As a business leader, and in my consulting travels I've grown to appreciate one undeniable truth, without great leadership there is a definite ceiling to growth and development, both personally and organizationally speaking.
Leadership = Growth
I've been going back and re-reading some of my favorite leadership literature to help me help the people I work with every day, whether they are clients or employees. I'm currently reading John C. Maxwell's The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership and can't get the first law out of my head..."The Law of the Lid", which simply states "Leadership Ability Determines a Person's Level of Effectiveness". If everybody knew this, would they intensely concentrate on raising their leadership acumen? If not, why? What gets in the way? Working as an Educator my whole life I've been fascinated with the volumes of research, education and literary materials that address personal growth and development in such areas as leadership, communication, relationships etc. Yet, as I work with employees and clients, there is little focus both personally and organizationally around these topics. What I've learned is that leadership is a journey and that journey is better done with a group of people working toward individual goals, but more importantly a common purpose, albeit a goal!
My challenge to the GigabitNation, is to build leadership development goals for yourself. Take an eclectic approach, there is no silver bullet. Find a partner, who will also set leadership goals for themselves, and are willing to be a critical evaluator in assessing your progress, and you theirs as you embark on your leadership journey.
Leadership = Growth
I've been going back and re-reading some of my favorite leadership literature to help me help the people I work with every day, whether they are clients or employees. I'm currently reading John C. Maxwell's The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership and can't get the first law out of my head..."The Law of the Lid", which simply states "Leadership Ability Determines a Person's Level of Effectiveness". If everybody knew this, would they intensely concentrate on raising their leadership acumen? If not, why? What gets in the way? Working as an Educator my whole life I've been fascinated with the volumes of research, education and literary materials that address personal growth and development in such areas as leadership, communication, relationships etc. Yet, as I work with employees and clients, there is little focus both personally and organizationally around these topics. What I've learned is that leadership is a journey and that journey is better done with a group of people working toward individual goals, but more importantly a common purpose, albeit a goal!
My challenge to the GigabitNation, is to build leadership development goals for yourself. Take an eclectic approach, there is no silver bullet. Find a partner, who will also set leadership goals for themselves, and are willing to be a critical evaluator in assessing your progress, and you theirs as you embark on your leadership journey.