According to research cited in Management Today, only one in every 20 bosses (5%) is a good leader. So for every company that has 20 bosses (your average 200-300 employee firm), only one of them is likely to be a good boss. For a public sector body with say 5,000 employees, it may have 25 good bosses. Puts things into perspective wouldn’t you say?
How on earth does this happen in today’s world?. In John Maxwell’s experience most people stop growing when they reach their 20’s. Rarely do you find a person committed to a personal growth plan into their 30’s, 40’s or beyond. I know that when I worked in the corporate world bosses were so busy working that they rarely had time to develop themselves. And yet the irony is that great leaders never get to the point where their influence has maxed out. They always have unreached potential waiting to be fulfilled. In leadership, how far you go depends on how much you grow. Your growth as a leader is within your control; you can do something about it. You’ll grow the most when you know the most about how the process of personal development happens.
There are three basic laws of personal growth:
1) The Law of Intentionality: Growth Doesn’t Just Happen
Seldom do we lack access to information that can help us grow, but rarely do we apply the resources at our disposal. Put simply, knowing isn’t the same as growing. Whilst old age may happen automatically, growth doesn’t necessarily come with experience. This reminds me of the adage:
To Know and Not To Do is Not Yet To Know
In order to grow to our potential, we have to discard the mistaken beliefs that prevent us from moving forward. Two such beliefs are:
- that failure is fatal
- that we don’t have time right now to pursue a growth plan.
For starters, failing doesn’t mean that someone is a failure. Mistakes are an inescapable part of life, and failures often teach us lessons that we could never learn otherwise. Indeed, failures are steppingstones to success. With respect to time, the longer we intend to do something without taking action, the greater the odds that we will never do it. Time is the one resource we cannot recapture once it’s lost; there’s no way to make up for months and years of neglecting personal development.
2) The Law of Awareness: You Must Know Yourself to Grow Yourself
Personal growth isn’t a one-size-fits-all strategy for self-improvement. For personal growth to be beneficial, and not a waste of energy, it must be suited to your unique strengths and particular temperament. Not everyone shares the same learning style: what works for one person may be completely inappropriate for another. In addition, personal growth requires you to identify your purpose in life. Unless you’re clear where you’re headed, you won’t know which ways to grow. On the other hand, once you have a definite vision in mind, you can begin to develop the specific set of skills needed to accomplish it. Knowing your Talent Dynamic profile provides great insight into the best way for you to grow, a way that matches your learning style and uses your gifts to their best ability.
3) The Law of Consistency: Motivation Gets You Going, Discipline Keeps You Growing
Anyone who has successfully lost weight through regular exercise can tell you that there were days when they didn’t feel like going to the gym. All of the excitement about getting in shape dissipates at 5:00 am when the alarm clock rudely reminds you to get out of bed for a morning workout. To develop the discipline to keep growing, we must constantly remind ourselves why personal development means so much to us. As Simon Sinek reminds us – we must have a great reason why because unless we have clarity on Why we are doing something we will never maintain the motivation and discipline to continue when times get tough (and they inevitably will).
To get where you want to go in life, personal growth cannot be overlooked, postponed, or taken for granted. Your development requires intentionality, focus and accountability. It also requires a plan. If you would like help developing your plan sign up for one of my complimentary Grab The Reins – Lead Your Life Discovery Sessions where we will uncover what is holding you back from reaching your full potential.
Julia Felton (aka The Business Wrangler) is the founder of Business HorsePower. Business leaders, entrepreneurs and executives hire her to accelerate their business performance by harnessing the energy of their people to work more collaboratively together. By aligning purpose with actions the team achieves exponential results as everyone starts pulling in the same direction.
Julia believes that business is a force for good and through designing purpose-driven businesses that leverage the laws of nature, and the herd, you can create businesses founded on the principles of connection, collaboration and community that make a significant impact in the world.
