In 5 years, Will You…. GROW?

In my last post titled “Where do you see yourself in five years?”, I discussed the idea of writing your own eulogy as a tool to help identify things that are most important in our lives.  Did you take time to do this?  Even if you just thought about it?  What perspective did this give you about your own life in the here and now?   

For this post, I want to focus in on the leadership aspect of where you see yourself in five years.  I don’t know of a leader that I could go up to and ask about where they see themselves in five years who would be proud to answer “I see myself in the exact same spot“.  

As silly as it may sound, without a personal focus and intentionality and growing as a leader, this is where many of us will end up in five years, even though we would shudder at that thought today.  

A Bible verse that has helped me in this way of thinking is Psalm 90:12… “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart wisdom”.   I don’t believe God is too concerned with the job title we hold or how much earthly “significance” that title carries with it.  But I do believe that verses like this one in the Bible do encourage us to think and evaluate our lives and our futures knowing that our days on this earth are limited.  And with a limited number of days left on this earth, how might we “walk in wisdom” to live our lives in such a way that honors God and allows us to be a witness for His love and grace, and a blessing to those around us?  

As a leader, you have the opportunity to do these things everyday because God has brought you here not just to do a job, but to LEAD PEOPLE.   In order to lead people well, leaders need to embrace a growth mindset.  

Many people equate “promotion” with “growth” but the two are not the same thing.  Everyone likes the idea of a promotion… duh….who wouldn’t?  But leaders often can suffer from a fixed mindset that limits their willingness to actually put in the effort to grow into the type of leader that’s deserving of a promotion.  Simply put, showing up does not equal growth.  Here’s a simple example to illustrate this point.  

Let’s say, for example, that I coach my son Isaac’s soccer team, and it’s time to choose a captain for the team. The title of captain usually goes to one of the best skill players on the team, and to a player that the other players respect because of their work ethic.  As coach of the team, it is clear to me and everyone else on the team that my son Isaac is nowhere near the best player on the team.  In fact, he’s in the bottom tier of players and he doesn’t exactly show his best effort all the time either.  Now…his lacking talent level is not a problem - he’s a beginner, and nobody is amazing just because they show up. But over the course of the season through practice and games, he will get better just like the other players on the team.  Through putting in the time and effort, he will grow some as a soccer player.  The lack of effort, however, is a problem, because he won’t grow into nearly to the player he could be without giving his full effort.  

Let’s say I decide to make him captain of the team at the beginning of the season, just because he’s my son, when clearly he’s not a leader and the other players don’t look up to him based on his skill level.   Giving him the title as captain doesn’t mean that he has grown, it just means someone gave him a title.  But on paper, he’s the captain, and because he’s the captain people may falsely think (including him!) that he excels at soccer.  His title of “captain” does not mean that he will GROW as a soccer player.  In fact, giving him this title when he’s not ready for it may even hinder his growth because he may be fooled into thinking he’s better than he really is, and consequently not put forth the effort needed to grow as a player.  It doesn’t take a genius to realize that making him captain of the team would be a bad idea!  

Growing (or not growing) as a leader can sometimes mirror this example.   Having the title at work or church as a “leader” implicitly communicates to those around you that you may know a thing or two about leadership. And it may even give others the impression that you’re learning and growing as a leader because you’re in a leadership role. 

Do not be deceived:  the title of leader does not mean that you will automatically grow as a leader.  

If you are waiting for me, or one of your other superiors to “invest” or “grow” you as a leader so that you can take that next step in your career, you may be waiting a long time.  Why?  It’s not because I don’t want to invest in you, or your other leaders don’t want to invest in you… but if that’s the only way that you are hoping to grow, it will never be enough.   

When I work with people who aspire to be a leader in my organization, one of the first few times that I meet with them about leadership, I usually ask them how they plan on growing themselves specifically in the area of leadership. 

I like to ask them to identify resources that they connect with that will help them grow as a leader on their own.  For example, I’ll say, “Google the top 10 leadership podcasts,“ or, “search on YouTube for top 10 leadership speeches of 2022 and give those a listen. Is there one or two or three that you really connect with? Do they challenge you, but also leave you wanting more?  Is there an author, who really challenges the way you think about leadership, who you can’t wait till he/she releases his/her next book?”   Find a resource you like, and then make a way to add the discipline into your life to regularly return to this resource to grow from it. 

In order to grow as a leader, you must implement disciplines in your life to take in resources to feed yourself. You can’t wait to be spoon-fed if you want to grow.  Maybe that’s a weekly podcast, maybe it’s a monthly podcast, maybe it’s a book a quarter, or maybe it’s a once a month coffee/breakfast with a mentor about leadership.  All of these will benefit you in someway, but none of them will ever be forced on you.  You determine your capacity to grow. And your capacity to grow determines your capacity to lead.  

If you’re feeling frustrated about not being where you want to be in your career, avoid the temptation to blame those who haven’t poured into you enough. Yes, we could all make a list. 

Instead, take a look in the mirror. Truly be honest with yourself. What do you proactively do today that indicates you care about growing yourself specifically in the area of learning and understanding leadership?

Don’t shy away from taking the first step because there’s a sea of a million resources out there and it seems like you have no idea where to start.  Pick one and start.  Why not today?  Why not your best effort?   (Side note: I buy lots of books on leadership that I end up not really liking all that much…but sometimes you have to try something to find out.  Finding out what you don’t like helps clarify what you really do like and benefit from.)

Real leaders love a challenge, and tackling challenges can lead to growth.  Are you holding the reins of your own GROWTH?   Or are you waiting for someone to unlock the secret for you?  (Spoiler alert:  no person can do this for you other than you!)

Like Psalm 90 encourages us to keep in mind - your days are numbered… What will you decide to do with them?  What will you do today to start growing into the leader you want to be in 5 years from now?   Send me a message with an action item that you know you need to take!