We pull real conversations with real women figuring out How to CEO everyday.
This week…
Challenge: I have two key players on medical leave, I just terminated a Marketing Assistant, and our launch didn’t go as planned so we are doing another. Plus, I had planned to take a few weeks off so I am frustrated and discouraged. I finally got myself out of the doing and now I am getting pulled back in. Plus, I am worried their leave could last longer than a few weeks. I feel like I’m no longer on solid ground.
Coach Response: You were on solid ground and will be again, it just means that players might be different.It sucks, but it has happened, so now if no one else can do this work, you might have to do it. That doesn’t mean that you have to do every piece of these jobs while they are out on leave. It just means that right now, you need to make a list of all the things that need to be done so you can make some decisions.
Questions to ask yourself:
What are the things they were responsible for?
Who on my team can do this?
What other options are available to me for help?
What must be done now?
What can be held for later?
I know that you have a lot of “what if’s” about whether these people will actually be back within a month. As the business owner, you have to think about what could happen. Speak to an employment attorney, there has to be a way to protect your business.
Watch for thinking that tells you that you should have done something different to prevent this. Prioritize where you need to spend your mental and emotional energy right now. Are you going to spend it worrying about her coming back after a month or asking yourself how you can keep your calendar the same and uncover what needs to happen in order for the launch to go off? Revenue is top priority. What are the things you need to do in order to generate revenue, still go on vacation, and not take on everything on your list?
You can hire a contractor to help you do some of the tasks that are necessary to get done. It also may mean you have to work more than you had planned to, but it doesn’t mean that you have to take it all on yourself. You will have to ask yourself how you can do this differently so that the main priority still happens.
Do not give up your vacation. Things run in themes around here and lately it’s been people feeling overwhelmed because their team members are leaving and they are picking up the slack. It’s like Kris’ podcast, The Founder’s Curse. The curse is that I can go in and do it. It’s good that I can, but it’s also the bad part. If you didn’t know how to do all of these things, you would have to find other people to go in and help you, so let’s drop into that.
I know it’s uncomfortable. You created roles so someone else would do these things and now you are being pulled back into it. It feels distant and you don’t have as much information as you did before. That’s the lesson in making sure you have processes. It might take you a little bit to find what you need. Just hold some space for yourself. It might take a minute, but you will figure it out. Take your priority list and focus your creativity on the things that have to be done. It doesn’t mean that you can’t take your vacation, but it might mean things will look different than you had intended. You might have to front load some hours until you can figure out how to band-aid things until these people come back.
__________________________________________________________________________________
How to CEO is open for. enrollment! Click here to learn more and register today!