How are you growing as a leader?

On August 5 and 6, 2015 the Willow Creek Association is having its annual global leadership summit. A partial list of the faculty includes: Sallie Krawcheck (former president of BoA’s Global Wealth and Investment Management), Adam Grant (Professor at Wharton School of Business), Ed Catmull (Co-founder of Pixar and President of Disney Animation), Jim Collins (author of several books, including Good to Great), and Horst Schulze (founding president and former COO of the Ritz-Carlton Group). It made me think back to one of my first posts on Proformative about what successful CFOs read. Here’s the link: https://www.proformative.com/questions/cfo-magazine Continuing education aside for licensing purposes, what are you currently reading or engaging in to stay fresh in business? What are you doing to grow as a leader? I am attending the above event at no cost to my employer. By no cost, I mean they didn’t pay for my ticket, nor am I being paid for those days I am off. I guess technically I am being paid, but by a reduction to my vacation time. The importance of me stating this is to help people see that we, as professionals, must build into ourselves even if it costs us something. If you aren’t learning because someone isn’t paying your way, I submit to you that you aren’t really a true leader. Leaders are learners, irrespective of who’s paying the bill. As a continual learner, I am interested in what others are doing to sharpen their skills. So let me know. Don’t forget about the courses here on Proformative if you’ve done them.