Demand is high for your product. You just put new processes in place and made several new hires. All in all, you're on track to grow your business.
Under pressure, however, emotions run high and harmful personality traits can take over without you even realizing it. Whether it's micromanagement, perfectionism or inconsistency, learning to identify and manage these traits is crucial to keeping your business moving forward. Below, 10 business coaches from Forbes Coaches Council tell you what to look out for.
Clockwise from top left: Dave Ferguson, Jen Kelchner, Terra Bohlmann, Rey Castellanos, Wendi Weiner, Jackie Nagel, Tina Dietz, Brett Baughman, Beth Buelow, Flip Brown. All photos courtesy of the members.
1. Inability to Listen
What you sell is your widget; what you market is your value. Often times business owners start selling their widget before they even create a value proposition around it. Chances are what you are selling they can get elsewhere, so the question you need to answer is, "Why buy it from you?" Stop selling, stop telling, and start asking. Connect with people and establish their needs first! – Dave Ferguson, Dave Ferguson - Living to Lead
2. Close-Mindedness
Your emotional intelligence is huge to your business growth especially as you embrace authenticity. Emotional intelligence will allow you to connect with and attract a wider client base. They will become interested in you and the value you offer. You'll also become more coachable and open minded to new perspectives. Increase your emotional intelligence and see your relationships grow in value, which will lead to more business. – Jen Kelchner, Kelchner Advisory
3. Tendency to Control
Are you coachable and open to doing things differently to make your business more efficient? Often times, we know what needs to be done and think we are the only people who can do them. Let go of control and hire people who are smarter, better and more effective at doing what needs to be done. You'll free up your time to focus on the things that make the cash register ring. – Terra Bohlmann, BrightBound
4. Perfectionism
Perfectionism can be deadly to the growth of any business. Perfectionists create bottlenecks and are often very difficult to work with. This tendency usually arises from a fear of failure, which can leave new entrepreneurs paralyzed. Businesses today must be agile to keep up with rapidly changing markets and increased competition. To counteract perfectionism strive for excellence instead. – Rey Castellanos, Feed Your Wolf
5. Selfishness
I have an innate fear of delegation. I don't like relying on others. Now as a business owner, I realize that I simply cannot do it all — business development, administrative tasks, marketing and client tasks. I had to get over my fear of delegation and put my trust in someone to handle administrative work. It has allowed me to focus on other areas that are essential to growing my business. – Wendi Weiner, JD, NCRW, CPRW, CCM, The Writing Guru
6. Emotionally Reactive
The difference between entrepreneurs who succeed and those who struggle is their ability to regulate their emotions. Entrepreneurs who succeed make and honor commitments no matter what/how they feel in the moment. Entrepreneurs who struggle rely too heavily on their feelings to guide their actions. Strengthening self-regulation skills swings the pendulum from struggle to success. – Jackie Nagel, Synnovatia
7. Inconsistency
Consistency isn't just for building business systems. It's crucial for your personal brand, relationships, and the overall growth of your business. You don't need to act like you know more than you do or that you earn more than you do. Take off the superhero cape and connect with people authentically, because we can smell it a mile away when you put on a costume that doesn't really fit. – Tina Dietz, StartSomething/Tina Dietz Business Development
8. Subjectiveness
Most people think with their emotions and therefore aren't as prone to developing a plan. In business, you have to be able to weigh all options and act decisively. The best way to improve your objective thinking is to begin by reverse engineering your 12-month plan. Challenge yourself with your goals and create a master list of the steps to get there. Now it's just a matter of time! – Brett Baughman, The Brett Baughman Companies, Inc.
9. Stubbornness
As business owners, we need to be focused and goal oriented. Those positive traits can become unhealthy, however, when we become stubborn and overly attached to certain outcomes. We have fixed ideas about how or when something "should" happen, and we miss a range of opportunities. Then if we fall short, it's "failure" instead of learning. Set goals, but be open to outcome, not attached. – Beth Buelow, The Introvert Entrepreneur
10. Presumptuousness
Who wants to work for, with, or alongside someone who exudes the air of having everything figured out? Acting as if you have your compost totally together all the time is a real turn-off. Being open to feedback — especially when it challenges how we see ourselves and our competencies — is one of the best ways to not only learn and grow but to foster open, trusting relationships. – Flip Brown, Business Culture Consultants
