Finding Vitality
Jim Collins, author of, “Good to Great,” wrote the foreword to Frances Hesselbein’s autobiography, “My Life in Leadership: The Journey and Lessons Learned Along the Way.”
From the foreword of, “My Life in Leadership”
During one of our long conversations, I (Jim Collins) asked Frances how she endured the burdens of leadership and sustained her energy.
“Burden?” She looked puzzled. “Burden? Oh no, leadership is never a burden; it is a privilege.”
Jim went on. “But how do you sustain the energy for leadership? We all have limits, but I’ve never seen you reach yours.”
“Everything I have been called to do gives me energy. The greater the call, the greater the energy; it comes from outside me.”
Confirmation
During my own conversation with Frances, she confirmed what Jim Collins wrote. Frances Hesselbein has always been a high energy person with a strong sense of calling.
Personal calling
People with a calling don’t work for a living. Calling suggests purpose and meaning. Job suggests obligation and paychecks. I believe living to earn a paycheck ruins people. On the other hand, a calling refreshes and energizes.
Can you define your life today in terms of calling rather than job? If you can, you’ve found vitality. If you can’t, it’s another day at work.
Calling others
One of the great privileges of leadership is helping others find their own calling. I’ve been present when the fire of calling ignites a person. Yesterday I saw the white heat of calling ignite a local business person when she uncovered her prime motivation in life. All you can do is get out of the way and watch the blaze.
The greatest opportunity of leadership may be helping others find vitality by embracing their calling.
*****
How can leaders find their own calling?
How can leaders help others find their calling?
Hey Dan ..
It’s been a while.
Professional vitality, or leader vitality as I now refer to it, was the topic of my doctoral work through the 90’s and remains as the foundation of my work as a leader development specialist. Agreed! A sense of purpose is the fuel that energizes. Taking it a step further, to be a truly professionally vital leader that energy and passion need to me converted into facile action (e.g. skillfully blending intellect, technical skill and social/emotional intelligence) which will allow a leader to masterfully address any challenge that comes along. Finally, the ultimate test of a leader’s vitality is whether or not they feel/express a deep sense of satisfaction and fulfillment about their work-life.
This link to a page on my website further defines my conception of leader vitality and leadership team vitality.
http://tomharvey-me.com/vitalleaders.php
Keep on keeping on!
Tom
“Living to earn a paycheck ruins people” — so true! I’m really fortunate in this respect in my boss: He constantly reminds us its our job to help our employees “live, not just live for the weekend.” I’ve always needed a sense of being part of something big and important, something that needed me, in order to get out of bed in the morning. Never thought of it as a calling, but without that there isn’t enough money for me to take a job.
That passion for what you do is the gift of great leaders, and very hard to find sometimes in the real world.
I’m very fortunate that my boss puts a lot of emphasis on, in his words, “Helping employees live, not just live for the weekend.” I’ve always needed a sense that I’m part of something big and important, something that needs me, to get out of bed in the morning. Without that, there isn’t enough money for me to take a job. Never thought of that as calling , but . . .
Another great post and also rings true – life as a privilege rather than a burden…….
For the most successful people I know, it is not about the fame, the glory or the money. It’s about a passion for “the calling” and when they follow it – the rest just happens.
It is indeed a privilege to be able to find your calling. I am am privileged enough to have found mine. I can’t say I have the strength of the energy of Frances as I always have the occasional low energy day. I admire leaders who know how to recharge and keep going as sometimes the calling can be bigger than you.
I’ll second your endorsement of G5. The “Diversability” workshop yesterday was fantastic.
Helping others find their calling is an indescribable benefit of being a leader. I get so much juice, when I help someone discover their life passion. How do I do this? I listen intently to their hopes, dreams and desires. We then find what drives them and set up a detailed action plan to accomplish their goals. We then follow up on what went well and where the path veered a different direction. Eventually, they achieve their goal, we celebrate, and then move onto the next goal.
A Calling with purpose and meaning to help others, not just to help oneself, is necessary for a complete life. A Calling is not without hard work, even suffering and grief (especially for those who find martyrdom in their “calling” description).
I believe that a calling is impelled from without, not compelled within a person.
Helping others to find their calling includes helping to assure that it is one for good, not for ill, and that assistance impels forward position in a good direction, not into the shoals of life.
I enjoyed this post (as I predicted I would based on yesterday’s intro). And it asks a key, important question:
Can you define your life today in terms of calling rather than job? If you can, you’ve found vitality. If you can’t, it’s another day at work.
Yesterday’s “gaping void” cartoon was a picture of a car with the caption “slavemobile” – when one of the characters asks the driver why it’s a “slavemobile,” the driver says “because I drive it to work every day.”
I agree that we shortchange ourselves in significant ways if we do not tenaciously cling to a path that follows our calling and leads to vitality. I suppose one piece of that that I struggle with (probably indicating why I have a past in career counseling) is the really hard, awful jobs (collections comes to mind, as does a good segment of the correctional field). How do public servants, for instance, who do difficult work tangled in a thicket of bureaucracy (back to the corrections/prison system) find vitality in that? Obviously someone has to do it. Perhaps the key is having good leadership — leadership that considers coming to work to help society stay safer a privilege.
And here’s the link to the Slavemobile graphic: http://www.gapingvoidgallery.com/gallerycubegrenades-slavemobile-p-1830.html?amp
Finding vitality is definitely easier when people count on you.
Dan,
Sometimes it’s necessary to do both. By day, I have a job. It helps my family keep excellent, affordable health-care benefits, a roof over our heads, food in our pantry and gas in our cars to take our kids to their sports practices and games.
My job also allows me to follow what I’d have to say is my calling, Broken Hearts, a nonprofit (and when I say nonprofit, I really mean it!) organization I co-founded five years ago for families affected by congenital heart defects (CHD) and other pediatric heart diseases (http://brokenheartsbigbend.blogspot.com/).
Since Broken Hearts does not pay me (or my co-founder) a salary, I need my day job so I can keep doing what I really love doing — supporting and serving families affected by CHD.
A lot of people wonder how I have “the energy” to keep up with Broken Hearts. But it’s exactly like you said, it’s a calling, so rather than draining me, it refreshes and energizes me.
My job does not define me or my life. It allows me to pursue that thing that gives me great vitality.
Great post, Dan! I needed that little reminder right now about the purpose that my job does serve. 🙂
KTC
Just discovered your post through Twitter and am following you there and bookmarked your blog. Nice work.
Great post. I do believe that when a leader is truly doing what they feel they were called to do- it’s when they shine. If they are passionate about getting up each morning to what they feel is their purpose- they will achieve great things & do it with a smile. I like the idea of fostering & encouraging those they lead to also find their calling. Makes for some happy & extremely productive teams.
This is what I’ve been trying to explain to so many people about my decision to write and the turn my life is taking. Thank You! Love this post!
Dan,
Thank you so much for the opportunity to hear Steve Faber’s keynote “Greater Than Yourself” and of course for your ever awesome Blog posting.
Namaste,
bette
Hi Bette,
I’m excited to hear Steve. Let me know what you think after it’s all over. Stop over to my facebook page. http://www.facebook.com/LeadershipFreak
Cheers,
Dan
Just magical stuff. For all we can quantify, for all we can measure, there are experiences that transcend….
“I saw the white heat of calling ignite a local business person when she uncovered her prime motivation in life. All you can do is get out of the way and watch the blaze.”
It is an honor to witness and so humbling to experience.
Helping people find their calling is the reason I have gotten into coaching and leadership development! I’ve been fortunate enough to be witness to many people finding their calling. The energy and expansiveness of that moment is truly priceless. And, when my energy is running low, all I do is bring into focus a few of those moments for a boost!
I sometimes wonder what the world would be like if everyone found their personal calling and focused their energy there instead of focusing on making a living. Leaders of organizations would need to articulate their compelling vision of what their companies do and how they contribute to something bigger…the greater good. I wonder how that might change the perception of people who go to work at their job every day.
One can not fully live out what they are called to do, unless they live within what they are called to be.
Daniel,
Wonderful quote!
thanks,
dan
Always great stuff. Enjoy reading your blog.
Adonis, thank you. Dan
Interesting article!! Too many people just work….and don’t ever consider a sense of calling.