Leadership Competency 9: Personal and Professional Growth

Leadership is a process that affects not only others, but yourself as well. As you continue to pursue your vision, opportunities for personal and professional growth will naturally present themselves.

One aspect of leadership that is often overlooked deals with a level of maturity, i.e., how do respond to adversity and how do you handle feedback from others, both positive and negative? If you are truly open to personal and professional growth, you must be mature enough to take any criticism into consideration as a way to improve your strengths and minimize your weaknesses.

In the movie It’s a Wonderful Life, Jimmy Stewart’s character, George Bailey, is a town leader setting an example for service and integrity by heading up the building and loan. His town has come to appreciate him through a journey that grew him as a person – much of it through adversity. When there was a run on the bank, George was able to save the business by staying calm and patient. When criticized by the local villain, Mr. Potter, he took it openly and non-defensively; in fact, it motivated him to be even more successful.

So too in the real world, you will need to think like George Bailey – keep a level head in high pressure situations, adapt to change, and be open to feedback from others. Doing this (and doing it well), will not only help achieve your end result but grow you tremendously as a person.

Objectives:

During this course you will:

• Review Birkman assessment results
• Identify areas for improvement
• Engage in active discussion
• Practice examples in role plays and activities
• Create specific action items to put into practice immediately

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

• Seek feedback to enhance your own performance
• Accept feedback openly and non-defensively
• Stay calm and patient even in high pressure situations
• Be flexible and resilient in the face of change
• Accept responsibility for your own mistakes

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