As an entrepreneur, being your own boss can be a joy and a burden. You are responsible for tough decisions about how to stay relevant in the marketplace, when to take on more debt, or how to handle an economic downturn. It is never smooth sailing, so learning to thrive and grow in difficult situations is essential to your success.
“We don’t talk about struggle enough,” says Steven Snyder, author of Leadership and the Art of Struggle (Berrett-Koehler, 2013). “We deny it and treat it as a taboo topic. That forces people to become embarrassed about it.”
When leaders push emotional or professional challenges under the rug, those unaddressed feelings plant a seed of self doubt. That leads to low confidence, self-comparison, and diminished faith in your ability to handle future trials — a toxic combination.
On the other hand, if those challenges are addressed, leaders begin to flourish. “Struggle and leadership are intertwined,” Snyder says. “Challenges create the opportunity for leadership growth.”
To conquer difficult situations and grow your business, prepare yourself to handle the challenge mentally and emotionally. Here are three tips to help you do that:
1. Build self-awareness.
Every leader faces constant struggles, but problems arise when fear and self-doubt take over. To prevent that from happening, be mindful of your emotional state. “If you can really pay attention to your fears and deal with them, then you can be so much more effective,” Snyder says.
To become aware of your fears, look for signs of resistance or displaced anger. You might be procrastinating on a decision, arguing without listening to the other side, or lashing out at your family. Ask yourself, what is really going on here? What do I fear will happen? What am I telling myself about this situation, and is it productive? By building that awareness, you regain control of the situation……Read More
