Ready, Set, Grow! – Part 4
David Freund, Chief Leadership Officer
It’s hard to believe we are at the last installment of our Ready, Set, Grow! Series. Four weeks flew by quickly and that’s why we started with the Law of Intentionality. Hopefully you have been applying that law for the last few weeks. Let’s jump right into this last session with The Law of Trade-Offs, The Law of Curiosity, and The Law of Modeling.
The Law of Trade-Offs. You have to give up, to grow up. The best way to explain this law is with a quote from John Maxwell’s book, The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth which reads, “You can’t steal second base until you take your feet off of first base.”
I remember a situation where a young professional who was leaving to pursue her dream sharply commented to our boss at their farewell gathering, “I can, and will, have it all.” At the time I didn’t realize how sad and incorrect that comment really was. In this great country we can all pursue our dreams. We can all achieve amazing things, but we simply can’t have it all. We don’t have the time or energy to pursue everything. We need to decide what is important to us and make a growth plan to pursue that. This often means saying no to things that are very good in order to make time for the things that are most important.
There are also trade-offs that are never worth making such as giving up our character for a short-term gain or pleasure.
The Law of Curiosity. Growth is stimulated by asking “why?” When we were children we were filled with questions. Just spend any amount of time with a three or four-year-old and you will see what I mean. The youngsters are asking questions because they are curious and want to learn. Why do we think we know it all already? Good leaders are people who remain curious and are always asking the right kinds of questions. Ask people about their lives. Ask them what they are reading or where they are going on a vacation. It’s also a great way to build engagement with your team.
The Law of Modeling. It’s hard to improve when you don’t have anyone but yourself to follow. You need to look for people who are ahead of you in your growth and use them as a model. They may be people you find through MACNY or people you find through books or social media. Don’t go another day without finding someone, somewhere that can model the path you want to take.
Marisa and I will discuss these three laws in greater detail on our podcast The Next Page. Listen in and let us know what you think.
Download The Next Page Here: iTunes | Google Play | PodBean