If you spend more time asking other people what they think, rather than taking the time to tune into what YOU think, this will be the most essential thing you read this month.
That’s because you may be abdicating your power under the guise of being “collaborative.”
Case in point:
Christine1 ran a human resources consulting company. Through a Herculean effort, she built the business to $170K in annual sales in her first year in business.
With this sales traction under her belt, she opted to begin building her team. In a 4 month period, she made 3 new hires.
Someone told her (that someone being yours truly) that in order to scale her business, she needed to be crystal clear on her vision, mission and values.
So she called a team meeting with her 3 new team members she’d hired in the last 4 months…
…because she figured THEY could help HER figure out HER company’s values.
This kind of thing happens every day. Women founders — like you, perhaps — asking OTHER PEOPLE to tell them what their values, vision and mission are.
That’s like asking someone else to name your baby for you.
You might tell yourself that you are being “collaborative” and “consultative”. But really you are abdicating your power.
You abdicate your power anytime you “lean out” from expressing your desire or goals. And in this way, you accept default outcomes rather than an intentional outcomes.
As women, we have not been raised to be comfortable with power. Influential women leveraging their power isn’t yet normalized in our culture. So it’s all too easy for us to abdicate power in subtle and insidious ways.
I have just shared one common way women entrepreneurs abdicate power: Asking others for their input rather than clearly stating our own desires, under a misguided effort to be collaborative.
(I’m not anti-collaboration, by the way. Except for when it is misused as a front for a person’s unwillingness to claim her power. But I digress.)
Here are the 4 other ways women entrepreneurs frequently abdicate power:
- We abdicate our power when we make decisions based on fear or current circumstances versus a conviction and belief in our goals.
- We abdicate power when we fail to master our relationship, mindset and management of our money.
- We abdicate our power when we aren’t vigilant with our word — this includes the deadly sin of overcommitment.
- We abdicate our power when we tell ourselves the lie that we “are leaders, not managers.”
I break down each of these abdication areas in Episode 383 of Fierce Feminine Leadership, 5 Ways Women Entrepreneurs Abdicate Power.
You can listen on your favourite podcast app, or simply click here to listen online.
For what it’s worth, I have committed each and every one of these acts of abdication. Claiming our power is a skill and a habit that we show up to cultivate each and every day. I invite you to make it a regular practice. It’s how we’ll change the world together.
I am on a PERSONAL MISSION to help 100 women entrepreneurs step into 7 figures in 2020.
Although just 1.7% of women entrepreneurs are part of the 7-figure club, I know that it’s possible for ANY woman entrepreneur….
If she has the right mindset, strategy and support.
It starts with the micro-actions that signal to the universe that you believe you can do it…no matter where you are today.
I’m opening up 3 consulting spots in my calendar this month where we’ll map out your 7-figure plan. It’s completely free, and I offer these because:
a) I’m serious about my mission of helping 100 women step into 7 figure businesses and
b) It’s a great way for me to identify the women leaders who are serious about stepping up.
If this is you, email email me at eleanorceo @ eleanorbeaton.com. The first step is for us to set up a call with my right hand coach.
If you consume any of my content, you’ll know we show up with solid insight at every touch point. Your first conversation will be with MY coach — a woman who has helped my drive multiple millions in growth, and who has helped hundreds of entrepreneurs scale to multiple six and seven figures in annual revenues.
It will be one of the most valuable consulting calls you will EVER experience.
You ready?
Email me at eleanorceo @ eleanorbeaton.com.