This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
You’ve always considered yourself a self-starter. You see gaps in business that others cannot and you think of hundreds of businesses that you could start every day – and do better than everybody else. You’ve got the heart of an entrepreneur. You’ve got talent, drive and big ideas, and you don’t want to work for anyone else. So you start your own business as “Founder and CEO,” and the rest is history, right?
Not so simple.
Being an entrepreneur is a difficult road, and most entrepreneurs make their lives more complicated than necessary. It seems like every day there’s a headline about a founder of a highly successful business stepping aside or being removed from his own company to make way for new ideas or a better way of doing business. Some might wonder how this could happen, but I am rarely surprised. After all, entrepreneurs are human, and though they may have great ideas and the drive to succeed, they may not understand how to build a team, how to maintain a positive culture or – in many cases – how to lead an organization. But these blind spots and pitfalls along the way can be avoided or corrected if you take the right steps.
Here are four ways to start the process:
1. Ask yourself: Am I a good leader?
Many entrepreneurs that I’ve encountered in my coaching are not good leaders of people – and that’s not an insult, it’s just a fact. Usually, they’re really good at something and have spent years growing their businesses through brute force. The problem is that they fail to inspire people and often hold their companies back. Do you insist on doing everything “your way?” Are you an ogre at the office? Do people avoid coming to you with problems? If you answered yes to any (or all) of those, start with some self-reflection and continue reading.
2. Recognize your weaknesses
If you’re going to do something really well, you’re going to do something else really poorly. It may sound odd, but it’s the nature of humans. You’re not perfect, and you can’t do it all, no matter how much you want to. Once you’ve started asking yourself the tough questions about your own leadership style (or lack of style), you’ve got to take a look at the areas where you excel and where you might need help. This will inform the way you move forward with hiring and also the way you begin to redefine your role as your company grows. You can’t remain static. You might have been one person in an office for two years doing everything, but to move forward you’ve got to be honest with yourself and open to change.
3. Understand that you need other people
You can’t get where you want to go on your own. It takes people to run businesses. Maybe you’re not a people person, and maybe you think you do things better than everyone else. Fine – get over it. If you maintain that mindset, your business will not only likely fail, but also you’ll be left alone with a whole pile of regrets. Invite A-players to join your team, and make an effort not to be the smartest people in the room. Let people do what they do well, and you’ll not only find that your business runs more smoothly, but you’ll have more time to do what you do best.
4. Center your culture on your people
Once you’ve accepted that you can’t do it all on your own and that your leadership skills could use some polishing, and you begin to hire top talent – center your company culture on your people. Focusing on the bottom line in any company is important, but numbers rise when an organization is healthy and the team in place is functional and happy. I firmly believe that if you get your people right, the rest is easy. Gather with your team to determine a core purpose and core values for your organization that are inspiring both internally and externally and allow your team to do their best work in a positive and uplifting environment. Pay attention to the personal and professional parts of your team members’ lives. Take time to celebrate victories and handle any bumps in the road as a cohesive team, not casting blame, but coming together to find solutions that work for everyone. It’s time consuming, and it’s difficult work, but it will pay dividends as you and your team work to grow your company.
Entrepreneur Lori Greiner of Shark Tank notoriety often says, “Entrepreneurs are the only people who will work 80 hours a week to avoid working 40 hours a week.” And it’s true that the entrepreneurial spirit can take you far. However, it’s crucial that when you’re running a business, you’re self-aware enough to recognize where your expertise ends, when you’re getting in the way of progress and when it’s time to rely on people who do what you want to do even better than you do. That’s when you’ll be on the road to being a great leader, and that’s when you’ll start to see your business numbers and company culture improve exponentially. So, what’s your next move?