Leaders Need To Continuously Develop Themselves

Leading One’s Own Personal and Professional Development Is A Core Component of the Art of Great Leadership 

The biggest mistake new leaders make is thinking they already know everything they need to know in order to excel in their new leadership role.

However, the skills, knowledge, and experiences that create a successful and talented individual contributor are not necessarily transferable to the role of a leader. The truth is, you will never learn everything you need to know to be a great leader. Continuous learning and development are mandatory for continued leadership success. 

For instance, you may know how to motivate yourself. But what motivates you is not necessarily what motivates any or all of your team members. The same applies to communication preferences. You may prefer delivering your messages orally, but some team members may need to see these in writing for them to understand and retain the information in them. This advice from Jedi Master Yoda is particularly relevant for new leaders, “You must unlearn what you have learned.”

Your development as a leader will also come through experiences, especially difficult ones. As basketball coach Morgan Wooten has noted, “You learn more from losing than winning. You learn to keep going.”

The art of great leadership requires a continuous evaluation and evolution of one’s own leadership skills, mindset, philosophy, actions, and development.

All great leaders know that they need to continuously develop themselves. This is why taking charge and leading one’s own personal and professional development is a core component of the art of great leadership.

This article is excerpted from my book Great Leadership Words of Wisdom, which is available on Amazon in both paperback and Kindle formats and has over 1000 quotes on leadership from global business leaders, statesmen, athletes, coaches, sages, and philosophers.