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12 years ago I met a man named Dwayne. At the time I didn’t realize it but Dwayne would invest in me in many ways over the next few years. Dwayne cared about people. He cared about making them better. He cared about helping them grow. I remember one time he said to me, “When a leader stops learning, he stops leading.” I’ve never forgotten that challenge. Essentially what Dwayne was saying is growth is important.

Since that challenge that Dwayne gave me, I’d love to say that there’s never been a time when I wasn’t growing. But if I did, that wouldn’t be the truth. The reality is, it’s hard at times to keep growing. At times our circumstances are challenging. At times, we’re just not motivated. That’s why the most difficult person you will ever lead is yourself. But growing as an individual whether spiritually, or physically, or professionally, or in our disciplines is so extremely important, especially during this time in our 20′s. Much of what we do now and how we choose to grow will dictate what we will or won’t experience down the road.

I’ve come to implement several disciplines that help me continue to grow. As a follower of Jesus, I try to spend time each week studying the Bible and talking to God through prayer. I’ve tried to discipline myself to read other books consistently – especially around the topics of leadership and personal growth. Two weeks ago I had the privilege of attending The Global Leadership Summit. The Summit provides two days of challenge that stimulate individuals towards growth. It’s become one of the best things I do to invest in my own personal growth each year. These are just some of the ways I’ve tried to make sure that I keep growing. These disciplines by no means make me a perfect person, but I do believe that faithfulness in them will make me a better person.

So how about you, what do you do to grow? What things do you have in place to make sure you’re continuing to grow?

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We thought we’d take some time and have a few members of the Saturate team share a nugget of what they learned at the Leadership Summit that happened last Thursday & Friday. Nothing special with the word nugget, other then we think “leadership nugget” sounds cool.

Emily Heisler: Condoleezza Rice’s session was chalk-full of great encouragement about keeping a positive perspective on things. She encouraged leaders to remember what seems impossible seems inevitable in retrospect. How true is that? How many times do we face adverse situations or circumstances where the best outcome seems out of reach? Looking back, though, how often has best triumphed and given us an opportunity to win out in the end? As 20somethings, things often seem uncertain, unnatural, unobtainable…it doesn’t have to be.

Paul Atkinson: Something I found challenging was during Patrick Lencioni’s talk that focused on Organization Health. He said that organizations must avoid confusing CORE values with things that are ASPIRATIONAL values. Aspirational values are things that we wished we were but are not. I think it’s natural to look at other organizations and see cool things they are doing or value and long for that same thing. But we have to be honest about our organizations and disciplined enough to keep the right values at the core.

Adam Hann: A big thing I found useful from the Leadership Summit was Bill Hybels “mini-talk” on how to focus your energy as a leader. He talked about a system he developed for himself (called 6×6) that helped him make sure he was focusing the right energy on the right projects at the right time. As a leader, and with all kinds of things on my plate, I found this very helpful and has me thinking about ways to make sure I’m doing the same thing.

Were you at the Leadership Summit? What were some of your takeaways? 

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