As a leader, you’re growing your organization and your people.

Or …

You’re reactive and not proactive, you’re regressing instead of progressing, you’re disintegrating instead of creating.

Ask yourself a number of questions: Do you have a growth mindset? Are you moving forward every day or backward? Do you understand the importance of personal growth? No matter what you are doing today, you need to be doing it considerably better or differently if you want to still be in business a year from now.

You can never be satisfied with your current level of performance because you’re on the escalator of business; you’re either going up or down. You see, there’s no standing still anymore. Every thought you have produces an action that moves you either closer to your goals or farther away. The good news is that — through a positive mindset, hard work, clear goals, and learning new skills — you can choose which direction you are moving.

How many of you want to make sure you are gaining ground? How many of you are on a personal growth journey? The fact is this: How you got to where you are today is not enough to keep you there, not with today’s ever-increasing pace of change.

Leaders often forget that their own personal growth determines the growth of their followers. John Maxwell calls this the Law of the Lid. The leader’s growth determines the potential of the organization. No organization, no group of people can outgrow the leader. If the CEO of an organization is not committed to his or her own growth, then the organization will eventually fail.

Leaders who have stopped growing tend to blame their people for poor results. These leaders may pick apart every little thing someone does. These leaders run around looking for something that is wrong and jump all over their team about it. They become the ultimate micro-managers. As a leader, you set the example for your people, and you’re either having a positive impact or a negative impact. If your organization is not growing and you want to find out why, start by looking at yourself and your own personal development journey.

Don’t be the lid for your organization or for any group of people you lead. Commit yourself to a personal growth and development program. Embrace lifelong learning and encourage that from your team. It’s a continuous process. You can never stop learning and growing because the alternative is the slow death of your organization.

Great leaders see the full potential within each person they manage and encourage and coach them day by day, challenging them to step out of their comfort zone. Great leaders help each person reach their potential and become their best self. It’s a universal strategy, the best strategy for organizational improvement.

Learn more about professional development, the benefits of personal growth and new habits, and gaining a fresh perspective to become the best version of yourself at Achievable.com.