Leaders Who Grow

Written by Dr. Holly Ward, PhD

Leaders who want to grow lead well.

A leader who is open to improving themselves will admit their weaknesses and mistakes. Does this sound counterintuitive? Too often leaders do not reach their full potential because they live in a world where they want to be seen as all-knowing and superior. But when they approach their leadership role as a learner, they realize that growth is a part of the process and they can’t do it on their own. These individuals focus on areas for growth, set goals, and work toward improving. 

Jim Collins set out to discover what made some companies move from being good to being great. What was it that allowed them to make the leap to greatness-and stay there-while other, comparable companies just held steady at good?

To answer this question, he and his research team embarked on a five-year study. They selected eleven companies whose stock returns had skyrocketed relative to other companies in their industry, and who had maintained this edge for at least fifteen years. They matched each company to another in the same industry that had similar resources, but did not make the leap. He also studied a third group of companies: ones that had made a leap from good to great but did not sustain it. 

What distinguished the thriving companies from the others? There were several important factors, as Collins reports in his book Good to Great, but one that was absolutely key was the type of leader who led the company into greatness. These were not the larger-than-life, charismatic types who oozed ego and self-proclaimed talent. They were self-effacing people who constantly asked questions and had the ability to confront the most brutal answers—that is, to look failures in the face, even their own, while maintaining faith that they would succeed in the end. 

These individuals believe in human development. In seeking improvement, they are open to having a coach, an individual that will shine a light on how they can grow. They want someone to support them and encourage them. And most importantly, they believe that they can grow.