Share your leadership experience so others can grow from it!
If you want to grow personally or professionally, start with giving. It seems so counter-intuitive, right? It would seem that growth happens when we focus on ourselves and get super reflective. While that stuff is really important, that’s not where the actual growth occurs. We grow through bringing positive impact to the lives of others.
Every day when you wake up, and your eyes see the ceiling and your feet hit the floor – give. That’s why we’re put on this earth – to lift up those around us and in lifting them up, we become more full, more satisfied.
It really is that simple. If you strive every day to improve the lives of those around you, you build small strands of super strong relationships. And as the next person does the same, and the person after that, and the person after that….positive community grows. Those newer, stronger relationships become the stepping stones up the mountain of your growth.
But how does that benefit you? How do you gain when you’re constantly giving away all your energy in support of others? It won’t be 1-to-1, and it won’t be immediate. But as long as your heart is in the right place, and you’re putting effort into creating positive impact for others, everything will generally work out well.
This has held true personally and in the work place. The day before I got married, a friend suggested that the key to a happy marriage is to wake up every day asking yourself “How can I make the life of this other person better today?” After 11+ years, I can happily say that this one idea has created a strong relationship that’s endured the tough moments.
In the work place, the key to building a strong team is similar. Serve each of your teammates in accomplishing the team’s shared goals. Sure, you might disagree on how to get there, but if you focus on the shared goal and on how your teammates benefit from hitting that shared goal, and then help them get there, your boat will rise along with theirs when the tide comes in.
This kind of others-centered approach will build the kind of community that will serve everyone. Lead the charge by serving those around you.
Photo by Michael Olsen on Unsplash
