The law of process: Leadership develops daily, not in a day. Becoming a leader is a lot like investing successfully in the stock market. If your hope is to make a fortune in a day, you’re not going to be successful.

Something I try to impress upon my children and the comrades I associate with particularly in the workplace is that becoming what I refer to as a “Life Learner” is a commitment that is for life. You will have no idea of what you are not knowledgeable about until you cross the thresholds of obtaining that knowledge and suddenly … poof … epiphany strikes! It takes time to culture your intellect, your personality, your leadership abilities, and who you are holistically.  This takes a plan. Personally, my plan is visual in nature, consisting of a flowchart that depicts my career, education, and life work aspirations neatly organized on paper. Like me, it too evolves. I encourage you to embrace a similar approach. You will find that through thoughtful self-examination, you will grow stronger, more proficient, more self-aware, and closer to becoming a better person.

I make it a habit of investing in those people who I lead or mentor or influence in some way. I believe that those people who do this inspire a culture of personal growth and leadership development that becomes recognized and valued by the same people. I’ve witnessed explosive growth from these teams, companies, or “prescriber’s.” Commit to it. It’s not going to happen overnight, but good things and positive results rarely do anyway.

Here are a couple of good expressions that I have taken liberty with making them gender neutral.

“It is the capacity to develop and improve their skills that distinguishes leaders from their followers.” – Bennis and Nanus

“The secret of success in life is for a man (or woman) to be ready for his (or her) time when it comes.” – Benjamin Disraeli