What is the Primary Focus of a Leader?

Discussions Include:

• What defines leadership
• Responsibilities of a leader
• Leading by example
• Focusing on "stewardship" and not "dictatorship"
• How to successfully provide guidance
• Setting S.M.A.R.T. goals
• Achieving business success through effective leadership
• Inspirational content

The Hangout:

This Hangout explores the question "What is the Primary Focus of a Leader?" with your host of Creative Chat Café, Zef Zan, and cohost, Tina Kadish of www.lifeisideal.com, and guest, Sarah Bailey, network marketer from No Limits Team International.

The Conversation:

ZEF: Leadership is an issue that affects all of us and we are often called upon it. Whether we are called upon to be involved in leading in business, leading a family, standing up for what is right, or organizing a dinner, a carpool, or a household, everyone has a leadership role to play. We are each thrust into many different leadership roles again and again, throughout our lives.

TINA: True leadership has always been a selfless action. It involves vision and guidance from the person at the top of the organization. It is a way of thinking that takes other people into account, even when your own needs are pressing. Leadership is a big responsibility. Leaders are responsible for a set of standards that can be traced back to values, beliefs, and “higher laws.”

ZEF: Since every individual is different, that naturally means that focus will vary from person to person. Some may choose to focus on results, some may choose to focus on service to people and community while others may focus on management, such as the tasks at hand. So how does a leader focus on what is important and what does focus look like for you?

TINA: I think that the primary focus of a leader is to set weekly, monthly, and yearly goals. Goals should be S.M.A.R.T. (specific, measurable, actionable, realistic, and timely). By focusing on your weekly, monthly, and yearly goals, you will be enabled to see the results that you have accomplished. Writing your goals down is very critical to ensure success.

ZEF: How do you maintain focus on your business in the midst of adversity?

SARAH: We all will face different challenges at different times in our lives. We may be faced with issues related to health, family, business or something else. If we are running or managing a business, we have to find a balance between handling life’s challenges while still meeting the needs of the business. We cannot pretend that the “life issue” is not happening. And yet, if we do not take care of ourselves and make sure we are in top health, we won’t be able to handle problems related to business.

I’m a big believer in living an “abundant life”.  Meaning, when you get to the end of your life, and you are on your death bed and you are looking back, you don’t want to have a life of regrets, right? You want to be able to look back and say, “YEAH!!! THAT was a life well-lived!” To do that, you have to look at what you are doing now, today, and ask yourself if what you are doing today will help you to live a “well-lived” life or a life of “regret” that is on-purpose and with intention.

So 30, 40, 50 years from now when you are on your death bed and you look back on this moment in your life, this moment of your illness or someone else’s who is close to you, do you want it to be a time that you devoted to your health or that of those around you, or that you were solely focused on business? My hope is that you will have a focus on your health and your family’s health. THAT really matters. And your loved ones will remember where your focus was. Your business partners and customers probably won’t.

Sure you will need to attend to the most critical and crucial aspects of your business, but in the END, what matters most is “people” not “business.”  Think about what absolutely MUST be done for your business, but be sure to take care of yourself and your loved ones and let them know THEY are your top priority.

Your Hosts:

Meet Zef Here!

TINA KADISH
www.LifeIsIdeal.com

"Through taking a Passion Test, Tina discovered that she was passionate about helping others achieve clarity in their lives. She is a self-empowerment facilitator who inspires others to become their best self and achieve financial freedom." 

SARAH BAILEY
www.SarahDBailey.com

"Sarah has a passion for teaching and coaching others to help them achieve wealth and financial freedom through network marketing. Instead of taking time to 'get' people into her business, she focuses on helping the other person."

Join us for more post-show conversations in our Google + community!

---

Tips for Effective Leadership:

• Write down your goals
• Plan ahead
• Manage your time efficiently
• Focus on what you have to do for business success
• Lead by example
• Focus on "stewardship," not "dictatorship"
• Provide guidance, but do not take away from an individual's freedom, choice, accountability, or responsibility
• Most people do not like to be "told"

Inspiration: 

Sarah's Journey with Cancer.

SARAH: During my cancer journey, I was going through radiation treatments to my head and neck; thankfully, I did not have to go through chemo treatments, but the radiation affected my mouth and throat. I was severely limited in my ability to talk due to the blisters on my tongue and a sunburned throat from the radiation. Since a big part of my business is recruiting, I spend a great deal of my time talking on the phone with people. It got to the point, with the blisters in my mouth I could nobly talk for 5-15 min at a time.  But during this 4-8 month period, I did not want to give up on my business altogether, so I had to find ways to still be able to recruit without compromising my health.

My focus was- what do I absolutely HAVE to do for business to have success? And since the biggest part of my business has to do with recruiting, it meant for me to zero in on ‘who are the most qualified people for me to talk to, who I can recruit into my business?’  It was no more messing around with talking to just anybody or random leads that I came across, but really, the most qualified people.

It helped me to focus on what I was really after and as a result, I was able to recruit at least one new qualified person each week into my business, which I considered a success.

I am a HUGE believer in “mindset;” that which you think about most of the time you will attract to you.  In relation to health and going through cancer treatments, I did not want people offering me sympathy. I wanted encouragement instead. If they gave me sympathy and “poor me” for having cancer, then it caused me to focus on the illness, feeling crummy and why me?! But with encouragement, like “you can DO this! You can conquer cancer!!” I had more of a winning attitude.

Same thing in business- whatever you think about most, you will attract to you. If you think “oh, this will never work”, it won’t. If you “KNOW” you will find a way to achieve success, you will.