I have been reflecting on this question a lot lately. Not from the perspective of personal insecurity or doubt (though I have my days), but rather from the viewpoint of other people:
a) What real value is this blog for high-potential and high-achieving leaders delivering to individual careers and corporate talent pools?
b) What gifts or talents am I really using to contribute to the world on a broader scale?
It would be easy to dismiss my pondering as the typical questions of middle age, since I hit my 45th birthday this July. Many friends and family are struggling with illness and financial challenges, so I am reminded much that life is indeed short and must be lived for the moment. But perhaps, due to the wrenching shifts in our economy over this last year, these questions are also becoming the fundamental questions of our times. As one executive I work with articulated so eloquently about his own career and life, maybe what’s becoming more important than success is significance. There is evidence to suggest our society as a whole is re-defining what it means to lead an accomplished and rich life. That redefinition by default means that success is not just measured by our own happiness but includes what we can contribute to others and our world.
Whatever the reason, here’s what I know for sure about us high-potential and high-achiever personality types – we are fundamentally goal-driven. When we are clear who we are and what really matters to us, we can move mountains. And we’ll never settle for the stars when there is a moon, just beyond our grasp.
So here’s a bit about my moon: I believe that the ways we have talked about and developed leadership historically have become limited and outdated for our times. So I’m going to stop writing about leaders and leadership from old ways of thinking, even if those feel “safe” and “proven”. Instead, I am going to blog about leaders and leadership in this turbulent and changing world, as if our lives depended upon them. Because I actually believe they might.
