What does leadership look like when you’re a solopreneur, independent consultant, or freelancer? In the era of remote work, you may not manage anyone directly. Instead, you spend your time “managing up” with your clients or loosely managing the freelancers you work with. Or, you lead people as part of a remotely distributed team, but they remain fairly autonomous. With partners, clients, and teammates scattered around the world, the traditional power hierarchy doesn’t exist.

A Stanford study revealed that independent workers make up roughly a quarter of the workforce in the United States, and this could grow to 50% by 2020.

For those of us who fall in this bucket, how do we define leadership for ourselves?

There’s a lot of content out there on how to lead and manage remote workers, but very little on how independent workers can become stronger leaders themselves.

At my previous startups, I focused on developing my leadership skills. I was a leader and mentor. And just because I’m now working for myself doesn’t mean leadership is no longer relevant. In fact, it’s more important than ever before.

I’m independent. And I’m a leader. Is it possible to have both?

I believe so, because my career is my business. I’m the leader of the change I want to create in the world. And I’m the only one in charge of leading it, so I can’t drop the ball.

Think of Your Career As A Business

If you’re an independent worker or freelancer, chances are you’re the CEO of your business – AND the salesperson, PR agent, accountant, admin, marketer, intern, and more. You wear multiple hats. You’re in the business of YOU, and you (and your services) are the product.

View your career as a business and start running it like one.

As CEO, you’re responsible for setting the mission and vision for your business, and making sure that your mission drives your strategy and work.

One place to start is creating a business plan for your career that clearly states your mission and vision. Mine also includes my highest goals, tactics, target audience, business models (today and future), potential partners, and competitive landscape. It shows how all of the work I do (consulting, my blog, and future products and services) contribute toward my greater mission in life. I write more about how you can set up multiple careers to contribute to your life mission here. 

HOW TO LEAD AS AN INDEPENDENT WORKER

Get Clear(er) About Your Life’s Mission

As an independent worker, you can take advantage of the freedom to align your daily work with your life’s work. If you’re lucky enough to know your passions, you can start aligning the work you do with your life mission. But most people don’t know their passion or life purpose. And that’s okay – we aren’t supposed to. Most deep passions are discovered after you’ve tried different pathways and started to become really good at what you do. To get there, check in to see if your work makes you feel fulfilled. If not, iterate and keep adjusting your path. Try different clients, industries, and services.  

Thoughtfully Build Your Company Culture

Writing down your values might seem like a silly exercise, but would you skip it if you were tasked to create a strong culture at a startup? Every company has a culture, including (and most importantly) your business – even a company of one. Think about the values you live by. Which of those do you want to carry in all of the work you do? As Seth Godin says, to stand out in this crowded market, you need to make yourself unmistakable. And you can do that through the unique values that define your work.  

Choose Clients and Partners Wisely

You make an impact on the world through the clients and partners you choose. Work with people who align with your values and help you advance your life mission. Support products and people you believe in. Set boundaries so you don’t bend to any clients’ incompatible culture or values. Fire clients who don’t fit your values.

Strive for a High Standard of Quality

Lead by setting relentlessly high standards for yourself in your work, as well as for those you work with. Stand for clear communication, constructive feedback, and honesty in your interactions. Then, empower those you work with to meet your standards. Raise the bar on your relationships with your clients, partners, teammates, and customers. Be accountable to them – and most of all, yourself.

Set Clear Expectations, Roles, and Metrics

As a leader, it’s up to you to establish clear roles, set expectations about deliverables and deadlines, and track the right performance metrics. Think big, take smart risks, and don’t sacrifice long-term value for short-term results. Do this with each client project as well as holistically for your own business.

Keep Improving Yourself

Your business and services are only as good as you are. With a growth mindset, there’s no ceiling on your personal development. Keep improving your skills so that your business can rise to the next level. This includes taking care of your mental health, noticing and treating signs of burnout, and building a strong support network.

Spiritual Intelligence in Leadership

We talk a lot about IQ (cognitive or mental intelligence) and EQ (emotional intelligence), but there’s also this concept of SQ (spiritual intelligence). Coined in 1997 by Danah Zohar, spiritual intelligence builds upon EQ and can be understood through 12 principles:

• Self-awareness: Knowing what I believe in and value, and what deeply motivates me.
• Spontaneity: Living in and being responsive to the moment.
• Being vision- and value-led: Acting from principles and deep beliefs, and living accordingly.
• Holism: Seeing larger patterns, relationships, and connections; having a sense of belonging.
• Compassion: Having the quality of “feeling-with” and deep empathy.
• Celebration of diversity: Valuing other people for their differences, not despite them.
• Field independence: Standing against the crowd and having one’s own convictions.
• Humility: Having the sense of being a player in a larger drama, of one’s true place in the world.
• Tendency to ask fundamental “Why?” questions: Needing to understand things and get to the bottom of them.
• Ability to reframe: Standing back from a situation or problem and seeing the bigger picture or wider context.
• Positive use of adversity: Learning and growing from mistakes, setbacks, and suffering.
• Sense of vocation: Feeling called upon to serve, to give something back.

Cindy Wigglesworth, author of SQ21, describes spiritual intelligence as “the ability to behave with wisdom and compassion, while maintaining inner and outer peace, regardless of the situation.”

Tapping Into Authentic Leadership

Developing your spiritual intelligence can help you become a stronger, more authentic leader.

Too much ego is bad for business. Spiritual intelligence requires us to move from ego-driven behaviors toward behaviors guided by wisdom and compassion. We begin to focus externally on the betterment of humanity.

Instead of being motivated by fear, reward, or duty (the ego), you become motivated by love.

Psychologist and writer Benjamin Hardy says that at this stage, “you have moved beyond worry for your own needs. Your aim is to bring as much joy to each individual as you possibly can. Your love transcends human reasoning. It drives you to do things most would consider crazy. You no longer live by conventional rules or wisdom. You have a plan, yet that plan is continually upgraded through connecting new dots via collaborations and inspiration. You’re no longer tied to a specific outcome but you have conviction and faith that the best outcome will occur.”

When you speak from your truth, and from love, you come from a place of authentic leadership. Your actions and words become aligned with your values and life mission. And it’s even more powerful when your decisions are guided by deep compassion and wisdom.

When you develop this deep wisdom and compassion within yourself, you lead from the strongest foundation to create positive change in the world.

~~~

Remember this blog by following my regular updates on Instagram and Facebook!