Focus on Significance, Not Success as a Leader
Plenty of people are successful yet unhappy.
Most people have not really considered what success looks like for them. What success feels like or how they would measure it and know when they've achieved it.
And, if that success would actually create happiness.
When I originally wrote that sentence I wrote bring you happiness. That's a thought error because happiness isn't an end result. It doesn't come when something happens. Happiness is a feeling that you can create at any given time along the success journey.
Careers, titles, money, and things do not create happiness.
Happiness is a feeling. That feeling is created from your thoughts. From the thoughts about who you are, what you are doing, where you are, or where you are going. From your thoughts.
John Maxwell, author, and leadership guru says happiness is driven not by success, but by significance.
Significance is how you show up to create, do for others, have an impact, and are in service of others.
What makes you significant is your ability to access your power, strengths, your unique talents, and to express them for the benefit and positive impact on the people around you.
A successful leader leads.
A successful physician heals.
A successful executive does exceptional work.
A successful C.E.O. leads the organization.
A significant leader inspires others to lean into their greatness.
A significant physician heals with empathy to mitigate the fear.
A significant executive teaches others to create exceptional work.
A significant C.E.O. works in service of their people and their vision.
If you consider yourself successful yet are still unhappy, ask yourself what’s significant about how you are showing up each day.
Showing up significantly doesn't have to mean moving mountains. Moving one small stone to make it easier for someone is meaningful. Many stones moved over time creates a mountain of goodness.
Significance is a path to your happiness.
When you stop being a servant to the life you are living on default and become the creator of the world you want, you become unstoppable.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours. I'm thankful for so much, including your interest in reading. My wish is that it gives you new thoughts and a bit of inspiration for the week ahead.
If you are considering working with a Coach or want to know more about the components of a Coaching engagement, let’s get on a call with this link.
"The idea that the answers were inside me, they just needed to be vetted, and organized and I needed to be held accountable for finding them felt like what previously had seemed unachievable might really be possible. Through a series of exercises and tools, I felt supported, challenged, and motivated to shift from what “might be” to what was. Christina gave me the tools and the courage to use them to start my next chapter."
