As a leader, it’s important to realize your desire for success drives a lot of what you think, say and do. At MAP, we believe building a better business is all about focusing on what’s vital in regard to your leadership, your team and your organization. It’s a matter of growing accountability around the 20% of activities and mindsets that will drive 80% of the results you seek. So what are some of these activities? According to research on small business success conducted by The Hartford and UCLA Anderson Forecast, the few things most leaders consistently do to achieve business success is:

• They take risks
• Embrace professional coaching/consulting
• Hire the right people for their organization

So this year, you might consider doing these things yourself. It certainly can’t hurt and could be just what your business needs in terms of sustainable growth and getting better.

Here’s why these three activities could make a difference for you:

Taking risks leads to learning. In short, it’s about stepping outside of your comfort zone, trying something new and discovering whether it works better than how you’ve always done things in the past. When you take risks, you get new experiences and this often opens doors to new understandings, people and professional possibilities. Taking risks is also about gaining knowledge, and knowledge is power. The more you know, the more equipped you will be to effectively lead and manage over the course of your career. Not only will you feel more in control of yourself, your teams and your organization, but you’ll also feel more confident because of the experience you’ve gained through the challenges and risks you’ve embraced. Taking risks can certainly be scary at times, but have the courage to step outside your comfort zone so you can better learn, grow and lead.

Coaching helps keep you accountable. No question about it, one of the most common pieces of feedback MAP hears from its clients is how regularly meeting with their MAP consultant is key to their success. It’s just a fact that when you have a coach that genuinely cares about your success and who is effective in helping you implement the accountability system that will support your goals, you’re more likely to be successful. In fact, in the small business success survey, the business leaders who were extremely successful say this was a key factor. And it’s important to add here that hiring the right coach/consultant also matters. Do your research and due diligence to ensure you’ll be spending your dollars and time on someone who is proven to get results.

Getting the right people on board makes everything better. Your people are your greatest asset. And while this principle seems obvious, it can easily be overlooked when you’re busy running the daily business and managing a variety of leadership responsibilities. So make sure this area of your business gets the attention it deserves, recognizing that when you make smart hiring decisions—and put the right people in the right positions—it benefits everything from your workplace culture to employee morale, performance and productivity. And all of this is what will drive the results you want and need. So build a disciplined strategy around hiring better and getting people working in the areas in which they thrive best. Finally, don’t be afraid to hold out for the right person so to avoid costly mistakes. If in doubt, don’t hire.

In which one of the three areas above do you seem to struggle with most and why?