Professional Significance

An organization is only as good as its leaders. A leader's professional leadership is only as good as their personal leadership.

What is the difference between a professional firefighter and a volunteer firefighter? The professional gets paid to fight fires. The fire does not care if you are paid or volunteer, you still fight the fire in the same way. The same is true for leadership. Whether you are paid to lead, or you volunteer to lead, you still lead people the same way.

Now, let's alter the question. What is the difference between a paid leader and a volunteer leader? Paid leaders can get people to follow because of their position. But volunteer leaders get people to follow because of their influence.

How well a leader leads themselves determines how well they will lead others and the organization. Who a leader is in their personal life will influence who they will be in their professional life. You have likely heard that everything rises and falls on leadership. The success or failure of an organization is dependent on its leadership.

Significance is defined as who you are is what you do and what you do is what you leave behind. This is true for both your personal and professional life. Whether paid or volunteer, personal or professional, the legacy you leave depends on the actions you take, and those actions come from who you are.

People want to be significant and want to be part of something significant. They want to be part of something bigger than themselves. How will you influence your legacy and how will you shape the legacy of others?

If you would like to increase your professional significance and influence, reach out to me at eric@drericlake.com.