Growing Leaders

The idea of growth is all around me right now. My home office is filled with tomato and pepper plants that my husband and I have started in the house; we’ll place them in the garden when the weather is just right. The payoff should be ripe, sweet, delicious tomatoes come July and August. EPI’s theme this year is growth also. We are pursuing the growth of our client base, growth in the bottom line and personal growth in each of our roles.

All this talk of growth has got me thinking about the work I do and how leaders grow in organizations.

Leaders become leaders through experience and development. Much of this effort takes time and action. To set this effort in motion, ask yourself these questions:

• How will I continue to develop myself as a leader?
• How does my company develop leaders internally?
• Am I taking an active role in this development process?

Continual growth is vital to leadership, whether reading books, attending conferences, or following through on action plans.

Growing leaders takes a willingness to improve skills such as communication, interviewing, delegation, and team integration. Becoming a leader is about a desire to take risks and push to the next level.

There’s a difference between managers and leaders, but they both need to exist. Managers follow through on tasks, those daily things that must get done to keep the business going. Leaders are about people and the value they add to the organization. It's not an either-or concept.

So the question is: What specific actions are you taking to grow as a leader?