What Are You Doing to Grow?
Personal growth should be the leader’s highest priority. I’ve described it before like the admonition when flying: In the event of an emergency, put your own oxygen mask on first. Recently, after talking about how important it is for leaders to grow, someone asked, “What are YOU doing to grow?”
This is not a trivial question. If you advocate for personal growth, be prepared for someone on your team to ask you the same question. If you’re not walking the talk, you’ll have zero credibility with those you’re charged to lead.
Specifically, as it relates to the question above, my growth strategy falls into these four strategies Ken Blanchard and I wrote about inGreat Leaders Grow.
Gain Knowledge – I’m always looking for ways to do this. Reading, conferences, time with my new team members one on one and more. I’m also part of an on-going group, focused on studying the topic of leadership. We’ve been meeting twice a month for 20+ years. This group has been a steady source of inspiration, challenge, accountability and personal growth.
Reach Out to Others – The predominant way I’m attempting to execute on this strategy is through my writing. Once you commit to share what you’re learning, it puts pressure on you to keep learning. For me, the challenge of writing a new book every 12 – 18 months is a significant motivator to continuous learning.
Open Your World – This has been a fun strategy for me. I’ve learned to scuba dive, climbed mountains, and run marathons. What are you committed to learning?
Walk towards Wisdom – This strategy is fueled by questions, council, and feedback. I’m forever a student of questions, and I am always searching for great ones to ask. Regarding council, I meet with men and women throughout the year who can help me grow. I encourage you to find fresh eyes to challenge your assumptions, confront your bias and introduce new ideas.
“Personal growth for leaders is not automatic, but it is essential.” – Mark Miller
Meet The Author, Mark Miller
Mark Miller’s passion is serving leaders. He has traveled to dozens of countries around the world in an effort to fulfill his calling. Whether speaking to global audiences or individual leaders, his message is consistent and pragmatic: Lead Every Day.
His career at Chick-fil-A began over 40 years ago as an hourly team member in one of the local
restaurants. Shortly after that, he became Chick-fil-A’s 16th corporate employee. Since that day, he
has worked all across the business but recently retired as the Vice President of High-Performance
Leadership, where he was a principal architect in building Chick-fil-A’s renowned high-performance
leadership culture
For the last twenty-five years, he focused much of his time on helping the organization grow its
leadership capacity. Mark and his team at Chick-fil-A invested a quarter century and tens of millions
of dollars searching for and validating ideas that work. Over the years, they focused on numerous
topics, including High-Performance Teams, High-Performance Organizations, Employee Engagement, Execution, Personal Leadership Effectiveness, and, most recently, Culture. These projects have each culminated in globally acclaimed books. Today, over one million copies of Mark’s books are available in 25+ translations, including national bestsellers and a Wall Street Journal Bestseller. His approach to writing and speaking has always been to find what is true in principle and apply it to the real world. Because of this, Mark is best known for his ability to unlock the full potential of executives and teams to create High-Performance leaders and organizations.
When not practicing or studying leadership, Mark is an avid photographer. His expeditions have taken him to some of the world’s most difficult-to-reach destinations. He has photographed silverback gorillas in the jungles of Rwanda, the icebergs of Antarctica, the Maasai warriors in East Africa, Nepalese culture at Everest Base Camp, and much more. More adventures are in the works.
Mark is married to Donna, his high school sweetheart. They recently celebrated their 40th wedding
anniversary. Mark and Donna have two sons, Justin and David. Justin is married to Lindsey and they have three children: Addie, Logan and Finn. If you are a follower of Mark on social media, you will likely see them make a debut on his Instagram feed.
Learn more about Mark: LeadEveryDay.com
