Growing Leaders – 12 Things They Do Differently

What makes a growing leader different?

1. Generosity

To make a significant impact, be generous! Growing leaders share their knowledge, experience, resources, and compassion with others. They implicitly trust people – they freely give people the benefit of the doubt.

Give because giving is fun. Give because it makes people happy. Giving can change a life. Give because it will help your team. Give because it can change your organization. Giving will change the world. Give because you can’t go wrong.

2. Serve

Every day you have the opportunity to willingly place the needs, desires, and ambition of those you lead ahead of your own. The best leaders are servant leaders. Growing leaders serve.

3. Health

Growing leaders are healthy leaders – physically, mentally, spiritually, and emotionally.

Physical – A healthy diet, rest, and regular exercise are key components to physical health.

Mental – To mentally prepare for the day, effective leaders continually test their thinking, opinions, and conclusions.

Spiritual – Commit  to solitude, reflection, study, and attending church regularly.  I have discovered that these spiritual disciplines clarify life’s challenges and provide intensity and passion for my life and work. When we pursue faith, we recognize that life is much bigger than us – and it is.

Emotional – Growing leaders understand that emotional health is the byproduct of physical, mental, and spiritual health. Trouble in one or more of the other three areas, directly effects emotional health.

Healthy leaders live and lead effectively. Because they are able to respond to challenges and opportunities calmly and decisively. So live healthy – you have far more to offer the world than a few years of frenzied activity.

4. Relationships

The happiest people on the planet are the ones who have deep, meaningful relationships. It’s true – you can gain authority and position without connecting with others, but you won’t have many friends.

The greatest gift you can give others is time. Developing and maintaining key relationships is a critical discipline if you are going to genuinely care for people, live out vision, and help others achieve their full potential.

Effective leaders genuinely value key relationships and make them top priority.

5. Conflict

Growing leaders understand that every conflict presents opportunities to grow and to learn – for all parties involved. And it’s far more important to win in the relationship than to win in the conflict.

So, forgive, take full responsibility for your actions, and never fight a battle in which nothing positive is accomplished by a victory. 

6. Results

Dream BIG – you’ll accomplish a  lot more! Don’t just commit to your goals – pursue them with intensity and passion. And don’t ever let someone tell you that you can’t do something.

Want to be more effective? Here are 5 Simple Ways to Get More Done.

7. Optimism

Leaders who think optimistically see a world of endless opportunities, even in challenging times.

Your past is part of your destiny. So quit running from it. Process it, deal it with it, heal from it, understand it – but don’t fear it.

You cannot get where you need to be without traveling the path you are on – so embrace it. And make the most of it.

8. Listen

To help people, listen as long as you possibly can without responding. Growing leaders are continually looking for new ways to hear from team members.

Then, find (and listen to) a coach – someone who will tell you what you may not be prepared to hear, who helps you see what you could not see, and who can help you improve beyond what you ever thought you could be.

Did you get that? – a coach can lead you beyond your dreams to reach your fullest potential. If you listen.

9. Change

Change is at the core of leadership. After all, if you are not leading people and teams toward change, what are you leading them to do? To be?

Change is not easy. It’s difficult – not for the faint of heart. But it’s worth the effort.

10. Legacy

To be most effective in your life and work, make the success of others your top priority. True success is when your successor is successful.

Yes, there will be times that people take advantage of you. But more often, they will place high value on your transparency and authenticity if you are investing in them and their dreams.

11. Decisions

Growing leaders don’t put off decisions! They’re convinced that there’s no better time than now.

Don’t stress over decisions! There’s really not much to worry about anyway – cause you’re never going to be 100% certain.  It’s time to decide.

12. Failure

Growing leaders mess up – and they get back up.

People are more likely to listen to (and learn from) your personal struggles and failures than from your success stories.

Let’s face it – no one wants to hear about how smart, great, or perfect we are.

So, today, tomorrow, next week, next month – when it all falls apart, share it. There’s a good chance they’re experiencing something similar.

Question: What do you think growing leaders do differently? What is one way we can learn from your experience? Share your ideas in the comments.