Who helps you grow today?

On the cherry closet door in the kitchen of the Bloomington Batz home are two Post-it notes on the outside of the door – our girls stuck them there several years ago for the sole purpose of tracking the pace of their physical growth.  There are ten lines, with corresponding feet/inches, names and dates.  With vertically challenged Batz genes, it’s not surprising the marks are not very far up on the door…or, that the marks stopped far short of aspirations.

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Recently, I saw a famous person on television reveal something deeply personal, simple and wise.  In reflecting on his fame, wealth and legacy, he said: “It’s not what we achieve…it’s what we overcome that defines us.” I suppose this could be translated into a Batz-ism…”it’s not how tall you get, it’s what you tackle as you grow.”

We are all on the same journey, wrestling with “experience” as our best teacher.  Its a daily process of reconciling the fact we are all gloriously gifted and talented…while dealing with the truth that we are all amazingly flawed.

By now, you know I make my living as an executive coach – teaching gifted people how to be better leaders through coaching, writing and speaking.  Our business, What Really Works, is more than two years old now…and we are very excited to launch our second major publishing project.  With a razor sharp team of experts, we are proceeding with a national research project called: How Leaders Grow Today. The result will be a leadership conference in May of 2013 and the launch of a book called: How Leaders Grow Today (clever, I know).  My friend Paul Dominski and I are writing the book together, helping each other grow.

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Over the course of the coming year we will interview roughly 180 good leaders, from more than 60 small, medium and large corporations and non-profits.  We expect to affirm some of the time-tested theories and uncover some new themes emerging in the Internet-in-everyone’s-pocket era.

One prediction: we can’t grow without help from our friends.  We all know nothing significant is ever accomplished alone…we need people in our lives who slap us when we are silly, catch us when we are free-falling and support us when it is time to step up to a new, bigger challenge.

Good leaders surround themselves with people who are willing to put an honest mark on the door, to measure their own growth.

Drop me a note: who helps you grow today?[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]