By Ricky Escobar
Ongoing development is a must in this ever-changing world. Teams should be developed and leaders should be developed. The act of development means growth is taking place. If you and your team are not growing, then you are dying—a hard truth. In their book Great Leaders Grow, Ken Blanchard and Mark Miller share four areas in which you can choose to grow:
- Gain Knowledge – Start with gaining self-knowledge—know your strengths and preferences. Then learn about others, especially those on your team. What are their personality traits, hopes and dreams? Gain knowledge in your industry and in the field of leadership.
- Reach Out to Others – Be proactive in helping others grow. Developing others develops you by solidifying what you know, allows you to practice people and presentation skills, and gives you insights to new ideas from those you teach. Developing others can be in the form of formal teaching, mentoring, or coaching’ it can also be in informal settings, sharing teachable moments.
- Open Your World – Explore the world around you both inside work and outside work. The wider your perspective, the more complete your understanding. You can open your world in a number of ways: shadow someone, visit a client, serve on a cross-functional team, read company archives, attend a training event, travel, volunteer, engage in a new hobby, or go on an adventure.
- Walk toward Wisdom – Make wisdom a priority goal—pursue it. Wisdom is the application of knowledge, discernment, insight, experience, and judgment in making good decisions when the answer may not be obvious. We walk toward wisdom when we effectively self-evaluate, get honest feedback, get counsel from others, and set our sights on its apprehension.
Don’t fall into the trap of not developing because you are too busy. Those with too much to do will always do the same thing. As a result, they never improve and never progress to bigger and better things.
You may be able to gain some ideas to promote growth from some of my own development-oriented activities. This year, I have:
- Participated in a team development, two-day program, learning about those with whom I work.
- Read or listened to a number of books on leadership. Just this quarter, I finished the books Leadership and Self-Deception, Getting to Yes, and Leadership On the Line.
- Listened to dozens of podcasts. My favorites are from The EntreLeadership Podcast, TED Radio Hour, and Career Tools. Look them up!
- Attended an industry conference. I joined a multitude of workshops and listened to keynotes from industry leaders.
- Attended a personal development training from the Arbinger Institute on Developing and Implementing an Outward Mindset.
- Led two new initiatives for my organization.
- Traveled to six states and three countries for work and leisure.
- Attended a weekly men’s group and have been counseled and coached.
What are you doing to develop yourself? If you aren’t doing anything, then make a development plan. Now is the time to start. Begin by choosing a development theme (or area) in which you want to engage and list three things you can do to help you grow in that theme. Post them on your calendar and make time to do them. Remember, you are responsible for your development, not your boss or family; so get growing!