In “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen Covey, habit 7 is Sharpening the Saw.
This habit is about preserving and improving your greatest asset, which is you.
So this week I am attending a Leadership Camp, hosted by Mark McGregor, to help improve my understanding of leadership and look to improve my skills in this area.
Its important that we look to do this from time to time, this might just be revising an old skill, or it might be looking at the latest and greatest changes in the area we are focusing on.
As they say time and tide wait for no man, and if we don’t take care of our skills they can become, weaker, or even worse outdated.
Whilst it’s true that many of the principles that work today have worked for thousands of years, such as integrity, motivation, reward and recognition, to name but a few, there have also been significant changes to our environment, such as the rapid growth of social media, and if we do not know how to apply many of these old techniques in the new world then we will be left behind.
Often people will feel that once they have mastered something then its time to stop learning and practicing, and focus on using and implementing.
But we need to remember that even the greatest musicians and greatest athletes, continue to practice, often daily, in order to keep their skills in tip top shape.
So this week I go back to school, refresh what I probably already know, to learn something new, and possibly to learn new ways to leverage existing skills.
This is an ongoing process which never stops.
As Gandhi says “Live like you will die tomorrow, but learn like you will live forever”.
So have a look at your skills and see which ones could do with a little sharpening!
Gordon Tredgold
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