“What you allow is what will continue” — Ed Mylett
We teach our people how to react to our leadership in several ways. If you fill yourself with negative things, others will learn it’s completely OK for them to think negative thoughts about you. If you respect yourself through healthy growth habits, set boundaries for what you allow into your life and leadership, others will learn how to respect you through your example set. Your success as a leader depends on how you choose to personally grow and the examples you set for those leveling up under your charge!
Let’s dive in…
The most successful leaders are committed to lifelong learning, growth, and development. And the ones who are successful in doing so all have something in common – They ALWAYS are looking for ways to get better! Knowledge and wisdom will not come seeking you out – YOU have to go after it. Our daily goal should be to never stop growing because we never want to stop learning. I love it when I hear people say to me things like “If I ever get myself into a leadership role, I’d love to have you coach me to become a better leader”. Or, “If I ever get a management role in your company, I’d love to have you start sharing your leadership development teachings to me”. Even better, “If I ever get myself into a leadership position, I’ll for sure start reading books on leadership development”. The ones that sit back and wait for things to happen to them are soon passed by the ones that focus on getting better every day.
A little tip for you – Don’t wait for an opportunity to come along to grow. Make your continued focus to be personal growth, and THEN watch all of the opportunities that come your way!
A frequently asked question I get is – How does one keep momentum for growth after years of experience and many gains / losses? I see this a lot in organizations that have been around for 10 or 20+ years. Or in multi-generational organizations. A few years goes by with lack of growth, stagnancy, toxic traits and toxic people have been allowed to remain in positions, and all desire to press forward goes away. This is usually caused because leaders lose focus for their “why”. Or, their passions have stayed the same through multiple phases of growth. And the old mindset just doesn’t work with the new structure of business. Leading to burnout, lost passion, lack of drive, and eventually, an organization that severely backslides, or even worse, closes its doors forever. Don’t miss this – When leaders check out, the team begins to coast!
At Atlas, we have made Continuous Growth one of our core values. One of our North Stars. And it’s ingrained itself in our culture! And that starts with me – Every single day, our mindset is that “there has got to be a better way”. When that happens, it’s like a freight train that cannot be stopped! I love setting goals. Goals for myself, and for our organization. But they must play into the growth we want as a whole and aligned with our mission. The thing is, goals have a shelf life. Especially if you are naturally driven to get things done. If all you ever do is talk about goals, people that are not naturally goal setters can begin to feel insecure in their leadership. This is why my encouragement for you would be to make growth your focus. That does NOT mean don’t set goals. Don’t get that twisted. Just make the goals align with your growth mindset. They are a great way to measure how your new Growth Mindset is working! Move the needle of personal development forward just 1% every single day. Whatever that looks like to build the life and leadership you want. What does 1% growth look like? How can you shift your mindset from goals to growth? I’ve listed a few examples below for how you can apply the 1% daily growth into your mindset.
- You have decided you want to improve how you are leading in your marriage — Start by setting up a date night with your spouse once a month. I can tell you if you have a busy family like, intentional date nights are crucial. And if you don’t plan them, the years will pass by and you’ll slowly grow apart from your mate! It’s awesome to have a great organization, but sadly far too often this comes at the expense of our marriages. DON’T let this happen to you!
- You want to grow to be a better friend — Take a few minutes and write down those closest to you that you care the most about. Set a reminder to be intentional to reach out with who you want to connect and grow your relationship with more a few times per week.
- You want to grow as a better parent — Set aside dedicated time each and every day to connect with your kids. Taking them shopping and flooding them with toys or gifts does not make up for quality time spent. Unless you’re doing this as part of time spent. Then I’m sure your children will have a double blessing! Some of my best family memories have been created from me simply taking my daughter to school every day, catching a family movie at the theatre last minute, or tossing a ball around the yard with my son.
- You want to grow in your relationship with God — Begin by being intentional to sit aside just a few minutes each morning to read a few pages of the bible and ask God where He wants to use you most that day. Add prayer time to your morning habit. I know this can be intimidating as I have been there with just not knowing where to start first. (If you want some guidance on which bible to utilize and where to start reading, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me at sam@samgembel.com)
- You want to grow your culture in your business — Start by setting up a meeting every week to align your people with the values you set forth for yourself and for your organization. Talk frequently about your values. Recognize Team achievements and milestones. I can assure you that our leadership crystal ball quit working many years ago! Make sure you are serving your team in whatever they need. But you don’t know if you are not being intentional on aligning your mission with how your people can help contribute!
- You want to grow in your leadership (I hope this one resonates as it plays into ALL of the above) — Growing as a leader starts by leading YOURSELF! So many people miss that. Start by leading through your example and modeling excellence. Be disciplined with Reading books, exercising, spending time with those that matter most to you, inspiring others with your example and modeling what you want from your people, staying humble and remaining teachable, talking less and listening more, resolving conflicts, delegating the tasks that you know there is somebody better fit to handle in your organization, setting a vision for yourself and those under your charge and creating a roadmap(with help from your people)!
Here is what I don’t want you to miss. You can set goals to get yourself aligned with all of the areas you want to see growth in, but once you get the action in motion, this is where continuous growth comes into play. It just becomes part of what you do and who you are! Remember that YOU are a disciplined leader that sets aside intentional time each and every day to grow yourself so that you can be at your best to all of those you are surrounded with. Because when WE grow as leaders, everybody around us gets better!
Remember this – The higher you get in your leadership journey, the more difficult it is to remain driven to improve. I refer to this as “destination disease”. Many leaders struggle with this, and in turn, lose momentum or never achieve their growth goals. Because they feel like they have “made it”! The moment you feel like you’ve made it, you’re officially falling into the doom / regression cycle! This is really easy to happen and needs to be watched closely, especially if you came from rough beginnings and a poor upbringing. Which a lot of us have! You can accidentally set such a low bar of what success looks like, you “cap out” way too quick and those under your charge want more out of life and you cannot help them achieve it because in your mind, you’ve “made it”! Continuous growth is never “making it”. It’s a journey, not a destination. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. As Leaders and teachers and modelers of excellence, integrity, and continuous growth, we ALWAYS have to want to be better.
The most common reasons leaders think they can stop growing is usually rooted in pride and insecurity. Ironically, the two go hand in hand with each other. It is impossible to have success behind an insecure leader. That is just the doggone truth. And sadly, so many leaders refrain from growing because of their ego. It’s as if they are afraid to appear like they still have room to learn and grow!
I’m sure many of you have heard the expression ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!’ That phrase definitely was not coined by someone dedicated to personal growth!
I’ll tie a bow on this teaching with this – No idea is perfect, no matter how good it is, and ideas can always be improved. Keep asking yourself and your Team if there is a better way to do things. I know for me, I’m a work in progress. And my wife, my kiddos, and everybody on my team knows that I’m ALL IN when it comes to getting better each and every day! This mindset will energize, challenge, and inspire those around you who are hungry to learn and grow as well! When you commit yourself to a Continuous Growth culture and mindset, It will take your leadership to the next level. I’ll die on that hill any day!