How Does Your Personal Growth Drive Your Team's Success?

The greatest investment you will ever make is the investment you make in yourself.

If this is true, why is it that we struggle the most with investing time or spending money on our own growth??

When we shortchange ourselves and fail to invest in our own growth, we shortchange all those around us.?As leaders, it should be at the top of our list to strive for continuous personal improvement. Why? Because we cannot lead others if we are not able or willing to lead ourselves.?To lead ourselves first, we must be coachable, and being coachable begins with humility.?The challenge is that we cannot teach someone to be coachable or how to be humble.?Both are personal choices.

In this edition of Leaders Edge, we will look at the importance of personal growth and some of the key characteristics necessary for growth.?

As humans, we aren’t perfect - far from it. Leading a team of imperfect humans is even more difficult. To rise to the level of a transformational leader and stay at the top of our game, we must strive to stay curious and learn from our experiences.?Personal growth is directly correlated to our personal experiences and how we move through them.?From a business perspective, our organization’s growth will be directly impacted by our own personal growth and the growth of those we lead.?

Growth is never accomplished in isolation.?Transformational leaders of teams and organizations are always looking to invest in their people because transformational leaders are all about growing other leaders.

While opportunities for personal growth will occasionally appear on their own, most of the time, that growth requires us to go a little out of our way. Personal growth will always cost us something. The question is, are we ready and willing to pay the price???This price is more than dollars; it often requires some form of sacrifice and always involves stretching.?

I am a trainer and coach with SUCCESS Coaching and the John C. Maxwell team. John refers to this stretching as the Law of the Rubber Band.?The idea is that growth stops when we lose the tension between where we are and where we want to be.?This idea of tension or stretching is always uncomfortable.?

Think about a stringed instrument.?When does it make the most beautiful sound—when there is tension in the strings or when they are loose???The answer is when there is the right amount of tension.?This is also true in our lives. When we embrace the tension and discomfort caused by stretching ourselves, we experience the greatest growth.??

Another way to ensure personal growth is to work on our desire to constantly learn as much as possible. My personal goal is to be a forever learner, but it takes intentionality.?The key to learning is to listen and ask questions.?This goes back to being teachable and willing to challenge our perceptions by listening to the viewpoints of others.?Listen to understand, not to be understood.?

• If you are ready to make the investment in your own personal growth, consider the following as a place to start. Be coachable?– This begins with the realization that you may be wrong and that others have something you can need
• Be curious?– There are always different ways to get the desired results
• Be ready to pay the price?– Nothing great in life is ever free.
• Be willing to grow with others?– Growth is never accomplished in isolation.

What area of personal growth is most difficult for you? What steps can you take today to begin to make that investment in yourself??Remember, there will be a cost but believe that it is worth it.?Your future self, those you work with, and your organization will thank you.?I leave you with one final quote from John C. Maxwell: “Change is inevitable; growth is optional.” Don’t waste change by simply going through life when you can choose to GROW through life.

If you are interested in learning more about coaching, and transformational leadership, email me,?Rick Torrison,?and ask about my one-to-one coaching and transformational leadership workshops.

Join the next "Power of a Blank Page" (FREE)

Blank Page Sign Up

Rick Torrison?is a Success Certified Coach, Accountability Advisor, Certified DISC trainer, facilitator, Author, Speaker, and Trainer.