The Spoon

Talent will only take you so far -- the higher you go the greater your need for development. So why is it that supervisors are the first to tell their subordinates to attend a training class, but the last to sign up for one themselves?

To be effective we need continuous learning and development. The good news is that we have a wide range of opportunities to develop and increase our leadership capability. We learn in many ways:

• We read books and digest the information. Real leaders take it a step further -- they apply the material to their daily lives.

• We learn by stepping out of Management Land. We step outside of our comfort zones to more positively impact our lives and the lives of others. We step outside of Management Land to attend a training class with our peers and subordinates.

• We learn from others. Leaders learn from others. We learn from discussions and feedback we receive from relationships with other leaders.

• We learn from experience. Leaders learn by taking time to reflect and learn from life experiences. Our experience shapes us and if we learn from our life experience, we grow and develop.