Leadership

Many leaders want their teams to perform better, but forget to look in the mirror at their own performance. Self-leadership is the first, and most important, step to developing a world-class team. 

While team success doesn’t end with you, it does start with you. 

Followers do what they see their leaders doing. If you are pushing yourself to be better every day, they are more likely to do the same. However, if they see you coasting, they’re more likely to coast as well. 

Leaders must go first.

What does this look like? Consider the following:

1 – Make personal growth a daily priority.

2 – Look for challenges to tackle, especially those that stretch you. 

3 – Look for new opportunities, even if you have to grow in order to maximize them.

4 – Invite your followers to join you on your journey. 

Imagine having the confidence to play offense when leadership challenges arise rather than playing defense. 

Imagine yourself confidently telling your followers, “Let’s go find a solution to this problem!”

Imagine waking up each day excited to cast a vision for your team to climb the next mountain of opportunity in front of you.

Imagine having a team of highly-engaged people who are energized to go on the journey with you to accomplish the mission of your organization.

This is all possible when you develop yourself first and invest in your team members out of the overflow of your personal growth. 

That’s why I created the Magnetic Leadership Community. If you are a leader who wants to attract quality team members and keep them engaged, this is your opportunity to join a community of like-minded business owners and executives who are committed to their personal growth. 

CLICK HERE to learn more and join. If you join by March 31st, 2021 you’ll receive a free copy of my latest book, The Magnetic Leader, which is scheduled for release this year.

You can be the kind of leader others excitedly follow. Choose right now to invest in your personal growth so you can have plenty to pass along to your followers. Join the Magnetic Leadership Community where you’ll receive training, inspiration, peer support, and real-time coaching. Simply CLICK HERE to join today!

Until next time…make today GREAT!

Many leaders reach a certain point in their careers where they choose to stop learning and growing. When this happens, their influence begins to diminish.

I once had a supervisor tell me to stop reading so much because it was causing me frustration. I couldn’t believe my ears. I can’t imagine the look I had on my face when he said it! 

I was frustrated for quite some time with the leadership and culture of our organization. My mentors, whom I valued greatly, taught me early on to keep learning and growing if I wanted to be a valuable leader. 

When I heard my supervisor tell me to stop reading so much, I could immediately tell that he was content with the way things were. I wasn’t, nor were others on our team, but he didn’t seem concerned about that. I was a young developing leader. He had been around the block a few times. Evidently, he thought he had arrived and didn’t need to grow any further. My colleagues and I were hungry to learn and grow. We wanted our organization to be better and stronger.

The day he said that to me was the day I mentally resigned and began seeking new employment opportunities. I refused to follow a leader who settled for mediocrity rather than pushing the boundaries of personal and organizational growth. 

What about you? 

Are you still learning and growing? 

Or have you decided that you’ve “arrived”? 

The answer to this question is indicative of how your leadership journey will look in the near future. The moment you stop growing is the moment others begin to catch up and pass you by. You can coast for a while without it hindering your leadership credibility, but it won’t last long. 

If you desire to be the kind of leader others love to follow, you must continue growing. New challenges arise. New opportunities come your way. These both require you to be a better leader. 

Imagine being able to run toward problems and challenges with confidence rather than shrinking back or being paralyzed by fear. 

Imagine being the person whom others look to for guidance and direction in times of difficulty. 

This is possible when you continue to invest in your personal growth. 

Choose today that you will never stop growing. 

Determine right now to find the training, community, and coaching that will help you go farther faster than you ever thought possible. 

This is the purpose of the Magnetic Leadership Community. If you are a leader who wants to attract quality team members and keep them engaged, this is your opportunity to join a community of like-minded business owners and executives who are committed to their personal growth. 

CLICK HERE to learn more and join. If you join by March 31st, 2021 you’ll receive a free copy of my latest book, The Magnetic Leader, which is scheduled for release this year.

Take the step today to enhance your leadership capabilities by joining the Magnetic Leadership Community! 

Until next time…make today GREAT!

It’s been said that it’s lonely at the top. 

While this sentiment is often true for many leaders, John Maxwell states in his book Leadership Gold that “If it’s lonely at the top, you’re not doing something right.” 

Why does he say that? Because loneliness is mostly a choice we make.

Yes, it’s wise to have some level of professional boundaries, but if you’re not careful, you can alienate yourself from others in an unhealthy manner. This will create a negative work environment that will hinder great team work and the ability to accomplish great things together.

One way to address loneliness is to find a community of like-minded leaders whom you can confide in and learn from outside your organization. 

Find a community of fellow leaders who deal with similar challenges and understand what you’re navigating at any given moment. 

Develop a support system for one another. 

Inside your organization, develop a leadership team that is trustworthy and demonstrates the values that you desire for yourself and your company. 

While it’s valuable and wise to have an outside community, seek to build a trusting community with your key leaders as well. They need support just as much as you do.

Loneliness is a choice. Whether you find support inside or outside your organization, make it a priority.

Leadership is challenging enough as it is. Don’t compound the challenges by being a “lone ranger” leader. 

We all need community. We weren’t meant to do life or leadership alone. 

What’s your next step?

Take action today to either engage with a supportive leadership community or work to take the one you’re in to the next level.

Until next time…make today GREAT!

P.S. Are you a business owner or executive who is looking to attract quality team members and keep them engaged in your organization’s vision and mission? Imagine being a part of a community of peers where you can learn from the collective wisdom of the group with various specialized knowledge and skills. Check out the Magnetic Leadership Community where you’ll receive weekly leadership lessons, participate in monthly live Q&A coaching calls, learn from dynamic leaders in monthly recorded interviews, and engage in a private forum with other growing leaders like yourself. You can even choose the option to receive a monthly 1:1 coaching call to help you go farther faster. CLICK HERE to learn more and join the community!

Leadership is both extremely challenging and rewarding. 

In today’s environment, things are moving and morphing at unprecedented rates. Leading can be exhausting and knowing where or how to focus can be confusing.

One of the ways to address this reality is by seeking out a trusted mentor who’s been where you are and can speak into your life with wisdom and insight.

As I reflect on my leadership development journey, I’m extremely grateful for all the men and women who have poured into me. Without them, I wouldn’t be where I am today.

The same is true for you.

We stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before us and have modeled the way. 

The problem for many leaders is that they are pouring into their followers without having anyone pour into them. 

You can give and give and give only to find yourself feeling dry and used up. 

That’s why having at least one mentor is critical. He or she can pour into you so you have more to give those you lead.

Do you have a mentor?

What area of your leadership do you feel like you need the most wisdom in?

Who could you seek out and ask to be your mentor? 

The key to having a great mentoring relationship is FOCUS. 

Focus your time together on what your most-pressing challenges or opportunities are. 

Come prepared to the meeting with specific questions. 

Don’t waste your mentor’s time by not thoughtfully preparing an agenda or list of questions in advance. 

Many people who are 10-20 years ahead of you would love to help you grow, but you’re going to have to seek them out and ask for their help. 

Maybe a key growth step for you is to identify a mentor and set a monthly appointment to sit down, debrief, ask questions, and listen to their wisdom. 

Imagine for a moment what your leadership growth could become if you have someone wise speaking into your life. 

Imagine how this mentorship could overflow into the lives of those you lead. 

Now, stop just imagining and take action. 

Go find your mentor today and begin the journey.

I’m confident you’ll be glad you did.

Until next time…make today GREAT!

P.S. Are you a business owner or executive who is looking to attract quality team members and keep them engaged in your organization’s vision and mission? Imagine being a part of a community of peers where you can learn from the collective wisdom of the group with various specialized knowledge and skills. Check out the Magnetic Leadership Community where you’ll receive weekly leadership lessons, participate in monthly live Q&A coaching calls, learn from dynamic leaders in monthly recorded interviews, and engage in a private forum with other growing leaders like yourself. You can even choose the option to receive a monthly 1:1 coaching call to help you go farther faster. CLICK HERE to learn more and join the community!

It’s been said that “leaders are readers,” but one of the shortfalls I often see is that personal growth gets squeezed out by busyness for most leaders.

Does that happen to you? 

I also think that the heart of that statement is still true, but the ways in which leaders access personal growth resources today varies. 

I’m an avid reader, but I know many people aren’t. My wife is an avid audiobook listener. I know others who love to listen to podcasts. Some prefer workshops, seminars, and conferences. 

The bottom line is this – leaders need to continually grow in order to remain relevant and effective. 

One way to do this is to focus on adding (or improving) one new skill to your leadership toolbox. 

In our digital world, there are millions of pieces of content being added daily. We can actually suffer from information overload. However, when you focus on developing or improving one new skill at a time, you can cut through all the clutter and find helpful impactful resources more easily.

What is one new skill you need to add to your leadership repertoire? Or what is a skill you already have that you need to enhance?

Spend a few minutes today thinking about this. Commit to going deep on it for the next 90 days, then evaluate your progress. If necessary or desired, dig deeper on it for the next 90 days. Do this repeatedly and imagine how you can become four times better in this one area each year or learn up to four new skills that can improve the quality of your leadership. 

Challenge your followers to do the same. 

Imagine leading a team or organization full of growth-minded people who are committed to getting better every quarter of the year. 

It’s possible to have this kind of culture, but it starts with you as the leader going first to model what you desire from your followers. 

Commit to taking action and making this a new growth habit.

Until next time…make today GREAT!

P.S. Are you a business owner or executive who is looking to attract quality team members and keep them engaged in your organization’s vision and mission? Imagine being a part of a community of peers where you can learn from the collective wisdom of the group with various specialized knowledge and skills. Check out the Magnetic Leadership Community where you’ll receive weekly leadership lessons, participate in monthly live Q&A coaching calls, learn from dynamic leaders in monthly recorded interviews, and engage in a private forum with other growing leaders like yourself. You can even choose the option to receive a monthly 1:1 coaching call to help you go farther faster. CLICK HERE to learn more and join the community!

To say 2020 was a challenging year is a major understatement!

However, when you go through a difficult year (or season), you have the opportunity to come back stronger than before. As the old adage goes, “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” 

Unfortunately, 2020 was a killer of a year, literally and figuratively. People, businesses, and dreams died due to the COVID-19 pandemic, economic crisis, political disunity, and societal unrest due to social injustice. Dealing with a virus is one thing. Dealing with all these others simultaneously is quite another.

Many people declare a “word of the year” and adopt it as a theme for each new year. I typically find a word to live by, but this year my word found me. “Bounceback” has become my hope and theme. I believe it will be the hope of most people after a very difficult time personally and professionally. 

But what does it mean to be a bounceback leader?

Consider the following 4 characteristics of bounceback leaders:

1 – Bounceback leaders are resilient

Leadership is challenging, even in the best of circumstances. Leading through times of disruption is even more challenging. Resiliency is needed when you’re up against tremendous odds. When the deck seems stacked against you, you must display resilience when you want to quit. This is the ability to bounce back to your original form (or even better).

2 – Bounceback leaders are persistent

Persistence is a quality of anyone who has achieved any level of success. Rarely will you achieve greatness on your first try. It’s been said Thomas Edison “failed” 10,000 times, but his perspective was that he found 10,000 ways not to make a light bulb. What if he would’ve given up after his first failed attempt? We may all be sitting in the dark today! When you’re dealing with challenges, commit to being persistent and keep moving forward. Determine to never give up.

3 – Bounceback leaders are optimistic

If you believe you’ve permanently failed and there is no hope for success, bouncing back isn’t an option you’ll even consider. In order to come back from difficult situations, you must find a way to remain optimistic. This isn’t some delusional optimism, but rather it is realistic. While you may not be able to recover all that has been lost in one day, what can you do today to take a step toward recovery? Do that one thing, then the next and the next.

4 – Bounceback leaders are determined 

Those who have achieved the greatest successes in the world were determined to find a way to win. Mental toughness is required when things are bad. We all feel like giving up at times, but bounceback leaders refuse to lose. They commit to find a way to win for themselves and those they are leading. They make a decision to keep moving forward amidst and despite adversity. 

While many people have been wishing 2020 to be over for the past year, I hope you’ll take time to consider all you’ve learned about yourself and how you endured an unprecedented, unexpected season of life and leadership. 

The beginning of a new year is always a great time to reflect on the past year and dream about what could be accomplished in the coming year. If you’re reading this article, celebrate that you survived! Then write down the lessons you’ve learned about yourself, your team, and your organization.

What lessons can you take away from the past year and apply to this new year? 

The best lessons are learned when we reflect on our experiences and squeeze the value out of them. 

If you want to be a bounceback leader, don’t just pretend 2020 didn’t exist. Instead, glean all you can from a challenging year and apply it to your leadership as you advance into the future.

Until next time…make today GREAT!

P.S. Are you a business owner or executive who is looking to attract quality team members and keep them engaged in your organization’s vision and mission? Imagine being a part of a community of peers where you can learn from the collective wisdom of the group with various specialized knowledge and skills. Check out the Magnetic Leadership Community where you’ll receive weekly leadership lessons, participate in monthly live Q&A coaching calls, learn from dynamic leaders in monthly recorded interviews, and engage in a private forum with other growing leaders like yourself. You can even choose the option to receive a monthly 1:1 coaching call to help you go farther faster. CLICK HERE to learn more and join the community!

I often hear leaders say that their time is not their own. While this is true in many ways due to being available to your followers, you still must be very mindful of how you utilize your time each day. You must be strategic in setting boundaries so you train your followers how to treat you.

I once read the account of a leader who was constantly distracted by his employees and drowning in his own workload. Something had to change. He decided to create specific time blocks in his days where he was available to his team members. He alerted them of his new availability, placed a white board outside of his office door, and allowed his followers to schedule 10-minute meetings with him. This helped everyone. He was able to get his work done more efficiently, he gave his employees his full attention when they met with him, and team members came more prepared because they knew they only had 10 minutes. He also made his team meetings more focused so they could get more done in a timely manner. 

While everyone’s situation is different, the principles of this leader’s experience gives us some important insights to consider. The reality is that we all have the same amount of time to use each day. No one gets more than 24 hours per day. How you use your hours is up to you. Choose wisely. 

Consider the following four key actions and consider how you can apply them to your situation:

1 – Create Specific Availability Time Blocks

Time blocking is a common productivity skill that many people fail to utilize. However, when you dedicate a specific amount of time to any task or meeting, you have a clear beginning and ending time that sets expectations. Determine what works best for you, then communicate your availability with your followers.

2 – Have People Schedule Time With You

While many leaders want to have an “open door policy,” this can often be a terrible idea for focus and productivity. I struggled with this for years. I wanted to be available to my team members, but I finally realized how unproductive it made me. I often felt extremely scattered. Closing my door and setting clear time blocks was challenging at first, but it ultimately made me a better leader to accomplish my tasks and it gave others clear boundaries for how to engage with me. When people have to schedule time with you, it requires them to think more strategically as to whether or not it’s needed.

3 – Give a Limited, Specific Amount of Time to Meet

Just as an open door policy can be detrimental, so can having no beginning and ending time in meetings. Much time is wasted on a daily basis due to lack of focus. It’s amazing how much you can accomplish in a brief period of time when you are clear on what you need to do and when you need to finish. Give your followers a specific amount of time to meet with you and stick to it. If a follow-up meeting is required to continue the conversation, do it, but don’t allow yourself to run over your predetermined time frame. That creates bad habits and communicates that you’re not serious about your time blocks.

4 – Maximize Team Meetings

Many people cringe when they hear the word “meeting,” but that’s because most meetings are not well-planned or executed. People often come to the meeting unprepared or there’s often no clear agenda. Mastering the art of leading good meetings can take your team and organization to new levels. Communicate a clear purpose of your meetings, set clear expectations of how the meetings will be executed, then end with clear assignments and deadlines for actions to be accomplished. When you maximize your team meetings, you also improve your individual meetings. Many times, a well-organized team meeting removes the need for individual meetings altogether. 

As mentioned above, I encourage you to reflect on these four key actions to help you set clear boundaries to maximize your valuable time. If you don’t guard your time, no one else will. Your calendar is yours to protect. When you implement these actions in customized ways that work for you and your team, you’ll be able to go farther faster in your life and business.

Until next time…make today GREAT!

P.S. Are you a business owner or executive who is looking to attract quality team members and keep them engaged in your organization’s vision and mission? Imagine being a part of a community of peers where you can learn from the collective wisdom of the group with various specialized knowledge and skills. Check out the Magnetic Leadership Community where you’ll receive weekly leadership lessons, participate in monthly live Q&A coaching calls, learn from dynamic leaders in monthly recorded interviews, and engage in a private forum with other growing leaders like yourself. You can even choose the option to receive a monthly 1:1 coaching call to help you go farther faster. CLICK HERE to learn more and join the community!

Leaders have a bias for taking action to pursue a greater vision somewhere out in the future. While this is an extremely important quality of leadership, only looking ahead can cause you to miss key lessons from your past that can propel you to have a highly successful future. 

My oldest son has played competitive soccer since he was four years old. He loves the game. I’ve had to grow to enjoy it because it’s not the sport I grew up playing. As I’ve watched him play over the years, one key thing has stood out to me – sometimes, the best way forward is to play the ball backward first. 

While this may not make sense at first glance, strategically it can make all the difference in the world. 

If you’re like me, it’s easy to put your head down and drive forward trying to knock down all obstacles in your way. However, that is often called “working harder, not smarter.” The smartest play in sports, business, and life is often to pull back, reflect, and reset in order to advance wisely.

I’ve coached youth sports for many years and I’ve noticed that kids tend to plow “full steam ahead” without thinking about what they’re doing. They just know they need to get from here to there. When they do this, they put their head down and find themselves in a mess. If we’re not careful, this can happen to leaders as well.

In order to confidently move forward, let’s consider these three key steps: 

1 – Pull Back

Whether personally or professionally, it’s not healthy to have the throttle fully down all the time. It leads to burnout. While you may think you just have to keep charging forward, the best decision is to often pull back to rest and regain perspective. When you feel yourself pressing and becoming exhausted, let this be a warning sign that you need to slow down a bit.

2 – Reflect

When you pull back, you give yourself the space to reflect on where you’ve been so you are then able to wisely proceed forward. Reflect on what’s working, what’s not working, who has been contributing, who has been holding you back, and what resources you need for the next phase. Reflection often leads to some of the best insights to help you confidently move forward.

3 – Reset

After you’ve pulled back and reflected, take the time to reset so you can strategically set yourself and your team up for success. Sometimes busyness creates chaos. During your reflection time, you can see how to reset people in various roles or responsibilities so they can contribute best and be more productive. This allows for your team to accomplish more in less time. 

As author and researcher Jim Collins stated in his brilliant business book Good to Great, it’s critical to make sure you have the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus, and the right people in the right seats. When you pull back, reflect, and reset, you give yourself a winning advantage over those who just keep plowing ahead thoughtlessly. 

While you probably have a natural tendency to take continuous action, make sure to schedule time in your calendar to slow down so you can pull back, reflect, and reset. I’m confident that if you’ll make this a part of your regular routine that you’ll see incredible results as you chase the vision that is within your reach.

Until next time…make today GREAT!

P.S. Are you a business owner or executive who is looking to attract quality team members and keep them engaged in your organization’s vision and mission? Imagine being a part of a community of peers where you can learn from the collective wisdom of the group with various specialized knowledge and skills. Check out the Magnetic Leadership Community where you’ll receive weekly leadership lessons, participate in monthly live Q&A coaching calls, learn from dynamic leaders in monthly recorded interviews, and engage in a private forum with other growing leaders like yourself. You can even choose the option to receive a monthly 1:1 coaching call to help you go farther faster. CLICK HERE to learn more and join the community!

I once heard a leader say that he metaphorically carries around two buckets every day. One is full of water to put out fires. The other is full of gasoline to start them. 

I love this imagery because it is so true!

Problems must be dealt with daily. (Pour on the water!)

And it’s also vital to inspire followers to take productive action consistently. (Pour on the gasoline!)

One key way to know which bucket to use is to become more situationally aware. Busyness can cause leaders to put blinders on and overlook the obvious opportunities and threats right before their eyes. 

Any crisis can cause us to develop “tunnel vision.” We can become so focused on urgent matters that we neglect truly important ones. 

At its core, leadership is about people, yet in the process of pursuing a vision and going after strategic goals or objectives, we can forget about the very people we’ve been entrusted to lead. 

It may be cliché, but leaders must pull up regularly to see from a 30,000 foot perspective. Too often, the demands of the day drag us back to ground level where we begin to lose sight of the bigger picture. 

If you are going to be the best leader possible, you must fight for your attention. You must pay attention to your surroundings. You must keep your eyes up to see the opportunities and threats surrounding yourself, your team, and your organization. 

Situational awareness allows you to lead with more clarity and effectiveness. 

Consider the following questions to help you become more situationally aware:

• What do your followers need most from you right now?
• What opportunities would be most valuable to pursue right now?
• What threats do you see or sense? 
• What key actions can you take right now to advance your vision, goals, and objectives?

All great actions are a result of great thinking. 

If you want better answers, ask better questions. 

Include your team in the decision making process. 

Invest in your team members so they can grow to reach their potential and help you achieve your vision and goals. 

Schedule time daily to reflect on your current situation and how you can address problems and fuel opportunities. 

Ask your followers what they’re seeing. Having more sets of eyes on things can help you make better decisions faster. 

Leadership is always challenging, but developing better situational awareness will help you achieve more impact and allow you to go farther faster than you ever thought possible.

Until next time…make today GREAT!

P.S. Are you a business owner or executive who is looking to attract quality team members and keep them engaged in your organization’s vision and mission? Imagine being a part of a community of peers where you can learn from the collective wisdom of the group with various specialized knowledge and skills. Check out the Magnetic Leadership Community where you’ll receive weekly leadership lessons, participate in monthly live Q&A coaching calls, learn from dynamic leaders in monthly recorded interviews, and engage in a private forum with other growing leaders like yourself. You can even choose the option to receive a monthly 1:1 coaching call to help you go farther faster. CLICK HERE to learn more and join the community!

As a kid, I hated to read. I barely did what was required of me to get through my school assignments. However, something shifted in my mind after I graduated high school and entered college. Mentors whom I greatly respected shared with me that leaders are continual learners. They shared books they were reading. The modeled continual growth to me. My eyes were opened to why they had the impact and success they had achieved. 

From that point on, I began reading because I wanted to rather than because I had to for school assignments. Truth be told, I still struggled to read for the purpose of my formal education. However, when I fell in love with the topic of leadership and personal growth, I became an avid reader that has now lasted more than 25 years. 

I know reading isn’t the way that everyone learns best. Some prefer audiobooks or video training. Some like to be physically present in the room with presenters and attendees to feel the energy. How you like to learn isn’t as important as that you commit to continually learning. It’s not only good for you, but it’s vital to your leadership credibility and impact.

Leaders need to be able to stay ahead of the pack in order to lead their followers well. This doesn’t mean you need to be an expert on every topic that your organization is about. You certainly need subject matter experts on your team who know much more than you do about key topics. However, you can’t abdicate or delegate leadership development of yourself and remain relevant and effective for your followers. 

I get it. Your job often demands much of your attention and time. You wonder where you can squeeze in time to read, listen, watch, etc. to learn. If this is what you’re thinking at this moment, consider the following ways you can effectively and efficiently invest in yourself so you can be better for those you lead:

1 – Listen while exercising

If you have a regular exercise routine, pop in earbuds, and instead of listening to music, put your mind to work listening to audiobooks or podcasts on a variety of topics that are relevant to your leadership or business. Not only will you become healthier physically, but you’ll also become sharper mentally while maximizing your time.

2 – Maximize your drive time

Speaker Jim Rohn is given credit for saying that if you listen to audio training on your commute over the period of three years that you’ll have the equivalent of a Ph.D. education in your preferred topic. Whether that is 100% accurate or not, the principle is valuable. While others are mindlessly listening to the noise of radio station DJs and commercials, you can be investing in your personal development that will impact those you lead.

3 – Get up early

This is something simple that many people push back on. I get it. We’re all tired after long days, but the most successful people are strategic with their sleep habits. They don’t stay up late binge-watching the latest shows or movies. They go to bed at a reasonable hour and rise early before the rest of the world wakes up. For me, I’ve developed the habit of waking up at 5 AM each weekday morning to read, pray, journal, and think. It’s been THE game-changer for my personal and professional life. For a former “night owl” this shift was challenging at first, but I now crave my quiet early mornings. I sacrifice staying up late for the growth I experience long before my family and the rest of the world wakes up. In fact, this habit has allowed me to write books and blog articles, record podcast episodes, and create a variety of other helpful content for my clients and followers. Without my early morning routine, I would be scrambling like most people do to get going each day. Instead, I have accomplished more by 9 AM than many people accomplish throughout their entire workdays. I don’t say this to impress you or to brag. I simply want to highlight that this one daily habit has the potential to transform your life and leadership. 

4 – Schedule “power hours” 

Whether you invest time learning during your lunch break or during another time during the day, block out space on your calendar to have a personal appointment to learn and grow. Guard this time like you would any other appointment. Productivity experts tell us to ask the question – “What ONE thing can I do that will affect 1,000 other things?” Blocking out time for personal development has that kind of impact. Each time you invest in yourself, you have more to give those you lead and you will learn to work more efficiently and effectively. 

5 – Schedule time away

Leaders are busy. Sometimes the best way to invest in yourself is to escape the environment that keeps you so busy. This may mean going away to a conference or it may simply mean taking a personal retreat. Rent a cabin in the woods, take your learning materials, and something to write with. Give yourself time to think and reflect. Choose a topic to learn about and go deep during an extended period of time rather than in bite-sized chunks where you are only partly mentally engaged. Give yourself time to decompress, rest, and reflect as well. Busyness is like a drug. When you get away, the first few days can be tough. You may feel like you’re going through withdrawal. Slowing down from a frenetic pace can be tough. Be kind to yourself. Give yourself space and time. It’s not only good for you, but also for those you love and lead.

While this isn’t an exhaustive list of ways to invest in yourself, allow these to get your mind going on what can work best for you. My routine isn’t for everyone. Other people’s routines don’t work for me. John C. Maxwell is famous for stating that in order to grow yourself, you need to know yourself. Reflect on the following questions:

• How do you learn best? (reading, listening, watching, etc.)
• When are you sharpest each day? (morning, afternoon, evening)
• What topic(s) do you want to learn more about?
• When will you begin to invest in your personal development? (pick a firm date)
• What obstacles could get in your way?
• How can you overcome these obstacles?

Your personal growth matters. Don’t take this lightly. Instead, make it a priority so you can become better for yourself, your family, and those you lead. While it may take some effort, in the beginning, to get going, stay the course. It does get easier as you go, but you have to do the difficult work to start and press through the challenges. 

You can do this. 

I believe in you!

Until next time…make today GREAT!

P.S. Are you a business owner or executive who is looking to attract quality team members and keep them engaged in your organization’s vision and mission? Imagine being a part of a community of peers where you can learn from the collective wisdom of the group with various specialized knowledge and skills. Check out the Magnetic Leadership Community where you’ll receive weekly leadership lessons, participate in monthly live Q&A coaching calls, learn from dynamic leaders in monthly recorded interviews, and engage in a private forum with other growing leaders like yourself. You can even choose the option to receive a monthly 1:1 coaching call to help you go farther faster. CLICK HERE to learn more and join the community!