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BUSINESS
LEADERSHIP 2.0
By Rebecca Miller
Let’s talk leadership. Gosh, where do I start?! I feel leadership, and its definition is often misunderstood. Leadership is not something you are born with or without, but a powerful skill that can be developed and evolved over time and with experience. True leadership is unleashed through experiences, openness, gaining new insights, taking on feedback and most importantly, embracing personal growth. There is a lot of information out there on leadership and the different styles and I feel it is very outdated. It’s time for Leadership 2.0! I would love to share what leadership means to me. Through my years as a multiple salon owner who leads and inspires big teams, and of course being a Mumma of 3 beautiful children, I can say hand on heart that I haven’t always had it right. I still stumble, but through my personal development, I have learnt how to empower, not disempower, those around me. Long gone are the days of dictatorship-inspired leadership. If this is you right now, that’s ok, you don’t know what you don’t know. Today, I ask you to open your heart and mind to a new way of leading and thinking. Leadership is not about telling people what to do, it’s about demonstrating what to do. Leadership to me is not a title, but a way of being and an attitude. Farewell the idea that leadership is a badge of honour and instead, discover the behaviours that form a great leader. Right now, in our industry, there is no greater time to stand up and lead. Our industry, and world at large, needs leaders that are heartfelt, transformational, and empowering.
The birth of every great leader begins from within. Ask yourself, “how am I leading myself right now?”. Leading yourself encompasses all areas of life. It’s how we consistently care for ourselves, our relationships, our health, our business, and the daily habits we adopt so we can show up in the world as our best selves. Stepping into this high level of leadership takes dedication and self-mastery through development. It is a trained result that only those willing to do the work required will achieve. Great leaders serve as examples to those who are 76
Beauty Biz Year 14 Issue 5
watching on, they’re the kind of people our team, our communities, and our children want to follow. Our biggest opportunity is leading our children, the future generation, and inspiring them to step up as emerging leaders themselves. Leaders inspire themselves and others to do, be, and give become more than they ever thought possible.
Ask yourself the BIG questions. Self-awareness and assessment are critical in this process and something I think about each day, asking myself the big questions. Sometimes you must get uncomfortable and that’s okay. “Did I show up as my best self today?” “Did I live my core values at the highest leave?” “Did I inspire those around me to see in limited possibilities?” I encourage you also to take the time to selfreflect each day. Adopting daily rituals, like selfreflection, is part of the inner work towards selfimprovement. If it doesn’t feel difficult, it is not a real improvement. For me, this includes reading inspirational stories, harnessing the support of my coaches and mentors, leaning into the lessons of some of our world’s greatest leaders and a commitment to never stop learning to master my craft. The leaders I look to for inspiration and empowerment include Brene Brown, Robin Sharma, Tony Robbins, Simon Sinek. They’ve been my go-to and they can be yours too.
Next, I want you to uncover your purpose. Great leaders have a compelling vision. Like many aspects of leadership, this also comes with some hard-hitting questions.
“What is my purpose?” “What is my cause?” “Why does my business exist?” “What makes me bounce out of bed every single day?” It all starts with your WHY. Having clarity on why you do what you do and articulating your WHY in such an encouraging way, inspires others to follow you. What is your company mission? This is your 5–10-year BHAG (big hairy audacious goal) so your team are clear and inspired to reach goals with you. Every business should know where and who they want to be in the years to come and know how they’re going to get there. This HOW should always be aligned with your values. Understanding your values and living them each and every day ensures you are consistently aligned to your purpose. This has been a gamechanger in both my personal and professional worlds. For La Bella Medispa, embedding cultural values in our team has created our non-negotiable standards. Our values are a set of expected behaviours that are demonstrated on mass and lived regularly. They create an environment where people will naturally step up. These values will create your culture, support your vision, give your business meaning and invite your team to be a part of something bigger than themselves.
As a leader, it is your responsibility to empower others to lead with you. Simon Sinek says, “the value of true leadership is not measured by the work they do but by the work they inspire others to do”. As leaders in our salons, spas, and clinics, it
