Timing is everything. How many times have we heard this statement or one similar? Yet, it is true on a number of levels.

When it comes to addressing a delicate situation, timing is everything.

When we are faced with making life changing decisions, timing is everything.

When waiting for answers to test results, timing is everything.

When confronting a family member, fellow worker or employee, timing is everything.

God said; “there is an appointed time for everything, and there is a time for every event under heaven.” When we read through the list provided in Ecclesiastes 3:2-8 we quickly learn how true it is that timing is everything.

The next time a delicate situation arises, when faced with a decision, when we await test results, or when we consider how to confront someone else, remember – timing is everything.

If we can step back and think for a moment and ask ourselves, “Is this the right time to continue in this direction?” maybe we can handle whatever life throws our way at the right time.

While examining a few leadership websites, I came across an interesting statement, “The Seven Most Important Words In Leadership.”

The idea is part of Terry Starbucker’s e-book Leadership From A Glass Half-Full: The 5 Lessons You Need To Learn Before You Jump Into The Pool.

The phrase is simply this, “I don’t know and I’ll find out.”

The sad reality is we do not like the appearance of not knowing the answer. After all, we are the leader, right? Leaders are supposed to know all the answers.

Worse still is the attempt of too many of us who try to bluff our way through areas we know nothing about. Somehow we convince ourselves we can smooth talk our way through the discussion. Wrong!

The transparency of acknowledging we do not know something and the willingness to find the answer is critical to great leadership.

First, others already know we do not have all the information, plus they know when we are bluffing. Second, greater credibility and trust is established when we are are honest with others.

Learn these seven words and live by them.

Support groups are generally associated with some form of recovery. They exist for individuals recovering from addictions and their spouses. They exist for those who suffer grief in the loss of a loved one, or from divorce. They even exist for people who struggle with eating disorders.

Support groups exist for a number of reasons and they are beneficial to those who use them. At this point, a couple of questions should be considered for our leadership.

Who makes up the support group for leaders? Wisdom would suggest the potential of other leaders involved in a group. Put together a core group of others who will share and contribute to the group’s design.

What benefit will they provide? They serve as a reminder that others have and do experience the same challenges. They also establish a form of accountability.

A support system will make a difference in how we continue to grow and develop our leadership. Who makes up the group, the purpose of the group’s design, and what we apply to our own leadership is the determining factor to its success.

Leadership and learning are words that run parallel in the sphere of development. The greater our learning, the greater our leadership.

Leaders require resources that facilitate avenues through which learning occurs. But where can we find these resources? Resources exist in several arenas.

Educational Resources: These resources are primarily formal in nature. Leadership books, courses, and classroom training provide numerous resources from which we can learn. Opportunities to gain a stronger education furthers our leadership ability.

Experience Resources: Based on work, home, and community efforts, we gain the type of experience that enables practical leadership to develop. Experience provides some of the most difficult lessons to learn, yet here we find an incredible and invaluable resource.

Environmental Resources: Environment involves the surroundings and conditions in which we operate as leaders. Who we are surrounded by provides one of the greatest resources for learning. Take advantage of every opportunity to learn from others.

These three resources broaden opportunities for our growth in leadership and now is the time to focus 2017 on such opportunities.

While millions of people will make New Year’s Resolutions tomorrow night, the best part of a new year is the opportunity to fulfill our plans.

Yesterday we considered several questions that provide a foundation for the plans we intend to accomplish in 2017.

Once we recognize both the high and low points of leadership development from 2016, we can strategically plan to build on that foundation and improve our leadership in the new year.

Once we acknowledge the area we would change if we could start the year over, we can now plan to make that change as we move into the year, almost as if we reset the clock.

Once we consider the individual(s) in whom we could invest our time this coming year, we can develop a mentoring plan that allows us to give the most valuable gift, ourselves.

Once we know where we were, where we are, and where we want to be, everything we plan involves the changes necessary to achieve our goals.

Instead of “resolutions” for the new year, why not set goals and make plans to achieve them. The difference is incredible.