Last year I attended the Chick-fil-A Leadercast in Atlanta, Georgia. I also had the privilege of hosting the “Backstage Video” program. I interviewed each of the speakers, including Jim Collins, author of Good to Great; Dr. Ben Carson, the Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital; and Dan Cathy, the President and Chief Operating Officer of Chick-fil-A.

I attended numerous events last year, but this one was in my top three. Why? Because it provided the inspiration and practical how-to information leaders need to take their leadership to the next level.

I have always believed that you are more likely to accomplish big goals if you declare them publicly. My rationale has been that this creates the accountability you need to follow-through. But now I am not so sure.

Derek Sivers makes a compelling case against going public with your goals in his short talk at the 2010 Ted Conference. (The talk is only a little over three minutes long.) His basic premise is this: telling someone your goals makes them less likely to happen.

I once heard a person say in a disdainful tone, “I don’t read ‘self-help’ books.” With this seemingly innocuous verdict, he slammed the door on a multitude of voices eager to push him to God’s best for his life. He severely limited his exposure to wise counselors and leaders available to him. And he drew a curtain across a world of extraordinary and supernatural influence.

I wanted to argue the point, but the task was too daunting for a moment in passing. The sad truth, though, is that many people share this man’s opinion: They don’t need to read books written by people whose sole focus is to edify, encourage and motivate them. In effect, what these people are suggesting is that they don’t need mentors.

As I have written before, I will be attending the Chick-fil-A Leadercast on May 7, 2010. This is a one-day leadership event that will take place in Atlanta, Georgia and will be broadcast to 500 host locations throughout the country via satellite or internet downlink. They are expecting nearly 70,000 attendees, between the live site in Atlanta and the rest of North America.

Recently, my wife, Gail, and I had dinner with some close, neighborhood friends. As we always do with this group, we soon began discussing the books we were reading. A few minutes into the discussion, Gail asked, “So, how do each of you read a book? What is your practice?”

Real leaders crave input. They read books and blogs. They listen to podcasts and CDs. And, they attend conferences. Why? Because they know that influence comes from generosity, and generosity is only possible if you have something to share.

My pastor recently took a three-month sabbatical. I imagined him sleeping in until ten every morning, followed by extensive periods of crossword puzzles and personal grooming. But he assured me that his time off was really more professional in nature: he studied up on the Emergent Church and did a biblical tour of Turkey.

Am I jealous? No, of course not. Resentful is probably a better word. Not that I dislike my job, but the idea of taking three months off to focus on just-for-me time, well, that’s hard to stop fantasizing about. In fact, I already have it planned: the German lessons; the family rafting trip; the Executive Strategy conference; the monastery retreat; the writing seminar; the culinary tour of Spain—I would keep very, very busy working just on me.

A few weeks ago, while attending the Catalyst Conference, I had the opportunity to have breakfast with Dan Cathy, President and COO of Chick-fil-A, and Mark Miller, VP of Training and Development for Chick-fil-A. I experienced first-hand their passion for leadership and for enriching the lives of the people in the the communities where their stores are located.

Last spring I attended the Professional Communicators Summit in Nashville, Tennessee. The conference is designed to assist leaders in either starting a professional speaking career or taking it to the next level. This is a fantastic resource, and one I want to encourage you to make plans now to attend. The next conference is March 18-20, 2010.

I have been a Marcus Buckingham devotee for years. As you may recall, he is the one who started the “strengths revolution” with the New York Times bestseller, Now Discover Your Strengths. This month we will publish Find Your Strongest Life: What the Happiest and Most Successful Women Do Differently. In a moment, I will tell you how to get a copy FREE if you are a blogger.

I have worked hard to incorporate Marcus’ principles into my own personal development and leadership philosophy. In fact, we have built it into our performance reviews at my company, Thomas Nelson.