Dangerous Leader: I am not in it for the money

I am not in it for the money, fame, credit or ego stroking. If I have been, I am doing it all wrong. I am in it because I love it. I adore the study of leadership in all of its forms.

I adore the challenge of moving a group of people with competing ideas toward a common goal. I adore figuring out what motivates people to feel fulfilled in what they do as a professional. Because once that sense of fulfillment hits, you will never settle for anything less.

I wasn’t always a Simon Sinek fan (I know, GASP!), but if you follow me at all, that shouldn’t be a big surprise. For a while there, he was pretty mainstream, and everyone was quoting him like a deity. That is the easiest way for my contrary mind to tune someone out.

But then he published “The Infinite Game” in October 2019 and offered the idea for consideration that there are no “winners” and “losers” in business. We are playing a game where we are trying to do things that range between survive and continue to grow. There is no winning at that kind of game.

I LOVE THAT.

That means that in every moment of every day, I can find the right path for me to do things that range between surviving and continuing to grow. It means that failure and growth from failures are imperatives in order to stay in the game.

Figuring out what doesn’t work is as important as figuring out what does. It means that learning how to collaborate with others is a super power.

I find leadership, as a study and practice, to be ever-changing. This produces an experience that allows us to keep being challenged. With each challenge, we have the choice to learn and evolve as leaders.

All that is required is the acceptance that this isn’t about winning. Leadership is about building and growing people, to include you, to achieve a mission based on a shared vision.

What are you in it for?

Live Dangerously. Be You.

Jennifer Smith is a Cedar Rapids-based personal and executive coach, host of The Dangerous Leader Podcast, and unapologetic optimist. Comments: jennifer@dangerousleader.com; @drjennsmith