Your palms are sweaty, your knees are weak, and your heart is racing...

No, you're not in love.

You need to share some tough feedback with an employee.

Yikes!!! *cue ALL the fears, doubts, and worries*

As leaders, we not only get to tell our people how great they are and thank them for all they do, we also get to help them grow in their roles and as people.

Addressing employee issues is hard.

I get it. I’ve been there.

Whether it’s a performance-related issue, a bad attitude, or maybe they’re just not a good fit for your business, it can be a huge challenge to have to talk to an employee about something so uncomfortable.

They’re called “difficult conversations” because they’re, well, difficult!

Leading a team is about more than having an extra set of hands to help with the work, dishing out orders, and keeping the team on track.

It’s about building relationships based on mutual trust, respect, and rapport. And one of the best ways to do this is by showing your appreciation for all that your team does.

Did you know?

When asked what leaders could do to improve engagement, 58% of respondents replied…

No one will ever care about your business as much as you do. #hardtruth It’s not because they don’t like you or your business.

It’s simply because this is your business. You’ve poured your heart, soul and reputation into it. And you’re the only one in the world who can love it like you do.

That’s not a bad thing. And it’s not wrong. It’s just reality.

Once we understand this, however, we can move forward in a more positive direction instead of wondering why everyone doesn’t feel the same way we do.

Leaders get overwhelmed. We feel scared. We experience overwhelm. And we have breakdowns. The difference between leaders and everyone else, is that leaders continue to get back up after being knocked down. We find a way to push through the fear and overwhelm to show up and serve.

As my husband and I recently worked on a puzzle, it struck me that hiring is a lot like putting a puzzle together.

When we get a new puzzle, we trust that we have all the pieces we need to create the image on the box. However, that’s not always the case. As you know, sometimes pieces are missing, they fall on the floor, or the dog runs off with one.

The same is true for hiring. We trust that we have all the pieces we need in our business, but we’re really not certain. They’re scattered all over the table, in no discernible order, and we’re not really sure how they fit together.

It’s the same with hiring. You think you have all of the pieces, but there may be one or two missing, and you’re also not quite sure how they fit together.

Hiring your first employee can bring up lots of questions, concerns, and emotions.

But the most common worries I hear from business owners who are growing and leading teams center around trust…

Last week, we talked about trust. What trust is, why self-trust is important when growing your team, and ways that a lack of trust in yourself can lead to serious (but preventable!) issues when leading a team.

This week, I want to share some ways you can develop your self-trust. As I mentioned before, if we don't trust ourselves as leaders it will be nearly impossible to trust others, which can lead to dysfunctions in your team.

Let's start with first understanding …

It's essential that we develop some level of self-trust as business owners in order to stay motivated, take action, and follow-through.

As we begin to hire and lead a team, it becomes critical that we lean into trusting ourselves even more. If we don't trust ourselves, it will be nearly impossible to trust someone else.

Anxiety. We have all experienced it at some point in our lives.

Regardless of whether you have an occasional bout of anxiety or it’s a more present and persistent part of your life, we can all agree that it can be really tough to experience and often impacts our lives and businesses in many ways.

The final phase in the Growing Your Team series is typically not considered as part of the hiring process, but I think it’s one of the most important phases. This phase will be something that will be ongoing after hiring your first employee and as you continue to grow your team (if you so choose).

In this post, we’re exploring the Leading Phase, which is all about Y-O-U as the small business owner and team leader!

The majority of clients we’ve worked with over the past several years have had little to no leadership experience. So if you’ve been thinking you’re alone in this, you’re not.