Help people to improve the quality of their lives by inspiring them to dream more, be more, do more and have more.
—Saji Ijiyemi
Sometimes, I am totally perplexed by people who fight growth. They may believe they already know enough, or maybe they’re satisfied just where they are. Perhaps transforming into a better version of themselves scares them. After all, it does take change…do they want to embark on that journey? AND change doesn’t happen over night, dang it. It’s a process. People have no problem spending a hundred bucks on a great dinner out, but to invest that much into themselves doesn’t see to be an option.
I was there. Spend money on a class or webinar that could improve
my life? Nah, I’d rather go shopping.
I felt that way until I found myself in a leadership position. I didn’t have a clue how important growth was. I didn’t know that people reflect their leader. They mirror their attitudes, honesty, integrity and compassion. Leaders teach what they know and reproduce what they are. Like begets like.
Oh my, and that wasn’t working for me…at all.
I had to grow, because I found out that I can’t expect my followers to grow beyond me. I also learned that if the leader doesn’t grow, the organization can’t either. WOW! We were stuck because I wasn’t growing. Gulp!
I began to develop more leadership skills, and surprisingly, my team began to want the same for themselves. Not all of them, but we began to invest in those who desired more for their positions than just a job. They wanted more for themselves, too. Soon, we were growing faster than was comfortable even for me!
How does that happen? Here are some mindset shifts necessary:
1. Leaders who want explosive growth allow others to do tasks that are not necessary for the leader to do. Let go. They delegate those jobs to others so they can develop their own capacity for success. They allow their followers to fail and help them learn from their mistakes.
2. Growing leaders Invest in those people who desire to grow. They invest not just financially but spend time with them, as well.
3. Focus on their team members strengths and place them in positions where they can utilize those strengths. Share team member’s weaknesses to other members that exhibit that same weakness as a strength. My strength was not in the details, so I had to delegate the details to others.
4. Look for other leaders. Choose wisely whom you hire, don’t just fill the position.
5. Place those developing leaders in positions where they can practice more leadership skills.
(Hmmm…now that I think about it–these five steps would work for Moms and Dads, too.)
I’m sure that I got those concepts from John Maxwell’s book, “The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership.” They work. When we experienced the exponential growth in the organization, it inspired all of us to become even more.
The more I grow, the better my life gets. My relationships get better. I not only attract a different caliber of people into my life, but I am a magnet for more opportunities. Like the quote at the top says, I do want to inspire you to dream more, to be more, to do more and to have more. Growth will do that for you!
Continuously growing,
Jan
Jan McDonald
The John Maxwell Team
www.johncmaxwellgroup.com/janmcdonald
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