The Gift of Growing Pains

Audio Version

Growth is good. Growth is also important. Growth is necessary to become the leaders we are supposed to be for the people we serve. As leaders, we should want to grow and create an environment for the people we lead to grow. Although growth is necessary and we should desire to grow, growth can be painful. Have you ever experienced growing pains? I have. I had some growing pains in my teenage years as I grew into this 6-foot-3-inch frame. But the growing pains I am talking about here happen in our minds and stretch us to become better leaders, influencers, and decision-makers for our family, teams, community, and organizations.

As leaders, we must challenge ourselves and put ourselves in situations that will force us to grow. Unfortunately, growth doesn’t happen automatically, or at least continual growth doesn’t. It’s more than reading books, attending conferences, workshops, and seminars. It’s even more than having discussions with a coach or mentor. To experience growth and the growing pains that come with it, it’s about taking action. We must apply what we learn in our daily routines and understand that doing things the way they always have been done and following the status quo does not promote growth. But when we decide to do things differently and change systemic norms, we will grow and, in the process, experience some growing pains. These growing pains are good because, by taking action, we and those we lead are stretched and challenged to develop new habits, thoughts, and systems.

As leaders, the growing pains we experience can cause frustration, mental fatigue, and even anger. But we must push through those obstacles and frustration and make the necessary adjustments to continue moving forward. Similarly to the discomfort I felt as a teenage boy during my growth spurt, we must endure the discomfort of not having all the answers and/or not knowing how something will turn out because of the uncertainty caused by the actions of change. As we grow through this process, we, as leaders, and our people can become wiser and have stronger systems by enduring the pain of growth.

Good Leaders Follow Well

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As I was growing up, my father would tell me simple but wise statements. One of the statements he would say to me is, “If you want to be a good leader, you have to, first, be a good follower.”  Over time, this statement has made more and more sense to me, and I understand that great leadership stems from being a great follower.

One childhood game that some of us may have played does a great job of adequately depicting the concept of being a great follower to become the leader. Have you guessed, or do you remember what game this might be? Hopefully, the game you guessed or remembered was “Follow the leader.” In this game, you have a leader and people who follow what the leader does. The followers focus on what the leader does and imitate it. Although the focus is on the leader, the winner is determined by how well they follow the leader, and the one who follows the best becomes the new leader. What a concept! Yes, in the real world, picking a leader based only on who follows the best might not be the best thing to do. Other variables must be considered when determining the next leader of an organization, team, or community. Even with this truth, I am convinced that great leaders are also great followers.

So the questions are: “Who do you follow?” and “How well do you follow?”The first question may be the most important because the characteristics a leader displays are greatly influenced by who the leader follows. So we must first consider who we follow. In the long run, it can be very detrimental to a leader to follow someone with bad character, a horrible work ethic, and a lack of integrity. On the other hand, it can be very beneficial for a leader to follow someone with great character, work ethic, integrity, innovation, and people skills, and apply those characteristics to their leadership. It matters who we follow, and we must be very careful about who we follow if we want to become and remain a great leader.

Now, how confident are you with your choice of who you follow? Are you following someone you know will help you help others? Do you incorporate their principles in your leadership because you believe that others would benefit from following them as well? Let’s not forget that it matters how well we follow, but it matters more who we follow. A man named Paul understood how much who he followed mattered to his leadership, and he made a statement to the church of Corinth that communicated his understanding and conviction of this truth. He said, “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.” So, as we lead, we must remember the importance of following, and our success, as well as the success of those who follow us, is not only about how well we follow, but about who we follow.

The Power of We in Leadership

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In the world of sports, dynasties are made when a team wins consecutive championships. So, what does it take for a group of individuals to come together and work cohesively to accomplish a goal, not just one time, but time and time again? Unfortunately, every team will not be the Lakers, Celtics, Warriors, Spurs, Patriots, 49ers, Dodgers, Yankees, Red Sox, Maple Leafs, Blackhawks, and the list goes on. Although these teams were the most successful during those years they won multiple championships, does that mean that all the other teams failed? Some may have failed, but other teams may have improved from the previous season and others from events that happened during the season.

As leaders of teams in organizations, departments, communities, and families, we can learn a lot from watching great teams—the dynasties. One lesson we can learn from great teams is their commitment to being unified as "we." I believe that one of the most powerful tools great teams have is their “mentality of we." I have observed that teams with the “mentality of we” display actions that communicate that no one is bigger or smaller than the team, and it is one of the characteristics of great leaders. It has been reported that Jalen Brunson, a franchise player on the New York Knicks, took a pay cut so the organization could potentially sign other quality players and build a better team. Brunson's decision was honored by the organization, and they built a team that would win the 2026 NBA championship. Having the ability to follow through and make decisions for the good of the group is a key aspect of a successful team. This happens when we understand that the team cannot accomplish greatness if the mentality is "me" instead of "we. My boss, Dr. Chris Jackson, puts it this way, "I will never be successful, but WE might just be able to build something beautiful together." The New York Knicks accomplished something beautiful together in the 2025-2026 NBA season partly because of the decision Jalen Brunson made before the season started. The leader sets the tone for others to follow. When the leader(s) decide to lead with the mentality of "we," then "WE might just be able to build something beautiful together."

One of my colleagues sent me an excerpt of President Barack Obama's speech that he gave in Selma, Alabama on March 7, 2015. A portion of the excerpt talked about the power of "we." Obama said, "America is not the project of any one person. The single-most powerful word in our democracy is the word "We." "We The People." "We Shall Overcome." "Yes We Can." That word is owned by no one. It belongs to everyone." Hopefully, we as leaders will have the approach, mindset, and attitude that "we" represents. The “mindset of we” is not the only step needed to succeed, but it is one of the most powerful decisions a leader can make. We leaders should help those we lead understand that our teams cannot accomplish anything with the "me" mentality, but as Dr. Jackson said, "we might just be able to build something beautiful together" if we do not allow the mindset of "me" to supersede the mindset of "we."

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Application:

1. Talk It: Use words and phrases that send a clear message that the decisions and actions are about the team and not about the leader. If you lead a department, team, family, etc., and the leadership team (managers, coaches, parents) has made a decision, the message should be communicated as a unified message. For example, you can say, “We have decided that we are going to do x, y, and z” instead of “Kim said that we have to do x, y, and z.” When team members commit to speaking the same language and build systems to unify the message, it can make it difficult for members of the organization or group to disrupt the message by playing favorites. So, take intentional steps to calibrate, use technology tools, and talk to each other to gain clarity so the team’s message is communicated consistently and with clarity.
2. Live It: Model the behaviors of the “mentality of we" through our communication and our actions. Do our decisions and actions communicate that there is nothing or anyone greater or smaller than the team, or do they communicate that there are exceptions to the rule based on how we feel? People are watching us, and if we want our teams to be great, it starts with us leaders.
3. Expect It: When we communicate a unified message and model the behaviors of nothing or anyone being more or less important than the team, then we can expect it from the entire group. It is all of our responsibility to uphold the mentality of "we." It is not just the leaders who must uphold the “mentality of we” or members within the department upholding the “mentality of we” and not the leaders; it is everyone's responsibility. We can only expect our people to talk it and live it, and we have the right to hold them accountable only if we are living it and are willing to be held accountable as well.

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Conclusion:

"We" will always be more powerful than "me". Together we can accomplish much, so let's choose to lead with the “mindset of we" instead of the “mindset of me." We must talk and live out the behaviors of the “mindset of we" before we can expect others to do it too. If we want our teams, families, organizations, and communities to be successful, remember what President Obama said about the word we: "It belongs to everyone." When the "m" in me is flipped 180 degrees to become the "w" in we, the sky is the limit to what we can accomplish together with those we serve alongside each day.

Overcommunicate in Leadership

Audio Version

My son’s high school basketball coach would sometimes encourage the young men on his team to overcommunicate with their parents. Since it was communicated in the group message to the parents, that may have been the coach's way of overcommunicating. But it would be a great asset and beneficial for those young men to embrace the concept and develop the habit of overcommunicating.

Just as much as it would be a great asset and beneficial for those young men, it is very important for leaders to overcommunicate. It’s something about the word overcommunicate that might make it sound like it is not a good quality, kind of like you are doing too much. But as leaders, we almost can never communicate enough. So as leaders, we must have the mindset of overcommunicating to communicate the message loud and clear.

Patrick Lencioni, in his book The Advantage (2012), talks about the concept of overcommunicating. He says, “One of the best tests of seriousness is whether they continue to repeat themselves over a prolonged period of time.” In other words, leaders have to repeat themselves continuously if they want to be taken seriously. Lencioni also writes, “…many leaders fail to overcommunicate because they get bored saying the same things over and over again. This is understandable. Intelligent people want to be challenged with new messages and new problems to solve, and they get tired of revisiting the same topics. But that doesn’t matter. The point of leadership is not to keep the leader entertained, but to mobilize people around what is most important. When that calls for repetition and reinforcement, which it almost always does, a good leader relishes that responsibility.”

I have observed some great leaders who practice the art of overcommunicating. Have you? And, when they do it, it comes across as natural and unforced—almost like it is second nature. Some leaders are so good at overcommunicating that the message sounds fresh and delivered with the same passion and conviction each time it is presented. So, let’s commit to overcommunicating, and like those young men on the basketball team who can benefit from doing it, our leadership can too.

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Application:

1. Introduce It: To have the opportunity to overcommunicate, we must initially communicate the information to those we lead. If the idea, concept, expectation, and so forth are not communicated, it is unrealistic to expect those under our leadership to know what is going on and what needs to happen.  
2. Repeat It: Once the information is communicated, we have to communicate it over and over again. We cannot expect our people to know and remember all the details just because we said it once. Unfortunately, some people will not begin implementing what we have said until they realize we are serious because we keep repeating ourselves. We must take advantage of every opportunity we have in front of our people to overcommunicate our message.
3. Reinforce It: Acknowledging and praising the behaviors that align with the communicated message reinforces the communication. This communicates our seriousness and commitment to the message that we have been communicating. The goal, as Lencioni stated, is “to mobilize people around what is most important,” and what better way to do this than by us reinforcing the behaviors when we see them.

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Conclusion:

I have heard some leaders say, “Just when you start to get tired of repeating yourself, that is when the people are just starting to listen.” If you are like me and have not mastered the art of overcommunicating, I hope you have been encouraged, like I was, to understand that repeating ourselves over and over does not belittle the intelligence of those we lead, but it gives our people a clear picture of what we, as leaders, are serious about. The best part about leadership is that there is always room to grow. So if you are a leader who has become an expert at the art of overcommunication, there is still room to grow. So, keep repeating yourself. Everyone benefits from it, including your teammates who lead alongside you.

Fear of Failure

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Failure…why is it feared by some and embraced by others? Is it the idea of failure that imprisons the minds of many people, or is it the imagined and, in some cases, the realistic repercussions that come along with the failure? Why can’t failure be looked at as an opportunity for growth? Admiral William McRaven, in his book "Make Your Bed" (2017), says, "True leaders must learn from their failures, use the lessons to motivate themselves, and not be afraid to try again or make the next tough decision." In essence, a leader should understand that failure and mistakes happen because we are human. It would be nice if none of us had to deal with failure and mistakes, but that is not reality, and leaders should not let their failures and mistakes negatively affect their next decision. Rather, the leader should become more tenacious, more determined, better prepared, and extremely confident to make the next tough decision.

Honestly, there is no way anyone can achieve any level of success and sustain it without experiencing failure. Failure to success started at a young age. Most of us learned how to walk, talk, ride a bike, play an instrument, play a sport, and much more by failing forward. So, then what is it about failure that is so frightening? Recently, each member of my leadership team was asked to reveal a leadership fear or frustration. I have to admit that my answer was the fear of failure. As I continue to reflect on the answer I shared with my team, I have come to realize that my fear is not failure in the sense of messing up. Yes, everyone makes mistakes, and I do not want to make them, but the fear I communicated to my team is much more profound than that. What I fear is not being the leader that I am called to be for the people that I am called to lead.

I do not want to be the leader who does not lead based on my convictions and values, allowing myself to compromise to the external and internal pressures that I face during tough times. It's hard to lead through adversity, to hold tough conversations, and to make the tough decisions that need to be made. Admiral McRaven, in one of his other books, "The Wisdom of the Bullfrog" (2023), says, "I often hear that it's hard to know the right thing to do. No, it's not! You always know what's right, but sometimes it's very hard to do it. It's hard because you may have to admit failure. It's hard because the right decision may affect your friends and colleagues. It's hard because you may not personally benefit from doing what's right. Yeah, it's hard. That's called leadership."

So what's the alternative? The alternative is what failure really is. When we don't do what we know is right and do not make the right decisions because it is hard, that's failure. Although making mistakes and failing to reach a desired outcome is very hard to deal with, failing to make the hard decisions and not doing what we know is right is far worse.

Overcoming Burnout

                                                                                               

Audio Version

Burnout, what is it? Is it a feeling, a thought, a state of being, or is it real at all? For some people, it is a reality, and unfortunately, some people experience burnout more often than others. I can safely say that burnout does not define who someone is, but it can have an effect on how someone behaves. The stresses, disappointments, inequities, tragedies, and other circumstances that we experience can cause someone to become overwhelmed, unfocused, unmotivated, and ultimately feel burned out. And guess what, leaders like you and I are not exempt from feeling burned out.

I remember a time when the circumstances in the workplace caused me to feel a sense of frustration, uncertainty, uneasiness, anxiety, and fear. I was emotionally drained, and yes, I was feeling burned out. This was the first time in my career that taking a leave of absence crossed my mind. This was not normal, but the circumstances that were leading me towards burnout were real. Fortunately, I had a mentor I could share my thoughts with who was able to encourage me and talk some sense into me. So, if you are experiencing burnout right now, I understand.

Although I understand the reality of burnout, as leaders, we must do all we can to overcome burnout and not let it overcome us. People are looking to us for direction, support, encouragement, advice, and much more. Therefore, we should do our best to take care of ourselves (mind, body, and soul) and remember why we do what we do and that we’re blessed with the opportunity to do it. Jon Gordon, in his book, "The Power of a Positive Team" (2018), says, "We don't get burned out because of what we do. We get burned out because we forget why we do it. Remember your why and you won't lose your energy along the way." This statement resonates with me, and I hope it encourages you to remember your why, your calling, and your purpose for serving in leadership in your home, workplace, place of worship, community, and team, even when things are challenging. We have been called to lead in our environment for a purpose, so let's commit to overcoming the distractions that affect how we behave as leaders, known as burnout, by remembering our why, our purpose, and our calling for the people we lead.

Embracing Conflict

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Why would someone, let alone a leader, want to embrace conflict? Isn't conflict bad? Doesn't it lead to arguments, fights, or someone getting hurt emotionally? Yes, it possibly can. If you are a person who tries to avoid conflict or have just learned to deal with it, talking about embracing conflict might actually present conflict to you. But what if I told you that conflict could be good, healthy, and lead to productivity, growth, and health within teams, organizations, and communities? In several books I have read and am currently reading, I have seen this theme of healthy conflict presented as an asset embraced in leadership and in healthy teams. I also work in an environment where conflict is encouraged, and we are learning how to embrace it.

When I first arrived at my work location, just about a year and a half ago, my boss gave me a book to read entitled "The FIVE Dysfunctions of a TEAM" (2002) by Patrick Lencioni. In his pyramid of a team’s dysfunctions, the second level is "fear of conflict". Why is the fear of conflict a problem? Shouldn't we avoid conflict? Evidently not, according to Lencioni. The "fear of conflict" and avoiding it is a problem; it is what dysfunctional teams do. And if dysfunctional teams do this, it is safe to say that dysfunctional leaders also do this, or at least they allow the avoidance to happen. Lencioni says, "Teams that lack trust are incapable of engaging in unfiltered and passionate debate of ideas. Instead, they resort to veiled discussions and guarded comments." Katherine, a fictional character who is a CEO in the story Lencioni created to present the 5 dysfunctions, says, "If we don't trust one another, then we aren't going to engage in open, constuctive, and idealogical conflict. And we'll just continue to preserve a sense of artificial harmony."

If you're not convinced yet, Jim Collins, in his book "Good to Great" (2001), discusses the use of conflict in leadership. He writes, "Dick Cooley and David Maxwell both exemplified a classic Level 5 style when they said, 'I don't know where we should take this company, but I do know that if I start with the right people, ask them the right questions, an engage them in vigorous debate, we will find a way to make this company great.'" Collins later states in the summary of this chapter in his book, "Good to great management teams consist of people who debate vigorously in search of the best answers, yet who unify behind decisions, regardless of parochial interests." If you are not the type of person who embraces conflict, it is time to start being the leader who does, because it is what leaders of healthy teams, families, organizations, and communities do.

There is an idiom, "iron sharpens iron," and a proverb written by King Solomon that says in one translation, "As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend." This sharpening can only happen through conflict. When "iron sharpens iron", it gets hot, sparks fly, they clash back and forth...they go through conflict. As a result of this conflict, both become better and ready to do the work they need to do more effectively. When leaders create an atmosphere of trust, and people take the risk to engage in conflict with one another, good ideas, plans, and actions become great ones. So, as a leader, who are you sharpening? When this process of sharpening and allowing ourselves to be sharpened through conflict becomes consistent, we can have the opportunity to lead our teams, families, organizations, and communities from being just mediocre and good to greatness.

Leadership Worth Remembering

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How do you want to be remembered as a leader? In Stephen Covey’s book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (2004), the second habit he explains is “Begin with the End in Mind”. Covey says, "To begin with the end in mind means to start with a clear understanding of your destination. It means to know where you're going so that you better understand where you are now and so that the steps you take are always in the right direction."  Beginning “with the end in mind” can give us the why for our decisions, a guide for our attitude and actions, and should help us to focus or refocus on our values, mission, and purpose to do the work we have been called to do with the people we have been called to serve with.

So, what would your answer be if someone asks you how you want to be remembered? Would you have an answer, and would you be able to say it reflects the way you lead? Hopefully so, but if not, it is not too late to begin implementing the necessary steps. We are all different from one another and should not strive to be like someone else. No matter what our answer to the question might be, our attitude, actions, and decisions are more significant than the answer we give. To be the best leaders we can be and to lead the way we want to be remembered, we should make decisions based on our unique personality and values. We do not know how long we will be blessed to lead in the places we are leading. So, this is the time to embrace the opportunity to lead the way we want to be remembered.

Inevitably, you and I will have our leadership spoken of in the past tense because our leadership in its current location will come to an end. I implore you to join me in the leadership challenge of beginning with the end in mind by leading the way we want to be remembered. We must first examine our leadership, our motives, our values, our actions, and ask ourselves if our leadership is causing people to remember us as someone who cares about and values the people we lead. Hopefully, our actions exhibit the belief that our leadership legacy is not about what we do or what we accomplish individually, but about the people we lead, grow, and value along the way as we accomplish great things together.

Application:

1. Create a Leadership/Life Mission Statement: This mission statement will help you answer the question of how you want to be remembered. It will provide you with a compass for how you lead because the mission statement communicates how you want to be remembered—it is your mission. Each time you reflect on your leadership, instead of asking yourself how you want to be remembered, you can look at your mission statement and ask yourself, How well am I fulfilling the mission? The time it takes to go through this process to create the leadership/life mission statement is definitely worth it.
2. Have an Accountability Partner: Whether you have one, two, three, or four people you trust to hold you accountable and vice versa, an accountability partner or partners can help you stay grounded and focused on your leadership/life mission. Having accountability conversations regularly, asking each other critical questions, and being vulnerable in the process can help you stay on course or realign yourself to the mission if you are starting to drift from the destination your mission should be taking you.
3. Value People: People need to know that you care about them and you want the best for them. If they are at their best, they are better within the family, community, team, and/or organization. If people are getting better, then the place where the people are will improve as well. So, remember that it is the people and how we work with them, communicate with them, and treat them that matter most. And yes, it also matters how we work with, communicate with, and treat those who are difficult to lead.

Being a Caring Leader

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Do you care about the people you lead? If you do, how do they know? Do you want to be known as a leader who cares for those you lead? Is caring for those you lead important to you? Unfortunately, for some leaders, it is not important to them that they care for all of their people. Some leaders fail to understand that they are leading people, not results or outcomes. I am reminded of a quote that Dr. Funchess, one of the great leaders I know, has said many times: “We lead people, not outcomes.” And guess what, people know if they are cared for or not.

Is there a secret to caring for your people? If there is a secret, it comes down to one word. Action. Heather Younger, in her TED Talk The Radical Power of Caring Leadership, said that “Caring leadership is only possible with action.” She later states, "Caring leadership is showing concern and kindness to those who look to you for guidance." Do you demonstrate actions of concern and kindness to those you lead? If you do, those you lead might consider you as being a caring leader. Showing genuine concern and kindness is not a weakness. It is rather a strength. People can still be held accountable (your children, teammates, coworkers, business partners, etc.), and cuts can still be made in the organization, which we all know affects people's jobs, while concern and kindness are still being displayed by the leader. It's about treating people like human beings and not just a number or a commodity. It's about the leader considering how they would want to be treated if they were on the receiving end. Everyone has been on the receiving end at some point because we are all accountable to someone. Take those moments when you have been on the receiving end to guide your leadership as you care for others who need you to display concern and kindness.

According to John Maxwell, "Leadership is influence." But, how can we influence well without caring for those we lead? The answer to this is quite simple. We can't. I will share an excerpt from The Way of the Shepherd (2004) by Dr. Kevin Leman and Bill Pentak. The subtitle is Seven Secrets to Managing Productive People. I have read this book a couple of times and am reading it again with my pastor, who is one of my mentors. Dr. Newman, one of the characters in the book, says to his mentee, Ted McBride, "You have to really care about your people. You can go through all the right mechanics, but if you don't genuinely care about the people who report to you, you'll never be the kind of leader they'll drop everything to follow. If they're nothing but stinking sheep to you, they'll never do their best work for you and they won't stay in your field for long. It’s an old adage, but it’s true: people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care." We should not view the people we lead as a problem or an inconvenience to us, the company, team, or our family. They are more than that, and we should treat them as such. And when we treat them as being important and relevant, when we value them by caring for them and treating them as human beings, we and our organizations, teams, families, and communities get so much more from them because they know that their leader(s) care.  

Application:

1. Engage with the People You Lead: Intentionally engage with the people you lead. Approach them, talk to them, and listen to what they say. People will talk to you if you let them, and when they talk, make sure you hear what they are saying. Taking time to listen to the heart of someone you are leading could help them move forward or get the support they need to be effective. Listening prompts other actions from you that demonstrate to the person whether you care about them and the concern that they have shared. Scheduling time to actively engage with those you lead will allow you to demonstrate that they are a priority to you and that their concerns matter. This small act can go a long way, and if you work in an office, you can find out what is going on with the people you are leading before they just show up at your office. Let’s not forget to practice these principles at home with our families. Sometimes, our family members get the short end of the stick because many of us want to relax when we get home. Our families need to know we care just as much, maybe even more than those we lead outside of our homes. We must talk to them and listen to them. Then we can act, which is up next on this list.  
2. Act: As we engage, talk, and listen, something will be revealed to us that we can demonstrate to the person that we care. Whatever action is needed to show care, do it. There is no one-size-fits-all approach, and that is alright. Each act of kindness is case by case, but every act should come out of a place of concern and kindness to demonstrate and communicate that you care.
3. Be Genuine: Whether you are hiring someone, coaching someone, or having a crucial conversation, be genuine in how you care for the individual in each situation. Maya Angelou said. "I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." When we are genuinely concerned and speak and act with kindness, it increases the possibility that the people we lead will feel cared for.

Conclusion:

Our actions will communicate whether we care for the people we lead or not. I hope you desire to lead with care. My goal is to be genuine and authentic in my leadership so that others will not have to question if I  care about them or not. As Dr. Newman stated to Ted McBride in The Way of the Shepherd (2004), "...if you don't genuinely care about the people who report to you, you'll never be the kind of leader they'll drop everything to follow.” Remember, caring for those we lead really matters because it is with the people we lead that we accomplish great things. More than likely, you have followed someone because they cared for you. I know I have and still do. So, let's commit to following the example(s) that we have been shown and care for those we lead, including those in our own home. 

Additional Comments:

I want to hear from you. Please post your comments, feedback, or suggestions in the comments section on this page. Thank you for reading or listening to this blog post. I hope you have a wonderful and blessed month ahead. Stay tuned for the next blog, scheduled to be posted during the week of March 2, 2026. 

Leading with Focus

 

Audio Version

What are you going to focus on this year to sharpen your leadership and increase your influence? Did you take time to reflect at the end of the year to think about how you could improve as a leader? If you have not taken the time to do so, it is not too late. Continuous improvement should always be at the forefront of a leader’s mind, and what better time to think about improving than at the beginning of a new year? The new year has already begun, and for some people, New Year's resolutions have already been made. Have you asked yourself why people make New Year's resolutions? If you were to ask me this question, my answer would be that people know they are not or have not been the best version of themselves—they know they need to improve. So pressing reset at the beginning of a new year to make a resolution makes sense. Or does it? According to the Drive Research Team, in their report titled New Year's Resolutions Statistics and Trends (November 18, 2024), "92% of adults will not follow through on a resolution." This is an alarming number. So, maybe, just maybe, starting a new year should not be about creating a resolution to develop new goals, but rather becoming the person you are supposed to be to help you accomplish the goals you have already set for yourself.

Therefore, I propose something different than setting a resolution. I propose picking a word of the year. I have been picking a word of the year for the past seven or eight years. Picking a word of the year has impacted me a lot more than a New Year's resolution. Having a word of the year has helped me focus on being and becoming the person that lives and leads the way my word of the year suggests. Throughout the year, the word has increased my focus and served as a constant reminder to grow and develop habits that would help me become and reflect the word through my actions, attitude, and thoughts.

The words I have chosen all correlated with my values or something I value. You should not select a word just because it sounds good. Rather, reflect on where you are now and where you want to be; think about the people you are leading and the type of leader they need you to be; and then choose a word that will push you to become the leader you are supposed to be for the people you serve. Being true to yourself, knowing who you are as a leader, who you are supposed to be as a leader, and what you have been called to do as a leader are key factors when picking your word of the year. As you grow and become what the word represents, the people most connected to you will be impacted by your growth.

The word I chose for this year is excellence. I love how Ryan Leak described excellence. He said, "Excellence is a habit." And, paraphrasing another comment of his, Excellence is the product of consistency and intentionality. Wow, this is not just a feel-good word. To demonstrate excellence, I have to commit to being consistent and intentional. This is something that will take time and effort. Consistency does not happen overnight. The word in itself communicates something that happens over time. Intentionality will be displayed through planning and paying attention to detail. So, in my word of the year, I have three areas of focus: 1) Being Consistent; 2) Planning; and 3) Paying Attention to Detail.