Look within to decide if you should continue to lead

Are you the best person to lead your organization?

The purpose of this question is not to plant seeds of self-doubt, but rather to help you think about the future of your business from a different perspective.

Running a business is a very tough job, evidenced by the number of entities that survive benchmarked years in operation. According to the Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy: “About half of all new establishments survive five years or more, and about one-third survive 10 years or more.”

Despite a surfeit of resources available from local Chambers of Commerce and industry organizations, along with self-help leadership books, articles, training programs, peer groups and coaching and mentoring opportunities, some business owners are unprepared and ill-equipped to lead their organizations and their employees.

Could you be the source of what’s holding back your business from achieving its best results? Should your purpose in the business today be different than it was during the first year?

Get a clear picture of who you are and how you are as a leader. The most difficult task to determine if you’re the best person to lead your organization is an introspective self-examination.

If you recognize things about yourself such as feeling consistently tired, drained, stressed out, bored or complacent, it may be time to take a long vacation.

If you realize you make little or no effort to engage or inspire your employees, have a “my way or the highway” demeanor or lack an innovative spirit, it may be time for you to move into another role in the company.

The longer these symptoms go unaddressed, the more difficult it will be for you to lead, the more stale the culture will get, the easier it will be for your employees to seek energy from positions elsewhere and for customers to find other providers who are innovative and sharp.

To gain further insights about your effectiveness as a leader, consider an independent review where employees can anonymously offer their opinion on your leadership qualities and abilities.