As I was reading an obituary today, I reminded that I still haven’t seen “proficient at Excel”, “knew his way around a CRM” or “put together one of the best P&L sheets I’ve ever seen” in an obituary byline. Obituaries are saved for things that we really remember people for. What was the difference they made? How did they serve? How did they take care of those in their care?
As a leader, what are you focusing on today in terms of what you will be remembered by? How will you make a difference, even if it’s small, in the life of someone today? How will you make people feel today that are under your care? How will you find a way to serve those that you are leading?
This is not to say that as a manager or a leader, you shouldn’t be expecting the very best out of people in terms of their expectations or behaviors. But are you expecting the best because of how it reflects on you OR are you expecting the best because you can help someone achieve their goals?
The author David Brooks has an article that explores just this topic. The résumé virtues are the skills you bring to the marketplace. The eulogy virtues are the ones that are talked about at your funeral — whether you were kind, brave, honest or faithful. Were you capable of deep love?
As a leader, I’d invite you to read this article today and think about how you can better cultivate eulogy virtues.