How Is Your Business Expressing Itself?

by Cath Sutherland

Businesses are a form of expression, continually evolving and devolving, depending on who is at the helm.

This expression depends on the leader’s self-awareness and their awareness of their business energy (the collective energy of everyone who works with the business).

You can tell a lot about a leader by how they manage their business and how they allow or don’t allow the true energy of their business (everyone who works with them) to be expressed.

If they have a 3D perspective they’ll understand that it’s not just WHAT they sell – but more importantly WHO they are, WHY they do what they do, and HOW they offer their product.

The one-dimensional manager just focuses on WHAT they sell and the direct linear link to their customer. How can we make WHAT we sell more attractive to that customer?

Well, therein lies the problem – it’s not just WHAT you sell – and the connection isn’t linear.

Business is a value exchange.

And that value is not just functional value exchanged through the physical product.

It is also emotional value exchanged through activating WHO you are, WHY you do what you do and HOW you offer your product.

The emotional value you offer wraps and gives more meaning to your product.

The emotional value you activate with your offering is your unique differentiation.

Emotional value is not linear, it is made up of a web of expressions, feelings, communications, nuances, relationships, shared experiences, memories, likes and dislikes, habits, reactions and intuitions.

To manage this expression the one-dimensional leader needs to abandon their safe, controlling, corralling linear line of management.

Delivering emotional value is firstly about bringing together a team who is aligned. A team who shares and lives the business’ Personality, Values, Purpose and a Global Vision. It is then about empowering your team to express who you are, in their authentic way, through everything they do. Through your teams’ authentic expression of who you are, you can cast a generous web of emotional value.

By empowering your team to activate who you are as a business, you will have greater reach, discover markets you didn’t foresee and have customers paying more for your (functional and emotional) offering.