Be the Spirit of Your Shed: Embodying Your Business Values

Janine: [00:00:00] Hello, and welcome to this week's episode of Unleashing Brilliance. Thank you so much for tuning in again. I hope you are enjoying these episodes and getting some tips and tools for your own business. today's episode is a special one because it's about a powerful lesson. I learned [00:01:00] from my beautiful daughter, Taya that translates directly into the business world. And what I'm talking about is you being and becoming the spirit of your shed. You know, it always amazes me how much we can learn from our kids. there's life lessons and let's be honest, sometimes those gut wrenching truths that they effortlessly tell us.

And today I want to share with you a story about my daughter, Taya and the important lesson that she taught me. Now, back when Taya was. I think she would have been in about year eight. So she'd have been about 14, 15. She decided to join the school rowing team. Now, Taya wasn't the star athlete, but what she brought was something unique to the table.

She cheered everyone on and she celebrated their wins with them. She'd organized picnics for competition days, and she made the entire experience more enjoyable for everyone around her. So when it came to the end of season and they were [00:02:00] giving out awards and trophies and, you know, all of that stuff about, best person, fastest person, most incredible rower, et cetera, et cetera.

and by the way, she actually even organized a small ceremony, which happened to be a, uh, picnic on a picnic bench because the girls had missed out on their official ceremony. Taya actually received an award that they called the spirit of the shed. And this award was for the person that most embodied the culture and the teamwork that they wanted to have in their sport.

Now, I want you to think about your business. Because this Spirit of the Shed Award and Taya's as the recipient of that actually got me thinking about how often in our own businesses, we may lose track of the responsibility that we have as the spirits of our proverbial sheds. And how sometimes as stress levels rise and the [00:03:00] desperation may set in of signing new contracts, we can often forget about why we started our business in the first place.

And what that tends to look like, if we're not careful, is we act in ways that are incongruent with our values and goals. And that's when the problem starts. That's when we start seeing underperforming teams, loss of marketing focus, and a general disconnect from that bigger picture. I want you to imagine if you were the spirit of your shed.

The embodiment of your business. What would you do differently? I want you to ask yourself, you are you truly living and breathing the spirit of your company, of your business? And if not, maybe consider how this might be negatively impacting you. Impacting or affecting other parts of your business in your life.

You know, I can vividly remember a time in my own business when the pressures of deadlines of acquiring new clients caused me to lose sight of our core values. You know, there's nothing worse than, not seeing the cash coming in. But what you are seeing [00:04:00] coming in, uh, invoices to be paid and people demanding payment.

And I can still remember that pressure and that stress. The impact for me was real. The impact on me was real. And what I didn't realize was the impact I was having on my team of how I was passing on that energy to my team. What I actually saw as a result of that, as a result of my behavior, and I wasn't being the spirit of the shed at all, is that my energy, my approach, my behavior, was impacting the team.

Team morale plummeted, stress levels across the organization soared, and negativity spread like wildfire. Embracing and living the spirit of your shed or the spirit of your business. No doubt takes intention and no doubt it requires your a hundred percent focus because your clients. And your team rely on you to maintain the [00:05:00] alignment with your business values, and especially during those high stress periods, it might mean that you need to up, for example, you're checking, the amount of times you're checking in with your team, with your clients.

With the people that are involved in your business, it might mean that you need to dedicate more time to connecting with others. It might mean that you need to actually communicate more and share more openly during those times of stress to ensure that this spirit of the shed. You as the spirit of the Shed is having that positive impact on your business because it's these small yet impactful actions that can serve as anchors keeping you tethered to the heart of your business.

Because here's the thing, I believe that as business owners we need to be the spirit of our businesses. We need to show up every single day in a way that inspires others as well as ourselves. Much like Taya did for her rowing team. We have to create an environment where everyone feels [00:06:00] valued and supported no matter what is going on externally to your business.

So I need to ask yourself this week, what can you do today or this week to embody the spirit of your shed? How can you inspire and uplift those around you? Because running a business is not just about the bottom line. It's about creating positivity and a thriving culture that echoes through your business and impacts every single person that comes into your orbit, your team, your clients, your suppliers, your community.

You want to ensure that your spirit of the shed is rippling through your business. So that not only everyone that comes into contact with you is feeling that, but they're passing that on to other people when they're talking about your business. This is what sets you apart. Remember when you live and breathe the spirit of your shed, you're not only benefiting yourself, but you're benefiting every single [00:07:00] person who's a part of your journey.

So go out there, be the spirit of your shed and watch as your business flourishes in ways that you never imagined. That's it for today's episode of Unleashing Brilliance. if you've enjoyed this episode, I'd love you to subscribe if you haven't already. I'd love you to leave a review and I'd love you to share it with your fellow business owners.

Because the more that we can spread the word of podcast out there, the more we can. opportunity we have to together collectively help other people. And I would love your support to share this podcast. I'd be forever grateful until next week, stay inspired and keep being the spirit of your shed.

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