Have you ever met someone who naturally embodies everything it means to be a leader? Maybe there was something about them you couldn’t quite put your finger on, but you just knew they were born to lead. There’s a good chance they embodied certain leadership characteristics that are common among the world’s greatest leaders. Can you guess what these characteristics of a leader are? 

What is Soulful Leadership?

Beyond just the characteristics of a leader, today we’re going to talk specifically about the characteristics of a soulful leader.

And what is a soulful leader, you ask? One who leads with soul! Soulful leadership is all about BEING and LEADING in a new and more powerful way. It means embodying leadership, particularly, these seven characteristics. 

Characteristics of a (Soulful) Leader

CENTERED

A soulful leader centers themselves in who they are and the vibration they hold. (On the topic of vibration, here's how to raise your vibration and why your state matters)

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Whether you stepped into it reluctantly or you know you were born to lead, as an entrepreneur, you’re a leader of some sort now. No—really, you are! If you are someone who was born to lead, cultivating leadership presence might be second nature to you. In fact, you don’t have to think about cultivating it because it’s completely natural to you. 

But the problem is, we aren’t all comfortable with this role. You set out to be an entrepreneur after all, not a leader! The thing is, there’s virtually always some overlap between these two terms. 

In some cases, entrepreneurs lack the innate presence the greatest leaders are known for. Maybe they aren’t as confident, charismatic, or bold as they think leaders should be. But all hope is not lost! 

What is a Leader?

If you ask me, and I think you will agree, a great leader exemplifies honesty, integrity, emotional intelligence, and soulful ambition…among other things. Confidence and charisma are great, but they aren’t everything. 

And if y...

You work hard—there’s no question about that. But are you focused on the "right" things? Unfortunately, many entrepreneurs get trapped in a cycle of what’s known as ‘fake work,” AKA, the things we do with good intentions that perhaps aren’t propelling us forward (or in the right direction) the way we think they will.

What is Fake Work?

Essentially, fake work relates to the concept of spending time on all the wrong things in your business, even though you think that’s where your energy needs to go to grow your business.

Here’s a great definition from Rodger Dean Duncan: “Fake work is work "not explicitly aligned with the strategies and goals of the organization.”

Of course, depending on your specific business, these goals will vary significantly. 

In a recent post, we discussed working on your business working in your business, and in some ways, fake work relates a lot to working in your business. Maybe you’re spending all of your time on the menial tasks that don’t capitalize on y...

Your brand is a lot more than your logo and the colours and images you use in your social media content and on your website. But when you ask a lot of entrepreneurs to define their brand, they’ll tell you things like “It’s light, airy, effortless.” Those are great words to describe a dress or your home decor, but your brand? Not so much!

As an entrepreneur, you need to get a lot more specific about defining your brand. 

What is a brand?

Before we talk more about the importance of defining your brand, let’s start with this great definition of branding from Seth Godin:

“A brand is the set of expectations, memories, stories and relationships that, taken together, account for a consumer’s decision to choose one product or service over another. If the consumer (whether it’s a business, a buyer, a voter or a donor) doesn’t pay a premium, make a selection or spread the word, then no brand value exists for that consumer.”

You see? A brand is a lot more than your logo and your brand colou...

Until now, you’ve been doing it all on your own. You started your business by yourself, and you intended to run it by yourself. After all, who knows your business better than you do? Why would you risk entrusting important tasks to outsiders? Well, so you can scale your business for one thing! The truth is, outsourcing is something every entrepreneur needs to start doing at some point if they want their business to reach new heights.

Entrepreneurs and Outsourcing Means Massive Growth

Specifically, let’s get into how finally making the decision to start outsourcing in your business can actually be the key to massive growth. As counterintuitive as it may seem to pay others to do things you could do yourself for “free,” this ultimately holds you back and comes at its own cost.

Think about it: your time is valuable. So, while you may not be paying yourself a fee for particular tasks, you’re still spending your valuable time on them. Time that could be spent on more productive tasks that...

It’s a funny thing...the times we would benefit the most from practicing mindfulness tend to be the times when it’s hardest to do so. 

Think about it—when you’re stuck in traffic, you might be more focused on huffing and puffing about the driver who just cut you off than you are on grounding yourself and bringing yourself back to the present moment. Or if you’re dealing with a frustrating client, the last thing you might feel like doing is reminding yourself to practice mindfulness.

There’s Never a Bad Time to Practice Mindfulness

While there’s never a bad time to be mindful, it’s often in these high-stress, heavy pressure situations when we need it the most. Naturally, when we have downtime, it can make the most sense to focus on being mindful. It’s also easier to do so in these moments.

And the great thing is, the more you practice mindfulness, the more natural this practice becomes. So, even when you are racing to a meeting and you have a million and one things on your plate, be...

When I say “working on your business versus in your business,” is your first thought, “What’s the difference?” In that case, this is one post you just can’t afford to miss! 

Working On Your Business vs. In Your Business: What’s the Difference? 

The truth is, there’s a big difference between the two terms. And the difference can mean a big change in the way you run your business, your life, and your overall success.

Working In Your Business

Let’s start by explaining what working in your business means.

Here are some tasks that fall under this category:  

• Delivering the product or service
• Managing, training, and onboarding your team
• Administrative tasks, including payroll
• Sales and marketing management

As you can see, these tasks are all related to the inner workings of your business. The day to day things that keep it running. 

Working On Your Business

On the other hand, working on your business includes some of the bigger picture tasks that really help your business gro...

As a conscious leader, you are equipped to self-manage and self-regulate your emotions, thoughts, and behaviours. Why does this matter? For starters, it makes it much easier to influence these same qualities in those you lead! Conscious leaders have taken the time, and responsibility, to become skilled in integrity, authenticity, and accountability. As a result, your actions and decisions follow suit. Not to mention, you inspire your team to hold themselves to these same standards!

How to Be a Conscious Leader

With all of that in mind, it’s pretty easy to see why being a conscious leader matters. What might not be so easy, however, is cultivating these skills in yourself. But it’s most certainly not impossible. 

To start, take a look at these three ways to be a more conscious leader. 

Focus on Self-Awareness

All too often, as leaders we’re hyper-focused on those we lead. But this can’t come at the cost of not being aware of our own self-awareness. The fact you’re here reading abou...

When I get to know entrepreneurs during our coaching calls, there are a number of habits and challenges many of them have in common. Today, let’s focus on one of the specific challenges that is common among entrepreneurs: delegation. Or rather, a lack thereof. 

All too often, as entrepreneurs, we adopt the mindset that we need to do everything ourselves. We think it’s a waste of time or resources to outsource, and it will take more time to train someone else than to just complete the task by ourselves. Or sometimes, we struggle to trust any one else with the precious business we have worked so hard to grow.

But here’s the problem, we can only do so much. Every single one of us is subject to the same amount of hours in a single day. Sure, we may all have different responsibilities during those hours, but the hours are the same nonetheless. 

There will come a point where delegation is not only helpful, but necessary to continuing success. You may be able to get to a certain level hand...

Burnout is a lot more than just a buzzword. In fact, it’s an all too common reality for entrepreneurs around the world. And it might look a little different for each person. But in most cases, entrepreneurial burnout involves stress, irritability, frequent illness, anxiety, loss of passion or interest, and feelings of overwhelm. 

Burnout + Entrepreneurs: A Match Made in Heaven? 

Not so fast. 

And let me guess: as an entrepreneur, you’re thinking, “Isn’t that just part of the job?!”

Not if you ask me! Burnout isn’t inevitable. That is, if you’re proactive in taking steps to combat the onset (and effects) of burnout.

How Entrepreneurs Can Avoid Burnout

Today, I’m going to tell you how to do just that! 

Fierce Boundaries

Yes, we’re back to fierce boundaries again! These are so, so, so important not only in avoiding burnout, but creating a healthy balance in work and life in general.

As tough as it is to say no sometimes, adhering to the boundaries you set for yourself is the sing...