In a previous article, I addressed some of the greatest assets – both tangible and intangible – that a family can pass on from generation to generation. One of those assets is the importance of helping family members recognize their individual worth and contribution. In other words, recognizing the value of your self-worth.
Understanding your own great value and ability to contribute to the family business is not egotistical—it is invaluable, as is knowing your limits and dismantling them. When you understand your self-worth, you give yourself and your family the strength to better position yourselves in what is often a brutal battlefield of business – helping you to unflinchingly hold your ground. Like a friend of mine once said, “Business is like a puzzle. Every day you get up and strategize on how to make the pieces fit.”
Self-confidence is an incredibly important asset when it comes to standing up for what you believe in. As A. H. Baassiri exemplified, if you believe in yourself and your ability to draw yourself out of a difficult situation, then that sense of self-worth can be your savior. It is when you lose this sense, when you buckle to self-doubt, that you can quickly lose your bearing.
What Self-Worth Isn’t
That said, having a strong sense of self-worth doesn’t mean having blind belief in your yourself. Rather, it greatly relies on being open to the evolution of your personality. You should be able to communicate, be able to motivate, and be able to inspire the people around you—giving them the confidence to believe in you so that when you need those people most, they will step up and help you turn your dreams into reality. As leadership speaker Simon Sinek says, “People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it.”
Belief in yourself and your skills is one of the biggest intangible assets you carry with you, though it should always be tapered by the understanding that you ultimately are not as vital and important to your company as you may think—especially if you have done a good job of training your team members and bringing on people who are capable, loyal, and trustworthy. It’s your duty to seek talent that actively compliments the culture you are striving to build, with the aim of allowing the people, systems, and processes that are collectively put in place to one day replace you so that you can go on to build more dreams. Such behavior, in my opinion, should always be rewarded.
Emotional Intelligence Is Key
The ability to not only recognize your value, but your shortcomings, is a critical part of having emotional intelligence (EI) – an attribute that can be as beneficial as one’s intellect. Emotional intelligence is our empathy and compassion, our ability to understand our own emotional state and that of others and respond appropriately. As an extension of this, self-worth is understanding not only the ability and benefit you bring to the table, but also in acknowledging the value that others offer. As a result, those with greater EI can determine the best way to utilize everyone.
Some years ago, I had to step away from my role in our family business for nearly a year. The move was unplanned and happened literally overnight. I did not expect that we would be gone for as long as we were, but when my family and I returned, I found that the company had stepped up brilliantly in my absence. My confidence in my team’s skills were well-placed, and I found that the company had in fact done even better in my absence than when I was around, according to my right-hand person—so much so that I was able to reposition myself somewhat within the company so that I could follow my passions even more.
Recognizing that your worth – while always present – will change within your business, is essential to personal and organizational growth. Everyone in your family is a critical piece in the puzzle that is your family business. Be a champion of self-worth for yourself and those around you. Learn more about how to recognize and leverage assets like self-worth by visiting www.ramezbaassiri.com.