Coach Frank Bonnin
Setbacks in business happen all the time. And the question is how you handle them. The most important thing to remember when you’re facing a setback, a problem or a challenge, is what we at ActionCOACH call the Point of Power.
A lot of times when setbacks or challenges happen, the first reaction is blame. To say things like, “Yeah, we’re having a hard time in business right now because of COVID.” Or, “People don’t want to come work for me because they want to work from home and they got used to it during COVID.” Or, “There’s absolutely no employees to be had out there.” Or whatever the blame is.
COVID has taken a lot of blame recently for setbacks in business, but the fact of the matter is, is in order to stay above the point of power, you have to maintain accountability, ownership and responsibility for the situation. If you blame something or someone else, what you are doing is giving up control. When I say control, what I mean is the ability to positive affect change. You are giving that control to whomever / whatever you are blaming.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t want COVID to be in charge of my business! I want to be in charge of it. So, I might say, okay, we’re having a setback now and I own my environment and I am going to exist in the environment. And here are some things I’m going to do about it to work towards a resolution or improvement.
As coaches, we help business owners and entrepreneurs best deal with setbacks in business. We help people stay above that point of power. We ask business owners, “Okay, what control do you have? How can you take ownership of the situation? How can you take accountability and take that control back so that you can effect positive change? What are you doing to do so?”
When COVID hit, there were a lot of businesses that went under. ActionCoach clients, they did not go under. They succeeded. They expanded. Because we were able to help clients stay above that Point of Power and find ways that they can affect positive change in their environment and continue to grow.
The next time you face challenges or setbacks in business, ask yourself the following questions:
- Am I taking ownership of the situation?
- Am I taking accountability?
- Am I taking responsibility for the situation and its resolution?
- Have I been blaming something / someone else for this setback in business? (The economy / politicians / my competitors.)
- Have I previously been in denial that there even was a problem or challenge?
- Have I been making excuses to other people about this problem or setback?
With the Point of Power, you can be either Powerless or Powerful. Do you think you can affect change when you are below the Point of Power? Or I should say do you think you can affect ‘positive’ change when you are below the Point of Power? No, you absolutely cannot. You can affect ‘negative’ change, however, when you are below the Point of Power. Is that the type of business owner and leader you want to be??
Business ownership is not easy. You will always encounter problems / challenges / setbacks in business along the way. It’s how you deal with those setbacks that sets you apart. A highly effective, successful leader will focus on remaining above the Point of Power when those situations arise.
Will you always be above the Point of Power? No. Everyone slips below it into Blame / Excuses / Denial at times. The important thing is to recognize when you do slip below it and then focus on changing your perspective to get yourself into a more positive and powerful mindset.
This will not go unnoticed by your team. This is an excellent way to lead by example. You should want your entire team to also focus on staying above the Point of Power. That way when they encounter challenges or setbacks in their roles, they can consciously make the choice to accept ownership, accountability and responsibility. In this space they will be in a powerful position to affect positive change and reach a successful outcome.
Fore more information about the Point of Power, check out this video by Coach Sterling. Or check out this Blog.
