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GROW: Development Doesn't Stop

What March taught you - what April is asking of you

Author

Michael Morgan
March 24, 2026

Welcome back, G-Tribe.

And welcome to anyone joining us for the first time.

This is the last Tuesday of March. Women's History Month closes. The calendar turns. And before we move into April, I want to ask you one question.

What did you actually develop this month?

Not what you planned to develop. Not what you intended to work on. What actually changed in you between March 1 and today?

Let's GO.

Growth Spotlight: Month-End Reflection — What Did March Build in You?

Development is not a feeling. It is a result.

You can feel motivated every morning and still end the month exactly where you started. Motivation gets you out of bed. Discipline gets you across the finish line.

Here's a simple end-of-month audit. Answer these honestly:

  • What skill did you practice more consistently in March than in February?

  • What conversation did you have that you would have avoided six months ago?

  • What did you read, watch, or listen to that changed how you think?

  • What did you quit — a habit, a distraction, a relationship — that was costing you growth?

If you can answer at least two of those questions with a specific, concrete example, then March developed you.

If you can't, April starts in one week. That is not a failure. That is information.

Write your answers down. Share one of them with your son, your mentee, or someone in the G-Tribe. Development compounds when spoken aloud.

Bridge Builders: Dr. Johnnetta Betsch Cole

A Woman Whose Commitment to Growth Shaped a Generation

Most people know the name Spelman College. Fewer know the name of the woman who transformed it.

In 1987, Dr. Johnnetta Betsch Cole became the first Black woman president of Spelman College, an institution founded specifically for the education of women of African descent. She did not just maintain what was there. She built on it.

Under her leadership, she drove a $113 million capital campaign that brought Spelman's endowment to $141 million, the largest at any HBCU at the time. Enrollment grew. Academic standing rose. Spelman was named the top liberal arts college in the South.

She later became president of Bennett College, making her the only person in history to lead both of the nation's historically Black colleges for women. From 2009 to 2017, she served as Director of the Smithsonian's National Museum of African Art. She has received 68 honorary degrees.

But the numbers are not the story.

The story is what she believed: that developing Black women academically, spiritually, and in their sense of purpose was one of the most strategic investments America could make.

Dr. Cole never treated development as a destination. She treated it as the work itself.

That is the model. Not development until you reach a title. Development is the way you lead.

"You don't rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems." — James Clear

Michael’s Hot Take: Mentors, Your Mentee Is Watching How You Grow

Here's something worth sitting with this week.

Your mentee does not just watch how you treat him. He watches how you treat yourself.

He watches whether you read. He watches whether you admit when you're wrong. He watches whether you pursue growth past the point where it's comfortable — or whether you plateau and call it maturity.

The most powerful thing a mentor can model is not achievement. It is the ongoing pursuit of development with no finish line.

Mentoring is not a modern concept. It traces back to ancient Greece — to Homer's Odyssey, where Mentor was trusted to guide and shape the young Telemachus. That tradition never stopped. Frederick Douglass was taught to read by mentors. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was shaped by mentors in both the church and the classroom. The names we celebrate today were built by people who showed up consistently for someone younger than themselves.

That is what AFGM asks of every mentor in this organization. Not perfection. Pursuit.

This week on AFGMTV, I break down the history and importance of mentoring — where it started, why it matters, and what it means to truly be present for a young man. Watch it. Share it with your mentee. Then ask him one question: who has been your mentor?

Watch This Week's Video on AFGMTV
Subscribe to AFGMTV

"The standards you set determine the results you get."
— President/Founder Michael Morgan

Parent Insight of the Week

At dinner this week, ask your child one question: "What's one thing you got better at this month?"

Don't grade the answer. Don't redirect it. Just listen.

Then share yours. Let them see that growth is not a school assignment. It is how your family operates.

Try This With Your Mentee

Pull out a piece of paper, not your phone, and ask your mentee to write down three things he knew how to do on January 1 that he does better today.

If he struggles to answer, that is the conversation. Help him see that development requires intention, not just time. Time passes. Growth is a choice.

Coming in April: Stewardship
April's S.H.I.E.L.D.S. value is Stewardship.

Stewardship is not just about money. It is about managing everything entrusted to you — your time, your relationships, your platform, your health, your influence over the young men in your life.

April's newsletter content, events, and AFGMTV episodes will all be built around one question: Are you managing well what you have been given?

Start thinking about your answer now.

Upcoming Events

AFGM Financial Literacy Workshop

April 11, 2026  |  Word Alive Church International  |  Manassas, VA

Free event for youth and families. In partnership with Apple Federal Credit Union and Junior Wallstreeters.

AFGM 5K Run/Walk — June 27, 2026

Registration is open. Show up for yourself. Bring your son, your daughter, your mentee. Let them see you move.

Brotherhood Community Awards Luncheon — November 7, 2026

Mark your calendar.

Sponsorship Opportunity

We are seeking sponsors and partners for all 2026 signature events.
If you know a business or organization that invests in boys, families, and mentorship, connect them with us.

That’s it for this week.

This is the Year of Movement and Momentum.

March didn't finish you. It prepared you.

Please share this newsletter with someone who needs it.

— Michael Morgan

President and Founder, A Few Good MENtors, Inc.

Also on Substack