Gillian Davis Masterclass at Pirate X Virtual Summit
Last week, our founder – Gillian Davis– led a Masterclass on Personal Values and Managing Yourself in collaboration with Pirate X, a virtual conference.
What we have realized in the past couple of months is that this is the new normal in the sense that we don’t know what is going to happen next and depending on what role you play everyone is living a very different experience in this global pandemic. As founders and leaders, it’s very important to recognize that every second counts. A lot of people are leading without being mindful of the actions they are role modeling, how they are communicating, and how they are showing up.
Know Your Values
Gillian discussed how personal values play a role in our work life as, for founders, they are intimately tied to company values. It is important that you don’t react to situations, instead, learn to respond and reconsider, do not override your energy either, as doing so will put you in the danger zone of burnout. This kind of self-mastery starts with you understanding your values and how you approach them, these values can be anything from your behaviors to the things that guide you.
It's important for founders to recognize their values, when the company starts to grow and bring in external hires is when the company starts to get a little bit out of alignment. It’s really important to recognize what your personal values are as this friction starts to develop. Think back to high school, think back to when you were a kid, what kind of games did you like to play, what values defined your life, what values do you live by? What could give you a hint as to what really matters to you? Write all of those down.
Think of the next three months, your goals, your team, and what you have to deliver. Are you raising money? Do you have a product launch coming? Are you just surviving? Think of what you have going on and brainstorm another set of behaviors that you think are needed to attain these goals in the next three months. You should have a set of personal values and a set of values that are going to drive your goals for the next three months.
Company Values are very often poorly delivered as they are not role modeled by leadership. Don’t fall into that trap. Be intentional with them. What’s most important is to be really clear about what matters to your company and make sure that the behaviors you are recognizing and rewarding, align with what you say. Values are the foundation to your company as they help you drive the culture. Link the values to the business strategy. You cultivate that culture as a leadership team by being very intentional about the behaviors that you role model.
We often recognize where we need to shift our behaviors, but we try to change too much at once - keep it simple and focused.
Manage The Mind
An individual mindset is important in this time of uncertainty. Mindset is 99% of a management role – you can deliver and be a lot more centered and a lot more human. We can get caught up in the anxious, worry, fear brain that can dictate a story that isn’t our reality. It’s not about eliminating that voice, it’s just about managing it.
Gillian has found herself repeating this over the past few months:
“There is no correlation between the amount of time you spend worrying in the present and your ability to deal with that situation in the future”.
Work hard on the mental conversation that can dip into fear and worry. Be mindful of what you are sharing with your team. What conversation are you having internally and how is it impacting those around you? You want to make sure you are motivating your team and giving them a clear direction to go in. Manage yourself, accordingly, making sure you are taking care of yourself, and not stepping towards a burnout. Bring business goals just down to three months to enable planning and still hold that strong vision you have for the next 2-3 years.
Set your teams a clear vision for the next three years, it should be compelling, exciting, to remind your people why they work with you. It should help you know why you exist, where you are going, and what impact you are going to have in the world. Manage your energy and mind and drive the right values that will drive your business. When growing your business, know where you can stretch to and what's outside of your wheelhouse. Be mindful of staying true to who you are, that authenticity will guide you through the pandemic.
You’ve got this.
If you’re interested in developing your leadership style in these uncertain times, you might be interested in talking to us about some of our remote offerings.
At OverTime Leader we provide executive leadership and management advisory for technology-enabled businesses and teams. If you are looking to spark a people-powered change in your business our team has a toolbox full of ways to help you get started.
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