Why Leadership Matters…

Leadership matters because people matter.

People are looking for meaning and purpose. They are looking to know someone cares. They want to belong. People desire to be part of something bigger than themselves. Leadership provides each of these.

Growing up I always loved visiting my grandfather. I loved the focus and intentional time he showed my brother and I. We called my grandfather Doc. He was a family doctor in a town of 18,000 people. He was a local celebrity. Everywhere he went, people recognized Doc and stopped to greet him and update him on their lives. At the time, I viewed these interactions as interruptions to my time with Doc. Thankfully, I did pay attention. I watched the way he treated people who came up in restaurants or stores. He knew their names and their kids names. He knew good stories about everyone’s family. He listened intently and smiled. He made it obvious to every person that they mattered.

I watched how he cared for his patients. He took longer than the average doctor to see a patient. He spent more time listening to his patients recount stories than focusing on asking diagnostic questions. I watched on Saturday nights as he would step down into his study and spend hours preparing his Sunday school lesson. If people were coming to his class, he wanted to be prepared. He wanted to help them grow.

Looking back I understand that the greatest way my grandfather helped people was not by diagnosing their illnesses and prescribing medicine. The greatest gift he gave to everyone was to show them they mattered. He displayed love and care for everyone. He reminded people that their lives have purpose and meaning.

Doc’s greatest leadership impact wasn’t through formal leadership positions he held. It was through the way he served everyone by placing their needs above his and showing them they matter. That each person he encountered helped make the world a better place.

Leadership matters at work

If employees do not believe their employer cares about them or values them, how much effort will they give at work? If employees do not understand why their job matters, how much will they love their job? If employees do not know what to do, how much work will get done every day?

Without leadership at work, little work gets done. People want to know the purpose of the company and why their job matters. People want to know that the company values them. People want to know the goals and objectives. When leadership is provided, these questions are answered. People see they matter, and they take ownership and enjoy their work.

Leadership matters at home

Our families want to know they matter to us. They want to feel important and valued. Loving and serving our families is leadership. Helping our family members to see their value and importance to the rest of the family is leadership. Each person in our family matters and often the best way we show them they matter is to give them focused time.

The way my grandfather served people in his community through his smiles, listening and encouraging words taught me as a young boy how to lead. He showed me that our purpose in life is greater than ourselves. We live and we serve to help others. We live to show people they matter and are important. It starts in the home with our families. We lovingly serve our family members so that together we can serve our neighbors and communities.

Self Leadership matters

Before you can lead others, you have to lead yourself. You have to see that you matter. You have skills and abilities to offer the world. You have a purpose. To serve others, you first must lead yourself. If everything in your life is about “me,” you are not leading yourself well.

When I was a boy, my focus was all about me and what I wanted. I wanted my grandfather’s undivided attention all the time. Thankfully, he didn’t provide it. Instead he modeled a key leadership truth and modeled unselfishness and humility.

Conclusion

How well do you know your team members or your employees? Do you know how many kids they have? Do you know if they have any struggles at home? Do you know what their passions are? Getting to know your team will not make you less productive. You will find that your team’s productivity increases as people see you care. Each person on your team is valuable. Display their worth and importance by how you lead them.

First published at chrismoore.global.