The Law of Explosive Growth 

“To add growth, lead followers…. to multiply growth, lead leaders” – The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership

This principle is referring to the fact that the more information, power, and ability you give the leaders around you, the better your progress on any given task will go. Like stated by the quote above, to add growth, lead followers. Two heads are better than one, and three heads are better than two, so generally speaking having other people at all in your group will allow for an easier process for whatever goal you’re trying to accomplish, however if you lead leaders, each leader will have a very different perspective of the given issue, and with each additional opinion another dimension of possibility is added.

I relate to this law, mainly because when I’m put in a leadership position sometimes I get carried away and forget to stop and talk to the people around me, and when I’m not in a leadership position I undervalue my opinion and don’t speak up enough, so this is a reminder for me to remember to slow down when I’m in charge, and put more value in myself when I’m not. Everyone has a different spin on the same situation and it’s very important to get diverse opinions in order to reach the optimal answer.

I will do my best to make sure that everyone’s opinion feels validated, do my best to engage everybody in the process of plan making, and get everybody’s view so I can stay informed, while at the same time doing my best to validate my own point of view and not sell myself short when I’m not in a position of higher power.

Momentum affecters

This refers to how Momentum breakers, takers, fakers, and makers all change the way any given project will go, with each altering the flow of momentum, it’s important you’re aware of the difference between each. Momentum breakers will halt momentum, Momentum takers will drain momentum, Momentum fakers will stage momentum, and momentum makers will start momentum. I think everyone’s mood changes, and even people who are usually momentum makers can have breaker days, so acknowledging this will do wonders for productivity and the end result for any project.

This really speaks to me, mainly because after my whole 11 years in the school system, doing group projects, I’ve come to notice the different groups of similar attitudes and just didn’t have a way to categorize them. I like how simple they are to keep track of, with each being similar to the next but also quite different. I chose it because I think this’ll really help me in future endeavors in leading.

In future events and activities, I think it would be a cool idea to just look around the group and get a feel for the energy level for the day, as well as try to see what my own momentum affect will be on the rest of the group! Afterwards, it I can also reflect and see who was being a momentum maker, and who was not, and maybe talk to the ones that aren’t to make sure they’re doing okay. I would say that in their natural state, everyone in TALONS is a momentum maker, but sometimes if they’re stressed or tired, or there are extenuating circumstances, people act differently than they usually would.

I Model

Monkey see, monkey do. This is usually a phrase implemented in parenting, but it doesn’t just apply to teaching kids. We as a species have a deeply seeded urge to copy others, because it makes our brains happy when we fit in. This is not something the individual can control, nor should it be something they have to. Instead, you as a leader should work on bettering yourself, because once you begin to practice what you preach, others will start to follow in your footsteps. What you do and what you say need to be the same, or else any situation will result in confusion.

I chose this principle mainly because it’s been a prevalent factor in my life, with me having a younger brother and all, that I be a good role model for him and do my best to support him while also subtly showing him the better way act. It didn’t quite register to me until we were taught this lesson that this also applies to the people I’m leading. If I want them to act a certain way, obviously good communication would me that I’d tell them, but acting the way I want them to act is also a good move because it’s a subconscious reminder to the people around me for how to act.

I can implement this quite easily, I just need to be conscious and aware of my expectations of myself vs. my expectations of the others in my group. I really like how simple it is and yet the level of difference it makes when a leader follows their own advice.

I Monitor 

A decent amount of the time, leaders will only show their learner what to do, what they think is a full explanation of how to do it, and then just leave and let the student figure out on their own with no further guidance, which isn’t totally wrong, the learner needs to learn to grow and develop autonomously, but the leader needs to stay with them in order to continue monitoring them just in case they run into an issue they cannot resolve on their own, which is what “I monitor” is about.

I chose this principle mainly because it speaks to me in my experience with learning from less satisfactory teachers, who will either hover over you every second of whatever you’re doing and not let you figure anything out by yourself because they need to constantly be involved, or not interrupt at all and even if you have questions they will just refuse to take them, and you have to really struggle and push and even if you fail they’ll do nothing to help. The main goal of I Monitor would be, ideally to be in the middle. You MONITOR. Not hover and constantly help, but not leave and let to suffer.

I will apply this in the future by doing my absolute best to just stand and monitor the people in my group while we do our individual tasks, not so intently that I don’t complete my own, but not so little that the people around me get stuck. I’ll just make sure to check in every once and awhile, to make sure everyone is thriving and doing the best they can do.