The
Moment We Stop Improving . . .
The
very moment we stop improving, we are no longer good at what we do!
Sounds
pretty drastic doesn't it? I believe it to be fundamentally true for any profession or endeavor. Think about it, do you want your physician to be
operating under knowledge or techniques that are over ten or fifteen years old?
How about a tax accountant that is filing your tax returns under laws from five
or even two years ago?
Put
another way, what would be the benefits of increasing your knowledge-base,
technical skills, etc.? What are the consequences if you did not?
A
few years ago, I found myself in this very situation. Even though I pursued and
earned advanced degrees all the way to the Ph.D. level, I discovered I had
plateaued. I was not offering anything new to my staff, my students, and my
organization. I had stopped being good at what I do!
In Sometimes You Win, Sometimes You Learn,
John Maxwell states that sometimes people change when it starts to hurt enough
that they have to! My coasting through my professional life was hurting me and my
effectiveness. That is when I started pursuing an external certification in the
areas of leadership development and coaching (my personal areas of strength and interest). I looked at several options and
chose the John Maxwell Team due to the fact that the values and approach aligned with my own.
The happy result is I have been on a GROWTH JOURNEY for the past two years and
it has changed my life. It has made me a better supervisor, increased my
relevance with my students, and most importantly, made me a better person.
I am not proposing you pursue the course of action I did, but I am encouraging
you to consider the following:
- Where are you NOW?
- Where to you want to BE?
- WHY do you want to get there?
- WHAT do you need to get there?
- HOW will you do so?
You
see, the WHY will fuel the WHAT and the HOW! Is it a promotion, career
change, personal mastery, or something more intrinsic like a fitness goal or a
life skill? Author Alex Cohan states, "in order to grow, your present and future must be totally unlike your past." Here are a few tips:
- Take inventory of the questions above and reflect on your answers.
- Based upon that, determine the next steps of a GROWTH PLAN (remember that you do not have to have every step figured out in order to start).
- Determine the resources you will need – self-training, mentors, advanced degree, etc.
- Target metrics that will track your improvement. In other words, how will you KNOW you are improving?
- Repeat!
Keep in
mind, these are just basic steps and there are many resources available on the
web, great books, videos, and podcasts. Just try the things that appeal to how you learn best. Feel free to contact me if I may be of
assistance at bill@outloudinc.com. As always, I want you to Get Better, Be
Ready and LEAD OUT LOUD!
Regards,
Bill
Faulkner
Co-Founder
– Out Loud Strategies
Independent
Coach, Speaker, and Trainer with the John Maxwell Team TM
No comments:
Post a Comment