Audit Your Life, Audit Your Business: The 5 Brutal Truths Holding You Back From Scaling

0:08So let me start with something uncomfortable. If your business isn't scaling, it's actually probably not a strategy problem in reality. It's a standards problem. That's the reality. And more often than not, it's actually not your business that needs auditing. It's actually you. I know that might not be what you want to hear, but that is often the truth. Because here's what I've learned in over 30 years in business. You know, your business will only ever grow to the level of your self-awareness and your own leadership. It's always an inside job. So today we're not talking about tactics, we're actually talking about the harsh truth of leadership.

0:56And there are five brutal truths that are holding more entrepreneurs and business leaders back than actually the market conditions that they have to deal with or their competitors or capital in the market, etc. So if you're ready to scale, it's actually time for you to hear these five brutal truths. So why auditing is the most underrated growth tool? Now in business we audit finances, right? We audit compliance, we audit performance, we audit governance but very few leaders actually audit their time, their habits, their emotional triggers, their own standards in terms of leadership or their style of leadership you know and scaling actually it doesn't break weak businesses it's actually leadership that can hold it back but when you scale it exposes some of this stuff you know so if you don't consciously audit your life and your business you know actually you're not going to get where you want to get to you know growth will do it for you So let's get into the five truths.

2:10All right. So the first one, you're addicted to being needed. Now, this one stings. If everything runs through you, if every decision needs your sign off, you become the blocker. Right? You become the blocker to the growth. If your team can't move without you and you're micromanaging them, that's actually control disguised as importance. And it can kill scaling up. This is about your ego. So you've got to let that go. You know, scaling requires space. Let go to grow. So, so important. So you ask yourself, you know, do you actually want to grow or do you want to feel indispensable? Because you're just kidding yourself.

2:56Right. And these are not the same thing. And I know it might sound brutal, but I'm being honest with you.

3:03Jeannette:You know, if you're exhausted, if you're overwhelmed constantly, if you're busy, you might actually be protecting your own ego here. So it might not be the truth you want to hear, but I'm saying it anyway, because I love you. OK, truth number two, you know, your standards aren't high enough. Scaling is a standards game. You know who you hire, what you tolerate. how you communicate, you know, what you allow to actually sort of slide. Every time you tolerate mediocrity, you're actually capping your growth. You know, world-class leaders, they don't have better luck, but they raise their standards.

3:43And when we get to a certain level, we raise our standards again, you know, and that's really how you drive performance. So here are some of the things that I'd suggest you do, you know, have a good look at your calendar, have a look at your inbox, your meetings, your team. What are you accepting that a 10 million or 100 million version of you wouldn't? Audit your environment because it tells the truth. So truth number three, avoiding the hard conversations. Oh, this is a classic. Let's talk about avoidance. underperformance, misalignment, wrong hires, poor partnerships, scope creep, boundary issues.

4:28Any of that sound familiar? Well, most businesses don't actually stall because of strategy.

4:34Jeannette:They actually stall because the leader avoids the difficult conversation that needs to be had. And that might be for months and months, but it doesn't go away. Scaling requires courage. So having the right conversations in the right way, you know, is absolutely critical. So if you feel tension somewhere in your business right now, that's your audit signal. Lean into it and really ask, what conversation am I delaying because it's uncomfortable? And then you've got to take the action. You know, that's your next breakthrough. So important, hard to do, but actually once you do it, you get better at it.

5:14Jeannette:And then truth number four, your personal life is leaking into your leadership. Now, this is the one that people don't talk about enough, but business and life, it mixes in. It does mix in. But your energy is a business asset. So if you're not putting your own oxygen mask on or things are happening in your personal life, it might be burnout. You might be distracted. You might actually be pretty unhealthy. You might be resentful. You might be lacking clarity at home. It shows up in your business as well. Now, you can't scale from chaos internally and expect absolute clarity externally, right? You've got to sort yourself out.

5:52You know, have a look at your sleep, your health, your relationships, the boundaries that you set. You know, focus. Scaling requires stamina and it's exhausting. But here's the thing, you know, stamina isn't built in a spreadsheet. It's built in your heart and your soul. Truth number five, you're playing small because it feels safe. Now, this is a deep one. You know, people say that they want to scale, but they don't actually want to. And you know what? That's all right. That's all right if you don't want to scale. But be honest, because when you scale, it's about more responsibility, more visibility, more scrutiny, more pressure.

6:29You know, growth changes your identity. It's who you become on this crazy journey of business and life that's important. And if your identity hasn't caught up with your ambition, you will subconsciously be sabotaging your scale.

6:44Jeannette:So, you know, you'll overcomplicate. You might delay. You might fiddle around, be a tinker in your business. You might stay busy instead of stepping into the next level. So really ask yourself and be honest. Really be honest with yourself. if my business doubled tomorrow, who would I have to become? Who would you have to become? And that's the real work. So actually, here's a practical audit framework for you. Here's your challenge for this week. So write this down. Make some notes. I want you to do two audits. The first one is the audit of your life. Score yourself out of 10 on your energy, your focus, your discipline, your emotional control, your standards.

7:34Anything below seven needs attention. All right. Audit number two is about the business. So ask yourself, where am I the bottleneck? What am I tolerating? What am I avoiding? What are the standards that are slipping? and what would the next level CEO version of me do? Great question. And then you pick one area. Fix that. Focus. Scaling is rarely about doing more. It's about correcting what's leaking. So here's what I know for sure from my 30 years in business as a corporate CEO and as a business owner and with the clients that we are lucky enough to advise today. You don't scale accidentally. You actually scale intentionally.

8:23And you've got to be brutally honest. You've got to be really clear that you want to grow and what that growth strategy is. Your business is a mirror. You know, if something isn't working, the first place you look isn't your team. It's yourself. It's your leadership. You know, so audit your life. Audit your business. Raise your standards. Have the conversations that you need to have, the ones you've been putting off, especially. it's time to step up if you want to step up because your next level it actually isn't waiting on a new tactic it's waiting on a new version of you right so you know if this episode has challenged you then good I'm glad it might have made you think about some things that you haven't

9:08Jeannette:thought about before that you've been putting off and that's what growth is all about so honestly share this with another leader someone else in your network that is serious about scaling up might need some help. And if you're ready to raise your standards and build real structure around your next level, that's exactly what we do at Brave Bold Brilliant. And in particular, with our Rise Academy, which is the ultimate leadership development program. So go to www.brave-bold-brilliant.com because there you're going to be joining a community of like-minded leaders who are all ambitious and want to scale up.

9:44Jeannette:But we don't do it in isolation. We do it together we do it together when we bring our authentic selves to everything that we do and check out rise academy this could be and will be if you choose the true catalyst for you scaling up and taking that next move so until then stay brave stay bold and the brilliance will come i really hope you've enjoyed this episode of brave bold brilliant remember check out our new website www.brave-bold-brilliant.com you're going to find loads of resources on there that's going to help you with your leadership journey and with the businesses that you're trying to scale up and grow so take care everyone and remember there are no limits to your growth but it is by being brave and bold that you're going to unlock your brilliance