Keep up with Karri

As the owner of a business, it's easy to become consumed by work and neglect other important aspects of your life. The constant demands, long hours, and need to be “constantly on” can lead to stress and leaving you feeling drained, unmotivated, and even resentful towards your business and employees. If nothing is done, it can ultimately lead to complete burnout. Achieving a healthy work-life balance is crucial for both your personal well-being and the long-term success of your business. Here are some practical strategies to help you strike the right balance between your professional and personal life. 1. Prioritize You: the Person Running a business can be mentally, physically, and emotionally taxing. It's essential to put aside some of your time to maintain your energy levels. Make time for activities that rejuvenate you, whether it's exercise, meditation, reading, or simply spending time with family and friends at a purely social level. When you prioritize your well-being, you'll be better equipped to handle the demands of your business. 2. Set Boundaries and Learn to Unplug In the digital age, it's tempting to be "on" all the time. While this is true for everyone, when you run a business the need to know everything that is happening every minute of the day never stops. Anything that you leave on all the time eventually stops working . Set clear boundaries between work and personal time, and learn to unplug from your business when you're not working. This might mean disabling email notifications, avoiding work-related tasks during designated personal time, or even just turning the phone off for a couple of hours. 3. Delegate and Outsource As the owner and the person ultimately responsible, it's natural to want to be involved in every aspect of your business. However, trying to do everything yourself is the one thing that will always lead to you continuing to do it yourself . Learn to delegate tasks to trusted employees or outsource non-essential tasks to freelancers or the increasingly popular virtual assistant. This will free up your time and energy to focus on the most important aspects of your business. 4. Cultivate a Support System You don't have to know all the answers . Building a strong support system is crucial for maintaining a healthy work-life balance. Surround yourself with individuals who understand the demands of entrepreneurship and can offer emotional support, guidance, and accountability. This could include a mentor, a coach, or even fellow business owners who can share their experiences and insights. 5. Schedule Downtime and Vacations As a business owner, it's easy to neglect taking time off , but regular downtime and vacations are essential for recharging and preventing burnout. Schedule regular breaks, whether it's a weekend getaway or a longer vacation, and make a conscious effort to fully disconnect from work during these periods. This will allow you to return to your business feeling refreshed and energized. Achieving a healthy work-life balance is an ongoing process that requires mindfulness, discipline, and a willingness to prioritize your well-being. By implementing these strategies, you'll be better equipped to overcome burnout, maintain your passion for your business, and enjoy a fulfilling life outside of work. If you find the whole concept of work-life balance out of your reach or impossible to even contemplate, then you need to look at it differently: https://www.karritree.com/make-a-healthy-work-life-balance-your-new-normal

Unlocking the full potential of your employees is crucial for the success of any business. The productivity and well-being of your team directly impacts the trajectory of your business. While every business owner desires a motivated and high-performing team, achieving this isn't straightforward and can be extremely frustrating. The most common feeling is that these employees merely fulfil their job requirements without showing enthusiasm or dedication. So, how can business owners cultivate a team that consistently delivers exceptional results and is passionate about their work? When people build their own businesses they pour their heart and soul into it. When employees don't share that same passion, the disconnect between employer and employee can be disheartening, However, it's important to recognize that as a business owner, you hold the power to influence how your employees perceive and approach their work. Rather than attributing this lack of passion solely to the individuals you've hired, consider the role your leadership plays in shaping their attitudes towards work. Here are some strategies to transform your employees' work ethic and foster a culture of high performance: 1. Prioritise Employee Growth: Research indicates that employees are more likely to excel when they feel valued and supported within their team. Demonstrate genuine care for your employees' personal growth and development to cultivate a sense of belonging and loyalty. You need to understand what motivates and drives them and use this when defining tasks as roles. 2. Clearly Communicate Expectations: Set clear expectations for your employees and align their job responsibilities with your business objectives. Encourage them to surpass these expectations by providing opportunities for growth and advancement. These expectations need to be more than just numbers and KPIs - they need to include your passion to go beyond the normal. 3. Foster a Culture of Ownership: Take a look at the working environment you've created and assess whether it inadvertently enables complacency among some employees. Are you always there to pick up the slack if something goes wrong or if people don’t deliver? People will always take the easy path. If someone is there to make sure it's 100% right then why do I need to worry about it? It is important that you create an atmosphere where accountability and initiative are not only expected but valued. 4. Embrace Accountability: Lead by example by taking ownership of your mistakes and seeking feedback from your employees. Establish an environment where constructive criticism is welcomed, and employees feel empowered to voice their opinions. 5. Recognize and Appreciate Efforts: Make a conscious effort to acknowledge and praise your employees for their contributions and achievements. Recognition serves as a powerful motivator and reinforces positive behaviours. It does not have to be big and formal, a simple “thanks that was well done” can be enough if you really mean it. 6. Leverage Strengths: While this may seem obvious, to get the most value out of this it takes some broader thinking. Assign tasks and responsibilities that align with each employee's strengths and expertise. Empower them to excel in their respective roles while providing support for areas where they may need to grow. If you can link this to their growth it will be even more powerful. 7. Accept the Differences: No matter what it relates to, people will always have a stronger connection to something they created versus something acquired. While employees may love their job and want to see it grow, they will never see it the same way. Accept this and listen to their feedback. They can see things you can’t and sometimes, just sometimes, they may be right. As an owner, you are the person responsible for the success of the business but doing it alone is not always the best solution. Gather feedback from your team and external sources. Actively involve employees in improving the work environment, implementing changes gradually. Be open to adapting your leadership style based on team feedback. Practise patience and understanding during the transition, encouraging employees to embrace challenges as opportunities for growth. And if you need someone to help you focus on all of this, consider hiring a coach.

In the business world, seasoned leaders often face tough challenges. While executive coaching is usually seen as a way to improve skills or correct under performance, it actually offers more benefits for experienced leaders. Even if you are doing a good job, here are five advantages of using working with a coach.

Leadership is like steering a ship, and persuasion is the wind in its sails, pushing ideas into action. As an executive and business coach, who has worked with people around the globe, I have seen how persuasive leadership can make a real difference. Here are four simple steps to improve your ability to persuade and enhance your influence. 1. Build Trust: The Foundation of Persuasion Think of trust as the solid ship upon which you sail. To build it, you start by having a deep understanding in the knowledge related to your field, be ready for objections, and have well-thought-out responses. But it's not just about what you know. Listen to your team, value their opinions, and create an environment where everyone's ideas matter. When people feel valued, they find it easier to contribute value. 2. Know Your Audience: Tailor Your Message Being persuasive means understanding who you're talking to. These are the people that actually make the ship sail the right direction and the most efficient way. Identify the decision-makers, influencers, and key players. Keep in mind that people have different backgrounds and roles. Customize your message to each group, highlighting mutual benefits and finding common ground. Connecting personally will make your message more powerful. Take the time to actually get to know the people you deal with and what drives them. 3. Make a Strong Case: Back It Up with Proof When presenting your ideas, make sure your case is solid. Use logic, facts, and relevant experiences to support your argument. Visual aids can help make things clearer but are not a substitute of knowledge. Share endorsements from credible sources to strengthen your position. Address concerns from different viewpoints to show you understand the complexities involved. 4. Be Likable: The Heart of Persuasion When people are on a sailboat they aren’t just there to work. They want to enjoy the ride. Persuasion isn't just about facts; being likable matters. Adjust your approach to match your audience's emotions. Align your vision with theirs to create unity and motivation. Building a personal connection goes beyond work, creating an environment where ideas can flourish. Elevate your leadership journey with persuasive mastery. Let's shape the future together! #LeadershipExcellence #PersuasiveLeadership #BusinessInsightsLeadership Want to know more? Explore Robert B. Cialdini's work on the Psychology of Persuasion and Simon Sinek's seminal video 'Start with why -- how great leaders inspire action' to refine your strategy. Elevate your leadership journey with persuasive mastery.

Four Key Elements to Enhancing Your Effectiveness

As a general rule, people build strong relationships with those they feel comfortable with. Here are five things you can do to make it easier for people to feel comfortable with you quicker. 1. Learn… Learn about their priorities, goals, and objectives. Make the conversation about them not about you. Find out what they want to talk about and then ask them lots of when, what, and how questions. Just remember – it’s a conversation not an interrogation! 2. Be… Be a passenger not the driver. If someone is steering a conversation a certain way, let it go that way. Even if it is not the right direction, hop on and see where it takes you. Do not try and pull it back; you will only disrupt the tempo and stop yourself from understanding where the person is heading. Allowing them to drive allows them to feel in control. 3. Allow… Allow them to continue talking. Don't interrupt. When they have stopped talking take a pause before you do. When they stop, slowly count to ten before you start. While it may be frustrating, it does two things. First, it allows you to collect your thoughts before you start and second, it allows the other person space to continue talking should they wish. 4. Understand… Understand their thoughts and opinions. Make a real effort to do this. You can start by asking things like: "How did that make you feel?" and "Why did that happen?" These questions not only encourage the other person to talk, but they increase your understanding of the other person’s emotions. 5. Leave… Leave the other person feeling complete. Let the person finish their story and resist the desire to share your own. A person always feels better when they “get it all off their chest.” The number one goal should be to leave the other person feeling better for having spoken with you. As you can see, the primary way to quickly build a relationship with someone is to start with a focus on them and allowing them to talk. If people feel that you listen to them, they will be much willing to interact with you more. In addition to making the person feel better, listening intently results in you better remembering the details of what is said and understanding the storyteller’s position. You are able to extract more information that can be used in future conversations to make your message more relevant. Once you have built the initial relationship, you can turn to achieving the tasks and goals that brought you together in the first place.

In my discussions with clients, we spend a lot of time talking about the difference between leadership and management. One of the key differences is that, managers control what people do while leaders empower people to do go out and do things. This often leads into a long discussion about how to empower others. One of the big things that enable people to feel empowered is that they trust the person empowering them. A person who trusts you is more likely to take that extra step to meet your expectations and to succeed. Trust is personal and has to be done individually. So here are 5 small things to try that are easy to do and take little or no time; yet they are great aids in building personal trust. 1. Smile more. A smile is one of the few things that takes less energy to produce than it generates. While you can smile at someone with little effort, the effect can be enormous. In addition to making a person feel liked, a smile has the effect of making you seem approachable and wiling to help. Your coworkers and staff can feel comfortable approaching you with questions, comments, or advice. 2. Be positive. Be conscious about your words and actions so that you can be a positive force, rather than just adding to the problem. Your energy will offer insights to any discussion and invite others to see things from your perspective. Being the agent of positive change for those around you is a responsibility, so act wisely. It takes real determination and commitment to your own values to be a great leader. 3. Give genuine compliments. Everyone knows that people like to get positive feedback, but this is not what I am talking about. This is not feedback you give about someone’s overall performance; their role or their achievements. I am talking about giving small, genuine compliments in the spur of the moment. Some examples: Someone is wearing a new outfit that suits them. They are in a great mood. They said something intelligent, or something that had a positive impact on you. When you notice it, say something in once quick comment and move on — don't dwell on it. It is supposed to be natural and comfortable for both of you. Compliments generate trust and over time allow others to open up to you. 4. Do things together. Little things matter, like grabbing a coffee or lunch with coworkers. Smaller groups encourage sharing and empower the shyer ones to speak up. It also builds up the power of the team. 5. Teach. Education is powerful and necessary, but not left to just certified teachers. The most prolific and impactful teachers are often family or friends and often evolve from casual situations. Keep it small and use it as a small nudge in the right direction. Doing this shows that you are interested in their personal development not just the project results. None of these things individually will change a relationship but over time, they will make it stronger.

When I ask people, “what makes you a good manager?”, they often consider the ability to get things done to be extremely important. However, when I ask employees what makes a good manage, I get a rather different answer... It is much less task-focused and much more personal. A while ago I read an article, which summarised 10 things, that great leaders all have in common. Know the power of feelings. Be tough in a crisis. Know what makes employees stay and leave. Judge people by what they're good at. Hubris is your greatest weakness. Culture is what you do, not what you say. Managers are about processes, leaders are about people. Know thyself. Convey authority and warmth. Inspire by showing people the importance of their jobs. As you can see, they all relate to soft skills. It shows how great leaders move above the tasks at hand to motivate and inspire people. What is interesting is the first two — a great leader should know how to be in touch with people’s feelings but at the same time be tough in a crisis. This is a mix of leadership styles and it is this flexibility that makes them successful. If you are interested in the article, you can find it here .

Have you ever noticed that there are managers who can get their employees to go beyond what is “normal”? To get them to do things that are professionally or personally risky? And what is more, when they do, their employees strive to achieve it and take it as a positive challenge. Why is this? One key reason comes down to the fact that the employee trusts their manager. And by this, I do not mean that the employee things the manager is good at their job. It is more than this. I mean trust at a personal level. The employee trusts that their manager has an interest in the employee’s future and wishes them to succeed not just at work but also in life. It stands to reason that if a person believes you want what is best for them, they will be willing to do more for you. Building this trust starts with asking questions and taking an interest in the answers. When I work in organisations I often start by asking people to tell me: What they want from their job. The challenges they face at work. Where they want to take their career. One of the most surprising responses I get is that “this is the first time anyone in the organisation has ever asked them this.” This is shocking. How can you motivate employees if you don’t really know what they want? How can you build long term trust if you don’t know what drives them? Spend some time talking to your employees about what they really want. This is not a counselling session. Focus on the longer term personal side rather than the shorter term business goals. If you are both on the same page, then the manager trusts that the employee will do their best and the employee trusts that the manager will look after them. From here is where you can start to really challenge them.