Welcome to my blog. While many Business Builder blogs in this section focus on the spa, its offerings, promotions and other revenue-producing ideas, I plan to devote my posts to building business through conscious leadership, personal integrity, “walking the walk” and “talking the talk” if you will. As business owners and operators, we spend so much time focused on the external that I would like to invite you on a journey with me to explore the internal – what makes an effective leader within the spa community.
When you think about it, it is true that what is on the inside always influences the outside. When you are bigger and greater on the inside, you will eventually become greater on the outside. Character, attitude, and spirit are key attributes for influencing people in an effective manner. Stop now and ask yourself: How is your spirit and attitude today? How does it reflect on interactions with staff? With guests?
It’s not always easy to look in the mirror. In fact, it’s much easier to lead other people than it is to lead oneself. The inside deals with character, integrity, trustworthiness, and values. It’s about being true to one’s word. It’s where honesty lives.
If you are bigger on the outside than you are on the inside, over time things will become worse on the outside. How many times have you seen this in the real world? Probably some of the best examples of this are the numerous star athletes who have fallen from grace over the years in many sports including cycling, golf, basketball, and football, just to name a few. It’s so much easier to focus on the outside than the inside because it is easy to temporarily hide the inside by focusing on external performance.
When you are an inside-out leader, you not only inspire people, you are inspired by others. I think of actress Valerie Harper who so passionately and generously has shared with the world her recent diagnosis of inoperable brain cancer. Her inside self is totally aligned with her outside self and she exudes character, attitude and spirit that is inspiring and contagious.
So what are some ways that we can become bigger and better on the inside? In my next blog, we’ll tackle challenge number one: making wrongs right.