Know Yourself to Grow Yourself

Do you know where you are at this moment?  I mean, in your growth.  It sounds like such an easy question.   I find most people I come across in some ways are not sure of their own level of awareness.

I remember having this insatiable pull to grow in leadership partly because I was getting squeezed from others I was leading to get better.  However, I didn’t know at the time what I was supposed to get better at.  The saying goes, “You don’t know what you don’t know until you do know!” 

I knew I wanted to be more, do more and have more.  I read every business book, leadership book, and went to as many salon building classes that I could find.  Then I decided to look up who the best leadership expert is.  I came across John Maxwell and I knew when I stepped into the room of 1500 people from 60 different countries I was first of all in the right place.  There was no shortage of growth opportunities in the room.

I was incredibly uncomfortable.  I knew I was about to be stretched!

I had no idea at the time how much help I truly needed until I put myself around others that were so much better than me.  The real test would come when I left the motivational seminar.  I had work to do…a lot of it!

I had to give up sleep, time with family and friends.  I keep my full-time obligations as a leader and hairdresser behind the chair thirty hours a week. I attend and have attended 1-2 weeks of leadership training events and sometimes upward of twenty hours’ worth of training calls a week.

My challenge question for you as you think about your level of awareness is: “Do you know where you are?  Do you know where you are going? If not, what room of people do you need to put yourself in to grow and be uncomfortable?”