A comment in the last post asked the question about personal vs. professional growth. As I thought about the question, I found myself thinking along two different lines. Reflection is so important for growth and I don't think most of us do enough of it.
The one avenue of thought I had was comparing personal and professional growth. I don't believe there is much of a difference. If it is true growth, I don't think there is. One might argue that a person could grow professionally and not personally, but to truly grow, there is only one way, and that is personally. Along those same lines, I don't think a person can help an organization grow if that person don't grow in some respect him or herself. This is how organizations can become stuck in the status quo. To me, it is similar to Einstein's comment about not being able to solve a problem "with the same mind that created it." If, as a leader, I don't grow (change) in some aspect, I don't think I can create the environment for growth or change in the organization.
My second line of thought had to do with perceptions. Our world is shaped by our perceptions. We see the world as we want and make judgments about what is happening around us based on that. I am reminded of the story of a man getting cut off in traffic who becomes irate and cusses and gestures at the person in the vehicle. Would his reaction have been the same had he known it was a family member rushing to the hospital? Would his perception of the situation change his reaction? More thoughts on that later.
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