“As long as you’re green, you’re growing. As soon as you’re ripe, you start to rot.” — Ray Kroc
Is anybody really comfortable being known as a beginner? I don’t think so. I’ve observed that most leaders that I work with(at least the ones that are hungry for growth) have a natural desire to become an expert in their field. But this doesn’t always lead to success in leadership!
When people come to our organizations to hire us to solve a problem for them, they hire us because we have built a reputation for being experts at the services we offer them. Or if you are a church leader, members will join the church because they think that pastors will have all the answers to their problems. Here is the thing – If we want to continue to add value to our clients, we have to work to always become better at our crafts. If we want to continue to add value to those we serve and lead, we must continuously work to become better today than we were yesterday with our leadership growth!
To continually grow and learn, you must approach as many things as you can as though you are a beginner, not that you are automatically an expert just because you may serve in a leadership role. Looking back into my first few years of leading at Atlas, most of my goals revolved around becoming an expert in the landscape field. I wanted to have all of the answers, I wanted to know the best lawn mowers to use. I wanted to know as much as I could about building patio spaces. I worked very hard to not have any questions because I thought that it would make me look like a beginner to those I was leading. This approach to leadership severely limited my growth!
Do you want to know why we typically stop learning? It’s not because we are too busy. Yes, I’m sure that plays a part… But it is because of our pride! We think we have it all figured out and have the world at our fingertips! You cannot be full of pride and still want to grow at the same time. It flat out won’t work! If you have a habit of looking down on people, and thinking you don’t need to learn from others, then you’re on a short path leading to failure. Pride will tell you that you don’t need anyone else to succeed, but humility will tell you that you can learn something from everyone.
I will say this my amigos with utmost confidence. Every. Single. Day. I have something to learn. Every-Single-Day! As you experience growth and success over the course of time, it becomes more challenging to maintain a continuous growth mindset. Maintaining your humility for growth comes down to this: your attitude. In order to continue growing, we must choose to have a teachable attitude every day.
Take on the beginner’s mindset with your leadership! Everything changed for me when I realized that asking questions was better for my growth and development than always answering them. And I believe it will be for you too. Actually, I know it will. I love the way Craig Groeschel puts it – “People would rather follow a leader who is real, rather than one who is always right”
It may sound a bit cheesy to you, but the truth is that growth is only possible when we are willing to adopt a continuous growth mindset. That means having a passion to learn, possessing an intention to learn daily, and reflecting on what we’re learning to know how to apply it. Picture your personal growth as a garden—nothing that grows in a garden springs to life on its own. Gardens require planning, cultivation, and of course the right environment. As the gardener, you must be willing to prepare the soil, sow the seeds, water, feed, mulch and weed it. It’s an intentional process, and it must happen every single day of your life. Make Growth Your Number One Priority!
After years of pushing myself harder and harder to be better today than I was yesterday, I’ve come to understand that everything I do is predicated on my personal growth. Every opportunity I have is the result of my commitment to stretching and growing myself every day. A day without growth is not good for me OR for the people I lead. So therefore I put growth at the top of my priority list daily! And I would highly suggest that you do too. When we as leaders get better, everybody around us will be better!