It’s a bird; it’s a plane; it’s Superman. Many entrepreneurs take this motto personally. Powerful as it may be, it does very little for the entrepreneur beyond building self-confidence.
Strength and X-ray vision will get an entrepreneur only so far.
Yet, Superman possesses a unique quality often undervalued and overlooked by viewers that sustained him.
What is it that makes an entrepreneur successful?
What unique quality does a successful entrepreneur possess that seems to escape others?
Entrepreneurs Without This Trait Have A Much Lower Chance of Success
It is no secret – influential entrepreneurs work hard, long hours. It is equally no surprise that they practice their skills or arts daily and have discipline beyond the norm.
However, this is still no guarantee of success?
Think about it.
If hard work and tenacity were the secret ingredients to entrepreneurial success, millions would occupy their businesses. There has to be something more.
Strategy is essential – this much is known, but great plans fail daily due to market conditions, human resource flaws, or any number of other circumstances.
There must be something beyond strategy contributing to entrepreneurial success.
Careful examination of the world’s leading entrepreneurs and the entrepreneurs that have successfully sustained viable businesses in local economies is telling.
Successful entrepreneurs possess a unique quality that escapes others. It’s emotional maturity.
What Is Emotional Maturity?
Emotional maturity is simply being in touch or aware of one’s own emotions. Even more, having the wisdom to leverage those emotions is critical to long-term success.
Have you heard of the term Emotional Intelligence?
Many refer to their “E.Q.” to convey their self-awareness – this is synonymous with Emotional Maturity.
It is an entrepreneur’s secret and critical weapon.
Those in tune with their emotions make better decisions. Decisions in business are critical. One wrong decision can end a company as one good decision can catapult it.
Entrepreneurs with Emotional Maturity are very much like Superman, in that it is like a super power.
They know when to flex their strength but are just as confident as Clark Kent. These entrepreneurs know when to listen intently, when to examine thoroughly and when to jump at an opportunity.
For many entrepreneurs, emotions are a hindrance or deficit. They have no control over them and cannot think clearly when in certain emotional states.
Yet others, the successful ones, use their emotions to build their businesses.
Successful entrepreneurs are not one person at work and another at home. Successful entrepreneurs are entirely in tune with their emotional state of being and can respond appropriately.
Developing Emotional Maturity Requires Investment
The entrepreneur must obtain an honest perspective about the state of the business, their abilities, and the capacity of employees.
The investment required is easier spoken than done, but the key is, to be honest.
When self-honesty becomes a priority, Emotional Maturity is realized, and there are extraordinary results from possessing it.
Four Results of Emotional Maturity
- Strong Teams
Emotionally Mature entrepreneurs build strong teams. How? Those who lead and possess emotional maturity recognize the capacity of their business. They work to develop people into better professionals, not just better workers. Emotionally Mature leaders recognize the whole person and do not view their employees as necessary pawns to achieve their success.
- Increased Business
Emotionally Mature entrepreneurs earn more business than their competitors. Why? Emotionally Mature entrepreneurs possess a confidence that is void of arrogance. They are not desperate or cocky. They fully understand what their business can and can not do. Emotionally Mature entrepreneurs offer very little glamour but exude calm strength with a focus on effective execution. Customers and other companies want to be confident in the product or service they receive and want it delivered within the agreed time. Therefore, Emotionally Mature leaders tend to secure more work for their businesses.
3. Better Decision Making
Emotionally Mature entrepreneurs are excellent decision-makers. Many conduct comprehensive S.W.O.T. analyses, where the business’s internal strengths and weaknesses are weighed against the external opportunities and threats. Emotionally Mature leaders also conduct extensive pro/con Analyses. But, perhaps the most telling is their ability to capture honest feedback from other business leaders and, most notably, their employees. Employees in a business with an Emotionally Mature person as the leader are free to express their thoughts and concerns. Their leader has invested in them professionally, which also builds them personally. Like their leader, they do not necessarily have to be one person at work while being someone else at home. Likewise, they are empowered to make decisions and accustomed to the stakes. These people are perhaps the leader’s most reliable counselors. Only an Emotionally Mature entrepreneur can handle honest feedback and counsel from a subordinate.
4. Resilience
The adage is true of Emotionally Mature entrepreneurs. They can take a lickin’ and keep on ticking. Defeat is not destruction. Disappointment is devastation. These are considered setbacks, which are great lessons for the leader and the business. As such, resilience becomes not just a personal quality but an organizational trait. Resilient businesses do not disappear. They grow.
7 Practices for Achieving Emotional Maturity
As mentioned earlier, cultivating Emotional Maturity is a sheer act of will. One must embrace the truth to develop it.
Below are seven practices that successful entrepreneurs perform to develop and sustain Emotional Maturity.
For clarity’s sake, do understand the seriousness of these practices. Success is contingent upon them:
- Seekers of Self-mastery
The leader seeking to be emotionally mature is a master of himself. He is careful to build himself in a way that is conducive to living optimally. Seekers of Self-mastery:
- Take care of their bodies by exercising, eating well, sleeping sufficiently, and adhering to sound medical advice.
- They manage their relationships with purpose and care.
- They are centered spiritually.
- They study their business like a lawyer does Constitutional Law. They know their business, and they never stop learning about the industry. They are forever students.
- They are ferocious readers. They want information that is useful to them ultimately.
- Emotionally Intelligent
Perspective is essential. One gain’s a proper perspective by considering information objectively. Emotionally intelligent people accept the reality that problems will come. Whether you want them or not, problems are a fact of life. Therefore, emotionally intelligent people anticipate problems and deal with them objectively. Regarding the business, the problem is not a personal one, but an entity one. Therefore, help from experts within the company can be enlisted to solve it. They stay calm, which keeps others steady, and objectivity and creativity can flourish when emotionally intelligent people are leading.
- Positive Attitude
A mature person is a positive person. They believe that hard work, patience, and persistence will pay off. These people operate with such a harmony that others follow suit. These leaders are accessible and approachable. Their teams are empowered and accustomed to their leader working with them, not looking at them. Winning solutions become visible when leaders are positive because teams are high-performing. Fear and stress are paralyzing, but positivity is invigorating.
- Independence
This independence is not that of a renegade or rebel. The freedom referred to here is the personal growth over time which allows one to be independent. Through consistency and experience, these leaders cultivate a mindset that is composed of sound principles. As such, they are resilient, fearless, humble, and purposeful. They do not follow the crowd; the crowd follows them.
- Delayed Gratification
Simply put, they can wait. Leaders avidly working on Emotional Maturity do not build businesses for immediate gratification or attention. They build businesses to fulfill their purpose. Sure, they want lovely homes and vehicles like anyone else, but nice homes and vehicles are not the reason they develop their business. Therefore, the company is less a means to an end and more a journey of fulfillment. In actuality, leaders who are actively developing and sustaining Emotional Maturity are pretty gracious and giving. They are thankful for all efforts made and generous with their employees. They know that even if something has gone awry, it will be the employees, those on high functioning teams, who will bail the business out of trouble. As long as they can delay what they want, give others what they need, in the end, the entire organization wins.
- Integrity
The truth drives emotionally mature people. They want to know, hear, and work within the bounds of reality regardless of how hurtful it may be. They do not want anything “sugar coated,” as it results in misinformation, poor decision making, and unnecessary organizational pain. They are open-minded and willing to hear the uncompromising news as long as solutions can improve the state of things. They want the truth because they live by the truth.
- Responsibility
Those building and sustaining emotional maturity do not engage in the blame game – it’s beneath them – they long to take responsibility. It is a part of entrepreneurial independence. Leaders who take responsibility weigh the factors of every decision heavily. They anticipate how well a decision can go as well as how awful it can be. They relish accountability and have accountability partners to keep them in line with their business’s purpose, vision, and mission.
The Real Superheroes of Assisted Living
It’s not a bird; it’s not a plane; it’s an entrepreneur who is Emotionally Mature.
Clark Kent was a consistent reporter. He was an excellent writer and showed up to work every day looking for an opportunity. As such, he always found one, and he helped a lot of fictional characters, but you can help real seniors live quality lives.
The Emotionally Mature entrepreneur is needed today.
Those with a steady hand, a calm but confident voice, and independence command respect without asking.
Starting something new is hard. Building a business is hard. Working with people to bring a dream into reality is hard. My family is a family of entrepreneurs, dreamers, builders, and emotional maturity is something I saw in my parents as they started a assisted living business.
Emotional maturity is the linchpin for building resilient, high-performing teams, making sound decisions under pressure, fostering business growth, and cultivating an environment of trust and integrity.
The greatest strength of each superhero often lies not in their superpowers, but in their humanity.
Embrace emotional maturity as your secret weapon to navigate the challenging, yet rewarding journey of entrepreneurship. Let it be your guiding star, as you build not just a business, but a legacy that stands the test of time. The true measure of success is not just in the heights you reach but in the depth of your resilience and the strength of your character.
