Personal Development in Leadership: Grow Yourself Before You Lead Others
Leadership begins long before the title.
Before you can influence others, you must first learn to influence yourself.
That’s what personal development in leadership is all about — learning to recognize the opportunities within your own life, your own habits, and even your own obstacles.
Every great leader’s journey starts the same way: by turning the focus inward.
Leadership Starts With You
Leadership isn’t something you can memorize or copy from a book.
It’s a skill learned through action, reflection, and experience — often in the moments you least expect.
This Red Tree lesson is about recognizing when you’re in one of those leadership development moments — and knowing how to take advantage of it before it passes you by.
“Leadership is the ability to influence the thoughts, feelings, and actions of those around us.”
— Jim Kitts, Red Tree Leadership
Leadership = Influence
We are all leaders at different points in our lives.
Whether you manage a team, guide your family, or inspire a friend, you’re influencing others.
Leaders:
Provide direction and motivation
Help others see a shared vision
Make informed decisions
Solve problems and create energy around ideas
In short, leadership is influence — and that influence starts with personal growth.
Acres of Diamonds
In the 1800s, an African farmer heard stories about other farmers who had become wealthy by discovering diamond mines.
Excited by the idea, he sold his farm and set out to find diamonds elsewhere.
The man who bought his farm later discovered something sparkling in the stream on the property — a massive diamond, and then another, and another.
That land became one of the richest diamond mines in Africa.
The first farmer had owned acres of diamonds all along — he just never took the time to recognize them.
The Lesson
If he had studied and prepared himself — learned what diamonds looked like in their rough state — he would have discovered everything he was searching for right where he stood.
That’s personal development in leadership.
Your diamonds are within you.
Your job is to learn how to recognize and refine them.
“Bloom where you are planted.”
Opportunity exists everywhere.
Invest in Yourself
Can a company double its growth in one day? Probably not.
But you can.
When you invest in yourself — your learning, your mindset, your awareness — you can double your value in 30 days.
It’s the law of effort and return:
As you sow, so shall you reap.
Every hour you dedicate to growth multiplies your potential for tomorrow.
And every hour you waste complaining about your situation only keeps you where you are.
Leadership Lesson:
Your rewards in life are in direct proportion to your efforts.
Self-Investment Requires Awareness
Ask yourself:
Am I holding myself back?
Do I have low expectations for myself?
Do I still believe what I used to believe about my limits?
Your brain is a powerful tool. It does what you train it to do.
If you tell yourself you can’t, it will prove you right.
If you tell yourself you can, it will find a way.
“What you conceive and believe, you can achieve.”
Children are happier on Christmas morning than they are that afternoon — because the joy is in the anticipation, in the journey.
We are happiest when we are moving toward something new.
That’s the essence of personal development in leadership — being in a state of continual, intentional growth.
Find Your Acre of Diamonds
Spend one hour a day with a notepad and dissect your work.
Ask yourself where the real opportunities are — not out there, but here.
You’ll find potential in overlooked problems, untested ideas, and neglected strengths.
That’s your acre of diamonds.
Your mind can only hold one thought at a time — make it a constructive one.
Stop talking about problems with people who can’t solve them.
Instead, radiate confidence and focus on solutions.
“Those who know where they are going will find all sorts of good things happening to them.”
That’s leadership. That’s growth. That’s Red Tree.
The Red Tree Lesson
Personal development in leadership isn’t about chasing opportunity; it’s about cultivating awareness.
It’s learning to see the potential in yourself, your team, and your circumstances — before anyone else does.
When you invest in yourself, you raise your capacity to influence others.
And when you do that consistently, you begin to stand out — like a red tree in a forest of green.
Next Lesson: Attitude
In the next Red Tree lesson, we’ll explore how to run your brain — and how your mindset shapes every outcome in your leadership journey.
External Authority Links
FAQ
Q: What does personal development in leadership mean?
A: It’s the process of improving self-awareness, discipline, and mindset so you can influence others more effectively.
Q: How can I start investing in myself as a leader?
A: Dedicate an hour a day to reflection, learning, and identifying the “acres of diamonds” within your current role.
Q: Why is self-investment essential for leaders?
A: Because you can’t lead others beyond the level you’ve led yourself.
