really intimate with your goals.  Know where you stand and what adjustments need to be made to get there.  Measure your results regularly and act fast if you aren't on the right track.

Lastly, a boss rewards her people for their hard work.  When I first started the year, my coach suggested that we right down the milestones we wanted to reach and a reward next to each milestone.  We started with really small milestones which grew to larger, more challenging objectives.  For example, I'd treat myself to a pedicure if I made X number in sales that month.  This system worked amazingly well which made milestones seem easy to reach.

Treat yo' self, as you make progress so you remain motivated to keep going for bigger and better. Which reminds me, It's time create the personal milestone(s) for my August goals and identify the accompanying rewards.  Just thinking about it gets me excited.  Which leads me to my last post.  A (good) boss motivates her people.  If you find yourself in a slump, your job is to get yourself motivated on a daily basis.

Watch Youtube videos, read inspiring books, listen to motivational audio,  re-read my motivation posts.  Do whatever it takes to get you in that boss-lady mindset each and every single day.  For those of you who are working today, I want you observe your boss in a new light. Watch what he/she does to run their business and take detailed notes.  Set high standards for yourself and start making boss moves.




Post a Comment

. BELLEMOCHA.com Theme by STS.