When you are thinking about your corporate career, do you have a running dialogue in your head that sounds something like, “But I can’t be different at work? Differences aren’t honored. We say we honor them but honestly, we are just expected to fit in. How do I honor my authentic self but stay in the corporate world while I’m launching my own business?” The answer is: bring your peers along with you.
I know you have everything in common with your corporate peers. The way you dress, speak, interact, etc. You have the same phones, same iPads, workout at the same places, and do the same workout, fasting, nutritional programs. You like to eat at the same places and go to the same bars (when you could go to bars). And while it sounds maybe a bit odd, it really isn’t. That’s your tribe or your group, the group of friends you identify with. You like being able to say you have all of those things in common because that means you fit in. Naturally, you are worried about being different and therefore not fitting in (like we talked about last week). So ultimately you are truly asking, how can you be you and still fit in within your group?
You must bring them with you. This is why when I go in and train executives to think and act like entrepreneurs. I train the executive team, not just one person. You need everyone acting like an owner and an innovator for the change to work. This is because of the bond, the connection, and the idea that everyone wants to be themselves but no one wants to stop fitting in. Ultimately if you can get your peer group to understand the benefits of thinking and acting like an entrepreneur, everyone gets to be their authentic selves and the business improves.
So how do you get to be you and still fit in? Find the common ground of being an executive intrapreneur. Take the group to a place of collective ownership, shifting from an accountability mindset to an ownership mindset, then shift the focus from the business to the customer. When you make these changes in what you focus on in your business, the focus is less on you, all on the customer. It also creates a space for everyone to be who they truly are because every gift is needed.
If you’re not sure how to do it, shoot me a note and let me support you.
Be Legendary!