Leadership Through Personal Development
Leadership Through Personal Development
Throughout my writings, I have discussed on numerous occasions about the need of being at ones best while leading. Rarely will one observe someone leading at the highest level with personal obstacles before them. As part of personal development with the aspiration of one day leading in a leadership position; always keep in mind the need for mentors and or respected confidantes. Also, be prepared to recognize that accomplishments will not always be as you had planned and that there will be challenges and obstacles along the way. Also along the way in pursuit of your dreams there will be those to quickly claim perhaps your lack of qualifications for the job or the opportunity before you. There will also be those prepared to tell you that the chemistry is just not there or that you have poor writing skills.
I have known of individuals that are as equipped to handle a job and have prepared for a particular job only to be told they did not qualify. Discussions I have with colleagues in the field of teaching leadership development in some of the finest Universities in the country; are with the contention that one could only prepare so much. The point being; that at some point over preparation is useless. Sometimes we could over prepare and freeze up during a critical point in pursuit of that deal. Others state that it is not about ones lack of preparation but rather the politics to an opportunity and so therefore one is better off moving on and excelling in the drive for accomplishing your dream. There is such a philosophy of searching, seeking and venturing until ones dreams come to fruition. At some point in one’s life the situation will arise when a decision needs to be made, do I sacrifices my values and lose my perspective about what it is truly all about or do I go forth a pursue that dream?
It is important to keep in mind that the process of personal development in order to reach the status of leader is an insidious process. And, there will be factors that for some a leadership role could come early in a career; while for others it could come later in the career ladder. The critical issue to keep in mind is that the developmental stages of personal development and leadership are significantly noticeable decade by decade both physically and mentally. What is meant by this is that from birth; we have learning phases that lead to developmental achievements. From a career pathway perspective one could observe significant accomplishments from teen’s to 20’s, 30’s 40’s and so on; and, never ever does the process cease to exists until the day that you stop breathing. You see I have yet to learn that there is a drop dead date for success probabilities; as long as the desire, drive and the commitment to reach a victorious outcome is present; then the possibilities are always reachable goal.
The concept of internalizing personal development issues in quest for leadership positioning or personal augmentation are factors that will require reflecting and redefining one’s chosen career path options. There are numerous examples that can be discussed whereby people make a complete career switch in their fifth decade of life. Let’s take a look at President Ronald Reagan who in his fifties went from being a movie actor to becoming a Governor of the State of California to becoming President of the United States. This remarkable feat is a testament to the virtues of having a sense purposes filled with an inspirational commitment to lead. President Reagan had known for years that he wanted to be part of creating change; change to bring a cold war to an end, change to kick start a stagnating economy, change to instill a sense of pride in being an American and change to place America in a position as a respected influence worldwide. From the beginning he obviously knew what he wanted to do; as we are speaking about a man who was a member of the theater club while in High School and decides to obtain a degree in economics from Eureka College in Illinois, along the way learning the art of acting, broadcasting and being a polished speaker while working as a spokesman for General Electric. President Reagan furthered his skills in politics by being a seven time President of the Screen Actors Guild and learning the art of negotiations with the producers of the movie industry, therefore being well prepared for politics.
If you would like more from Dr. Richard C. Baiz, D.B.A. on Personal and Leadership Development and his Leadership Institute click on the the link provided: http://www.leadershipinstituteofsuccess.com Dr. Baiz is a Doctorate in Business Administration. He is a College and Corporate Personal and Leadership Development Instructor and Coach. Dr. Baiz is also an expert in the field of Organizational Development and Management and gets his clients top notch successful results.
