As January has rolled through, my team and I have spent time reflecting on the previous year and setting goals and intentions for this new one. I always enjoy these opportunities to look back and appreciate where we started 9 years ago and take in the landscape for which we find ourselves in today. It was in doing these reflections that I realized two prominent themes that have helped steer us in good times and less than ones too. I’d like to share them with you should you also find yourself either redefining your operating principles or simply open to a life lesson:
- We stayed true to our vision. Many moons ago, when Leadous was first launched, we were frankly not taken seriously. We were made fun of for our name (They’d jokingly ask if we meant to call ourselves “lettuce”), our desire to be transparent with our employees about things like profits and goals and our laser-like focus on being the best partners we could be to the Adobe Marketo program. Fast forward, and we are one of Adobe’s highest ranked partners, our company survived during a once in a lifetime pandemic , and we’re coming up on almost a decade of providing excellent results to our clients. We have employees that have been with us from the very beginning and not to brag, but there are also quite a few who are vying for their shot to play with us and some to play with us again. I can’t say for certain that had we listened to our naysayers, that any of the above mentioned would still be true. However I can say that there is a certain satisfaction that comes with being clear on what your intentions in business and in life are and ensuring that all of your actions line up with those things. It can be hard and require courage to stick with your vision, when others are wagging their finger at you. And with that, I’d like to offer you this thought: Turtles and elephants can occupy the same space and yet have completely different views. If you sense that you can see over the mountains and into the sky and yet those around you may only see the leaf or rock in front of them, try not to fret. Accept that this is their range of vision and don’t take it personally. Stick with yours and the rewards will be sweet.
- Radical Accountability. One of the largest factors in determining success is one’s ability to take stock of where they are and what habits and actions have brought them there. Radical accountability demands that. It can seem like a daunting task to look within and find out that you may be a hindrance in either your own personal or professional success. Do that work anyway. We’ve set some audacious goals for ourselves this year and in doing so, we were able to look at how each member of our team contributes to us either winning or losing in the race towards them. In that mindset, we go into our work understanding that each choice contributes to the net result and can therefore ask ourselves at the beginning of each day “ How do I make the most positive impact on my clients? My teammates? Myself?” This can affect anything from being more proactive when developing processes, speaking up to bring about change that would benefit our clients and most importantly the ability to acknowledge when a mistake has been made and taking the appropriate corrective actions to remedy the situation. All of which can be challenging. It’s not easy to jump in if you might be unsure of what happens if you do. Sometimes speaking up can make even the most confident orator’s throat tighten and tense. And of course, who just loves to raise their hand high and admit when they’ve dropped the ball on a task or missed a deadline?Will it be easy? No. Will it be worth it? Yes.As the first month of 2023 comes to a close I challenge all of read to this point, to stay true to your vision and exercise radical accountability, you’ll be amazed. When asked how does the success keep coming for Leadous, my answer is simple – the risk is lowest and reward is highest when you place the bet on yourself. Where do you place your bet? With vision and accountability it is not a game of chance or luck, but one of unwavering dedication and focus.Much success in 2023,
Tracey