We live in a society of likes, retweets, followers, fans, and favorites, and it’s tempting to evaluate our self-worth based on the size of our likes, retweets, followers, fans, and followers.
There are times when size matters, but the context matters more. Great leaders focus on growing their character, competency, credibility, and clarifying their calling. You can be the president of an impressive large organization and still not be a great or even good leader.
History is filled with headlines of leaders who focused more on the size of non-essential vanity metrics rather than the essentials of character that resulted in unwise decisions. My purpose in noting this is not to pass judgment but to learn valuable lessons in life and leadership.
As a ‘transformational leader’ in your family, among your friends, on your job, in business, and ministry your character, competency, and credibility have a greater impact on your sustained success. From personal experience, my two adult children and three grandchildren care more about my process of parenting, how I inspire them, how I empower them, how I lead by example, and how I love and care about them as opposed to the size of the multi-million-dollar budget I managed as a corporate leader.
The question, in the context of leadership, is your purpose to impress, inspire, or influence? Your answer speaks volumes about the size of your emotional intelligence.