Sometimes our biggest act of courage is getting to know ourselves.

Are you scared to be still and just sit with yourself?

Have you ever thought about why that is?

Have you considered that knowing yourself is essential to growing your business?

In today's episode, I talk once again with my longtime friend and coach, Lori Bainum. Lori's extensive career in the media industry has taught her that understanding our personal values is key to a leading successful organization. In the Courage section of our Summer Strategy Sessions, we're exploring how you can't grow your business without taking risks.

But how do we know when to be courageous - when to take risks - when we don't know what's important to us?

Lori shares with us that:

"Leadership begins with being centered in ourselves."

If we want to succeed in business, we must take the time to figure out our values. This exercise has the added benefit of strengthening your messaging to your target audience. As Lori states, "People won't understand what you're about if you don't understand what you're about."

Empathy is essential to effective leadership.

People naturally follow leaders who understand them, their fears, their desires, and their values. Empathy is understanding what it is like to be in another's shoes. Lori challenges us to consider, "How are you going to be able to put yourself in somebody else's shoes if you're not willing to be in your own shoes?"

In today's episode, we discuss what courage looks like when we choose to lead from our values. Listen now!

In episode 28 of Small Stage, Big Impact we discuss:

• [4:15] Lori's definition of courage and how it may be counter to what we've been taught
• [8:53] How we can figure out who we are during chaotic times
• [15:30] The connection between being rooted in your values and being rooted in your sense of self
• [19:04] The two types of procrastination, and how one type can help you make the right decisions
• [22:40] How leaders need to be empathetic in order to connect with the people they are leading
• [28:00] How we can keep our workplaces from being toxic by remembering each other's humanity
• [44:30] Why embracing positive conflict is essential to becoming a high-functioning team
• [54:28] How the focus on productivity can be like dieting (and true productivity requires self-awareness)
• [1:00:10] The type of courage that is required of leaders who want to have truly productive meetings
• [1:08:00] Tips for handling anxiety over feeling like you don't have enough time left to live the life you want
• [1:18:00] What you can do now to courageously transform how you lead your team and your business

Resources mentioned by Lori and Renia in the episode:

• Patrick Lencioni's book The Five Dysfunctions of a Team
• Don't miss a single episode on courage during our Summer Strategy Sessions