33 - Core Values Are Not Enough

14 mei 2024 · Be the Anchor – Strategies and Support for Small Business Owners

00:16:50

I’m glad you’re here for an episode that may be a little bit short but is full of necessity. I want to talk about core values. A lot of businesses talk about core values, small and large businesses alike. And that’s good! Every business should have done an activity that helps define and develop its core values as a company. What I’ve been seeing lately, though, is that while it’s wonderful to hear a business declare “We stand for loyalty, transparency, and trust”, what happens if what occurs in levels of the business contradicts those values? That’s what I want to examine.

It may sound harsh, or like doom and gloom when I say that stating core values that are not followed through on in actions as a business truly can be the demise of the business. Why would I say that? Core values represent things you promise to be and do as a company. If you fail to live up to those stated values, you lose integrity. You present as out of alignment and customers lose trust in everything you say and offer. That kind of loss can be catastrophic to a business.

I want to give you examples of situations I’ve encountered with real business owners that demonstrate this. How does this contradiction show up? What does it look like when core values aren’t acted on in a business? Where does it usually creep in? How can that be prevented? I want you and your business to succeed so I’m going to address all those questions. I’m glad you’re joining me to dig deeper into what core values mean beyond stating them as part of a business plan. It’s so important to ask yourself how you will keep those values alive in your daily activities.

Key Moments

02:02 Why misalignment with core values can be the end of a business

03:03 Business example of core values initially in action

05:01 Follow-up example of how later actions were at odds with the stated core values

Why a noted misalignment of core values to actions mattersAsk what your business’s core values are and whether you are demonstrating them Look into your team and ask yourself if they’re leading or being led according to your core values

Resources discussed in this episode:

Anchored Leadership Academy

Contact Kari Lotzien | Be the Anchor:

Website: BeTheAnchor.caFacebook: BeTheAnchorLtdInstagram: BeTheAnchor.caLinkedin: Be-The-Anchor-Ltd

Transcript:

Kari Lotzien: [00:00:01] Welcome to Be the Anchor, the podcast. I'm your host, business and leadership coach Kari Lotzien. When the seas of life get stormy, and they always will, it is not up to us to captain anyone else's ship or to try to calm the waters of the ocean. It's up to us to set our own destination for what we really want, and to learn how to navigate those waves of life together while finding that place of security and stability with others. I call this being an anchor.

Kari Lotzien: [00:00:38] Hello my friends. I'm so glad you're here. Today's episode is going to be a little bit short, but I feel like it has so much necessity. So I don't think that it is uncommon right now to hear businesses talk about their core values. And I think that a lot of small businesses, a lot of large businesses, can say here's what we stand for: we believe in trust, we believe in transparency, we believe in loyalty, we believe in professionalism. And that is all fine and good. And I really hope that if you haven't kind of done an activity around developing the core values of your business, that you will do that. When we think about the core values of a company, it's the same as we are personally. Our core values are there to guide our behavior, and it's the same in business. Core values aren't just something that you talk about during your team meetings, or that you put in your training manuals, or that you talk about and it's one and done. Your core values in your business should be the guide to every single thing that you do, the services that you provide, how you have your customer experience journey, how you onboard new team members, how you develop team culture. Your core values guide everything. I had a situation here in this last week that I wanted to share because I think that it highlighted this idea that we can have core values, but if we don't carry them through all aspects of our business, that it really starts to feel like we are out of our own integrity as a business. And I fully believe - this might sound like super catastrophic, but listen, that's just where I'm at today - I believe this can be the absolute demise of a company. Okay. I want to share with you about a conversation that I had with a small business owner recently. The first time that I met this small business owner, the first thing that drew me and that I noticed about this company was what an inclusive environment is. There was so much diversity in this really small business. There were people who were English as a second language. There were people who had diagnosed anxiety challenges. There were people that had all different ways of communicating and needs in this very small company. But I could tell that the owner had created this true sense of family and connection and support, and had been guiding his company so well through adapting some of the ways that they onboarded, how they did their schedule, how they set up their workstations. There were so many things that were going beautifully in the company, and it really stood out to me.

Kari Lotzien: [00:03:36] Now let's fast forward a bit. So I have a conversation here just a couple of weeks ago, and the same business owner came to me and said, I've got a new employee who is really underperforming. They are just not meeting the criteria for what we need in the business. So my response to this was, okay, tell me kind of where this person came from. How did you find them? How did they come to be? What are they doing really well? And this owner wanted me to work directly with that employee, which is always a hesitation for me because I like to work more with the owner, because I believe that they're the best ones who can create change in the business and really create that different culture, because then they're leading it. So as we were exploring this and I dug into it and I said, you know, I'm willing to kind of explore with this employee to figure out kind of like, what's going on, where are we missing, how might we adjust the training, or how might we adjust how we're communicating so that this person can be more successful, I said, but I really need to be working also with their manager. And who's the person who's responsible for mentorship? Who's the person that is the one who's guiding them, who's giving them tasks to do, who's doing their most of their training on a day to day basis? And this person paused and they said, well, we do - so defined who this person was - and said, ah, you know, but I'm a little bit hesitant because this person is difficult.

Kari Lotzien: [00:05:15] And what they then uncovered is that this person was really good at their job. They were really good at the tasks that they were assigned to do. They were in an admin position. So in terms of invoicing, communication, managing a really busy office, they were doing really well with the tasks. They had the ability to manage a lot of different competing demands on their attention and their time. But he said, really, when it comes to new staff, this person can be - his words, not mine - a little bit of a B. And he said there's times where she's just not very patient, where she's kind of like, you know, he's like, honestly, like there's times where I feel like she's really judgmental. I paused and I said, I apologize, but I'm kind of surprised. And I said, well, because back when we first met what I saw is that you had this beautiful, inclusive business. And when we talked about the core values of your business, it was family and trust and relationship. Like he just really created this sense of community and belonging for these people who may not have felt like they fit elsewhere. And I said, now you've given a management position and a mentorship position to someone who does not seem to hold those same core values of non-judgment and inclusion and family, and that sense of belonging. This just surprises me.

Kari Lotzien: [00:06:56] And as we talked through this, he said, well, honestly, I never looked at it that way because she's really good at her job. The tasks that she does on her front line, the things that she is responsible for outside of the management position, she's really good at. Now, I'm going to be honest with you, I'm really concerned about the future of this company if she stays, especially holding the same behaviors that she does right now that demonstrate judgment and not accepting people who have different learning abilities or people who might be challenged with the language. Because if that is how your behavior, how your mentorship, how your training program is being executed, the behavior of the business, if that's not in alignment with these core values of belonging and accepting and inclusivity that you are sharing and saying out loud to people, you have this real lack of integrity in your business.

[00:08:09] Jillian is an incredible entrepreneur who is going through a time of scaling her very successful business. When she offered to record a testimonial about her experience with the Anchored Leadership Academy to go on my podcast, I was so honored. Have a listen to what she had to say. My name is Jillian and I just finished the Anchored Leadership program with Kari Lotzien. I'm a financial planner. I've owned a practice for eight years. And I'd hit a space of exponential growth. Everything was going great, but I always struggled with the management of team, how to hire, how to fire, how to have those yucky conversations. And that was a huge takeaway from the Anchored Leadership, where I got tools and practice as to how to implement those things into my business so I can continue to grow and continue to thrive. It was an exceptional experience that I would highly recommend to any business owner who is looking to push through their discomfort to that next level of success. In the Anchored Leadership Academy, we combine weekly live sessions for one hour that focus on a key area of leadership, and then participants have the ability to work through all of the content in the modules between sessions. This allows a nice balance between accountability for really busy entrepreneurs to keep moving forward with the program and get it done, while also having the ability to flex their time a little bit and make it work for them. An added bonus, all participants get lifetime access to the videos, the audio, all of the resources in the course so you can keep coming back to it again and again when it applies to that specific time in your business. If this sounds like an interesting thing to you, click the link in the show notes, book an inquiry call, and let's see if the Anchored Leadership Academy is right for you at this stage of business. Thanks so much. Back to the show.

Kari Lotzien: [00:10:09] Now here's the thing. I think with small business owners, this can happen fairly easily because initially you are the hub of the wheel. And I do think that the owners behaviors were still in alignment with the core values of the company. But I think what had happened is that in that when this person was in a frontline role, when they were in an employee role without a management title, they were very successful in that position, and because they were successful in the position, they then got moved into management, which I see often. Promoted, not because they had exceptional mentorship abilities, because they were a really good manager of people, because they had really good communication skills. They were promoted because they were showing really good results in their role, in their current role as admin. But when we move them into a management position, now all of a sudden they are executing the core values of the business in a different role. And this was not lining up. I think we then need to go back and revisit. As the owner, have a conversation with that manager. These are the core values of the business, this is what we believe, and this is how our training protocol aligns with that core value. This is how our customer service aligns with our core values. When someone comes in and they can't really describe what's going on because maybe they are English as a second language, maybe they just don't have the knowledge or the experience, what I want to know, when we talk about inclusivity, belonging, family, that that customer is also met with patience, that we maybe try a few different ways to have a conversation with them so that we can gather the information that we need to provide the service to this person, but that we don't have that customer service experience where that person feels like they're a frustration, or that we don't have patience for them, or that they don't belong here.

Kari Lotzien: [00:12:31] So when we look at core values, I think this is where some businesses are falling short. And I want you to ask yourself, when you go back to your core values in your business, even if you are a solopreneur, when you look at every element of your business, how are you demonstrating those core values in your systems, in your processes, in the actions in the business? And if you can't easily tell me how your core values are demonstrated, or if I was to say to you, okay, poke holes. Are there any places in your company where your core value is not completely in alignment with how you're behaving? If you can't do that easily, I want you to just dive into it and really address are those two things lining up? A) if you are the one controlling all of those systems and processes, and you're the one actually executing the customer service, it's somewhat easier. But then if you have a team, and especially if you have someone else on your team who is executing at a management or a mentorship or doing training in your company, I am really pushing on the fact that they must be able to describe how your core values are demonstrated in their training, in how they're training the front line in terms of customer service or providing, you know, a product and experience for whoever is paying you to provide that service. How is that being executed on every single level? When you dive into this, you can create huge change in your business. But I think this is where core values just aren't enough.

Kari Lotzien: [00:14:16] So a little bit of food for thought today. This might feel a little bit, I don't know, intense or pushy. I'm really not trying to be pushy. I want your business to succeed, and I think we spend a lot of time thinking about our core values and what we stand for and what we want to stand for, but that is not a one and done exercise. Your core values need to show up in your business, in your processes, every single day, every single time that you face a challenge, or you're coming up against a question where you're not sure what the right thing is to do, you go back to your core values and you say, okay, if this is our core value, what would be the next right action that we would take? It should guide your decision-making. So core values are not a one and done where you write it on a piece of paper and then you don't look at it for another, I don't know, five years. It should be part of every single decision you make. And if it's not aligning or if you need to shift your core values to maybe more accurately describe your current model, that's okay. But make sure those two things are connected, because if they're not, this can be the demise of your business. Because when you get this or when you have someone, especially in management or mentorship training position, where their core values are in opposition to yours, this is toxic and it can spread like a cancer through your business. And you don't want that.

Kari Lotzien: [00:15:44] Okay, I love you. I want to share the hard things with you, and I want to be having these hard conversations. I want to point out where you might be having some blind spots in your business. So today that's all this little episode was, is to just invite you to have a look at that and to do some serious little work on really digging in. Okay. Thanks so much for being here. We'll see you next week. If you haven't clicked on the link to subscribe to the newsletter, that is the absolute best way to know what's going on, when new episodes are released, what the topics are, and all of the fun little things that I'm doing, connections that I'm making, I love to share. So the best place to connect with me is definitely through my newsletter. So click on the link in the notes and sign up for that. Thanks so much. We'll see you next time.

Kari Lotzien: [00:16:31] Please know that this podcast is meant for entertainment purposes only. It is not a substitution for medical or professional mental health advice. If you require support, please do reach out. Thanks so much.

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Afleveringen

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I am thrilled to welcome Roxann Klepper, a top realtor from central Alberta and a member of the prestigious RE/MAX Hall of Fame. Beyond her success in real estate, Roxanne is a passionate advocate for women creating strong, sustainable businesses and a proactive community builder.
About Roxann:
Grew up in Central Alberta.Not only a distinguished realtor but also a significant figure in supporting women entrepreneurs.Host of the podcast "Brick by Brick," focusing on female entrepreneurship and community building.
Episode Highlights:
An Unexpected Path to Real Estate and Entrepreneurship:Transitioned to real estate full-time after reassessing her career and life goals with her husband. Transitioning from a job she loved to embracing a new opportunity in real estateHow Roxann moved into leadership and the wisdom of her mentor
Challenges and Adaptations:Discusses the difficulties of leaving a stable job and adapting to the entrepreneurial lifestyle.Emphasizes the importance of flexibility and the decision to focus on real estate for long-term personal and professional goals.
Mentorship and Growth:The crucial role of mentorship in business development and success.Strategies for transitioning from a conventional job to owning a business.
Entrepreneurship Insights:Insights into the demanding nature of running a business, including the need to excel in various roles.Advice on focusing on high-value tasks and delegating lesser tasks to optimize business operations.
Financial Literacy and Women in Business:The importance of financial literacy, especially for women.Personal anecdotes about the impact of financial education on personal and professional life.
Work-Life Balance and Health Challenges:Roxann shares her recent health challenges and the impact on her business.Strategies for maintaining business continuity during personal crises.
Roxann’s journey reflects the resilience and adaptability required to succeed in business. Her story is not just about professional success, but about building meaningful connections and fostering a supportive community.
Contact Roxann Klepper
"Brick by Brick," podcast for more insights on entrepreneurship and community building.Website: roxyk.ca For real estate inquiries or collaborations, Facebook: RoxyKRealEstateInstagram: roxklepper
Work with Kari:
Anchored Leadership AcademyPrivate Business and Leadership Coaching
Contact Kari Lotzien | Be the Anchor:
Website: BeTheAnchor.caFacebook: BeTheAnchorLtdInstagram: BeTheAnchor.caLinked In: Kari Lotzien
Thank you for tuning in! Join us next week for another inspiring episode of "Be The Anchor." Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review if you enjoyed today's discussion.
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24 dec 2024· Be the Anchor – Strategies and Support for Small Business Owners
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01:45 Reflecting on Core Values
02:42 Embracing Gratitude
04:52 Celebrating Wins
07:57 Learning from Challenges
11:00 Creating Space for Rest and Renewal
13:45 Conclusion and Looking Ahead
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Work with Kari:
Anchored Leadership AcademyPrivate Business and Leadership Coaching
Contact Kari Lotzien | Be the Anchor:
Website: BeTheAnchor.caFacebook: BeTheAnchorLtdInstagram: BeTheAnchor.caLinked In: Kari Lotzien
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10 dec 2024· Be the Anchor – Strategies and Support for Small Business Owners
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Take a moment to practice joy stretching this holiday season. Slow down, engage your senses, and savor the small moments of connection and happiness.
Call to Action:
If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to rate, review, and subscribe to "Be The Anchor" on your favorite podcast platform. Share this episode with someone who needs a little more joy and connection in their life.
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47 - Hiring Friends and Family Members
26 nov 2024· Be the Anchor – Strategies and Support for Small Business Owners
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Key Topics Discussed:
Mindset Triggers in Hiring Friends and FamilyCommon scenarios leading to these hires: personal compassion or business emergencies.How to step into the CEO role and evaluate decisions objectively.
Keeping the Hiring Process Fair:Importance of treating friends and family like any other candidate.Why resumes, interviews, and reference checks are non-negotiable.Setting equitable standards to ensure a fair workplace.
Defining Roles and Responsibilities:How clear job descriptions and boundaries support healthy relationships.Tips for balancing personal connections with professional expectations.
Navigating Bias and Accountability:Recognizing and mitigating loyalty bias and the halo effect.Establishing systems and metrics to ensure fairness across the team.
Planning for Sticky Situations:Preparing for potential challenges like performance issues or role transitions.The importance of regular assessments and open communication.
Real-Life Examples:Kari shares a personal story about hiring her daughter during a peak business period, highlighting a couple of key strategies to making this work well
Key Takeaways for Small Business Owners:
Treat every hire, friend or family, as a professional decision.Use systems and processes to maintain fairness and protect relationships.Plan ahead for potential issues, including how to handle exits gracefully.
Special Offer:
Take the Leadership Style Quiz to discover your strengths and receive personalized strategies and podcast recommendations tailored to your current business stage and your style of leadership.
Work with Kari:
Anchored Leadership AcademyPrivate Business and Leadership Coaching
Contact Kari Lotzien | Be the Anchor:
Website: BeTheAnchor.caFacebook: BeTheAnchorLtdInstagram: BeTheAnchor.caLinked In: Kari Lotzien
Enjoyed this episode?
Subscribe and share it with fellow small business owners who might benefit from these insights. Follow Kari on LinkedIn or visit our website for more resources on scaling your business and building a strong team.
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Key Topics:
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Resources from this Episode:
Journal Prompts and Guide to Stop Overthinking
Work with Kari:
Anchored Leadership AcademyPrivate Business and Leadership Coaching
Contact Kari Lotzien | Be the Anchor:
Website: BeTheAnchor.caFacebook: BeTheAnchorLtdInstagram: BeTheAnchor.caLinked In: Kari Lotzien
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Key Points covered in this episode:
Most podcasts start strong and fail fast: Did you know? Most podcasts don’t go beyond three episodes, and only 11% reach 50 episodes. This podcast is at episode 45, which places it in a select group of consistently published content. There is still so much opportunity in this space but you need to know what to expect and plan for it.How do you make money podcasting?: Although this podcast is not monetized, I discuss potential revenue streams such as sponsorships and affiliate marketing. However, I want to share the non-monetary benefits I see from this platform. Solo or Guest Episodes? Design your show style to meet your business goals. I share specific thoughts around guest experts, solo or client episodes. Podcasting allows business owners to build relationships and trust with potential clients by sharing their knowledge and expertise. It is an effective platform for showcasing your personality and approach before formal client interactions.Where do you come up with content ideas?: I share 3 key ways that I come up with content and how I keep it organized using very simple systems.Client conversations and themesOther podcasts Business or personal development books How much time does it take to record a podcast each week?: Podcasting is not a quick process—between recording, editing, and marketing, it can take hours to produce a single episode. As with any other part of your business, it is important to create systems and processes for podcasting to ensure you are getting the most benefit.
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Work with Kari:
Anchored Leadership AcademyPrivate Business and Leadership Coaching
Free resources:
Discover your Leadership Style Quiz
Contact Kari Lotzien | Be the Anchor:
Website: BeTheAnchor.caFacebook: BeTheAnchorLtdInstagram: BeTheAnchor.caLinked In: Kari Lotzien
Contact Astronomic Audio:
Website: AstronomicAudio.ca
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44 - Finding your Blind Spots as a Leader
15 okt 2024· Be the Anchor – Strategies and Support for Small Business Owners
I am getting vulnerable with you today. There are few experiences in life that act as amplifiers for self-awareness. Intimate relationships, parenthood, and running a business can act as 'amplifiers' that can help reveal our true nature and shed light on our blind spots as a leader. I am sharing a bit of my own personal journey, including mistakes and real-life examples, to illustrate the challenges leaders face when seeking and responding to feedback. I have also created a fun quiz to help you discover your natural leadership style. I am sharing few details about my upcoming six-week course 'Becoming an Anchored Leader.’ It is designed to help you become a more confident delegator, to lead tough conversations with clarity and to help you become even more self aware in a safe and confidential group. This episode is packed with practical advice and heartfelt insights to help you become a more resilient and effective leader.
Key points in this episode:
00:43 Exploring Self-Awareness in Leadership
02:42 Key Life Experiences as Amplifiers
04:27 Self Reflection in Leadership
06:26 Seeking and Receiving Feedback as a Leader
09:36 Understanding Leadership Styles
23:40 Invitation take my Leadership Style Quiz
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Resources discussed in this episode:
Anchored Leadership AcademyPrivate Business and Leadership CoachingDiscover your Leadership Style Quiz
Contact Kari Lotzien | Be the Anchor:
Website: BeTheAnchor.caFacebook: BeTheAnchorLtdInstagram: BeTheAnchor.caLinked In: Kari Lotzien
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1 okt 2024· Be the Anchor – Strategies and Support for Small Business Owners
In this week’s episode, I am diving into the challenging topic of accountability within small business. We are discussing practical strategies for leaders to not only hold their teams accountable but also themselves, ensuring clarity and fostering responsibility in the workplace.
Key Points:
Leading by Example:
Let’s talk about the importance of leaders holding themselves accountable before expecting the same from their teams. Accountability begins with fulfilling your own commitments and setting a standard through consistent follow-through.Clarity in Delegation:
Accountability starts with clear communication. Leaders must ensure that team members fully understand what tasks they are responsible for, the deadlines they need to meet, and the specific expectations of the role. Vague instructions lead to confusion, so clarity is key.Addressing Missed Accountability:
How do leaders address missed deadlines or targets in a calm and constructive way. Using frameworks like the Situation-Behavior-Impact (SBI) model, leaders can provide feedback without creating defensiveness, while maintaining the importance of meeting set goals.
Resources discussed in this episode:
Anchored Leadership AcademyPrivate Business and Leadership CoachingCrucial Conversations - Joseph Grenny, Kerry Patterson, Ron McMillan
Contact Kari Lotzien | Be the Anchor:
Website: BeTheAnchor.caFacebook: BeTheAnchorLtdInstagram: BeTheAnchor.caLinked In: Kari Lotzien
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17 sep 2024· Be the Anchor – Strategies and Support for Small Business Owners
In this inspiring episode of Be The Anchor, host Kari Lotzien speaks with Angie Caillou, founder of AVS Legal, about her journey from solopreneur to leading a team of 16. Angie shares her personal experiences in overcoming the challenges of balancing work and a busy family life, and how she leveraged business coaching and the Anchored Leadership Academy to achieve her goals.
Key Points Discussed:
Why not now: Angie shares a beautiful story about how she decided to take the plunge from being an employee to becoming an entrepreneur. She talks about the challenges she faced in the early year as her business grew and her family became even busier.Deciding to work with a business coach: Angie shares how she made the decision to work with hire a coach.The Impact of Business Coaching: Angie shares how her involvement with the Anchored Leadership Academy and coaching sessions with Kari gave her the clarity and confidence to grow her business strategically, overcoming roadblocks she faced in scaling her operations.Building a Strong Business Foundation: Angie talks about the challenges of finding time to work on her business rather than just in it, and how coaching helped her create the structure and systems needed to support long-term growth. She shared how coaching helped her to attract strong candidates to build her team in a highly specialized field.Gaining Confidence and Delegating: Through coaching, Angie learned to let go of control and trust her team, enabling her to focus on high-level leadership and continue expanding her services.The Power of Community: Angie reflects on the importance of connecting with other business owners in the Anchored Leadership Academy, describing how the support and shared experiences of the group helped her navigate difficult decisions with confidence.Balancing Work and Family: Angie discusses how coaching helped her reclaim her time, allowing her to create a better balance between her growing business and family life—ultimately taking her first worry-free vacation since starting her company.
To learn more about resources mentioned in this episode:
Resources discussed in this episode:
Anchored Leadership AcademyPrivate Business and Leadership Coaching
Contact Kari Lotzien | Be the Anchor:
Website: BeTheAnchor.caFacebook: BeTheAnchorLtdInstagram: BeTheAnchor.caLinked In: Kari Lotzien
Contact Angie Calliou | AVS Legal Services:
Website: AVS-Legal.ca
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41 - How to Be a Better Leader to Your Team
3 sep 2024· Be the Anchor – Strategies and Support for Small Business Owners
Leadership goes far beyond managing people, having the most knowledge, or the most experience. Leadership is a completely separate skill from what most of us learn in traditional schooling. In this episode, I am delving into the key principles of leadership and the foundations of the Anchored Leadership Academy. Leadership is about fostering true collaboration and finding the best in people. It starts with the ability to self-reflect and self-regulate. This episode is a must-listen for anyone looking to enhance their leadership skills, whether in business, community, or personal life.
Key Points:
Understanding Leadership:Leadership is more than being the boss—it's about collaboration, understanding, and facilitating growth within a team.The traditional idea of leadership as merely directing others is outdated. True leadership involves optimizing the talents and strengths of members to reach a collective goal.Self-Regulation as a Leadership Skill:Effective leaders manage their own emotions and reactions, creating safe spaces for others to contribute without fear of shame or ridicule.Self-regulation includes being mindful of body language, tone, and facial expressions to ensure they align with a supportive leadership style.Listening and Observing:Great leaders are often not the loudest in the room. They excel at listening, observing, and understanding the dynamics within a team.By noticing gaps and encouraging quieter voices, leaders can create a more balanced and inclusive environment.Asking Better Questions:Effective leaders ask questions that encourage reflection and collaboration rather than simply seeking agreement.Avoiding the word "why" in questions can prevent defensiveness and instead promote a more constructive dialogue.The Role of Leadership in a Technological World:In an era of automation and AI, leadership remains a distinctly human skill that cannot be replicated by technology.Leadership is essential in maintaining human connection and fostering meaningful collaboration in both business and community settings.
Are you ready to take your leadership skills to the next level? Join the Anchored Leadership Academy and embark on a transformative journey to become the leader you aspire to be. This 12-week program is designed for business owners who are eager to scale their businesses, build strong team cultures, and lead with confidence.

I have opened up a few spots for private business and leadership coaching for owners who would like a higher level of support. Private coaching clients work through strategic planning to identify needs and priorities in their business. Coaching is then customized to align with your plan and may include support for team development, operations, marketing and finances. Together, we design your business to integrate with the life you want.
Resources discussed in this episode:
Anchored Leadership AcademyPrivate Business and Leadership Coaching
Contact Kari Lotzien | Be the Anchor:
Website: BeTheAnchor.caFacebook: BeTheAnchorLtdInstagram: BeTheAnchor.caLinked In: Kari Lotzien
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40 - Creative Ways to Scale your Service Based Business
20 aug 2024· Be the Anchor – Strategies and Support for Small Business Owners
Service-based businesses trade their time for money. You might think that you can’t grow your business without hiring more staff. In this episode of Be The Anchor, I am sharing some of my favorite ways to build service-based businesses without hiring more people. I guide listeners through a process you can use to assess your own small business and what trends are happening in your industry. This opens up opportunities for new ideas to consider to increase your revenue, increase the lifetime value of a client and possibly change the way you work in your small business. We talk through specific scenarios for marketing companies to mechanic shops.
Key Points:
What is happening in your market right now? Recognize how technology such as YouTube, Canva and ChatGPT are changing the landscape for many service-based businesses and how to adapt to these shifts.Gather Client Feedback: When was the last time you spoke with or surveyed your best customers to ask what you could do even better? Consider different models in your service delivery - There are 3 options for most service-based businesses and most are only utilizing one model (which happens to also have the highest cost to you). Leveraging your experience and knowledge to build profits. Consider mentoring as a way to leverage experience and knowledge, turning potential competition into clients, and creating new revenue streams.Strategic Planning for Scaling: Reflect on how to strategically plan for growth, ensuring that your scaling efforts align with long-term business goals.
I have opened up a few spots for private business and leadership coaching for owners who would like a higher level of support. Private coaching clients work through strategic planning to identify needs and priorities in their business. Coaching is then customized to align with your plan and may include support for team development, operations, marketing and finances. Together, we design your business to integrate with the life you want.
The Anchored Leadership Academy, a 12-week group program designed for established businesses ready to scale, will be launching in September. For more information or to secure a spot, listeners can click the links in the show notes or reach out via email for an inquiry call. Don’t miss out on the chance to take your business to the next level!
Contact Kari Lotzien | Be the Anchor:
Website: BeTheAnchor.caFacebook: BeTheAnchorLtdInstagram: BeTheAnchor.caLinkedin: Be-The-Anchor-Ltd
Key Links from this Episode
Private Coaching with Kari Lotzien
Anchored Leadership Academy - September enrollment is open now
Book a call to discuss the best options for your situation directly.
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39 - Should I Give Raises
6 aug 2024· Be the Anchor – Strategies and Support for Small Business Owners
It can be challenging to offer raises when your business budget is tight. In this episode, I discuss practical and cost-effective ways for small business owners to show appreciation for their team members without overspending. Recognizing and valuing your employees through creative perks, flexible work arrangements, and genuine feedback can help maintain morale and motivation. Balancing financial responsibility with sincere appreciation can foster a positive work environment and contribute to long-term business success.
Key Moments:
03:57 Understanding the Impact of Raises - a small raise can cost the business more than you realize.
05:06 When is the best time to give a raise? The one time you should always give a raise.
06:30 Never use a raise to try and motivate an underperforming team member.
09:00 Creative ways to manage cash flow in your business during slow seasons while still giving great perks to your team members. Time as currency.
12:35 Creative Perks and Benefits
Offering perks like contributions to post-secondary education, weekend getaways, or charity donations.Providing benefits like healthcare creates a sense of security and appreciation.Offering these perks strategically to manage costs while still showing appreciation.
16:00 Specific and Genuine Feedback - always has value and costs you nothing
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Contact Kari Lotzien | Be the Anchor:
Website: BeTheAnchor.caFacebook: BeTheAnchorLtdInstagram: BeTheAnchor.caLinkedin: Be-The-Anchor-Ltd
Key Links from this Episode:
Private Coaching with Kari LotzienAnchored Leadership Academy - September enrollment is open nowBook a call to discuss the best options for your situation directly.
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38 - Gratitude in Business
23 jul 2024· Be the Anchor – Strategies and Support for Small Business Owners
It can be tempting to offer steep discounts or to host large events to show appreciation to your customers but I think we need to be cautious. In this episode, I am discussing practical and cost-effective ways for small business owners to show appreciation for their customers in personal ways that cost very little. Personalized and genuine gestures are so valued. This is where I think small businesses have an edge over large corporations. Showing sincere appreciation while balancing financial responsibility, can help you build meaningful connections without overspending.
Key Moments:04:30 Listen to your customers to learn what matters to them. Notice small details.06:20 Implement the Platinum Rule when it comes to customer appreciation.08:45 Be creative and financially smart when planning how to demonstrate gratitude to your customers. When your journey becomes bigger than you, how many other lives will you impact and enrich?15:00 Could you build VIP access or offer package deals instead of discounts?
21:45 How can you ensure that your customer appreciation efforts are good for your customers and your business?
Contact Kari Lotzien | Be the Anchor:
Website: BeTheAnchor.caFacebook: BeTheAnchorLtdInstagram: BeTheAnchor.caLinkedin: Be-The-Anchor-Ltd
Key Links from this Episode:
Learn more about Private Coaching with KariBook a call to discuss the best options for your situation directly.
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37 - Linked in for Business Owners - Guest Expert Tony K Silver
9 jul 2024· Be the Anchor – Strategies and Support for Small Business Owners
In this episode of "Be the Anchor," host Kari Lotzien is joined by LinkedIn expert Tony K. Silver to discuss how small business owners can optimize their LinkedIn profiles and leverage the platform to generate leads, build relationships, and increase sales. Tony is a multi-award-winning LinkedIn profile expert. He shares practical tips and insights from his extensive experience since 2009, providing listeners with actionable strategies to enhance their LinkedIn presence.
Key Points in this episode:
4 Keys to Optimizing Your Profile Posting on Linked In - quality content, consistent approach and engagementUsing the platform for lead generation, relationship building and sales.Practical tips to improve your visibility through SEO and indexing
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Contact:
Tony K Silver - Website
Tony K Silver - Linked In
Kari Lotzien - Linked In
Be the Anchor: Business and Leadership Coaching
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36 - Celebrations and Lifelong Growth - How to Overcome the Hustle Mindset
25 jun 2024· Be the Anchor – Strategies and Support for Small Business Owners
In today's episode, I share insights from a personal and profound experience—my daughter's university graduation—and explore the parallels between personal milestones and professional growth in small business. In this heartfelt episode, I reflect on the life lessons observed at my daughter’s university graduation, drawing parallels to the entrepreneurial journey. We discuss how societal pressures to quickly move on to 'what's next' can diminish our ability to savour accomplishments—a pattern prevalent both at graduations and in the business world. I share personal anecdotes and stories from others who have made significant career pivots, emphasizing that career decisions are not permanent but chapters in a larger story. The episode champions the value of lifelong learning and curiosity as keys to personal and professional fulfillment and growth.
Key Moments:
Reflection on Graduation: I discuss the societal tendency to rush from celebrating achievements to asking "What's next?" and how this mirrors the pressure small business owners often feel.Career Permanence vs. Fluidity: Insights into the perceived permanence of career decisions, drawing on stories of significant career changes by individuals, including a woman who transitioned from law to fashion.Value of Lifelong Learning: Emphasis on staying curious and continuing to learn as a means to keep life and business fresh and engaging.Encouragement for Entrepreneurs and Mentors: Encouraging listeners to mentor others and foster an environment where decisions aren't seen as life sentences but as steps in a journey.
This episode is a must-listen for small business owners and entrepreneurs interested in personal development, scaling businesses, career transitions, and the importance of celebrating milestones. Engage with stories of resilience and adaptation that resonate with anyone looking to infuse their business journey with deeper meaning and sustainability.
Links
Be the Anchor website
Kari Lotzien - Linked In
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35 - How to Manage Business During a Personal Crisis
11 jun 2024· Be the Anchor – Strategies and Support for Small Business Owners
I’m glad you’re here for this episode today. It’s a very important one that dives deeper into my topic from the last episode. My last episode was about not wasting a conflict or crisis and that may have been a cue from the universe that soon I’d need my own advice because right now I’m facing a major health scare in our family. And now that I’m in it, in the thick of it, I have more to say on this topic. I have more to offer to help guide you through times of crisis, in dealing with the personal and the business side of things.
Let’s be honest right up front: managing our lives and running a business during a time of family or personal crisis is a lot. We are pulled in many different directions because we want to be there for our loved one and for our family but we also need to be there for our business. How do we deal with it if we can’t bring in that revenue? It’s really difficult and if, like me, you are used to being a leader and having answers, it can be really hard to realize that crisis doesn’t come with a timeline. And if we don’t think about how to best help ourselves we can end up sacrificing sleep and rest and movement and healthy eating and all the things we need to keep going, to keep being there for the people that need us.
So in this episode I’m speaking from within a crisis, I’m going through what I’m talking about. And I want to share this perspective with you. There are different questions to ask ourselves now. What really needs our focus? What key things can I do to look after our foundation? We’re low on time so what things can we do that really get the most return on our time? And I’m speaking about the personal side of things and the business side. We can’t do everything, so what systems can we put in place to help ourselves? I’m sharing the insight that I’ve gained with you in this episode. The simple things you can do, both in your life and business, to help maximize the time you have and keep you healthy so you can deal with the crisis long-term. This episode is personal and important and I’m so glad I can share the things I’m learning with you all.
Key Moments
03:14 The pull between being there for loved ones and business
05:37 How quickly self-care can be the first necessity sacrificed
08:54 What do we prioritize in business to keep things running?
When we’re low on energy, what things can be automated and what can keep going easily?How can we delegate or automate to assist everyone affected by the crisis?Why we need to maintain containers around the vitals of life: sleep, rest, health
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Contact Kari Lotzien | Be the Anchor:
Website: BeTheAnchor.caFacebook: BeTheAnchorLtdInstagram: BeTheAnchor.caLinkedin: Be-The-Anchor-Ltd
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Transcript:
Kari Lotzien: [00:00:01] I'm really excited to bring this episode to you today. I know that being a small business owner comes with wearing a lot of different hats, and one of the things that had been coming up for me over the last couple of months was clients and friends who were talking about having multiple demands on their time when a loved one was facing a health crisis, and they were really feeling like, I need to keep my business operating, and I really want to be there for my family. Now, little did I know that that episode a couple of weeks ago was going to be a snapshot and a little cue into what was coming up in my own life. Today I'm diving in. We're going one step deeper from where we were in the last episode, talking about not wasting a great crisis. Today, I want to talk about when you are in a situation and you're facing a tough time, I want to give you some resources on exactly what we can do to help navigate when we need to be there for friends or family, or maybe for yourself if you're facing a crisis in your own life that instantly takes your time and your energy and your attention. What do you do when you're trying to keep your business afloat at the same time? Welcome to the episode. Let's dive in.
Kari Lotzien: [00:01:27] Hello my friends. I'm so glad you're here. In the last episode, the topic was don't waste a great crisis, and I cannot help but think that that topic was giving me a little bit of a signal and a heads-up as to what was coming. Because here I am just a few weeks later, and when I recorded that episode, I was not in the middle of a crisis. But now, looking back, as often our hindsight is 2020, it was a signal for me because here I am now, just a couple of weeks later, and our family is experiencing a pretty major crisis where we have someone in our family who's really going through a major health scare right now, and they need us to be supportive and all-in and believe in them and have hope. And let's be honest, at the same time we are trying to manage our lives and run our businesses and be there for each other and support. And I am not going to lie to you, it's a lot. And when I looked at my episode recording for today, I thought, you know what? I have more to say about this because when I'm in it, when I talked about not wasting a great crisis, now I am in it, I have a little bit of a different perspective. I do have some different ideas, and I want to share them with you from being in it.
Kari Lotzien: [00:02:53] What I've noticed about myself in this, and I see this with a lot of my friends, I have connected in these last couple of weeks with probably five different friends who have been in situations where their very close family members have faced huge health, life and death situations in these last few weeks. And they feel this pull of I know it's important to me, I want to be there for my family, I want to be able to do it all and at the same time feeling like I can't really just pick up and leave my business because it needs to keep operating as well. Or there's future considerations that I'm going to need to be able to deal with if I don't continue to bring in that revenue, and it can just feel like such a hard pull on both sides of us. And I just want to first acknowledge that, that as a high performer, we're used to fixing things. We're used to solving problems and leaning in and having answers. And there is nothing more humbling than when someone that you really care about has a health crisis, and there's really not a lot you can do about it than just show up. I think what we tend to do as high performers is we jump into these types of situations and, let's be perfectly honest, a lot of our family and the people that are around us, they're used to going to us to be the leaders in those types of situations.
Kari Lotzien: [00:04:21] Because if you are a leader in business, you're generally a leader in a lot of different areas of your life. You're the one that takes on the volunteer roles. You're the one who heads committees, you're the one who organizes the family reunions and the large events. When you're leading in one place, you're usually leading in a lot of places. And when we jump into this, what can sometimes happen, crisis doesn't ever come with a timeline. It always shows up at sometimes a really difficult timing for life. And that's okay. But when we get caught off-guard like that, we tend to be more reactive. So just give yourself some grace and understand that that's just what happens. I'm not going to lie to you, I stepped on the scale this morning and in two weeks I have gained a solid 9 pounds. The reality is I started eating way more fast food. I was not moving as much because I was sitting in a hospital room and just trying to be there. We were eating on the fly, we were eating late at night, I wasn't getting good sleep and I was not moving as much. I don't think this is uncommon, but what I notice in myself, I was starting to beat myself up about it, thinking, oh my gosh, everything is just falling apart.
Kari Lotzien: [00:05:36] Well, no it isn't. But what I saw was the quickest thing to go was my own self-care. Just the basics of getting enough sleep, of moving my body, even going for a walk or doing a little bit of a stretch. I noticed that I was not eating well, and what this was doing was creating a snowball effect that when all of those basics weren't looked after, I was more tired, I was more reactive, my head wasn't clear, my brain was foggy, I couldn't make good decisions, and that negative mentality was just creeping in. And that might happen for you too, when facing these kinds of things. When we come into positions of crisis, I think the three big things that I want to talk a little bit about are knowing that you might be in this for a long time. I think we all have hope that things are going to turn around quickly, and that we're going to get back to normal. But the reality is, most of the time when there's a crisis situation, you don't know how long it's going to last. And you don't get to know what are the steps that I need to take to have this fully resolve in this certain amount of time? It induces a huge sense of uncertainty and a lack of control, and that's tough.
Kari Lotzien: [00:06:54] The second is I think we need to really ask ourselves what are the things that we need to do? What is the minimal viable thing that we need to do to minimize additional challenges? So, for example, if all of a sudden you just stop serving your clients and you stop showing up and you don't reach out to your team and you just disappear, there could be an additional consequence that you are not bringing in revenue to your business, which is keeping it sustainable. Like I said, if I'm not looking after my sleep and my health, the snowball effect of that is that I'm more reactive, that there may be additional challenges in conflict with family members or with the people who are looking after my loved ones, that I just tend to get more reactive. But do you see how then it builds a snowball effect of a negative consequence that we really don't want? So you want to kind of dial in and say, okay, what really needs my attention right now? What really needs my focus? And what are those key things that I can do to make sure that my foundation is looked after? It's coming all the way back to ourselves. And as high performers, man, we can lie to ourselves that we are good at running on no sleep, that we don't really need to have times of rest, and that we don't really need all of these other just basics, because we can perform at a pretty high level when we're running on fumes.
Kari Lotzien: [00:08:28] The other piece that I want to kind of shift to is just acknowledging that when we are in crisis, what we know is that you are low on time. That if you are trying to hold multiple roles, visiting family members or going to medical appointments yourself, so sometimes health crisis can show up in our own body and needs our attention. But it takes time. It takes our attention. This is where we really need to prioritize what do we really need to do? Where are we going to get the most return on our time, and what are we going to let go of? You may consciously decide, I'm not going to worry about my housekeeping. I am not going to worry about, you know, developing that new marketing plan for the business that we were working on last week. It's really dialing it in and saying, okay, what do I need to focus on right now that is going to give me the largest return on that time? So things like prioritizing in your business, what is going to continue the cash flow in your company while you might step away. So this is not a time where you're going to maybe try something new, or you're going to work towards a new vision because you won't have capacity to be creative. But you do want to make sure that you continue to have that revenue.
Kari Lotzien: [00:09:48] If you've got work that you've already done that hasn't been invoiced yet and you have ten minutes, that ten minutes needs to go and do those invoices, get them sent out, or send the reminders for payments that haven't been made so that you are continuing to build the cash flow in your business so that you don't create that snowball effect of now you're kind of behind the eight ball. The other thing is, when you're focusing like this, this is the time where you want to get really clear on what either time or service or product is yielding the biggest profit in your business and you're going all in on that right now. Because this is the time where you really need to be the most profitable. It's not the time to do a lot of different things or to try out new pieces. Do what you know already works, go back to the data, go back to what you know, and just rinse and repeat. If you have products or services that you've used in the past that were successful, that you can just bring them out and reintroduce them, do that. This is a time where you just really want to dial in where are you getting the most return on your investment? You are going to be lower on energy. This is not the time where you're going to have a lot of energy for new things, new products, or to be able to do a lot of stuff.
Kari Lotzien: [00:11:13] When you're low on energy this is when we really want to dial in and say, okay, what are the things that I can just set on automation? What can I just keep going? Can I set up some auto bill payments? Can I set up some meal planning? Can I do meal boxes so that that food just shows up? I don't have to think about what I'm going to have for dinner tonight, or you don't need to think about going to the grocery store and trying to organize that. It just happens. Do what feels easy. Do the things that you're already good at. Now, this might sound really strange to some, well, no, it probably doesn't sound strange to some of you because I think that we are like-minded, which is exactly why I'm doing this podcast. But when I dialed in and I went, okay, what feels easy for me when it comes to supporting this family member? Something that I am good at, I'm really good at thinking in systems. It's just how my brain operates, I think, okay, so what is the system that I can create to have the biggest return on investment so that a team knows what the goals are so that we know what we're aiming for?
Kari Lotzien: [00:12:24] And it might sound strange to do this when it comes to thinking about a family member or someone who's going through a health challenge, but you know that if you're a systems thinker and you do that naturally in your business, and you think constantly about how one thing has an effect on many other areas in your business, if that feels easy to you, and that's something that works really well for you, you can apply it in another area towards looking after a family member. So thinking about systems when it comes to health care and support, or it could be any sort of challenge or crisis that you're facing, come right back to saying, okay, do we have a system for communication? So we designed a system to say, okay, one person is dedicated to call and get an update from the medical team as to what's going on, and it's their responsibility to then share with the rest of the team. And we do that at a very specific time of day, so that we all know kind of what to expect and who's doing what. What this does, is the impact that it has is we don't have ten people calling the medical team and overwhelming them when we really want their focus to be on our loved one. But we also want to make sure that we have a way where everyone knows what's going on so that no one feels like they're left out.
Kari Lotzien: [00:13:50] So creating a system where we have a dedicated group chat, or we have a program that says, okay, here's how this is, is outlined, or here's key questions that we would really like to know, or things that we need to be asked or to find out going forward. So that system works well for everyone to communicate, even having a little notebook in the room where people can just jot down ideas, here's who was in visiting, here's what we talked about, here's what was going on. It creates the sense of community and support, which was really important for us, so that no matter who was there, we kind of knew a little bit more of the story. And it wasn't all riding on either the medical professional or our family member to just be going through kind of the same conversation over and over and over again, which, let's be honest, it can start to feel really boring and really monotonous. So this way, we were able to create a system that allowed a conversation to kind of keep flowing and not to feel so redundant. So if that is something that you do well, think about how can you create a system within that crisis situation that can really help fill some gaps. If there's roles or tasks that need to be done, can you create a system so that people know what needs to be done, where they can help, and how all of these things are communicated? These things are big and can make such a big difference, especially when a crisis is going to maybe extend for a longer period of time and you want to make sure that what you've got in place can be sustainable. We really want to avoid things like caregiver burnout, because when you're in this situation as a small business owner and you're holding multiple different roles, you also want to appreciate that other people also have lives outside of this crisis situation. And what we want to do is create long-term sustainability for support within the life that people are holding.
Kari Lotzien: [00:15:58] So we want to do this in our business. We want our businesses to be sustainable long-term. We don't want them to be overly dependent on one person or one key team member, because if something happens to that key team member, then our business is at risk. It's the exact same thing on the other side. We want to build shared responsibility. We want to have multiple different roles, and we want to have systems that communicate that to those key team members. So I think this was a way that we could really dive into some of the specifics around how we want to support during a crisis, how we can really have some grace with ourselves. So I'm going to finish with that coming all the way back to when you are wanting to be that sole, not the sole person supporting, but when you want to be your best self when it comes to your running the bit of your business with the energy that you have, with the resources that you have, with the time that you do have available, when you are looking at managing that yourself on both sides of this equation with your business and your personal life, it really comes back again to building that foundation, looking after yourself, recognizing that there is a whole team of people that can support both your business and your personal side. And letting them know through systems and through connections on where different people can hold different roles.
Kari Lotzien: [00:17:25] Coming back to your health, the basics. Are you moving your body? Whether that's going for a five minute walk or having a quick stretch, or maybe for you, it is continuing to go to the gym or do a more intense exercise to just help move that energy. Making sure that you're creating a container for sleep and rest. You cannot be available 24/7. And sometimes what happens when we go into crisis, we try to just extend. We burn the candle at both ends, and we start fitting things in to our typical rest times. And I want you to really think about one of the best investments you can make that is going to create sustainable energy for the future no matter what this looks like, is to create consistent containers for rest. Turning off your social media. Taking time to just reset. Take a break. Put your feet up. Close your eyes. Go for a walk, get outside, nap, sleep, whatever that looks like, but creating that container where you can really just let your body rejuvenate. And then making sure that we're taking time to drink water to stay hydrated. It's amazing how easy it is to get headaches and to, you know, just get dehydrated, making sure that we're looking after our food intake and just maintaining the foundation so that we can build from there.
Kari Lotzien: [00:18:55] So today I wanted to just take some more time, diving into what are some really good tools and resources that you can use as you're navigating times of challenge or crisis in your personal or in your business life that can really carry both sides. So just a review, recognizing that you're low on time. So really giving your attention to where it is absolutely needed and where you need to focus in and what needs you specifically. Focusing on what is giving you the best return on your investment. That is both what can you do in the crisis if it's on your personal side, where are you going to get the best return on your time? As well as in your business. When you're low on energy, you do what feels easy. Do the things that you're good at. This is not the time to push into doing what's hard, because it's just going to feel harder. Do what's easy, do what you're good at, and find people or systems, or delegate or automate the other things to just give you that energy back so things that they can just feel smoother. And then lastly, focus on the foundations. Coming back to what is nurturing your nervous system and your body so that you can create sustainable energy for the long term in your business and your personal life.
Kari Lotzien: [00:20:19] Thank you so much for being here. I hope this content was valuable. As always, I appreciate that I can give these little tips and resources to you completely free of charge. And for me to keep doing that, the thing that gives me the most return on investment is when you show me that this content is valuable for you by sharing on social media, or by sharing an episode with a friend. This is what builds our community and creates this long-term connection. Thanks so much for being here. We'll see you next time.
Kari Lotzien: [00:20:54] Please know that this podcast is meant for entertainment purposes only. It is not a substitution for medical or professional mental health advice. If you require support, please do reach out. Thanks so much.
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34 - Never Waste a Great Crisis
28 mei 2024· Be the Anchor – Strategies and Support for Small Business Owners
Friends, I’m talking about two things today that are not very popular but that help us grow more than anything else we encounter. Crisis and conflict. They sound like things we want to avoid at all costs, I know, and certainly, an unexpected crisis or hard conflict is not enjoyable. But what I want to talk about is what happens after the crisis or conflict, what we learn, what it shows us, and how we grow from these situations. There is so much positive opportunity in a good, solid, conflict or crisis.
If we continually try to avoid conflict, it will return repeatedly, usually more intensely than before. So it’s a good idea to deal with it when it’s still small. Conflict carries its own lesson because it’s a clash between people or values and we need to resolve it. A crisis is an unexpected event. By its very nature, a crisis can’t be planned for. We can’t see a crisis coming. But when it arrives, we absolutely feel its impact and have to know how to get through it. And it’s how we deal with and get through both of these things that lets us learn so much of value.
Are you prepared for a crisis in your business? Something that potentially takes you out of action could end your business if you aren’t prepared for such an event. And even if you’re not prepared, how you communicate with your stakeholders, staff, and customers matters a lot to how successfully you navigate the crisis. I’m going to lay out examples for you and walk you through what to look for, and what to prepare. Conflict tends to make us want to put our head in the sand but a good conflict, grounded in respect, can bring to light things that aren’t working that we can fix for the better. I’ll talk about what to look for in conflict and how not to react in the moment. Conflict and crisis, things we tend to avoid, can actually be a great benefit to our businesses.
Key Moments
03:08 Crisis illustrated by Steve Jobs in 2003
05:23 How improperly managed crisis erodes trust
11:26 Defining a good conflict
We can learn a lot from Tim Cook’s story at AppleStarbucks illustrates how to manage a conflict between customers and your businessWhat are the steps we can take to prepare for crisis and conflict?
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Resources discussed in this episode:
“The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable” by Patrick Lencioni
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Contact Kari Lotzien | Be the Anchor:
Website: BeTheAnchor.caFacebook: BeTheAnchorLtdInstagram: BeTheAnchor.caLinkedin: Be-The-Anchor-Ltd
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Transcript:
Kari Lotzien: [00:00:02] Welcome to Be the Anchor, the podcast. I'm your host, business and leadership coach Kari Lotzien. When the seas of life get stormy, and they always will, it is not up to us to captain anyone else's ship or to try to calm the waters of the ocean. It's up to us to set our own destination for what we really want, and to learn how to navigate those waves of life together while finding that place of security and stability with others. I call this being an anchor. Hello my friends. I'm so glad you're here. Today I want to talk to you about two of what I believe to be the greatest teachers in life. A great crisis and a good, hard conflict. Now, those might not sound like things that you want to sign up for in terms of growth and development in your life. But what I want to make sure of is that you don't miss an opportunity to really grow and learn when those things come up in life. And every biography that I've read, every business book of someone who has gone on to achieve incredible things with their lives, in every single story and every single example, they have used both conflict and crisis to move towards growth. Every time. And I want to tell you more than ever that there's a different way to do this, that we can learn through flow and abundance and affirmations, and that it can be easy. And although I definitely think there is a time and a place where we want to introduce ease and we want to bring that in, I don't want you to miss the opportunity that can come from a good, solid conflict or crisis.
Kari Lotzien: [00:01:54] It's like when we're squeezed by stress or tension, that it expedites our ability to learn and to really create change quickly if we take the opportunity. Now, if you don't take the opportunity, I feel like these are the things that will come back to us, and we keep learning that lesson over and over again. You've heard the phrase that, you know, when life whispers to you and kind of says, hey, you know what I think something's up here, and you don't pay attention to it, the next time that lesson comes, that conflict, that crisis comes a little bit louder and really taps you on the back. And maybe the next thing it wallops you right over the head and says, okay, I'm not playing anymore, here's how you're going to learn or not. This becomes the fork in the road. I want you to listen when it's a little bit lighter and it's a little bit easier. Now, I didn't do that. There's been so many times where I had to be walloped over the head before I actually got the lesson that was built, and I don't want that for you. So today I want to talk about the two things, I want to talk about the opportunity that conflict brings and the opportunity that crisis can bring.
Kari Lotzien: [00:03:03] Now let's start with crisis. In 2003 you may be aware of the story that this is when Steve Jobs was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Now Apple was growing, it was in its prime at this time. And this crisis, which a crisis is something that you cannot predict, it all of a sudden shows up, usually at the worst time, and knocks you right off your feet. Being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer was not something that just knocked Steve Jobs off his feet. It knocked potentially Apple off of its feet. But in that process, there was some really key things that Apple did to make sure that this was not also the crisis for the business and the demise. What they did is they had set up Tim Cook to take over, and it was clearly put into place that he would start moving into more of a leadership role in establishing the company so that we were moving forward. I think this is one of the lessons that we want to learn is before. Before any crisis presents itself, do you have someone that you can tap out to? I think this is the lesson that we want to see in business. If you needed to be away for 4 to 6 weeks, or longer, how would your business operate without you? Or, at best, with you at very minimal capacity. Because the reality is, that thing that we can learn from Steve Jobs in this situation, he was not available. There was no option for him to continue to run a company the size of Apple and manage his own health. It couldn't happen at the same time. But he had someone in place that he could tap out that could take over, that was already respected, already knew what was going on. So when you look at your company, are there places where - I'm not saying that your company won't be affected at all - but if you had to step away, are there places that you could change, automate, slow down? Do you have recurring revenue or passive income in your business that could still come in if you were not actually there, physically or mentally able to do the work?
Kari Lotzien: [00:05:23] The next thing that we saw in this is in many situations when crisis comes up, especially with someone in a high leadership position or the key person who has relationships with your stakeholders or your clients, we tend to want to hide the crisis and pretend that there's nothing going on so that people don't lose trust in the company. Now, here's the lesson I want to point out: if you hide, if you try to not acknowledge what's going on and then share the plan of how you're going to approach the situation, this is when people lose trust. This is when your employees, your customers lose trust because things, they will sense that something's up. They sense that things aren't quite right. And this is when they start to feel uncertain or unsure of where things are going. That's how a lack of trust develops. The lack of trust doesn't come from that leader having to step away. And time and time again, I've seen it where we want to be able to be transparent within reason. So you're not going to necessarily dump out all of the details of what's going on with a crisis in your life, but you do want to be able to share with your stakeholders, with your team, with your customers, that you are stepping away or that key team member is stepping away. And what you're sharing is, here's the plan that we have stepping forward so that this doesn't interrupt the flow of the business, that you're still reassuring and providing that stability and security. So I think the keys are when you are facing crisis - and here's the thing you can't plan for it, you have to plan ahead of it. So ask yourself when something comes up or if something comes up, what do I have in place so that my company can keep operating? And I want you to not only just think about you as the leader if you have a leadership position in your own company, but I also want you to think about your key team members. If any one of them suddenly was ill, or had to take time away, or was not available to do the job that they're doing, what is your process in being able to step in and move forward now?
Kari Lotzien: [00:07:39] Let's just say that you didn't have a plan, that all of a sudden crisis happened. All of a sudden you had to step away from your business. You suddenly lost a key employee, and you didn't have a plan. You were completely caught on your heels and feel like you just got hit by a semi truck, and you're not sure what to do. I think this is how most of us face crisis, we don't like to think about it, nobody likes to plan for the worst case scenario so many of us don't do it. But when you're in a situation where maybe you've been hit by that semi truck of life and it's knocked you off of your feet, what can happen is we get through the crisis. So you think, oh my goodness, like my business did lose revenue or all of a sudden our customers were really disappointed and that was really, really difficult and thank goodness we're through it. We come out the other side and we start rebuilding. I don't want you to do that. I don't want you to waste the lessons in that crisis. When you come back, I want you to review backwards, and I really want you to look at what could I have done differently that would have prevented the additional, right, that snowball effect of the crisis in how it took over my business or my life, how can I prevent that from happening again? So that if something catastrophic happens again, I'm not put in the exact same position again? And I think many times I see naturally, I think we do this, that when we've overcome a challenge, our shoulders drop and we go, oh, thank goodness things are back to normal. And we miss the opportunity to create the change. The crisis can be the perfect time that identifies we've got some really big gaps in the company, or we are way too dependent on this one person. I think of this if you're a parent and I kind of giggle but when kids are little and you know mom has to go away for a little while, or, you know, if dad is the primary caregiver in being that front line, does the drop offs and the pickups and makes the lunches and makes sure that they know what shirt the kid is supposed to wear to school that day, when that person is away and someone else has to take over that role... Now, I know that most of you who hold that role, we get ahead of it and we make sure that there's a calendar that says, this is what has to happen, and we've got freezer meals, and we try to prepare ahead because we know how much pressure that holds. We know the stress that it's going to put on the system on the other side for someone else to pick that up.
Kari Lotzien: [00:10:21] You are doing a disservice when that happens. Because when that crisis hits or when you're away for an extended period of time, you want to make sure that someone else recognizes all the pieces that you're doing and holding and can take over. You never want to have so much responsibility riding on one person, because it's not good for us. In our own nervous systems, we carry too much, we feel like we're carrying the weight of the world on our shoulders. But it also prevents others, like Tim Cook in this example, from being able to step into a leadership role and showcase how he can do that really well. Don't want you to miss the opportunity. So when you look back, just think, what could I have done differently? Did this crisis identify some areas of need in the business or in my personal life, where things are just a little bit too dependent and we could diversify a little bit more so there's not this really intense responsibility on one person or one system?
Kari Lotzien: [00:11:23] Okay. The next. I want to talk about a good conflict. In one of my favorite books when it comes to leadership is Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni. I love this book and one of the five dysfunctions that he talks about that is jeopardizing for a team is when a team avoids conflict. Yes. A great team should have conflict. They should have safe conflict. And I think that when we look at conflict on a team, sometimes as a leader we can feel like the team is fighting, we're not getting along, we're having disagreements, we're not sure the direction we want to go. And in that, we might find ourselves wanting to just help everyone get along and just settle everybody down so that we're all playing nice in the sandbox again. I want you to hear this loud and clear. When we do that, when we don't invite conflict, safe conflict, respectful conflict, into our teams, into our families, into our friendships, into every area of your life, if you don't have the opportunity to introduce conflict or disagreement, you are missing opportunities. Now, sometimes conflict comes to us and we don't expect it. So it might come in a place where you've got a disgruntled team member who feels like they're being treated unfairly, who feels like they're underpaid, and now they're starting to talk to everyone else on your team, and it's spreading. And all of a sudden, you might feel that pressure that you need to solve the problem or get rid of the person who is the instigator or who is the most vocal, and remove that so you can go back to just being status quo and everybody gets along again. But here's the piece that we miss, is that when we don't invite conflict, when we don't invite disagreement, we miss opportunities. Because if everyone agrees and we all see things the exact same way, and we agree that's the way that we should be doing something, we miss the gaps.
Kari Lotzien: [00:13:32] We don't have someone saying, well, hey, wait, what about this? Could we think about it in another way? I want to give you an example of this. So when you come back, you might be aware of this, if you're a fan of Starbucks like I am, I love myself a good coffee. Now, I'm not particularly attached to Starbucks, I like a good coffee offered anywhere. It has to be good and strong, has to have a nice, you know, dark roast is my absolute favorite. Now I digress, but in 2007, Starbucks was going through a period where they had substantial growth. So the revenue was there but all of a sudden what they were seeing is their customer satisfaction numbers were dropping rapidly. We also started to see that there was more competition on the market, where small local coffee shops were opening up that also had exceptional coffee. And the whole support local and small business was being introduced into that industry, which presented a threat to Starbucks. Now when that came up and when the conflict - so customers being disappointed were coming to Starbucks - Howard Schultz could have said, nope, this is the way it is. This is what we offer and you're going to like it and if you don't like it, too bad for you. And we carry on. He could have let those complaints and the customer satisfaction take him down and think, I have a terrible business. This is not working. I am a failure. He could have blamed others and said, you know what the problem is - and I'm saying this intentionally - I just can't find good people. People just don't care about their work the same way they used to. I don't know if Starbucks is going to continue because this generation, these baristas just don't take their job seriously. He could have blamed others. He could have blamed his customers that they're just too demanding. He could have taken it all on himself and thought, no, I just can't continue on, obviously we are doing a terrible job and we are failing. But he didn't.
Kari Lotzien: [00:15:42] He didn't do any of those things. What he did was number one, didn't take it personally. He listened. And I think the first step is most people don't want to bring disagreements to you. They don't want to point out where they're feeling upset or frustrated or confused or challenged, because we're afraid that the leader will react negatively, that they'll blame us, that they'll blame themselves, or that they'll react in anger or hostility. The first thing you want to do as a leader is be able to truly listen. I think being able to truly listen is partly due to you can anchor your own nervous system. in the moment you know how to take a breath, you know how to pause your reaction, you know how to not fly off the handle and to truly invite. To stay curious, to ask more questions, to ensure you understand the problem and that you, I always say, come back to the data. Learn as much as you can so that you clearly understand the problem. And the first place that we can really do that is by anchoring our nervous system and inviting a space where people can share with us without it being personal. First step in conflict.
Kari Lotzien: [00:17:14] The next place is that they can safely share and feel that they are not at risk. Like I said, sometimes people will be the one that says, I feel like I'm underpaid, I feel like you work us too hard. I feel like this is unfair and you think that that person is the problem, and by removing that person, the problem goes away. That person may just represent the voice of the team, and you need to be able to dig past just that single person and understand clearly, is this the opinion, is this a pattern in my team? Is this a pattern with our customers that it's not just that individual that's the problem, but that individual may just be the one who had the courage to speak up and had the courage to share. In which case, we really want that person to feel valued, to feel safe in sharing with us, and to know that even when they bring up concerns, they still belong, that they are still respected, they are still a part of the team, that we're not just going to say, well, if you don't agree, then you're out. So we want to make sure that you have a safe space where people can share.
Kari Lotzien: [00:18:45] Now, I'm not saying that that means people can come in and scream and yell and share in a disrespectful way. What we want to do is create a container. So as a leader, you're giving ways where people are asked for their feedback on a regular basis. What you're doing, those surveys, or you're giving safe places where people can be asked what's working, what's not working, do you see any gaps, share an idea and then tell me. Where do you see my, where are my blind spots? What am I not seeing? Shoot holes in my problem. When you create natural conflict on your team, you will always have a more broad perspective on what your challenges truly are, and when it's through conflict and inviting that disagreement that you will be able to get out of your own way and shine lights in those blind spots that then allow you to move towards change. So you want a format to be able to share. So then the next place in that is that you want to then, once they've shared, we come back to okay so based on what I've heard in this conflict, how does this fit with the core values of my company? So last week, or in the last episode, I talked about core values not being enough. This is where I see the gap most often in business. Is we have core values, we put them on the wall, we talk about safety and transparency. We talk about the business feeling like a family.
Kari Lotzien: [00:20:43] Well, I can tell you that in a family there is conflict. There are so many times where we disagree, but we still belong. So I want to know when we take that core value and we shift it to, okay, so how does our core value demonstrate itself when we are in a situation of conflict? If you take someone off your team every time they disagree with you, or you reward every person that naturally agrees with you and you move them into a leadership or senior level position, that tells you that that concept of everyone here is treated like family doesn't land. That if your core value has to do with transparency and someone disagrees with you, but they don't feel safe that they can speak up, that's not true transparency. So I want to know. I want you to ask yourself if your business values are things like transparency, loyalty, trust, relationship, family, how are those demonstrated when you come up to conflict? Because then when you can put those things in action, when you demonstrate that, this is how you create change.
Kari Lotzien: [00:22:16] I'm going to bring it back to the Starbucks story. What happened during this time, during 2007 when all of a sudden customers were not satisfied, they were seeing a decline in revenue because there was more competition from smaller spaces, they shifted. This is when Starbucks introduced more non-coffee options, decaffeinated options, some kind of child-friendly options. All of a sudden, in this process where they started seeking feedback from the baristas, they went back. They didn't blame the baristas to say, well, it's because they don't care and they don't take their job seriously. They went back and said, okay, we need to make sure that our training programs are really solid so that we are delivering the same level of product to our customers across every location. And I think one of the things that is really unique about Starbucks is that they have consistency along with being able to customize their product. And this is such a unique combination because if you're a Starbucks barista, all of a sudden you want to know how to make that specific latte or that specific drink, but now you can adjust it for temperature and how much foam you want and what size and do you want to add a triple shot of vanilla? In all of those processes it is a consistent product along with the ability to customize. This is a really unique training challenge when you're looking at your systems and processes in onboarding new staff. So as they were developing these new products and as they were improving their onboarding and their training programs for their baristas, all of that came through conflict. All of that came by really looking at what are our customers complaining about? What are our baristas complaining about? How is this whole process working?
Kari Lotzien: [00:25:00] If Howard Schultz would have started firing baristas who were underperforming, would have taken it upon himself to say, well, this is, you know, it's because we have difficult customers. If he would have taken it on personally to say, well, it's because we don't have a great product and obviously this wasn't a good idea, the opportunity for Starbucks to be what it is today would have been lost. And I don't want that for you. So I know, I completely understand: being in conflict, it's hard on our nervous systems. It makes us feel like we are threatened. It can sometimes feel very personal. It can feel, especially if your small business is your baby, and it's the thing that you just give your heart and soul and your extra time and your weekends and your evenings to, it does feel personal. I completely get that. But I hope that today, as we've talked through this, you can really see that in every single crisis, in every single conflict, there is also opportunity to move towards change and growth like nothing else I have ever seen. So if you're going through a time right now where you're thinking, oh my goodness, I just feel like I am being drug along and things are hard and maybe you can't see your way out of it right now, just know it's part of it. It doesn't mean you're doing anything wrong. It doesn't mean that your ideas are terrible. It doesn't mean that people are terrible, that your customers are no good, or that your staff just doesn't care. There's an opportunity behind this. And even if you can't see it right now, even if today the only thing you can do is just put one foot in front of the other to get through the next thing that you need to face, please know that I understand that.
Kari Lotzien: [00:27:10] Please know that I am completely there for you. I have sat in my own business when crisis hit, in tears, trying to train a new staff member so that I could leave the business because there were certain things that only I knew how to do in there. And when that crisis hit my own business really unexpectedly, I honest to goodness, I thought it was going to be the demise of my business, I really did. I thought I had dreams that that was going to be it, that I was going to have to close shop and just walk away because I didn't have the capacity to do all of the things in my business that I was doing before. And it was number 1 in 22 years of running a business, that major crisis in my life that hit completely unexpectedly, is still the thing that I look back on and go, that was my greatest teacher. That's when I learned the most about delegation. That's when I learned the most about trust. It's when I learned the most about systems and being really consistent. And I learned how to lead with transparency without introducing or spreading fear in the business. I was able to be clear and still introduce that feeling of stability and security. I know. I've lived it. I know how it's done. Now, I gave you fancy examples from Steve Jobs and Howard Schultz in their businesses because they're so in the limelight. But I know every business owner and many, many of my clients will talk about the same sort of thing, there's an opportunity here that I don't want you to miss. So I'd love to hear your thoughts on this one. Feel free, send me an email or send me a DM on social media. I want to hear what lessons have you learned through crisis or through conflict, that maybe if you wouldn't have leaned into it, you would have missed completely and it would have changed. Because looking backwards, we have that 20/20 eyesight to be able to say, oh, I see how this all worked in sequence with each other, because when you're in it, it's just no fun. So if you're in it right now, that's all I want to say, is that one step at a time. Be really aware of how you're perceiving it. Be aware of your own thoughts. Many of them are not true. They're lying to you right now to try to protect you. But once you come through this, be sure that you look back so that you don't miss the lessons from the great crisis or the great conflict as you move to the next step and really implement that change that can give your business, your whole life even stronger and even better than it was before.
Kari Lotzien: [00:29:51] Thank you so much for being here. If you have not liked and subscribed yet, well why not? I would love for you to just click those three little buttons. It makes a difference. And this is how this podcast gets shared, this is how more people learn about what's going on. And my passion right now is I really want to provide free content for small business owners who might not have big budgets to work with a high level coach. Now, my budgets are not high level, so if you want to work with me, I'd love to dig into your business. But I want to make sure that there is still a ton of free resources out there for people like you and I, who've been in the depths of it just working through this day to day. Be sure to like and subscribe. I'd ultra appreciate if you would share it with someone who just might be going through a hard time right now and can't see the other side. Thanks so much! We'll see you next time.
Kari Lotzien: [00:30:47] Please know that this podcast is meant for entertainment purposes only. It is not a substitution for medical or professional mental health advice. If you require support, please do reach out. Thanks so much.
- Luisteren Nogmaals beluisteren Doorgaan Wordt afgespeeld...
- Later beluisteren Later beluisteren
33 - Core Values Are Not Enough
14 mei 2024· Be the Anchor – Strategies and Support for Small Business Owners
I’m glad you’re here for an episode that may be a little bit short but is full of necessity. I want to talk about core values. A lot of businesses talk about core values, small and large businesses alike. And that’s good! Every business should have done an activity that helps define and develop its core values as a company. What I’ve been seeing lately, though, is that while it’s wonderful to hear a business declare “We stand for loyalty, transparency, and trust”, what happens if what occurs in levels of the business contradicts those values? That’s what I want to examine.
It may sound harsh, or like doom and gloom when I say that stating core values that are not followed through on in actions as a business truly can be the demise of the business. Why would I say that? Core values represent things you promise to be and do as a company. If you fail to live up to those stated values, you lose integrity. You present as out of alignment and customers lose trust in everything you say and offer. That kind of loss can be catastrophic to a business.
I want to give you examples of situations I’ve encountered with real business owners that demonstrate this. How does this contradiction show up? What does it look like when core values aren’t acted on in a business? Where does it usually creep in? How can that be prevented? I want you and your business to succeed so I’m going to address all those questions. I’m glad you’re joining me to dig deeper into what core values mean beyond stating them as part of a business plan. It’s so important to ask yourself how you will keep those values alive in your daily activities.
Key Moments
02:02 Why misalignment with core values can be the end of a business
03:03 Business example of core values initially in action
05:01 Follow-up example of how later actions were at odds with the stated core values
Why a noted misalignment of core values to actions mattersAsk what your business’s core values are and whether you are demonstrating them Look into your team and ask yourself if they’re leading or being led according to your core values
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Resources discussed in this episode:
Anchored Leadership Academy
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Contact Kari Lotzien | Be the Anchor:
Website: BeTheAnchor.caFacebook: BeTheAnchorLtdInstagram: BeTheAnchor.caLinkedin: Be-The-Anchor-Ltd
__
Transcript:
Kari Lotzien: [00:00:01] Welcome to Be the Anchor, the podcast. I'm your host, business and leadership coach Kari Lotzien. When the seas of life get stormy, and they always will, it is not up to us to captain anyone else's ship or to try to calm the waters of the ocean. It's up to us to set our own destination for what we really want, and to learn how to navigate those waves of life together while finding that place of security and stability with others. I call this being an anchor.
Kari Lotzien: [00:00:38] Hello my friends. I'm so glad you're here. Today's episode is going to be a little bit short, but I feel like it has so much necessity. So I don't think that it is uncommon right now to hear businesses talk about their core values. And I think that a lot of small businesses, a lot of large businesses, can say here's what we stand for: we believe in trust, we believe in transparency, we believe in loyalty, we believe in professionalism. And that is all fine and good. And I really hope that if you haven't kind of done an activity around developing the core values of your business, that you will do that. When we think about the core values of a company, it's the same as we are personally. Our core values are there to guide our behavior, and it's the same in business. Core values aren't just something that you talk about during your team meetings, or that you put in your training manuals, or that you talk about and it's one and done. Your core values in your business should be the guide to every single thing that you do, the services that you provide, how you have your customer experience journey, how you onboard new team members, how you develop team culture. Your core values guide everything. I had a situation here in this last week that I wanted to share because I think that it highlighted this idea that we can have core values, but if we don't carry them through all aspects of our business, that it really starts to feel like we are out of our own integrity as a business. And I fully believe - this might sound like super catastrophic, but listen, that's just where I'm at today - I believe this can be the absolute demise of a company. Okay. I want to share with you about a conversation that I had with a small business owner recently. The first time that I met this small business owner, the first thing that drew me and that I noticed about this company was what an inclusive environment is. There was so much diversity in this really small business. There were people who were English as a second language. There were people who had diagnosed anxiety challenges. There were people that had all different ways of communicating and needs in this very small company. But I could tell that the owner had created this true sense of family and connection and support, and had been guiding his company so well through adapting some of the ways that they onboarded, how they did their schedule, how they set up their workstations. There were so many things that were going beautifully in the company, and it really stood out to me.
Kari Lotzien: [00:03:36] Now let's fast forward a bit. So I have a conversation here just a couple of weeks ago, and the same business owner came to me and said, I've got a new employee who is really underperforming. They are just not meeting the criteria for what we need in the business. So my response to this was, okay, tell me kind of where this person came from. How did you find them? How did they come to be? What are they doing really well? And this owner wanted me to work directly with that employee, which is always a hesitation for me because I like to work more with the owner, because I believe that they're the best ones who can create change in the business and really create that different culture, because then they're leading it. So as we were exploring this and I dug into it and I said, you know, I'm willing to kind of explore with this employee to figure out kind of like, what's going on, where are we missing, how might we adjust the training, or how might we adjust how we're communicating so that this person can be more successful, I said, but I really need to be working also with their manager. And who's the person who's responsible for mentorship? Who's the person that is the one who's guiding them, who's giving them tasks to do, who's doing their most of their training on a day to day basis? And this person paused and they said, well, we do - so defined who this person was - and said, ah, you know, but I'm a little bit hesitant because this person is difficult.
Kari Lotzien: [00:05:15] And what they then uncovered is that this person was really good at their job. They were really good at the tasks that they were assigned to do. They were in an admin position. So in terms of invoicing, communication, managing a really busy office, they were doing really well with the tasks. They had the ability to manage a lot of different competing demands on their attention and their time. But he said, really, when it comes to new staff, this person can be - his words, not mine - a little bit of a B. And he said there's times where she's just not very patient, where she's kind of like, you know, he's like, honestly, like there's times where I feel like she's really judgmental. I paused and I said, I apologize, but I'm kind of surprised. And I said, well, because back when we first met what I saw is that you had this beautiful, inclusive business. And when we talked about the core values of your business, it was family and trust and relationship. Like he just really created this sense of community and belonging for these people who may not have felt like they fit elsewhere. And I said, now you've given a management position and a mentorship position to someone who does not seem to hold those same core values of non-judgment and inclusion and family, and that sense of belonging. This just surprises me.
Kari Lotzien: [00:06:56] And as we talked through this, he said, well, honestly, I never looked at it that way because she's really good at her job. The tasks that she does on her front line, the things that she is responsible for outside of the management position, she's really good at. Now, I'm going to be honest with you, I'm really concerned about the future of this company if she stays, especially holding the same behaviors that she does right now that demonstrate judgment and not accepting people who have different learning abilities or people who might be challenged with the language. Because if that is how your behavior, how your mentorship, how your training program is being executed, the behavior of the business, if that's not in alignment with these core values of belonging and accepting and inclusivity that you are sharing and saying out loud to people, you have this real lack of integrity in your business.
[00:08:09] Jillian is an incredible entrepreneur who is going through a time of scaling her very successful business. When she offered to record a testimonial about her experience with the Anchored Leadership Academy to go on my podcast, I was so honored. Have a listen to what she had to say. My name is Jillian and I just finished the Anchored Leadership program with Kari Lotzien. I'm a financial planner. I've owned a practice for eight years. And I'd hit a space of exponential growth. Everything was going great, but I always struggled with the management of team, how to hire, how to fire, how to have those yucky conversations. And that was a huge takeaway from the Anchored Leadership, where I got tools and practice as to how to implement those things into my business so I can continue to grow and continue to thrive. It was an exceptional experience that I would highly recommend to any business owner who is looking to push through their discomfort to that next level of success. In the Anchored Leadership Academy, we combine weekly live sessions for one hour that focus on a key area of leadership, and then participants have the ability to work through all of the content in the modules between sessions. This allows a nice balance between accountability for really busy entrepreneurs to keep moving forward with the program and get it done, while also having the ability to flex their time a little bit and make it work for them. An added bonus, all participants get lifetime access to the videos, the audio, all of the resources in the course so you can keep coming back to it again and again when it applies to that specific time in your business. If this sounds like an interesting thing to you, click the link in the show notes, book an inquiry call, and let's see if the Anchored Leadership Academy is right for you at this stage of business. Thanks so much. Back to the show.
Kari Lotzien: [00:10:09] Now here's the thing. I think with small business owners, this can happen fairly easily because initially you are the hub of the wheel. And I do think that the owners behaviors were still in alignment with the core values of the company. But I think what had happened is that in that when this person was in a frontline role, when they were in an employee role without a management title, they were very successful in that position, and because they were successful in the position, they then got moved into management, which I see often. Promoted, not because they had exceptional mentorship abilities, because they were a really good manager of people, because they had really good communication skills. They were promoted because they were showing really good results in their role, in their current role as admin. But when we move them into a management position, now all of a sudden they are executing the core values of the business in a different role. And this was not lining up. I think we then need to go back and revisit. As the owner, have a conversation with that manager. These are the core values of the business, this is what we believe, and this is how our training protocol aligns with that core value. This is how our customer service aligns with our core values. When someone comes in and they can't really describe what's going on because maybe they are English as a second language, maybe they just don't have the knowledge or the experience, what I want to know, when we talk about inclusivity, belonging, family, that that customer is also met with patience, that we maybe try a few different ways to have a conversation with them so that we can gather the information that we need to provide the service to this person, but that we don't have that customer service experience where that person feels like they're a frustration, or that we don't have patience for them, or that they don't belong here.
Kari Lotzien: [00:12:31] So when we look at core values, I think this is where some businesses are falling short. And I want you to ask yourself, when you go back to your core values in your business, even if you are a solopreneur, when you look at every element of your business, how are you demonstrating those core values in your systems, in your processes, in the actions in the business? And if you can't easily tell me how your core values are demonstrated, or if I was to say to you, okay, poke holes. Are there any places in your company where your core value is not completely in alignment with how you're behaving? If you can't do that easily, I want you to just dive into it and really address are those two things lining up? A) if you are the one controlling all of those systems and processes, and you're the one actually executing the customer service, it's somewhat easier. But then if you have a team, and especially if you have someone else on your team who is executing at a management or a mentorship or doing training in your company, I am really pushing on the fact that they must be able to describe how your core values are demonstrated in their training, in how they're training the front line in terms of customer service or providing, you know, a product and experience for whoever is paying you to provide that service. How is that being executed on every single level? When you dive into this, you can create huge change in your business. But I think this is where core values just aren't enough.
Kari Lotzien: [00:14:16] So a little bit of food for thought today. This might feel a little bit, I don't know, intense or pushy. I'm really not trying to be pushy. I want your business to succeed, and I think we spend a lot of time thinking about our core values and what we stand for and what we want to stand for, but that is not a one and done exercise. Your core values need to show up in your business, in your processes, every single day, every single time that you face a challenge, or you're coming up against a question where you're not sure what the right thing is to do, you go back to your core values and you say, okay, if this is our core value, what would be the next right action that we would take? It should guide your decision-making. So core values are not a one and done where you write it on a piece of paper and then you don't look at it for another, I don't know, five years. It should be part of every single decision you make. And if it's not aligning or if you need to shift your core values to maybe more accurately describe your current model, that's okay. But make sure those two things are connected, because if they're not, this can be the demise of your business. Because when you get this or when you have someone, especially in management or mentorship training position, where their core values are in opposition to yours, this is toxic and it can spread like a cancer through your business. And you don't want that.
Kari Lotzien: [00:15:44] Okay, I love you. I want to share the hard things with you, and I want to be having these hard conversations. I want to point out where you might be having some blind spots in your business. So today that's all this little episode was, is to just invite you to have a look at that and to do some serious little work on really digging in. Okay. Thanks so much for being here. We'll see you next week. If you haven't clicked on the link to subscribe to the newsletter, that is the absolute best way to know what's going on, when new episodes are released, what the topics are, and all of the fun little things that I'm doing, connections that I'm making, I love to share. So the best place to connect with me is definitely through my newsletter. So click on the link in the notes and sign up for that. Thanks so much. We'll see you next time.
Kari Lotzien: [00:16:31] Please know that this podcast is meant for entertainment purposes only. It is not a substitution for medical or professional mental health advice. If you require support, please do reach out. Thanks so much.
- Luisteren Nogmaals beluisteren Doorgaan Wordt afgespeeld...
- Later beluisteren Later beluisteren
32 - Live the Life you Crave PT 2
30 apr 2024· Be the Anchor – Strategies and Support for Small Business Owners
Last episode, I introduced part one of this series on living the life that you crave. I gave you background on what that means and really did deep dive into my tagline, “live the life you crave”. If you haven’t listened to Episode 31, take a quick moment now to listen and come back when you’re finished. Now, in part two, I’m going to talk about actually living that life. There are six steps I’ll share about how to create the life that you crave and then go about living it.
I sometimes think about what will be said about my life when I’m gone. What impact did I have? Did I give back? Was my life one that was well lived? I believe our lives are about impact and purpose, fulfilling the reason we’re here. It’s not all about business, but about what differences we can make through our lives and businesses. So in taking action to live the life you crave, my steps are very focused on actually living and not just reaching financial goals. These steps apply even if you’re struggling, if you’re not in a successful place or if you haven’t yet found your dream or goal but are just realizing you want something new: that is your dream. Change is your dream. Moving past struggle is the life you crave at the moment.
The six steps ask you to look back at where you’ve already been to recognize the obstacles you’ve already overcome. They demand that you acknowledge your dreams and goals that are about more than just fiscal milestones. They teach you to understand that when you reach a mushroom cloud of expansion, your business will become something bigger than yourself. What is the journey that you’re on? How far have you already come? What are you learning and appreciating along the way? These are key questions to focus on as you work at living the life that you crave.
Key Moments
05:21 Step one is to look back. Look at how far you’ve already come.
11:07 Step three is asking how your dreams and goals appear. Where are you heading?
18:42 When your journey becomes bigger than you, how many other lives will you impact and enrich?
Process over progress means living the action of getting to your destination; enjoying the journeyHow do you live in the moments that lead you to your goal instead of just staring down the goal?Let yourself have an experience that pinpoints what you really crave
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Contact Kari Lotzien | Be the Anchor:
Website: BeTheAnchor.caFacebook: BeTheAnchorLtdInstagram: BeTheAnchor.caLinkedin: Be-The-Anchor-Ltd
__
Transcript:
Kari Lotzien: [00:00:01] Welcome to Be the Anchor, the podcast. I'm your host, business and leadership coach Kari Lotzien. When the seas of life get stormy, and they always will, it is not up to us to captain anyone else's ship or to try to calm the waters of the ocean. It's up to us to set our own destination for what we really want, and to learn how to navigate those waves of life together while finding that place of security and stability with others. I call this being an anchor.
Kari Lotzien: [00:00:37] Hello my friends. Welcome back. This is part two in the series Live the Life You Crave. Now, if you didn't listen to the last episode, episode 31, I give you the background and we really dive deep into this phrase 'live the life you crave', which is the tagline of my business. I invite you to just reflect on that. So if you haven't listened to that episode, go back, have a quick listen, and then come back to this one, because now we're going to dig into how do you go about living the life that you crave? I'm going to talk about six steps, key ways that you can move towards truly creating the life that you crave and then living it. When I talk about living the life that you crave, I want to just review that I am talking about craving as the combined feeling of some destination, goal, project that feels like it has an energy of its own, that you are being pulled towards it, and that in the pursuit of that thing, you are becoming a better version of yourself. And likely you are also creating a ripple effect on those around you that are making your industry, your family, your community better in some way.
Kari Lotzien: [00:01:59] The craving is also linked to need. I believe that when we crave something, it is closely tied to not only a desire, but there is a need for what we want to feel, appreciated, valued, we need to feel a sense of belonging. We need to feel a sense of value, that we are truly giving back. I think that when you live a life that you crave, what happens is you have this sense that your life was well lived. I think it is bigger than us, and I think that many of us can think back to a time where we've gone to a celebration of life or something like that, and you see the true celebration that, man, that was a life well lived. That person had an impact. And it doesn't have to be a global worldwide impact where they changed, you know, the face of their industry. They can have such an incredible impact on very few people, you know, people who dedicate their lives to helping the homeless or to being an incredible teacher or giving their life to others through service, whether that is in healthcare, education, psychology, whatever it is.
Kari Lotzien: [00:03:13] I feel like there are times, and it's not tied to an industry either, I want to point that out, that's really clear. I think that there are humans in this world who have just had an incredible impact on others, and sometimes they're not even seen or celebrated or you don't fully recognize it until sometimes their life ends, and then you see the impact that they were able to have. Now, maybe that sounds morbid. And here we are, three minutes into the episode of Living the Life That You Crave and I'm talking about death. But, I don't know, maybe I'm crazy and I'm curious to know what you guys think about this too, I do think about what people are going to say about me at my funeral. Is that weird? If it's weird, maybe let me know and I won't talk about it anymore. But I do think about that. I think about what would people say about me? What is the impact that I've had? How did I treat people? That matters to me even though I won't be there, maybe, depending on what you believe, I kind of think I'll be able to still hear what they're saying about me. But I think when we live the life that we crave, it becomes like we're fulfilling our purpose of why we were here. And that doesn't have to be big and extravagant. It can be very small, but we feel like we're making a difference. I think our life is not just about business, but it's about all aspects of how we are using the life that we have been given in business, in community, in relationships, in our own health. And I think in terms of living it, what I'm talking about is the action piece. Are you living? Are you taking action on that life that you crave right now, how does it feel? So as we unpack these next six steps together, this is the how. How are you going to move towards that? I think in the six steps this helps, I believe, my clients, this is what helps myself in looking back and saying, okay, how do I stay on this track? When I get on track, what pulls me back on that road that I want to be on when maybe I faltered? Or maybe things are really hard? These are the six steps that I believe have real power.
Kari Lotzien: [00:05:21] Number one, look back. Now, when I thought about these six steps, I want to share with you a little bit of a story that a few years back I was going through an exceptionally hard time and I felt like I had no direction. I didn't know what the right choice was in many areas of my life. I felt like things were just messy and hard, and I just could not get clear. And the messaging that I kept hearing is I couldn't even hear my own voice. It was so noisy, I could hear all the shoulds, right? All the voices of people saying, you should do this, you should do that, you could do this, you could do that. But I couldn't hear my own. So I decided, kind of decided, kind of felt pulled to take time and just leave it all behind. So I went away and I did kind of like a mini, I don't know, vision quest, let's just call it that. It sounds fancy and exciting, but I went away and I was by myself, completely by myself, for eight days, completely alone. And then I spent significant amounts of time in the vehicle traveling completely by myself. Now other people were around. I was not in the middle of a forest with wildlife. I'm not that kind of a girl. I was at an Airbnb by myself. I ate dinner by myself in a restaurant. So, I mean, it was a pretty bougie vision quest, but I digress. While I was doing this, I did a lot of hiking and this is where these steps came to me. So the first step in looking back is I would go on hikes and you know when things get really tough on a hike and you're thinking, oh my gosh, how am I not at the top yet? How have I not reached the summit yet? This is brutal. How far am I? The power and the energy that I would find when I simply turned around and looked at where I came from. How many times are you pursuing something in your life and it's hard and you're not there yet. You're looking for the destination, you're trying to get to it, and it still seems so far away. I invite you to look back at where you started and give yourself credit for how far you've come already. Right now, at this moment in time, look how far you've come. Because what I know is that just appreciating that, seeing the obstacles you've already overcome, seeing the amount of progress you've already made, gives you energy to keep going. When you turn around again, and you look for that summit, that destination, and moving forward, I think it gives you this renewed energy. And what is really cool about that is it's based on data. This is not affirmations. This is not believing in yourself. This is not trying to do unconscious programming. When you turn around and you just acknowledge all of the progress you've already made, this is data that said, this is all the things I did before, I can likely keep making progress on this journey. So that's number one. Look back.
Kari Lotzien: [00:08:31] Number two, think about what obstacles have you already overcome? Now I want you to, like, dig into this. Let those voices be heard. So remember when I said to you that when I was taking this like little mini bougie vision quest, it was because I couldn't hear my own voice anymore? When I did this little activity, and I thought about the obstacles that I overcame, a lot of those obstacles were the shoulds. It was people telling me that this was a crazy idea, that it was never going to happen. It was times where I didn't believe in myself, where I questioned my own knowledge. Like, do I even have the ability to do this? Do I have the experience? Do I have the backing, financially or otherwise? How many people are telling me that they don't support me, that they think I should be doing something else? Financially, right, some of us did not grow up with backing or the ability to really pursue the highest levels of education or to have that, you know, start-up funding for our brand new business, because that's just not where we came from. When you think about your life in pursuit of whatever life you're moving towards, what obstacles have you overcome on the way to get there? And let yourself go into it, because I think, again, there are times where we're like, oh, well, I don't like to think about the hard things. I don't like to think about the things that have been maybe not as pretty, or I don't want to feel like I'm blaming others for holding me back in my pursuit. I just want to stay focused on my vision and my goals and my dreams. But I think in acknowledging the obstacles that you've already overcome, what you're doing is you're actually acknowledging your own resilience. You're saying, this thing that I crave, that seems to be like pulling me towards it, is bigger than the doubts, the financial situation, where I came from, how I grew up, the education that I had. It's bigger than that, and I have found a way to overcome these obstacles on my path. Again, what this is, is it's data that is showing your resilience. I think again, this fuels that fire in the pursuit of moving towards that thing you crave.
Kari Lotzien: [00:11:07] Number three. Ask yourself, how do your dreams and goals appear? In this one I think that goals and dreams have been given a bad rap, because I feel like there's this sense that, oh, suddenly, like, we're going to have a dream or we'll suddenly have a vision or someone will say something to us and suddenly we know that, oh, this is the life that I am supposed to be leading. Here's my dream, here's my goal, here's my vision. And now I just need to figure out how to get to it. When I see it like that, I feel like it comes with glitters and it's like got rainbows around it and it's all like, beautiful. I don't think all dreams show up like that. And when I look at my own life, when I look at the life for a lot of my clients who have really done incredible things, their dreams didn't come in glitter and rainbows and like this vision of, oh, look how beautiful it will be. Many, many, many, many times those goals and dreams came in the form of I can't do this anymore. I cannot continue on this path. I can't take this one more day. So their dream or their vision might have shown up in they are drowning in bills that they can't pay, that maybe their house is at risk of being foreclosed on. Maybe the insurance and the utility companies are threatening to shut off their power. Maybe they can't afford to put groceries on the table and they are using places like the food bank. There are times where people get so frustrated with the current situation that they are in abusive relationships, lack of someone else seeing their value. So maybe they're in a job that they just know they're so unappreciated and it's really not going anywhere. And that little voice in their head says, I can't do this one more day. There has to be a better way. Just know that is a dream and a vision. That is a dream and a goal.
Kari Lotzien: [00:13:21] It doesn't have to come packaged with a shiny bow on it. It can come in terms of frustration and anger and resentment, like, just know that it's still that sense of craving. There's something more for me and I feel pulled to do something about it. I have to live differently. I have to take action on this. So just let's acknowledge that. I think this is a big one, I really do because too many people feel like that frustration is what holds them back or what sinks them. And what I know from countless people that I have worked with, I think we're drawn to that, right? The stories of people who overcome incredible turmoil in their lives, trauma and abuse, and they come from nothing. Many people living on the streets who go on to do amazing things. I really think that when you have hard times, it's like the elastic band that pulls you back and it's like you feel like you're starting below zero with no money, no education, no anything. But I now know how many stories I've heard, this is the proof, the data that I see over and over again, people who have that kind of pull back, when they start moving towards the direction of whatever it is that they're craving, it's like a slingshot. When that elastic starts moving forward, they go so much further. Because there's a drive to that and a passion that I don't know that we get on the other end when things are easier. Now I wish, I wish I was wrong in this because I wish that in my own life I could say, well, when things get easier that I'll create that flywheel and then things will just get better and better and better. And I think that eventually it hits that. But I think we all have to come through these pieces of obstacles and resilience and turmoil and frustration that almost creates that slingshot effect to move us forward in creating the life that we crave. So if you're in the pits of despair right now and you just cannot see your way out of it and you are drowning in bills, do not think that this episode is not for you, because it's maybe more for you than it is for anyone. I'm talking to you. You are right where you need to be and you can use that as fuel.
[00:15:55] Gillian is an incredible entrepreneur who is going through a time of scaling her very successful business. When she offered to record a testimonial about her experience with the Anchored Leadership Academy to go on my podcast, I was so honored. Have a listen to what she had to say. My name is Gillian and I just finished the Anchored Leadership program with Kari Lotzien. I'm a financial planner. I've owned a practice for eight years. And I'd hit a space of exponential growth. Everything was going great, but I always struggled with the management of team, how to hire, how to fire, how to have those yucky conversations. And that was a huge takeaway from the Anchored Leadership, where I got tools and practice as to how to implement those things into my business so I can continue to grow and continue to thrive. It was an exceptional experience that I would highly recommend to any business owner who is looking to push through their discomfort to that next level of success. In the Anchored Leadership Academy, we combine weekly live sessions for one hour that focus on a key area of leadership, and then participants have the ability to work through all of the content in the modules between sessions. This allows a nice balance between accountability for really busy entrepreneurs to keep moving forward with the program and get it done, while also having the ability to flex their time a little bit and make it work for them. An added bonus: all participants get lifetime access to the videos, the audio, all of the resources in the course so you can keep coming back to it again and again when it applies to that specific time in your business. If this sounds like an interesting thing to you, click the link in the show notes, book an inquiry call, and let's see if the Anchored Leadership Academy is right for you at this stage of business. Thanks so much. Back to the show.
Kari Lotzien: [00:17:57] Okay. Number four, once you have acknowledged the data that has said, look at what has gotten me where I am right now, and you've got the data to show it. Where I think that we then, it turns into this mushroom cloud, and I think what truly gives so many of my clients, the people that I just adore hearing their stories, is every single time that vision, that life that they crave, every single time when I see it mushroom cloud and turn into something beyond what they could even imagine, the secret sauce is that it becomes bigger than them. The next thing I want you to do is ask whose life will change as I begin to live the life I crave. It might be your showcasing for your kids that they don't have to grow up the way that you did. Maybe you are changing the industry for someone else. Maybe you are giving hope to the clients or the customers that you work with. Maybe you are changing the face of how you're able to give back to your community, or support a charity that you believe in. Or maybe this frees up your time so that you can show that you can have an incredibly successful business and travel the world and have an incredible, really nourishing life. And maybe then when you go to different countries, you support other entrepreneurs in their small businesses who are just trying to make a go of it themselves. I always, I think the fuel that really causes these dreams to ignite is when it becomes bigger than ourselves and every single person, every single business that I have seen that's gone on to do really incredible things, it is always bigger than the success of the owner and is definitely bigger than financial gain. The more people that you can impact, the more change that you can make. The more that you can see beyond your own personal benefit, the more this will completely take off. It's like adding fuel to your fire. So I want you to acknowledge whose life changes as you begin to live the life you crave. Make it bigger than yourself.
Kari Lotzien: [00:20:21] Number five, measure process over progress. Okay, now what does this mean? So if you have a goal, I think it is really easy for us to say, okay, when I hit these milestones, so if I'm trying to earn seven figures in my business, you might break it down and say, okay, I need to earn 100,000 by this point in the year, and I need to earn this much by this point in the year. And then we mark our success or our journey through meeting those objectives and goals. Here's why I'm not a fan of that. I think it is one point that we want to measure or be aware of, but it can't be the driving force. When you talk about living the life that you crave, living it, the action of it is based in the process. Right? So we hear things like, you know, the magic is in the journey. Well, it absolutely is. Because if you're not enjoying the journey and the process along the way in how you're achieving the life that you crave, you will never get there. And the risk in this is we hear multi-billionaires who get to that point in their life and say, okay, I've been just upping my financial goal over and over and over again. And I keep meeting them. I keep hitting those targets and doesn't feel any different.
Kari Lotzien: [00:21:48] I'm still alone. I'm still sad. I'm still not having any fun in my life. It's a really sad moment when you hear someone who has this list of accolades of things they've done in their life, and inside they feel very unsatisfied and they still feel alone. This is where when I talked in part one of really looking at all of the different parts of your life and what creates the life that you crave, a very small sliver has to do with actually financial goals or how much body mass do you have? Right? Like when I talk about living the life you crave and if you're measuring your progress towards the life you crave, that I'm going to lose 20 pounds by this point next year, and then you measure every pound that you lose. And now you're 20 pounds lighter, but you're still not having any fun. And your life didn't change. When I talk about the life you crave, you don't crave losing 20 pounds. You crave maybe the ability to go and hike with your family. Maybe you crave the ability to go and run around with your grandkids and play soccer, and not feel like your knees are going to break. When you are living it, when you are measuring process, process says, okay, I'm going to do this and on the journey, on the journey to losing 20 pounds, I'm going to have a ten minute dance party in the kitchen three times a week. I'm going to take my kids to the park a couple times a week, and I'm going to play with them.
Kari Lotzien: [00:23:26] I'm not going to sit on the side and watch. I'm going to maybe join that pickleball program that's running in my community, and I'm going to do that a couple of times a week. Do you see how now it's really easy for me to say, okay, well, did I have a dance party three times a week? Process. Did I join that pickleball organization? Process. Did I play with my grandkids, did I join them playing soccer? Whatever that is, that's process. That says I'm enjoying the journey that is likely getting me closer to my health goal. They have to connect. So measure the process. Measure did you actually do the thing that you think will get you closer to your goal? In business this might look like, did you make those sales calls or are you just frustrated that you haven't met that financial objective yet? You can't measure making the financial objective, because there may be so many other factors in how you achieve that goal. The same with health, really. There are so many other factors that are outside of your control that by measuring your progress only towards the acquisition or how far away you are from that specific destination, you are going to feel so frustrated because very quickly, you'll realize that so many things are out of your control and you'll lose that process piece of it. But if you measure the process, you will naturally see you're getting closer and closer to your goal. So you focus on the process. You focus on what are the things, the activities that I'm going to do that I think will lead me there? And you track that, you focus on that in the data.
Kari Lotzien: [00:25:11] And last, this is a really big one. I'm going to come back to my story. So when I took my little bougie vision quest and I did a lot of hiking, I had an experience where I spent all day hiking and by myself completely. I actually didn't see one other person. Luckily, I also didn't see one other animal, so, I digress. That whole day I was completely by myself. And when I finally got to the destination, when I got to the summit and it was breathtaking, it absolutely took my breath away. What I could see is this cliff that overlooked the ocean. And in that moment it was like the world just went silent. I couldn't hear any more of those you should do this, you should do that. But I felt this sense of clarity that I don't know that I've ever felt before. It brought me to my knees. I got incredibly emotional. And I ended up having an experience. Now, if you believe in something bigger than yourself, you could say that was a higher power, that was God, whatever that was. If that feels right to you, you follow that. If it doesn't, I'm going to ask you, create the experiences that allow you to hear your own voice. And if that means you need to go spend some time by yourself for a while, if you need to go walk in nature, for me, that works beautifully. I feel like things are quieter, things are slower when I'm in nature and it allows me to just sort my own thoughts. That's the path. That's the process that I take to hear it.
Kari Lotzien: [00:27:11] For you, it might be something completely different. It might be going for a run, it might be reading great poetry, it might be listening to beautiful music. Whatever it is, doesn't matter, but I want you to see can you find your own voice? And when you find it, whether you write it, whether you record a video for yourself, I want you to give yourself a message of reassurance, of being on the right track, of self compassion to give yourself a boost. Some of the things that I've done over the years, so I did, when I reached that summit and I was overlooking the ocean, the message that came to me is that on that journey, on the journey that day, there's so many times I didn't know where I was going. It was one of those really weird paths that sometimes it felt like the path just disappeared and I didn't know where I was anymore. And I would take just a few more steps. And it was like the path appeared and there were some times where it was kind of funny, but I would actually turn completely 360 degrees and I would just keep pivoting and then all of a sudden it was like, then I could see the trail, but when I was following it, it was, all of a sudden it disappeared. And the messages that I got from myself were these last five steps. That when you're in doubt and you're tired, look back and see how far you came. Acknowledge all of the obstacles that you overcame. There was moments that day that were really hard, and I just kept moving over those obstacles, just like I have in my life. And they will look different for every single one of us. I recognized that sometimes dreams and goals for me that day, the message I got was sometimes dreams and goals look like letting go. Sometimes dreams and goals look like giving up and walking away and knowing when it's time to move on. And in that day, and in that moment when I could hear my own voice, it told me, stop always measuring in terms of the destination. Because there will be days where you don't get there. But if you didn't enjoy the journey along the way and you didn't pause and notice the beauty that was in the process to getting exactly where you are right now, this loses its power, and you will not see the same beauty, and you will not have that same sense of accomplishment when you reach the end goal if you didn't stop and pause and acknowledge the process that got you here.
Kari Lotzien: [00:30:01] So this series in Living the Life That You Crave, is my personal sharing in when I was able to take that time to just hear my own voice, these were the steps that came back to me. And when I sat today thinking about what I was going to record for my podcast episode, I felt the need that I want to share this with you. Because when it became bigger than me, when I recognized that part of my journey and my process in what I want in my life is how can I share these little tidbits and messages with others who are also trying to create and live the life that they crave? And as I share this, it becomes bigger than me. And my hope is that when I plant these seeds, these thoughts with you, and then you make your dream, your vision, bigger than you that this creates a ripple effect where we truly can change the way that we are showing up in the world. I know that sounds huge and it sounds overwhelming, but I truly believe that when more of us live this way and we live this way with intention, we have more power than we will ever recognize.
Kari Lotzien: [00:31:25] Now as I wrap up today, I want to come back to no matter where you are, no matter what your journey looks like right now, at this moment in time, living the life you crave is available to you. It is available through action and support and love. And knowing that part of that craving is not just linked to an egoic desire to attain more in your life. It is part of your human evolution that will allow you to be even better than you are right now, and it is a need. Just like that infant that craves touch, it is integral to their development. It is not, it is not a desire, it's not just a want, it is absolutely part of who they will become. This is the message I want to leave you with today. I love you all so much. I'd love to hear your thoughts on part one and part two of this series in Living the Life You Crave. I'd love to hear your feedback on this episode. Any thoughts that you have, feel free to drop me an email, follow the link in the show notes. Always be sure to sign up for my newsletter, because if you want to have more conversation, if you want to get into a webinar or a workshop with me, that is absolutely the best way to find out what I'm up to. Thanks so much. We'll see you next time.
Kari Lotzien: [00:33:00] Please know that this podcast is meant for entertainment purposes only. It is not a substitution for medical or professional mental health advice. If you require support, please do reach out. Thanks so much.
- Luisteren Nogmaals beluisteren Doorgaan Wordt afgespeeld...
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31 - Live The Life You Crave PT 1
16 apr 2024· Be the Anchor – Strategies and Support for Small Business Owners
This episode is special for me because I am talking about my tagline. Perhaps you didn’t know until right now that I have a tagline! We’ll unpack it together. My tagline is ‘Live the life you crave’. This phrase is very important to me, it holds a lot of value, and I found it through intention and focus. The important place to start in understanding it is to define what ‘crave’ actually means. I’ll do that and examine exactly what it means to live what we crave in this episode.
Craving, according to the dictionary, is not just something that we want but something that we need. The definition likens it to how infants crave touch. Infants don’t just want touch, they need it in order to develop and grow. The thing we crave isn’t just an idle want, it’s something we need, something that pulls us in, something we deeply require. When you examine the cravings in your life, what are they? What do you want and need in order to thrive? What pulls you?
I’m going to talk about how living the life you crave encompasses more than just work, more than just your business. If you are succeeding at work but struggling with personal relationships, then the full life that you crave is not being satisfied. What do you need to create for your life to be filled on all levels? What do you crave about living that will make you fulfilled in the moment and not just living for a future when things hopefully align? I want you to think about these questions as you move through this episode with me.
Key Moments
02:11 Defining the word ‘crave’
05:28 Does the thing that you crave feel bigger than you? Drive you towards impacting change?
11:43 Your life is made up of more than work and all the components deserve to be strong
Are you struggling with personal things outside of work? Finding balance is part of what you craveWhen you live the life you crave, does it align with your values in ways that satisfy you right now?It’s vital to think about every aspect of what you crave for your life
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Contact Kari Lotzien | Be the Anchor:
Website: BeTheAnchor.caFacebook: BeTheAnchorLtdInstagram: BeTheAnchor.caLinkedin: Be-The-Anchor-Ltd
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Transcript:
Kari Lotzien: [00:00:01] Welcome to Be the Anchor, the podcast. I'm your host, business and leadership coach Kari Lotzien. When the seas of life get stormy, and they always will, it is not up to us to captain anyone else's ship or to try to calm the waters of the ocean. It's up to us to set our own destination for what we really want, and to learn how to navigate those waves of life together while finding that place of security and stability with others. I call this being an anchor. Hello my friends. I'm so glad you're here. Today is a special episode. I want to unpack my tagline with you. Live the life you crave. Now, some of you may not have realized until right now that that even was my tagline. But this phrase holds incredible value for me, and it's something that I came to with a lot of intention and focus. And as we unpack it together, I hope that it has as much power and brings you a chance to reflect and really dig in to the vision for your own life, like this phrase does for me. Let's start with, in this phrase live the life you crave, I want to start with the word crave. Because when I think about that word, I think about wanting something so much that it feels like you are pulled towards it. It's not a dream or a destination way off in the future that you feel like you have to hustle and grind and push towards, but that it feels hard.
Kari Lotzien: [00:01:44] When I think of things that we crave, it's like that thing, that vision, the future, the project, the business, the family, the relationship. It has its own energy. And when I think about things that we crave, I feel like there is a pull towards them that it's almost hard to resist moving towards that thing in our future. When we talk about the word crave and being defined as something that we intensely desire, I think it falls short a little bit. And when I read the example, or the sentence that was given in the dictionary, it said 'an example of craving is teaching parents to provide the touch that infants crave'. And as I thought about this, I thought, okay, there's something here that's really important because I think craving is more than something we desire, something we want. It's something that we need. There is a partnership between how we move towards this thing that we crave. But it's paired with something that we also require. Infants don't just desire touch. Infants require it. They require touch for the development of their nervous systems. They require touch so that they learn how to respond and develop that human connection with others. This is how they develop that sense of trust and relationship. They learn to accept touch, and they learn to give touch in a healthy and caring and kind way. When we crave touch, it's not just about, oh, it would be really, really nice to have. It is part of the development of who we are.
Kari Lotzien: [00:03:38] And I think that when you picture what are you craving in your life, whether it's a relationship, whether it's a business, whether it's a big idea, whether it's something that you feel pulled to do, I think what we want to understand is that this is a key part of who we will become as human beings, as we pursue or move towards that vision. So many times when I meet with clients, and myself included, when I had an idea for starting my first company, I didn't think of it in terms of, oh, I want to make this much money and this is what I want. It was a craving that I wanted to provide something different. I wanted to be of service, and I could suddenly see that I had something that I could bring to my clients that I felt would really make their life better and to the point, and I know it sounds kind of hokey, but my first business vision, my mission statement, was I wanted to change the world for kids. And although that sounded very grandiose and very, very big, that was truly the work that I felt like I was doing, that when I was working closely with parents and I was working with teachers, and I was helping them to change their perspective in how they viewed children who had challenges, I truly felt this was so much bigger than myself, and it became a craving that I felt pulled, this was something that I needed to do.
Kari Lotzien: [00:05:14] And in the pursuit of that, not saying that there were not times where things were difficult because there absolutely was, but it felt bigger than me. It felt like a pulling, not only a pursuit, if that makes sense. And I hear this over and over and over again with my clients. It feels bigger than themselves. It feels like there is an energy to be pulled towards doing something bigger, because it generally not only impacts their own life and creates that vision that they see for themselves, but often it has a ripple effect on changing communities or really creating change in industries or cultures. Like it becomes really big. So when you think about the thing that you crave, I want you to recognize that you're pulled towards something bigger than yourself. Now you might already be saying, okay, but I don't understand because I think we crave things that are not good for us as well. So where does that fit, Kari? Okay, well, here's the thing. I don't think that we actually crave the thing that is bad for us. So if you think about, okay, someone who is craving drugs or alcohol or they're craving food, that's not good for them and it doesn't really make sense. And it feels like this it's a bad craving. I think it is not that deep, that it's not actually the cigarettes, or the drink, or the drugs, or the bad food that we're craving, I think what we're craving is the feeling that it gives us underneath. It's the craving for what that will lead to.
Kari Lotzien: [00:06:47] I think the true craving is underneath that surface level. So if you peel one layer back for someone who is maybe craving going for drinks and, you know, cutting loose. Is what they're craving that sense of release? Are they craving that sense that when I have a few drinks I feel more confident? I feel more connected. I'm more social. I feel like I'm around people and that I have this sense of community. When you peel back just one layer, I think the craving is that sense of community and connection. I think when we crave food that's not good for us, it often relates to sometimes the sense of community. You know, we go out for food together and we overeat or we drink or whatever. Maybe we crave certain types of food when we're feeling down, when we're feeling lonely, when we're feeling isolated. And it kind of masks that sense. We don't crave the food, we crave that feeling of a sense of being full, a sense of being fulfilled. I think the craving comes from that need that we're looking for that is part of our human evolution. And I think sometimes the thing that we describe as craving on the way to that is not accurate. So I feel that that really defines and I always try to look further than if someone says they're craving something that doesn't quite align. I want to look at what is the destination, what is the feeling, what is the outcome that they might be truly craving? But their path to get there might not be exactly what they're wanting, or what makes sense, or what is in their best, highest interest. So when I define what do you crave? What are you pulled towards? What feels bigger than you? And then define that.
Kari Lotzien: [00:08:52] The next step is talking about living the life that you crave. I think this is another thing that differentiates me from a lot of coaches. I hear, and I understand it, I hear so much about niching and really developing a narrow focus in your industry so that people know, oh, this is the person that I work with. But one of the things that I find with my clients is that I don't want you to just develop the business that you crave. I don't want you to just develop the relationships that you crave in your community, or in your day-to-day partnerships in your family. I don't want you to just create a healthy lifestyle that you have a strong physical and mental health.
[00:09:42] Gillian is an incredible entrepreneur who is going through a time of scaling her very successful business. When she offered to record a testimonial about her experience with the Anchored Leadership Academy to go on my podcast, I was so honored. Have a listen to what she had to say. My name is Gillian and I just finished the Anchored Leadership Program with Kari Lotzien. I'm a financial planner. I've owned a practice for eight years and I'd hit a space of exponential growth. Everything was going great, but I always struggled with the management of team, how to hire, how to fire, how to have those yucky conversations. And that was a huge takeaway from the Anchored Leadership, where I got tools and practice as to how to implement those things into my business so I can continue to grow and continue to thrive. It was an exceptional experience that I would highly recommend to any business owner who is looking to push through their discomfort to that next level of success. In the Anchored Leadership Academy, we combine weekly live sessions for one hour that focus on a key area of leadership, and then participants have the ability to work through all of the content in the modules between sessions. This allows a nice balance between accountability for really busy entrepreneurs to keep moving forward with the program and get it done, while also having the ability to flex their time a little bit and make it work for them. An added bonus: all participants get lifetime access to the videos, the audio, all of the resources in the course so you can keep coming back to it again and again when it applies to that specific time in your business. If this sounds like an interesting thing to you, click the link in the show notes, book an inquiry call, and let's see if the Anchored Leadership Academy is right for you at this stage of business. Thanks so much. Back to the show.
Kari Lotzien: [00:11:43] When I look at your life, I look at all of the different parts. I see too many entrepreneurs, small business owners who try to compartmentalize their life. And then generally one area of their life might feel really strong. So maybe you've developed an exceptional business where you have customers who rave about you. You're making more money than you've ever made in your life, and you're so proud of that. But maybe your family life is suffering. Maybe your partnership with the person who you have dedicated your life to and who you're really close and connected to, is suffering as a result of the time and the energy that you're spending on your business or on work.
Kari Lotzien: [00:12:31] In my perspective that is not creating the life that you crave. It's not living the life that you crave. It's creating an element of a strong business that is merely a spoke in the wheel of your life. What I want you to think about is when you are designing your life, i want you to think about all of the different aspects, the things that you crave in terms of relationship, family, social, physical and mental health and business. This creates a life that you crave. So many entrepreneurs, small business owners, and I see this - I was going to say that I see this more with moms and female business owners who feel like they compartmentalize their life, that they're trying to kind of do it all. They're trying to be a great parent and volunteer and, you know, be at their kid's sports. But then they're also trying to develop this business. But I actually don't think that's the case as much anymore. When I'm listening closely to men who are also running small businesses and have families, I think that we, this generation, we're starting to see more of a blurred line between work and home life. Now, I think one is that we are constantly accessible and that those lines can blur between family and work.
Kari Lotzien: [00:14:00] But also our roles are changing. That we are expecting, and I think both partners are wanting, to be more connected. We're wanting to have more balanced lives. We're not wanting to do, you know, 120 hour weeks. We're not wanting to just dedicate our whole world to work. And then our partner looks after kind of the home life. And then, you know, that's how we create a balanced family. I think we are individually looking to have more balanced lives where we have those really close relationships and connections that work with our businesses, that work with our schedules so that we can have this life that we crave, not just the business. And I think this is also something that is unique about how I work with people, is I always want to know, that is awesome that your business is really taking off and you're getting a lot of clients, talk to me about how that's affecting things at home. Or, you know, I know with a lot of my clients, they share with me things that are going on in their personal lives. They have loved ones who are undergoing surgeries or who have fallen ill, and then that is taking their emotional toll. They want to be there, they want to be there to support their families, but they also have businesses that they're running. And I want to know, okay, I heard that your mom is not well and that you're making some really big decisions in your family right now. Talk to me about how that's affecting things at work. Who's taking over, who's helping that part of your life to stay smooth? And how do these things work together? It is all one machine. It's not individual parts and pieces.
Kari Lotzien: [00:15:42] And then the last part of this is living the life that you crave. Now I think we hear a lot about values. We hear a lot about goals and dreams and plans and visions. But now I want to know, are you living it? And to me, living is an action. It is something that we do, not something we dream about, not something that you envision or work towards. It's what you're doing right now. And I think this is another really big piece. As high performers, we are really good at setting goals and moving towards them, but I hear too too often, when. When we achieve this milestone, when I hire three more people, when we close this big sale, when my kids get a little older, when we move to this new community, when... and it's like the payoff is in the future. And what I see is that people who constantly are telling me these things, that when this happens, inevitably, by the time one of those things, by the time your kids are older, by the time you've moved to that community, by the time you've opened the next sale or you've closed that next sale, something else comes in.
Kari Lotzien: [00:17:05] And that payoff just seems to be getting farther and farther out. What I want to know when we work together is are you living the life that you crave? What is it looking like? How is it showing up right now? I want to really be clear on this. I'm not saying that things are perfect every day because they're not. You're going to have seasons where things are just hard. You're going to have unexpected things come up in your family, in your business, in your relationships, in your own health. That happens. I'm not giving you this overly positive gushy, 'the world is your oyster, things are smooth all the time'. That's not what I'm talking about. What I'm talking about is when you look at your life and you give yourself a grade on how you feel you're living right now, are you satisfied? Are you grateful? Do you feel like you're making progress in the direction of the thing that you crave? I want to know what does that look like today? Because more days than not, I want you to feel like you are actively living the life that you crave. I don't want you to be putting it off into the future. We can be moving towards a bigger goal. We can be in pursuit of a project or a dream or something next. But I don't want you to feel like the satisfaction that you have in your life is in the future. That you suffer now, so that you can have a payoff later on.
Kari Lotzien: [00:18:37] I think that whole rewards and consequences behaviorist approach, it doesn't work, and I think we're hearing it still in so many places. Rewards and consequences, right? We will put off our satisfaction and our lifestyle right now because we think that there's going to be this maybe big financial payoff in the future, or there's going to be this big thing that we're going to come into so that we keep pursuing it, thinking that, well, that big carrot, that big reward will pay off, or we run away from that feeling of discomfort trying to get ahead of it. I want you to just pause in this moment and say, am I living the life that I crave? Am I getting the things? And when I talk about craving, it's that combination of what are you feeling pulled towards? Are you getting closer to it? And are you fulfilling that need that is allowing you to evolve as a person? And moving you forward. Live the life you crave. Live it in action. Your life is all parts. And what do you crave that is moving you towards the person that you want to be in this world? That's what I'm talking about today. And I invite you to just spend some time with this. Maybe jot this phrase at the top of a piece of paper, and then just brainstorm all of the thoughts that come up for you.
Kari Lotzien: [00:20:12] What are the things that are feeling amazing right now, that feel like they are aligned with what you crave? And what are those things that are maybe a little bit in the future that you feel pulled towards in all of those different aspects and just let it come out. Just dump it out on the paper, have a look at it, see what it looks like. If you choose to, reach out to me, let's have a conversation about it and to see are there ways that maybe we can support each other in moving in the direction that you want to go? In the next episode, this is a two part series, this one. In the next episode, I'm going to talk about how do we do this? Okay, Kari, so I've kind of assessed living the life I crave and where I'm at right now, but now what? What do I do? How do I look at this so that I can continue to create the life that I crave and live the life that I crave? So I hope that you're going to join me for the next episode, where we're going to unpack more of the tangible steps and strategies that you can do to move towards this. I'll see you there.
Kari Lotzien: [00:21:19] Please know that this podcast is meant for entertainment purposes only. It is not a substitution for medical or professional mental health advice. If you require support, please do reach out. Thanks so much.
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