Measure success in human terms.
If you don’t aim to touch lives, you’ll succeed at being forgettable.
“Never lose sight of the fact that the most important yardstick of your success will be how you treat other people – your family, friends, and coworkers, and even strangers you meet along the way.” Barbara Bush
The Lens of Profound Impact
How will you show up for people when:
- Projects stall.
- Performance exceeds expectation.
- Problems emerge unexpectedly.
- Performance is discussed. (I sincerely hope you have stopped wasting time on traditional performance reviews.)
- Opportunities arise.
- Meetings are convened.
- Tough conversations are required.
Redefining Success
You can hit your numbers and miss people. Leadership is about enriching the lives of those around you.
Responsibility for delivering results feels easier if you exclude responsibility for teammates. When numbers are all that matters, humans are expendable.
People-Centric Leadership
Can you answer these questions about your team?
- What are your team members’ aspirations?
- How do you want people to feel about themselves? What are you doing to produce that?
- How are individuals finding fulfillment in their responsibilities and roles?
- How do team members know their contribution to organizational mission and vision?
- What are you doing to develop people?
- What do you know about your team members’ families?
- What makes your teammates proud?
These questions are awkward when you put results over people.
New questions:
- How are you contributing to the wellbeing of others?
- Who are you helping reach higher?
- How do people feel after spending time with you?
- Whose success are you actively investing in?
- How are you creating space for others to shine?
Measure success by how you contribute to the wellbeing of others.
What happens in your thinking when you define success by the way you touch the lives of people?
The #1 Quality of Leaders Who Inspire Us
25 Definitions of Success from Very Accomplished People
