Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in leadership development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with James Saliba, Founder & CEO of James Saliba Inc, located in San Jose, CA, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

I am a Leadership and Executive Coach. My mission is to "Transform the world of work." This is a bold statement, I know. I do this by engaging leaders to deliver their full potential every day. Every time I see that virtual lightbulb turn on over a client's head, I know we just transformed their world of work and everyone around them. My clients are leaders in all stages and levels that fall into three categories:

  1. Individual leaders who often feel like their career has stalled and want a promotion or a new job allowing upward mobility. They may hear from their managers that they need more strategic thinking or more executive presence without any information about what they are. As HBR points out, "In most organizations, promotions are governed by unwritten rules—the often fuzzy, intuitive, and poorly expressed feelings." (Why You Didn't Get That Promotion June 2009).
  2. Leaders who need to develop a more effective leadership team. I often hear from executive leadership that they grade their leadership team at C+. "They act like managers waiting to be told what to do" rather than taking ownership of a business issue and taking it from beginning to end. Strategy through execution collaborating across the organization. I believe that this is a very tall order since 83% of organizations believe it's important to develop leaders at every level of the company, and only 5% of businesses actually do it.
  3. Change and Transform organizations, to embrace change. Growth, strategy, culture, and structural changes need to happen to keep up. The greatest challenge is not the change itself but the uncertainty it generates. I help clients plan it, lead it, implement it, and navigate it. I specialize in Agile Transformations.

So I engage in transforming individual leaders, leadership teams, and organizations. My best clients have passion, courage, and commitment.

  • The passion for growing and not settling for the status quo.
  • The courage to challenge themselves and others respectfully.
  • The commitment to hold themselves and others follow through.

Tell us about yourself

Starting my career as a software engineer and eventually becoming the VP of a $4 billion tech company, I discovered my passion for leadership and the impact of being a leader that employees want to follow. I have led, faced, and conquered most challenges that leaders face throughout their careers and life, and I am committed to helping other leaders do the same.

I started my own business in 2009, mostly aligning myself with boutique consulting firms in the Agile software development space and a subcontractor. I was often asked to join an effort full-time for a period. Although, at the time, the Agile movement focused on the engineering teams or what I call "the boots on the ground," I continually observed a gap between what leadership wanted and what actually happened. So I started focusing on leadership from managers up through the C-suite or partners. Finally, I engage clients in leadership development and transformations. Aligning leadership style and team dynamic creates a culture where employees can learn and grow, are encouraged to experiment and explore and are committed to the organization's growth.

Leadership is my passion, and I am committed to the growth of leaders through my coaching practice. It inspired me to write my book, The Six-Step Leadership Challenge, which will be released in Sept 2022. I'm now building an online course around this topic and envision companion books..

  • Using the 6-step leadership challenge for your next promotion.
  • Using the 6-step leadership challenge for success in your new position.
  • Using the 6-step leadership challenge for building your A+ leadership team.

For a few examples.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Actually, it was sitting down and writing this book. The journey was longer and more effort than I ever thought. But I am so happy I did it. It made me think deeper and more thoroughly just to be able to get from my head to paper. It does now become an anchor point for me and my business.

What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?

Moving from a large corporation to a team of 1. I lost my team. Being able to brainstorm with people I trust. To hold each other accountable. I say to people that I have three people, Me, Myself, and I. And I hate it when Me and Myself don't talk to each other. I work with clients we often discuss what I call the 4 Fears of Leadership. Fear of incompetence is sometimes called impostor syndrome. Fear of Appearing Foolish, The Fear of Underachieving or Failure, and the Fear of Appearing Vulnerable. Well, I know these fears almost every day. Through my perfectionism, I can procrastinate with the best of them.

So the hardest thing for me is to get out of my own way (just like many of my clients). I have built my virtual team using freelancers that help and, of course, my own coach. Yes, I believe in coaching and taking my own medicine.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Know your offer. For example, I am a coach, but I don't sell coaching. I sell solutions to my client's problems, and coaching is how I deliver those solutions.
  2. Experiment like a 5th grader. Like many people in 5th grade, we had a science fair project. We stated a hypothesis, the experiment, and whether we proved or disproved the hypothesis. So experiment! Write down; if I do <X>, I will get <Y>. Then what is the simplest way to prove or disprove that? Based on the result, you can pivot and change directions or preserve.
  3. Build in your accountability. Use an accountability buddy, a coach, or a mentor.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://jamessaliba.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JamesSaliba
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamessaliba

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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