I've been delighted by the response to Growing
the Distance (on our web site you can read
dozens of fascinating letters and comments on the
book from readers). Like a good parent, an author
probably shouldn't have favorites among his or her
own books. But I especially enjoyed writing
Growing the Distance because it so closely
reflects my own values, aspirations, and continuous
personal growth quest.
I again felt those deep attachments and
excitement as I prepared this Personal
Implementation Guide sprouting from Growing
the Distance. The assessments and exercises
found here are built around work I have been doing
personally and/or within my workshops, coaching, and
retreats over the last three decades. My key
objective in designing the Personal
Implementation Guide is to move from the
inspiration of Growing the Distance to
concrete action.
I designed this personal guide at the same time
as the Practical Application Planner for
management teams. That planner is built around the
new companion book to Growing the Distance,
The Leader's Digest: Timeless Principles for Team
and Organization Success (visit our web site for
details). Both this guide and that planner represent
the next evolution in my work. It's what I am now
calling "Practical Leadership."
There are thousands of books on leadership and
just as many theories, speakers, training programs,
workshops, etc. My focus on Practical Leadership is
to help readers, participants, or Clients move from
knowing to doing. As represented in this Personal
Implementation Guide, this means I provide an
increasing number of assessments, application
exercises, how-to "best practices," and action
planning. The CLEMMER Group logo represents a book
opening backwards and transforming into an arrow
leading to rising performance.
Most strong and centered leaders are
reflective learners. They ensure they have
enough R & R (reflection and renewal) time to
keep themselves focused and balanced. The
Personal Implementation Guide is designed to
be a central part of your own R & R.
In the last chapter of Growing the
Distance, on pages 171 – 173, I outline
three basic questions that are key to answering
the bigger question: "Am I growing the
distance?" These basic questions are: Where do I
want to go? Where am I now? and What do I need
to change or improve to close the gap? The
Personal Implementation Guide will provide a
structure and process for you to more clearly
answer those questions.
What Are Your
Personal Development Objectives?
Start with page 1 and record either your
overall personal development objectives or
specifically your objectives for using the
Personal Implementation Guide.
Here are a few different ways for ways for
you to use this Personal Implementation Guide:
From the Broad to the Specific
This approach starts with the personal
assessment of each of the Timeless Leadership
Principles on page 7. Based on your "living this
principle" ratings and "importance to improve"
you can then rank order the principles from the
one needing the most work done to the one
needing the least immediate attention. You can
then go through sections of the Personal
Implementation Guide in that order.
Browsing and Grazing
You may jump around in reading Growing the
Distance to those sections that have the
most appeal or interest for you. You could
approach the Personal Implementation Guide
in the same way. Flip through it and mark the
pages or sections that you'd like to come back
to. Then go back through and work in those
sections.
Some exercises are for team leaders,
supervisors, managers, or executives who lead
others at work. You could skip or adapt those if
that's not your situation.
Benjamin Franklin's "Method for
Progressing"
Benjamin Franklin identified thirteen
"virtues" that he wanted to develop. Each week
he worked on one of the virtues for a total of
"four courses (cycles) in a year." Each night
before bed Franklin reflected on and recorded
his progress on that week's feature virtue.
You could use a similar approach. This could
come from your personal development objectives
or values if you've clarified them already. Or
you could start at the centre of the Leadership
Wheel with the Focus and Context section (pages
8 to 22). Once your vision, values, and purpose
are clear, you can then move to those sections
that strengthen the hub or your own leadership
wheel. You can work at one value or vision
component at a time like Benjamin Franklin.
Spousal/Life Partnering
When our two oldest kids, Chris and Jenn,
were still pre-schoolers, my wife, Heather, and
I were starting to drift apart into separate
lives. That's when we began an annual process
(around the first part of January) of visioning
together. We're convinced that it's the key
reason our marriage reversed that drift and
strengthened considerably over the years. This
has created a positive and loving family
atmosphere that brings all five of us (Vanessa
is our youngest) together – even through the
turbulence of the teenage years (the babies
didn't come with warning labels about this)!
As Heather and I work together within The
CLEMMER Group and live together within the
Clemmer clan, we have applied many of the
exercises in the Personal Implementation
Guide to keep us centered and connected.
There are no magic panaceas here, but many of
the exercises (especially joint reflection and
visioning) have made a big difference in
enriching our personal, family, and business
lives.
You might want to go through the Personal
Implementation Guide with your spouse/life
partner or just pick out the most relevant
sections to complete together.
From Start to Finish
You can start at page one of the Personal
Implementation Guide and go through it page
by page in the order it's laid out. Most of the
Timeless Leadership Principles follow this
process:
- Assessment Exercise(s)
- Application Exercise(s)
- Review Personal Application Ideas
- Choose 3 – 5 (or add your own) Ideas
Most Useful Right Now
- Action Planning
Use this Guide to
Take Action
If after reading an inspiring book (such as I
hope you found Growing the Distance to
be) we feel better but don't act differently, it
won't be long before the good feelings are gone
and we're back into our same old ways. I hope
the Personal Implementation Guide lives
up to its title and helps you to take concrete
action for your personal, career, and family
success!