
I dreaded attending the team meetings. “Did you meet your weekly target?” This was a standard question the team leader would ask looking around for a volunteer to start. For a couple of minutes there would be some silence until the team leader called out someone to give feedback.
“I did not meet the target.”
“The economy is bad we cannot make sales.”
“Clients do not read our marketing emails. I have been following up on a few clients who had shown
interest but they are not committing.”
A series of excuses would follow and leaving everyone feeling low but with no tangible results.
Dreamers who do not set targets live daily according to dictates of circumstances but circumstances
like the wind are very uncertain they will move you one way today and another way tomorrow
The reason I dreaded the meetings was how the power of negative voice affected everyone. Being
around people who are negative in business is contagious. In pursuit of our dreams, knowing the
power of our voice is a competitive advantage. Your voice can either sabotage you from reaching
your potential or speed up the process! The people you surround yourself with affect your inner
voice so you need to be in charge to neutralise the negative outer voice with a positive inner voice.
As a businesswoman what you tell yourself about your business determines how you go through or
around challenges you face. Some call them affirmations but as the leader you need to create a
culture of speaking life to your business. Sometimes everything around you makes it real to speak
negatively but the negative energy in the office leads to negative energy hence low productivity.
What you tell yourself determines how fast or slow you achieve your dream.
Vincent Van Gogh stated,” If you hear a voice within you say ,”You cannot paint, then by all means
paint and the voice will be silenced.” There are many external factors that can make you and your
teammates magnify the negative voice but silencing the negative voice is a culture that can be built.
As a leader your teammates should hear you say statements like: Our business will be profitable this year. We will meet and exceed all our targets this year. We will excel despite the economy.
Our business will succeed despite the increase in inflation. Our clients love our products and we find favour with clients. It is difficult to say something negative around a positive person. As a leader of your business it is your responsibility to set the tone. Which voices do you need to amplify or silence to reach your potential for your business? It is June already. As a businesswoman, what voices did you tolerate the first half of the year that has affected your productivity and your teammates? What voices do you
need to amplify going forward to create a positive energy in your business and increase your productivity?