Keeping Pace with a Rapidly Changing World
“If you want something you’ve never had, you must be willing to do something you’ve never done.”
— Thomas Jefferson
If you want to be doing things you’ve never done, you must be willing to become what you’ve never been.
Continued leadership growth requires a lifestyle of continual change to keep pace with our rapidly changing world.
If you’ve been leading for some years, you have undoubtedly seen leaders who experience rapid growth in their organizations and fall prey to the idea that their winning streak will automatically continue.
Unfortunately, if they rely on their past accomplishments alone to keep pace with the competition, they will soon find many organizations passing them by.
They’ll always be gifted young leaders emerging on the scene, possessing innovative ideas challenging the status quo. We may not always like the current trends or agree with methodologies, but we must be aware of global trends when they’re on the horizon.
Personal Development Will Keep You Relevant
“Show me a family of readers, and I will show you the people who move the world.”
— Napoléon Bonaparte
I realize I’m only as good as my last win; successful people know how to string their wins together, and personal development enables them to do just that. I view my personal development as a means of maintaining a lifelong winning streak.
Regardless of your career path, it’s your personal development that keeps you relevant. I thought about the necessity of consistency in growth to maintain relevancy; my commitment to growing myself daily is foundational to achieving that end.
Since childhood, I was encouraged to learn something new every day; reading was certainly one way to make that a reality. A day without learning something is a colossal waste of the 24 hours allotted to us. If I do not learn something new, those I lead suffer the most.
Recognizing Growth Possibilities Will Keep You Relevant
Being intentional about personal development will cause possibility thinking to form naturally within you. Possibility thinking isn’t wishful thinking, because it’s rooted in reality. When you seriously consider how to clear the hurdles on the path to realizing your vision, you’re weighing probabilities. Once you see a path forward, you’ll see the possibilities.
Possibility thinking is a discipline that enables us to see the growth opportunities around us. George Bernard Shaw noted, “The possibilities are numerous once we decide to act and not react.” The decision to act intentionally requires changing our minds to keep pace with our rapidly changing world.
Sandra Kay Reynolds shows how successful leaders change their minds to remain relevant, keeping pace with the world around them.
Leaders examine their long-held beliefs. We all hold onto beliefs that not only do not serve us but can hinder our ability to lead effectively. Some were imprinted by situations and circumstances that are outdated or unrelated to the leadership challenges before you today.
Leaders analyze the situation. They look for where their belief does not fit the current set of circumstances. “We’ve always done it this way” isn’t a guarantee that you’re doing it the best way. Be open to new thinking that enables you to move your organization forward. Look to others for ideas that might not come to you.
Leaders are willing to change their minds. Another word for this is growth. All successful leaders are willing to grow and change for the benefit of their business or organization. My favorite John Maxwell quote is, “Change is inevitable. Growth is optional.” A leader sees that the growth of their organization begins inside themselves. It takes intentionality and work to be better today than you were yesterday. (1)
In Closing, Intuitive leaders can see the changes coming before others; they’re sensitive to cultural shifts and emerging trends in the marketplace. Knowing when and how to develop the necessary skills to lead people effectively through the twists and turns of emerging trends is a combination of skill, talent, and intuition.
“If we do not bring the necessary challenges to our people, we will not bring the needed changes to our organizations.”
— JSP
End Notes
(1) “The Leading Edge: The Importance of Changing Your Mind” by Sandra Kay Reynolds https://bit.ly/3HkXiRJ
*** This article was authored by John Picarello, Chief Leadership Officer at Lions Pride Leadership Co.***