Imagine → Figure Out → Help.

the path of a leader writing series Aug 17, 2023

A clear mission simplifies decisions and sharpens leadership. When your purpose is grounded in loving people and creating value, your work becomes service, your strategy becomes intentional, and your leadership becomes deeply human.

Businesses sometimes have a mission statement. Less frequently people have mission statements.

My mission statement and my actual mission is:

Love People. Create Value.

It’s taken 27 years to get to these 4 words. Powerful words which help me re-focus on what my purpose is and why I do what I do. These four words have shaped how I lead others, make decisions, and take responsibility. They are the foundation of how I walk The Path of a Leader. I’m not perfect by any means, but the mission statement helps me stay calibrated as I strive to be better daily.

Do you have a personal mission statement to calibrate yourself?

No doubt you are getting along fine without one, just curious.

There are many aspects of The Path of a Leader and how we seek to serve others and get stuff done, for me - building on those four words - it’s a great love and appreciation for people and what is possible in creative endeavors.

Do you know about Seth?

When things strike a cord with me - especially when it’s “on mission” while aligning to GSD and growth, it resonates.

A recent post from Seth Godin did just that.

Imagine → Figure Out → Help.

I love the simplicity of this message yet how impactful it is.

As creative people, we have unlimited potential which stems from our imagination and our problem solving ability and when we do it for the good of others, it’s reward is far reaching. That creative potential, when activated with intention and service, becomes leadership in motion.

What’s below the surface?

I imagine that leaders need to see more of the unseen in our behaviors, mindset, and what creates outcomes. So I write about that here.

The SCARF model article is because it simplifies what motivates or demotivates people and teams.

The empathy illustration is because we often judge people based on actions and their results, and do not slow down enough to consider that those actions are coming from hidden beliefs and needs. Yet we often think of ourselves as having good intentions and wanting people to know our positive intent around what we did or said.

The article on dream killers, status quo, the resistance and the lizard brain is because we have an inner voice that is a critic and a liar and we have others around us who don’t help us bring our imagination and creativity to life.

And if it happens to me, it happens to you too. And that means its happening to your team members, your leaders, you partners.

It’s invisible, but that doesn’t mean its not consistent and common.

It’s things like this, that have been useful to me as I try to help others in the workplace. And this applies to our organizations, our leaders, teams and co-workers.

When we consider those we serve and empathize with them and their desire to succeed, we can meet them there and be a part of the solution they need most to help them get where they want to go.

How lucky are we to be so creative, so capable, so resourceful that we can see a need and solve it for their benefit? Incredible.

I understand the quote from Seth above included some marketing language. Don't see this just as marketing. See this as a way we can seek to serve others including our co-workers, partners, team members, and even family.

Be in and about the business of helping others get where they want to go. That’s how you walk The Path of a Leader.

#ThePathOfALeader
#GSD

Appreciate you,

Justin