I’m excited about a new book Ken Blanchard and I have written entitled, Great Leaders GROW. Here’s a quick promo video (1:42) we produced for Amazon…
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Why a book about personal growth for leaders? Here’s an excerpt from the book’s Introduction that attempts to answer this question…
Have you ever felt like you could lead at a higher level but you weren’t quite sure how to get there? Have you ever wondered how to strengthen your influence and increase your impact? Have you ever considered what enables some leaders to soar above all others? We’ve asked these questions and more just like them. We’re convinced, after more than seventy years of combined leadership, that the path to increased influence, impact, and leadership effectiveness is paved with personal growth. There’s certainly more to leadership than growth, but growth is at the heart of what creates and sustains great leaders. Growth is the leader’s fountain of youth.
Growing for a leader is like oxygen to a deep sea diver: without it you die. Unlike the diver, you may not physically die—but if you stop growing, your influence will erode; and over time, you can even lose the opportunity to lead at all.
Tragically, you see these losses in organizations large and small, for profit and not for profit—leaders who attain a position of leadership and fail to keep up. Or some get a promotion based on their potential, but that potential never materializes. Or perhaps you see it in young emerging leaders who never get their shot. Their untapped potential remains untapped. What do all these situations have in common? Personal growth—or the lack of it. The failure to grow sabotages the career of more leaders than anything else.
Our capacity to grow determines our capacity to lead. It’s really that simple. However, simple doesn’t mean easy. Like most of life’s powerful principles, the power is in the application. That’s what this book is all about.
Over the next couple of weeks, I’ll share some of the specific content from the book. Great Leaders GROW is now available on Amazon.
Great video Mark. I am excited about getting the book today. It sounds like you and Ken have hit on a critically important topic. Keep up the good work and thanks for your leadership blog.
Hey Linda,Some great tips on what it takes to be a leedar. From my expereince the abililty to inspire others is of utmost importance. I find that consistency over time is what ultimately brings results.