At the year’s end, most leaders do some sort of planning for the year ahead so that their organization will be more productive and profitable in another year's time. This is where thoughtful analysis, evaluation, and strategy come in. New strategies can pay off handsomely for you as a leader. But let's take that thought a bit further. There is a living, breathing person underneath your leadership hat. That person is you. And just as your organization needs year-end planning, so do you! The return on investment will be great if you, as a leader, take time out to plan a personal growth strategy for the upcoming year.

What do we mean by  “personal growth strategy”? Basically, it involves addressing your spiritual, relational, and emotional life in ways that will help you grow and be a better, more fulfilled and productive person. Leaders who do tasks well but neglect their internal worlds ultimately find themselves in jeopardy in both areas. So it pays off to take a look at your life below the hat. Here are some tips and guidelines for doing that:

Go deeper than the obvious.  Often, when working in the personal arena, we assume that we need to look at activities such as losing weight, working out, spending more time with spouse and kids, having regular devotionals, and getting involved in a small group. While these are important matters, we also need to consider some of the deeper elements of growth that drive our activities, vision, and life. Take, for example, those areas of struggle that keep you from being the leader you would like to be. Ask yourself:

• What is the quality of my personal and work relationships? Am I able to open up and be vulnerable to those who are safe, or is it hard for me to trust others?

• What importance do I place on relationship at work? Do I easily get caught up in the “task” end of things, and forget about the feelings of others?  Or do I have the opposite problem?

• How honest am I in my relationships? Do I avoid confronting others when it is needed, or am I able to be direct and loving with people in my life?

• Can I make right choices even when it disappoints others? Am I able to freely make decisions based on wisdom, good values, and my relationship with God? Or do I find myself caught, not wanting others to have negative reactions towards me?

Once you have found a few questions like these that are significant for you, you are on the way! You are now addressing concerns that affect not just your leadership but all aspects of your life.

Find the resources you need.  The fact that you have identified areas of growth for yourself is significant: it means that you haven’t yet attained what you want in these areas. And what that means is that you can’t pull this off in your own strength! So give up on trying harder!  Your own willpower and resolve are overrated. The apostle Paul himself admitted this: “What I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do" (Rom. 7:15). The answer is to reach outside of yourself and find the resources you need. Ask God to help you through His Word and His Spirit. Find yourself guides and mentors who are experienced in your particular area of concern. Find books, groups, and information on your issues. There is a wealth of resources available. No more Lone Ranger growth!

Make your plans and goals.  When you look back on the year 2006, what would you like to see? A significant increase in how you trust, and in your ability to choose safe people? A better balance between being relational and task-oriented as a leader? Greater ease in confronting and being honest with others? More strength to make right decisions even if it means letting people down?  

These sorts of goals are not quantifiable in the way that revenues, profits, and numbers of people in a ministry might be. But if you give these goals your attention, and listen to the feedback of others, you will see real change.  

Here is one example of how it works: let's say you want to become more vulnerable and accessible to those around you. You read up, pray up, and start meeting regularly with those who know how to be vulnerable and accessible. You let them know why this is hard for you, and what it is that you fear or don't have the ability to do. These people surround you, make it safe for you, allow you to practice opening up with them, and give you grace and feedback. You find that you are able to open up more, and you bring that newfound ability that you've gained in the safety of your support network and start applying it to your family and trusted work relationships. Now your relatives and the people at work give you positive feedback (hopefully!), and the cycle continues. It’s a little different from a spreadsheet, but the point is this: your efforts at personal growth should bear fruit in the form of changes that both you and others will see and experience.

So why not sit down and plan your growth strategy for the coming year? Search out the resources you need, make connections with people who can help you, and find an appropriate growth environment. You may want to consider attending the Ultimate Leadership workshop—it is designed with these very growth needs in mind. However you choose to do it, carve out some “growth hours” for yourself, and see a difference in 2006!

God bless you.

 

Save on Who's Pushing Your Buttons? hardcover book or DVD series!

Here is an excerpt from Who's Pushing Your Buttons?, to whet your appetite. It is taken from chapter 4, "Developing a Vision for Change: Your Personal Starting Point": 

It is understandable that those in a difficult relationship have trouble with the concept of vision. The word has to do with positive things in life like high goals, dreams, and shared aspirations. . . . Humble beginnings but lofty goals— that's the nature of vision. Those with a button-pusher don't feel the same creative, energetic brainstorming freedom. They are too busy playing defense, warding off the effects of the relationship, worrying, and . . . sometimes just trying to survive. To put it in a metaphor, it's hard to have a vision in the middle of a nightmare. At the same time, however, you do need a vision, especially if you are in a button-pushing relationship. . . .
        Let's briefly describe vision as a mental picture of a desired outcome which gives you heart and focus. It is an image you have crafted and constructed in your mind that encapsulates the goal you have. Its purpose is to carry you through the dark times so that you can see them through to completion. People who want to lose weight might put a photo of a bathing suit that they want to get into on the refrigerator. Those saving for a home might have a diagram of the dream house on the wall. An individual working for a job promotion may have a desk plate with his name and the position engraved on it.
        Vision is given by God and is modeled by him.

Dr. John Townsend, Who's Pushing Your Buttons? (Brentwood, Tenn.: Integrity Publishers, 2004), 59-60.

Who's Pushing Your Buttons? hardcover book
Normally $18, now $13.50―save $4.50!

Who's Pushing Your Buttons? DVD Series
Normally $88, now $66―save $22!

To receive these special prices on the book or DVDs, please enter the following code number in the "Coupon" box during checkout: UL0106.

 

To order, visit our Web site at www.cloudtownsend.com