by Ruby McGuire (UK)
If you are running a business, you need to think like a CEO and be a leader. In my world, I play with royalty when I talk about leadership, so I talk about Kings and Queens. I work with Queens, mostly, but I do work with some Kings too! Kings & Queens are just a way to characterise leaders. When you are the royal head of a country you need to think strategically, inspire and lead your people. During the ‘thing we won’t name’ that’s been going on over the past year-plus, business owners have had to adapt to constant change. It’s now more important than ever to step up and be a leader.
Leading is about being confident, having a sense of surety about you. There are many different types of leaders. You can be autocratic, democratic, laissez-faire, direct, coaching, supportive, bureaucratic, to name just a few. There are also many different traits that you perceive a good leader has to have, i.e. integrity, compassion, vision, self-awareness, communication skills etc.
What characteristics do you think make a good King/Queen?
The beauty of running your own business is that you get to define the kind of leader you want to be.
You complete your coach training and then you have to figure out how to run a business. This means getting brave and stepping up as a leader. Here are 7 things you need to be a successful leader of your coaching business.
- Good leaders are visionaries and influencers. You need to think strategically and be willing to try new ways of doing things. Inspire others to think and dream bigger. Be a trailblazer, not willing to always follow the crowd, but define how you want to carve out your business and life. It’s very easy to follow the trend of what everyone is doing, especially in the online space, but that will separate you from other people marketing their businesses. Take a stand, be willing to go against the grain of what everyone else is doing, and forge your own path. Yes, it can feel very uncomfortable, but you can have powerful conversations with kindness and generosity.
Each day, decide how you can inspire someone, whether it’s through a conversation, your writing, a video or any other method of communication. By doing this you are showing that you’re not afraid to walk your talk, you are not afraid to lead by example, you are not afraid to be a trailblazer. You are inspiring people, and you are giving them hope and encouragement that they can also step up as well. The more you step up, the more people you will inspire to step up in their own lives.
- Good leaders lead by example – You have spent time perfecting your craft and skillset, and you need to make time to continuously learn and hone your skills. Don’t just teach people what they should do, you do it yourself first, and then share your experiences of it, i.e. ‘This is what I tried’. ‘This really didn’t work for me’. ‘This is what I am doing’. Allow people to follow along your journey with you.
Source: iCN Issue 34 (Leadership Coaching); pages 9-11
About Ruby McGuire
Ruby McGuire is a Business & Mindset Queen. She is an Accredited Master Coach, Mentor, Trainer, Speaker and Writer. She loves helping her clients step up and become leaders (aka Queens) of their businesses by developing leadership skills, ditching self-doubt and creating a success mindset. She’s a Brit on a mission to live a simpler life without marketing with social media so that she can spend more time in her beautiful Scottish surroundings. You can find her at her pretty online home or satisfying her obsession of pinning on Pinterest! Finally, check out her mini guide to Marketing Without Social Media (an extract from her book, Ruby’s Coaching Gems).
