Yesterday I mentioned the recent remodeling project my wife and I have undertaken in our home.

After 10 years we had a couple of rooms that screamed to be remodeled and redecorated. Carpet, flooring, paint, and textures all needed a makeover.

There were a few things I learned during the project that might help you if decide to do some remodeling to your leadership in the coming weeks.

1. Expect a mess. For us, we were quickly reminded that things would look a lot worse before they would look better.

For a homeowner, messy is okay if it is leading to a better future. The same is true for a leader. Messy is only bad when it is born out of laziness and a lack of discipline.

If you are going to work on your leadership, chances are, you are going to experience an emotional mess. Be honest with yourself and it won’t take you very long to recognize your flaws and shortcomings.

Have the courage to confront the brutal facts. If things were perfect you wouldn’t be remodeling.

Warning: If you are not remodeling because you think things are perfect you have a bigger problem. Great leaders are comfortable with change and are able to deal with messy when they know they are positioning themselves for greater effectiveness.

2. Expect to pay a price. While there are probably several areas of your leadership where you are capable of making some changes, it is likely your remodeling would be more effective if you would enlist some help.

Consider investing in some tools, books, resources, or even finding yourself a coach. Whatever your situation, I encourage you to be willing to pay the price. The question you should be asking is not, How much do I have to change? but rather, How can I position myself to add more value to the people I lead. If you want to take your leadership to another level you are going to have to pay a higher price than you have been paying.

3. Expect the remodel to take longer than you think it will. When we started our project we assumed we could be done within a week. Wrong! Four weeks later and we were barely back to normal.

If you are going to do real work on your personal growth, or reevaluate your habits and practices, it is going to take a large block of time. Resist the temptation to think you don’t have the time to invest. We all live by the same clock. Effective leaders simply choose to use their time differently than average leaders do.

Be thorough in your evaluation. If you truly want to maximize your effectiveness, make sure you spend time evaluating not only your work, but also your life.

Leadership begins at home is more than a catch phrase. It truly is a reminder that what happens in your life from 5 to 9 is just as important as what happens from 9 to 5. Put every area of your life under a microscope over the next few weeks and you will begin to see what areas need to be reworked.

Finally, I encourage you to reestablish great habits. If you can define success and then establish some action steps that will lead you to your desired results, you will position yourself to go to the next level. Our results are always determined by our habits and our direction always leads to our destination.

Tomorrow I will give you ten habits to consider to move you into the construction zone. Until then …

Leadership Begins at Home,

Randy

What other things can a leaders expect when they start remodeling their life and leadership?

Comment Below …