Too many of today’s leaders are more concerned with politics than they are with performance.
Too many leaders are more concerned with image than substance. She isn’t very attractive, he isn’t very handsome, she is too fat, and he is too short, she doesn’t dress very well, his teeth are crooked, and they don’t fit the image. What about the ability to do the job? Where does that fit into the picture?
Far too often leaders define themselves by what they are instead of who they are.
This is my title, this is how many people work for me, this is the kind of car I drive, this is how much money I make, this is where I live, and these are all the people who worship me.
Does any of this matter? Does a true leader worry about what they have more than what they do for others? I think not.
Would you rather have a dinner that wasn’t fit to eat served on fine china or would you rather have a delicious meal served on a paper plate?
What are your priorities as a leader?
As leaders it is time to stop putting your focus on image and start paying attention to substance.
The Hot Chocolate Story
A group of graduates, well established in their careers, were talking at a reunion and decided to go visit their old university professor, now retired. During their visit, the conversation turned to complaints about stress in their work and lives. Offering his guests hot chocolate, the professor went into the kitchen and returned with a large pot of hot chocolate and an assortment of cups-porcelain, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite — telling them to help themselves to the hot chocolate. When they all had a cup of hot chocolate in hand, the professor said:
“Notice that all the nice looking; expensive cups were taken, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress.
The cup that you’re drinking from adds nothing to the quality of the hot chocolate. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was hot chocolate, not the cup; but you consciously went for the best cups… And then you began eyeing each other’s cups.”
Now consider this: Life is the hot chocolate; your job, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain life. The cup you have does not define, nor change the quality of life you have. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the hot chocolate we have.”
The happiest people don’t have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything that they have.
As a leader are you going to be more concerned with what cup your life is served in, or what purpose your life serves?
Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. And enjoy your hot chocolate!- Anonymous
