The 10 Principles of Leadership

I'm delivering a presentation to my leadership on the 10 Principles of Leadership This will become a powerpoint to present in July when we meet in Havana Cuba for our annual in-person LIFT Enrichment Leadership retreat So…it's starting as a blog post.  Let's go! It's these principles (and more) that helped me scale my service company to 8-figure in revenue AND with great leaders so it only takes me 8 hours a month to manage. 

1. Work Hard

I thought this would be obvious, but it's very important to say that good leaders WORK hard.  They clock in early and often stay late.   I find that leaders don't just start and stop their work exactly from 9am-5pm.   I even have one leader I have to literally FORCE to disconnect when she's on vacation because she works so hard.

2. Be Willing To Give Constructive Criticism Regularly (Conversation Recap)

I wrote this entire blog post on how to deliver constructive criticism. The "Conversation Recap" is my simple tool for seeing real change, and logging any instances where an internal team member is not taking feedback effectively. A leader gives REGULAR conversation recaps.  They don't "forget" to log one when things go wrong…because that will happen in business.   If your leader hasn't sent a recap in a month or two…and you have a sizable team…chances are they are being too soft and are just giving verbal feedback without the email.  It's not a "mean" thing…because it actually corrects issues better than anything else I've tried

3. Be disciplined and strong

A good leader is cool, calm and collected when bad things happen.   There aren't tears or a sense of "overwhelm," at least in public. In private meetings, it's ok to have doubts and concerns. But when leading your team you have to be strong, focused and unemotional…as best you can. I take most business issues in stride, and my team notices that while I can be direct and upfront when bad things happen, you won't see me whine or look desperate. You gotta be strong!

4. Manages THEIR numbers effectively

I go on-and-on about the importance of using numbers to run your business.   A good leader knows what numbers (or Key Performance Indicators) they are individually in charge of each week, month and quarter.   Every one on my team (including leaders) have KPIs that they report on. A good leader looks at THEIR numbers closely and doesn't want them to be "red" too often.  For me, 3 weeks in a row having a number in red is a problem.   Maybe the goal isn't realistic.  Maybe there aren't enough "actions" being taken to get the results needed.  

5. Manages THEIR team's numbers effectively

A good leader looks at their operations or sales or HR team and makes sure everyone is hitting their own weekly numbers. If it's in sales…you can see if your reps are making enough outbound calls each week or setting enough meetings. If it's in HR…you can see if your team is doing enough first interviews each week to hire the quantity of staff you need to service your clients If it's in Operations…you can see if your team is staffing the sites in a timely fashion or if clients are sending excellent scores to your team about the service. The beauty of numbers is that you only need to look at them weekly…not daily. And this connects well with how leaders

6. Leads Weekly Meetings Effectively

My leaders all have their own weekly 90-minute meeting that they have to lead.   This meeting always include KPIs reviews (and we note them in green or red) It shares wins from the previous week It looks at last week's scorecard It highlights employee or customer headlines to share with the team (good or bad ones) It reviews To-Do items from the week It looks over Quarterly Rocks progress And, most importantly, there is a lot of "Issue-processing" aka "Problem-solving" The bulk of the meeting is looking at problems and solving them "forever" There are also daily huddles as well, but the weekly meeting is far, far more important.  It's best done on Monday and sets the tone for the week ahead.  

7. Communicate with THEIR Supervisor Effectively

All leaders have their own bosses, and that relationship involves very good communication.. Right now, the president reports to me, and the directors of HR, Operations and Sales report to her. I've played around with the right level of cadence. In the beginning, Slava (the president) and I met weekly.  Then we tried once a month.  I think the perfect amount is a 2-hour meeting bi-monthly. Plus I join the Leadership meeting once a month. If there is a high-level emergency, we can hop on a call.   She's been with the company almost 3 years, so she knows how it works inside and out, but for someone newer I'm sure there would be more communication needed. She meets with her team for 1-on-1s every week or two, and often has meetings in between. The key is just finding what works, being aligned on the big goal and finding out how often is necessary to connect to go over business problems.

8. Exemplify The Core Values

Most bad hires come missing a key core value. We had to let someone go earlier this year because the Core Values of "Get It Done" and "Bring The Fun" were not there.  This person didn't get deadlines completed on time and in meetings (and outside of meetings) didn't show real confidence and strength that we needed to see. We only have 4 core values:

1. Win-Win
2. Get It Done
3. Follow The Process
4. Bring The Fun

These core values are ranked on 3 levels for every staff member: Plus:  You're doing an amazing job exemplifying the core value Plus/Minus:  You're doing just an ok job…some hits and some misses Minus:  Your actions and attitude are the opposite of the core value It's really that simple. If you have less than two Pluses and two Plus/Minuses you might get fired.  If they are low, we'll point these out to you (and it will include a Conversation Recap) to see if you can work to bring those back. A good leader should be Pluses on all 4.  Any Plus/Minus can be adjusted with the right work and attitude.

9. Excel At Project Management

Our quarterly rocks (or 90-day projects) are very important for growing the business. Each involves deadlines that must be respected.  I like 5 to-do items per quarterly rock. A good leader is obsessed with hitting these to-do items on or before the deadline we agree on. I've seen some leaders slack on this part, and it's not good. A quarterly rock should be the focus of your week, so get that key thing done!

10. Leaders Are Master Delegators

A manager doesn't do the day-to-day work with clients, they delegate that to account coordinators.. A sales manager doesn't do the selling, they delegate it and watch the results An operations manager doesn't do the account management, they supervisor their team and look at the scores coming from clients about our service An HR manager doesn't hire and onboard, but they hop on interviews occasionally and see how well the team is doing staffing our school clients A president doesn't sell to schools, or account manage or hire…but will step in as needed to help improve the process and brainstorm unique solutions. You have to delegate effectively.   I have delegated EVERYTHING with LIFT Enrichment.  The only key things I focus on (besides the high-level numbers) are some financial reports and tax strategies we are doing, which only take a few hours a month and directly effect my income (aka the company's net profit) You're not a good leader if you "do" a lot of the service…that's the job of your team. The biggest mistake I once made was taking my best sales rep and making her the sales manager.  She didn't do a good job (this was way back in 2019) and I learned a valuable lesson.  She couldn't delegate or train very well. But since then, I've  learned from my mistakes  and now have a phenomenal team. Want to scale your business from 7 to 8 figures, just live I've done?  I run an 8-figure service company with a staff of 300 people that teaches 18,000 kids a week how to cook healthy foods…and it only takes me 8-hours a month.  I help businesses with 1-on-1 consulting, including aesthetic clinics and recruitment companies, among others.  Here's the link to hop on a consultation call to see how I can help you grow