What I learned, relearned and unlearned about leadership?

As a person with LEARNER as my top theme, I am energized by the opportunity to learn, relearn and unlearn...and for the past 7 years, I've intentionally spent about 4 days every year learning about leadership through the leadership institutes organized by Chrysalis Ministries.  In fact, SEAOIL's thrust in discovering, developing and applying our strengths was something that I learned from attending the institute in 2012.

I look forward to this time as it is a time for me to interact with other leaders and to grow in my understanding and practice of leadership.

Since 2010, I've had the privilege of learning along side colleagues and peers from SEAOIL.  Below is a picture of this years SEAOIL contingent along side some of the resource people.

Here are some of things I've learned about leadership:

1. I must be INTENTIONAL in striving to achieve my potential.  Often what hinders us from achieving our full potential is our own self-limiting beliefs...instead of being all that we can be, we look at our circumstances and convince ourselves that we can't become significant.
2. Growing to my maximum potential requires alignment and that I recognize God's perspective, purpose and plan for my life which starts from the inside - out, being authentic, focusing on character first, not from the outside - in.
3. Leadership is not just a job, but a relationship.  Leaders are not people in a position, but people in a relationship.
4. Personal holiness, is a way of saying "God, I love you!"  It is not just about avoiding sin, but also pursuing God and being in His presence (Psalm 27:4).  
5. Avoiding something, does not automatically equate to me pursuing something.
6. Vision is what DRIVES you (being a conglomerate of fuel related businesses).  Mission is what DEFINES you (the product, employer and investment of choice). Strategy is what DRIVES you (sustainable competitive advantage through the SEAOIL C.A.R.E.S. experience - cost leadership "sweating the assets" and brand differentiation).
7. Perspective is important.  It is what lens you use or what foundation you choose to stand on. Where you stand determines what you see, and how you live.  Let it be on God's word.
8. To relate to people who have different perspectives than I do, I must engage constructively, participate in discussions about policy and collaborate on shared interests pro-actively, while never compromising on what I believe to be true.
9. Leadership is who you are, before what you do.
10. Empowerment is an on-going process and is not an event.
11. Brainstorming can be a great tool for solving "identified" problems.

I've also learned somethings about myself:

1. That I prefer to look at possibilities and options, that I intuitively know what caused the problem, that I am energized in generating alternatives.
2. That I am likely to check my decisions against values.
3. To be a person of influence, I must learn to understand the world (context), I must nurture my skills and abilities (competence), I must be consistent and I must submit to a standard or authority (character).

Do you have opportunities to learn, relearn and unlearn topics that you are passionate about - for me its leadership - what about you? I hope that you will take the time to learn, relearn and unlearn the topic of your choosing.