5 min read

Remove The Ripple

Aug 11, 2017 6:30:00 AM

Today we’re sharing insight from guest blogger Justin Maust, President and Founder of Leader Legacy. We hope you enjoy Justin’s wisdom and perspective.

Remove The Ripple - FB.pngYour personal and team success hinges on one primary skill…your ability to identify and solve your issues. In my 7 Practices For Building Powerful Teams, Remove the Ripple is the 6th practice.

“Houston, we have a problem!!” I’ve got lots of energy. I’m passionate. I run hard. However, behind closed doors, I’ve been known to procrastinate.

At 23, I had successfully started an Edward Jones office in Caro, Michigan. I reached a level of success where they offered me limited partnership 4 ½ years into my career and yet procrastination held me back from my full potential. In 2004, I moved my family to Elkhart, Indiana. Together, with my brother and some friends, we successfully founded Five Star Life, a phenomenal non-profit organization focused on character and leadership development for students in middle school. Procrastination followed me to Indiana.

When I resigned from Five Star in 2011 and decided to start my own leadership training company, my issue of procrastination still plagued me. To be blunt, you can’t show up late to very many keynote speaking events or leadership coaching sessions and still have a successful career as a leadership guy. One thing I knew…I had issues and something had to change.

One thing we all have in common is that we all have issues. I know…it would be so much easier for us if we could say, “But you don’t understand, our issues are really different.” OR “Our company is unique and I’ve never had these issues or had to deal with these dynamics before.” OR “But you don’t have my boss, you wouldn’t believe what I have to put up with…” OR “But you don’t have my employees our business model simply can’t afford to hire good people.” Giving excuses is not a useful skill. The ability to identify and solve issues quickly and effectively is what separates AVERAGE LEADERS from WORLD CLASS LEADERS.

To put it plainly, a ripple is anything that causes destructive pain to you and your team. A ripple is a compounded issue. I use the term ripple because I believe if you don’t address your issues, they create a destructive ripple effect that spreads throughout your entire sphere of influence. Unaddressed issues create more issues. Here are a couple examples: A) A father that struggles with the issue of alcohol addiction is often known for delivering verbal and physical abuse to their loved ones. B) A manager whose primary issues are arrogance and narcissism leads a team that’s experiencing 250% employee turnover annually. In both of these scenarios, the root issue is compounded and creates multiple issues causing even more damage.

Whether it’s the issue of procrastination, arrogance, or anything else, when left unaddressed…bad things can happen to good people and good teams because of the issues you let stay in your life and business.

Here’s what I believe. If you and your team are to become more successful, you have to improve your ability to identify and remove the issues holding you back. As I’ve experienced in my own life and observed in different leaders, there are a few common beliefs successful people have regarding their issues.

Successful leaders share these core beliefs regarding issues:

  • As the leader, all issues that still exist within my team are my fault.
  • As the leader, all issues that exist within my team are my responsibility.
  • I need other people to help me gain awareness of my issues.
  • I work hard to resolve my personal issues before addressing team issues.
  • Issues don’t go away by themselves.
  • Unaddressed issues create more issues.
  • Not all issues are equal, therefore I prioritize and solve our biggest issues.
  • It’s my job to get better at solving issues.
  • It’s my job to create a transparent environment where addressing issues is welcomed and encouraged.
  • Our future success depends upon our ability to solve our current issues.
  • People are not the issue, but people do have issues.
  • I attack and resolve the issues, not the people.

What’s The Risk?

Your glass ceiling is the sum of all the issues you have been unwilling and/or unable to solve. Break through your issues and you will break through your ceiling to a new level of success.

If you aren’t willing to become brutally honest about your own issues and solve them, you will stunt your personal success. If you aren’t willing to help your team remove their issues, you will stunt your team’s ability to become more successful.

Take action to remove your ripples:

  • Make a list of all the issues that exist within your life and business.
  • Prioritize your issues list.
  • Spend time determining the root cause of your issues each week.
  • Solve your most important issues each week.

Oh, and by the way - yes, I've implemented a few disciplines daily that have helped me overcome my procrastination tendencies. 

This content was written and shared by guest blogger Justin Maust.

JustinMaust1-097014-edited.pngJustin founded Leader Legacy, Inc. as a leadership development resource that provides speaking, training and coaching services. His mission:  Help businesses develop leaders, inspire teams and build legacies. He created the “7 Practices For Building Powerful Teams” and travels the country equipping teams and leaders to overcome habitual mediocrity and achieve intentional team success. Justin is an EOS Implementer (EOS, the Entrepreneurial Operating System, is a complete set of simple and practical tools to help entrepreneurs get what they want from their businesses) as well as a certified speaker, trainer, and coach for the John Maxwell Team.

Connect with Justin on Twitter and LinkedIn

Topics: Executive
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Gibson is a team of risk management and employee benefits professionals with a passion for helping leaders look beyond what others see and get to the proactive side of insurance. As an employee-owned company, Gibson is driven by close relationships with their clients, employees, and the communities they serve. The first Gibson office opened in 1933 in Northern Indiana, and as the company’s reach grew, so did their team. Today, Gibson serves clients across the country from offices in Arizona, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Utah.