For the past decade Jane Carter has coached leaders to become more insightful and supportive in their practices. 

The Asheville resident, who is also a psychotherapist, has worked with executives, entrepreneurs, and solopreneurs across the region and nationally.

As the new year begins, Carter was asked to give five strategies that could help business leaders become more effective.

1. Don’t Let Fear Lead 

We are in a time of rapid change, with AI and political chaos --and change is moving at a rate that we are not neurobiologically wired to process. When we're faced with fear and uncertainty, it's really easy to get reactive. Bringing in self awareness is important so we aren’t getting reactive in decision making. So slowing down, getting centered, staying calm, being able to calm your nervous system, and being able to zoom out and look at the big picture and make decisions is important. Think of the metaphor of being a thermostat versus a thermometer. Can I get grounded enough and stay calm enough to say, ‘How can I have an impact?’ versus feeling at the mercy of everything that's coming at me? That mindset is going to help leaders embrace the uncertainty, see clearly, make better decisions and not just start throwing tactics at the changes that are happening, or go into panic mode and make bad decisions.

2. Deepen Your Human Interactions

AI is overwhelming. It's fast. The economy is changing. There's some chaos. People are just left with their heads spinning like, how do I use AI? How much should I use it? Even as we're embracing new technologies, I think a lot of the businesses that are going to do well are going to be the ones that deepen into human relationships, deepen into humanity, the things that are not tied to technology. Trust, connection, in-person connection, and authenticity. There should be high touch connection with clients and with employees. Leaders should create psychological safety among employees, because, again, things are happening so fast that people are trying to keep up and they need to be able to give feedback to their supervisors, to their leaders and they need to feel safe to be able to talk about it and how it's affecting them. Having leaders who are very skilled in relationships is important, and not just kind of slapping on some basic communication skills, but someone who is truly deepening into ‘how do I connect?’ Leaders need to create spaces where people have a voice and aren't going to feel punished for being vulnerable.

3. Less Is More

Because so much is happening, it's tempting to just add more initiatives, projects, goals, and values that we're trying to seek. Having strategic simplicity is important. Take the time to clarify your vision for the business, clarify your mission, and clarify your top values. Figure out what the main focus is, and recommit to those things rather than trying to chase everything. I like to use the visual of a sailboat. It's not like we set the vision and then just go straight for it. We get knocked off course a lot, and we're always having to course correct. But a good leader uses that rudder to just keep getting realigned with the main vision. Leaders should release anything that's not in alignment with that vision and keep it simple, because everybody's brains are overwhelmed right now.

4. Lead with Storytelling

There's a saying in marketing that "whoever tells the most stories wins.” Our brains, like everybody's brains, are so wired for story that we really get ideas better if we hear it through a story or a metaphor, versus just being told the information. I think leaders are so much more effective if they can take the information they want to convey and filter it into a story or a metaphor so that people get it. It's just so much more engaging. While we're focusing on story: are you allowing clients, customers, employees, to tell their stories? A story-focused business is infused with some real engagement and effectiveness. In this time of change and uncertainty, we need to deepen into our humanity, versus just being "little robots", and our stories are so at the core of what makes us human. So find ways to lead with stories. 

5. Get Support 

Research shows that individuals who get coaching report improvements of up to 80% in areas ranging from self confidence, interpersonal skills, job performance, and management skills.  Having someone to talk to, especially when someone's a leader and they're in charge, and everyone's coming to them asking ‘What are we doing?’ is really important. It can even be a cohort group of other leaders. Having someone to talk to, to get them out of that reactive space, of that fear space, and be able to look at the big picture and get healthy feedback can be so helpful to keep them on track. It will also help leaders to stay calm, to stay clear-minded, and to feel empowered. 

Carter is one of several leadership and business coaches who are based in Asheville. You can learn more about her services at her website, www.janecartercoaching.com.