(Work with me on this one.)

My Mom used to do needlepoint and made some pretty intricate designs. I remember seeing what she was working on and not being very impressed because all I saw from my side was a collection of strings hanging all over like she had no idea what she was doing.

She was looking intently at work from her side with a great focus on details, but all I saw was chaos on the backside. I saw an ugly mess from my perspective but from her perspective, she knew what she was making and she saw it coming together nicely to make the finished product. Eventually she would finish her work and turn it around so I could see the results of her efforts.

(This is the part where I compare Leadership to Needlepoint.)

Communicate Vision

As the leader of your company, you often see things from a different perspective because you have a vision of where you are going and what it will look like when it’s done. Your job as the Business Owner or CEO is to let your team understand what you are doing so they will trust you along the way. You need to create a clear and compelling vision of what things will look like in the end so your team doesn’t worry when things don’t look right from their side.

Keep the Team Engaged 

Let your team see the progress along the way; like flipping the needlepoint over on a regular basis so others see it coming together. This is the reason I encourage Business Owners to have quarterly goals so their team can see results after each 13 week race toward the goal. It keeps people from doubting that we’ll ever finish or from getting off track, and they can help you fine tune your efforts if things aren’t looking like they are supposed to.

Stay Focused

Leadership takes needlepoint-like focus. Sometimes Mom would notice something did not look right and she had to pull the string back out until it got to the place where she could correct things. Even the best leaders get off track and we need to do some course correction. Don’t be too proud or stubborn to admit you made a mistake and be willing to go back a few steps to do it right. Only you really know what it should look like when its done right so be honest enough to pull a few strings back out in front of the team and get back on track.

WARNING – Being off just an inch when building a foundation can cause real problems. It seems like no big deal but that’s why we show our plans to others so they can help us see things we may be missing. It’s better to go back and do it right then to be stuck with it later. That’s one of the benefits of being in our Peer to Peer Advisory Groups and getting unbiased feedback from successful leaders who face the same challenges you do. Ask me for more information on how this can be a value to you today.

by Robert Hunt

I am a Business Owner and Forum Leader for Renaissance Executive Forums Dallas. My role is to find the best members for our CEO Peer Groups, then lead each meeting so that our members become Raving Fans. You can connect with me on LinkedIn,  Google+, Twitter, and Facebook. You can also email me at info@REFDallas.com or call me  at (469) 269 -5148.