Exercise Your Mind

"You are your greatest asset. Put your time, effort and money into training, grooming, and encouraging your greatest asset."   --- Tom Hopkins

In the hustle and bustle of running a business, a lot of things can get overlooked--- some of them intentional and some just because there is never enough time to cover everything.

One of the most commonly overlooked, and that results in one of the most destructive actions, is omitting our own personal development plan.

This can be a costly mistake because of all the people in the organization, we are looked to for answers and are expected to provide direction and leadership.  This can be difficult to do if we are not at our best.

In order to stay sharp and at our finest, there are three things we can do on a regular basis to feed our minds and increase our leadership knowledge and skills.

1.) Be a Reader.  If you are not currently a reader or read only occasional magazine articles, consider upping your reading materials.  You may have heard it said that good leaders are good readers.  It could be that you feel you don't have the time to sit down and read a book, but you may be surprised to know that simply 15  minutes of reading per night should put you through a handful of books per year.  

Pick up some good books on leadership and begin applying tips and strategies that will help you to become a better leader.

2.) Connect with Other Leaders.  Pick one or two Meet and Greets in your area or visit a Chamber meeting to connect with leaders in your community. Those events are a good place to start, but if you are like me, you may find it more beneficial to have one-on-one meetings with another leader to foster a long-term relationship.  These meetings help you gain new insights and perspectives that you might have overlooked.  Your feedback can do the same for the other leader as well.

3.) Share Your Leadership Skills.  This tip doesn't seem like it will be too helpful on the surface, especially since you are trying to improve your skills, not share them.  However, sharing what you've learned helps to solidify your knowledge and provides a platform to analyze your knowledge and skills as you share with others.  There are several ways you can do this:  You can become a mentor to someone either within or outside of your organization; you can join a trade group or other gathering where you can be the guest speaker sharing your knowledge; you can offer your insights in written form by getting published in newspapers and magazines; or you can volunteer for a charity organization using your leadership skills.

Sharing your leadership skills and knowledge is a great way to expand your learning and hone your skills, talents, and abilities.  You will learn what works and doesn't work and you may even find that what you once believed about leading an organization no longer applies.

Try implementing all three of these strategies this quarter and begin feeding your mind.  You will find these tips will provide you with a refreshing new way of looking at leadership and what you have to offer to your company.