Five rules for success business leaders can adopt today

In an ever increasingly changing and uncertain world, how can business leaders not only survive but also thrive in such times?

How can they maximise their own performance and develop the emotional resilience necessary to both achieve and sustain success?

Here are five rules that will keep you ahead of the game

Follow the safety announcements

Next time you’re flying, pay particular attention to the part of the safety announcement that says ‘If there is a drop in cabin pressure, the oxygen masks will come down.

Please secure your own mask first before helping others’.

That’s a great metaphor for life. The reality is, as leaders we can be so busy supporting the needs of colleagues and customers that we neglect our own.

So, if you want to give your best to others, remember, self-care isn’t selfish. It’s crucial to your success and sanity.

Flex for success

Life can be complicated and we’re often overwhelmed with conflicting advice as we strive to find the right answer to the host of challenges we face as leaders both in and outside the workplace.

Well relax. There’s rarely ‘the right answer’.

Business, just like life is not straight forward. It can be complex, messy and not always clear cut.

There is no holy grail or magic wand.

What worked in your business twelve months ago may be obsolete now. What works for one business might not always work for yours. The game is constantly changing.

So be clear on your values and principles on how you conduct yourself as a leader but maintain a flexible approach as to how you achieve success.

Manage your mental diet

Take a moment to think about the person you have most conversations with and talk to almost continuously.

It’s not your family, your colleagues or your customers – it’s yourself.

The question is, how helpful are those internal conversations? Do they build you up or drag you down?

Here’s a way to inject some positivity on a regular and consistent basis into your life as a leader.

Firstly, avoid watching too much CNN – Constant Negative News.

Secondly, just before you go to sleep, review your day and come up with a list called your ‘Thankful Four’.

That’s four things that you’re grateful for from that day.

This can literally be from getting a seat on the train, finishing a project, or having a laugh with your colleagues at work or your children at home.

Break the golden rule

We’re often encouraged to ‘treat people as you would want to be treated’.

That’s a great starting point, however if you want to build better relationships, both in your work and home life, then you have to break the golden rule.

The reality is, people are different.

What motivates you, might not necessarily motivate me.

People are a bit like plants – a one size fits all approach to caring for them doesn’t work.

Some need constant watering, others less so. Likewise, some people need more encouragement than others. So how about you treat people as they want to be treated.

Take your talk for a walk 

Ever suffered from ‘Action Illusion?’

The main symptom being spending endless hours in meetings talking about what you’re going to do, but never getting around to doing anything.

Discussions are good.

Planning is essential, but there comes a point when we need to free ourselves from the procrastination trap and take some action.

Success doesn’t happen by accident.

It happens by action.

Paul McGee is a conference speaker, seminar presenter and best-selling author. His latest book is How to Have a Great Life: 35 Surprisingly Simple Ways to Success, Fulfillment and Happiness (Capstone, June 2018). To find out more about his work visit www.thesumoguy.com