Why leadership training and development are so critical and why our teams deserve it.

Three things I’ve learned about personal and leadership development:

1. The greatest gift you can give someone is your own personal development. And one of the greatest gifts you can give your team is the gift of learning. Becoming a stronger, wiser, kinder person doesn’t just benefit you, it benefits those around you.
2. Don’t mistake vertical growth for horizontal growth. I know of leaders who go on annual development courses to go deep into what we used to describe as horizontal growth. But now, podcasts, TED talks, Youtube videos and books, though useful, don’t necessarily allow you to go deeper. There’s a difference between learning “about leadership” (horizontal growth) and true leadership development (vertical growth).
3. Development keeps us fresh, engaged, and relevant. Don’t put off developing yourself or your team. Leadership and personal development gives us perspective and strategies to navigate our world. Jim Rohn emphasized the crucial choice between discipline and regret: “We must all suffer from one of two pains: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret.”