Listen up aspiring/current entrepreneurs.
Imagine you’re a singer. You don’t write the songs or create the music, you just sing the song. The producer on the other hand never performs on stage, but they definitely run to the bank every time you open your mouth.
Neither is better. Just different.
For some reason 9 years ago when I took the leap from working for a boss to being my own, I thought I had to be an artist. The irony is while being employed I was a much better conductor than performer. Why did I make the shift: ego, naivety, achievement-oriented? All of the above.
Most of us do one role really well and the other one not so much. In my case I love coaching individuals, I’ve gotten much better at speaking and heck I even wrote a book. But I got away from what I do best and makes the biggest impact.
The latter matters more than the former. I’m a huge believer in strengths. Figure out what you’re great at and do more of that. The artist in me strayed away from the advice I’ve been giving, but the producer is aiming to get it back.
What I love most is: leadership development. Most of the time it happens through an organized program. As much as I love being directly involved, the biggest impact happens when the effort is multiplied through other leaders (think Uber driver vs. Uber, the company).
In a society where personal branding is mainstream it’s hard to step behind-the-scenes. But if you’re truly a producer, want to scale your idea and desire greater impact the shift from artist to producer must happen.
So choose the role that better fits you: artist or producer. Then proceed and make sure to stay in your lane.
Growing Forward 