I talk a lot on this blog about strategies for leading yourself first, which is essential for any leader whether you’re a leader of a company, small business, a non-profit or any other organization. Leading yourself first is key, no doubt. But there’s an equally important second piece embedded in that statement – you are leading yourself first so that you can teach your team and employees how to lead themselves first as well. When everyone in your organization is leading themselves first, that’s when massive results happen quickly.

Through things like daily accountability, weekly check-ins and other leadership strategies, you’re actually helping your team grow professionally and personally. Does this sound familiar? If this sounds a lot like business coaching to you, then you’re spot on.

In our world, we take a holistic approach to coaching so not only are we just teaching our team proven business models and systems, we’re also helping them grow in all areas of their life. Because there is no doubt that when our individual team members are growing personally, their professional growth begins to accelerate rapidly. And as they bring their health/fitness, wealth, spirituality/personal growth and leadership/relationships into alignment, then they become a much more high-performing team member and an absolute force in the business world.

This is one of the powerful reasons we decided it was time to launch a coaching division earlier this year, and our new President of Coaching, Cari Heibel-Briner, is an example of this exact model at work.

Here’s Cari’s story in her own words…

“I started building a business when my first son was less than a year old, and I got my real estate license in order to be able to work part-time while not having to put my son in daycare. I worked evenings and weekends and within about six months I was busy enough to be working full time. Eventually, the cycle became working a lot and taking care of my boys – these two things and really these two things only.  My work was the place I felt I could control my life, be successful, and find some happiness in that success. I also found joy in being with my boys, so I was home with them during the day as much as possible and as often as I could be.

In time, my work started to turn into my identity as I found more and more professional success and work began to define who I was to myself and to the outside world. At home, I had become hyper-focused on my boys (partly, due to one of them being diagnosed with OCD and wanting to protect him), and I was trying to control everything there as well. I found myself spending too much money on material things trying to make myself feel okay from day to day. It was a life that was super out of balance, lots of professional success, and definitely one that did not leave me joyful, peaceful or fulfilled. It got to a point where I was really successful professionally, but I knew I could not sustain this way of living and started to feel very burnt out.

It was shortly after that I found my way into the Keller Willaims organization and Hergenrother Realty Group (HRG). This journey with Adam, being immersed in the HRG culture, and being coached by Adam has really been what has helped me to even be able to articulate this all – much I had buried and did not even realize was affecting me as much as it was. I did not realize I was living so much in my mind, so anxious, so controlling of everything, looking for things from the outside to make me happy vs. looking inside. I was afraid to look inside to be honest because I had so much stuff in there that I just wanted to avoid it. But on this journey of taking care of myself, loving and leading myself first, being around Adam and focusing on my own personal growth of this exposure, I am truly changed. Truly this journey of business being a conduit for my personal growth is the story.

Since being in HRG and now into the role of President of Coaching, it has all led to one thing after another that was inspired, learned, guided through work but changed me personally (and of course, I have grown professionally as well because that naturally happens when you work on your personal growth). This is exactly what we want people to realize for themselves as well with our new coaching division, of course. I want to help others who are stuck and living in the place that I was and just going through the motions to wake up and find their real, true self inside and use it to reach their fullest potential.”

What I love about Cari’s story (and of course one of the reasons why I wanted her to lead our coaching program) is when it comes to business systems, models, strategies and tactics, she knows them inside and out. She was competitive in the business world as soon as she entered it and became the top real estate agent in her home state of Minnesota for the next 10 years. She’s helped build sixty (yes, 6-0) real estate teams nationally, and as a member of our HRG leadership team, she helped expand the organization to its current 20 locations across the country with over 150 agents doing 1,749 units and $444M in sales volume annually. But (and this is key) she recognized all the business success in the world wouldn’t matter if she didn’t start aligning all areas of her life. Now, anyone who knows Cari knows that she exudes joy, enthusiasm and passion everywhere she goes and she’s one of the most generous and giving leaders I know. She inspires all of our team to grow and lead themselves first daily by just showing up as who she is.

As a “boss,” this is what I want for each of my team members, and it’s stories like Cari’s and so many others at HRG, Keller Williams Vermont, BlackRock Construction and Adam Hergenrother Companies that show me over and over again how powerful a holistic approach to coaching is. When you are in a position of leadership, your team will always be watching you (no matter what you do), so it’s essential that you’re leading yourself first so that you can show others the way.

Do you coach your employees or provide them with business coaching? How do you make sure that they are growing professionally and personally every day? Comment below with what you’ve found works.

Want more on this topic? Listen to the podcast episode Want to Grow Your Business? CoachYour Employees First. Interested in being coached yourself to be a better leader or having your team coached? Be sure to check out our leadership coaching options.