The Colonel said, “Your value doesn’t have to be earned or bought, kiddo. Your value is inherent because you exist. It just IS.”
In the 21st century, many people base their value upon their net worth or the title they hold. As leaders, those standards are especially tenuous because such measurements are, unfortunately, fleeting. Your value as a human being rests solely in the fact that you exist and are, therefore, worthy of merit. Your value as a leader rests in your ability to influence your team to grow, both personally and professionally, and in a productive manner. The challenge is that unless this self-esteem is instilled in us by our parents (and few people are that lucky), it’s a tough concept to grasp, especially in today’s skin-deep society. Once grasped, it’s even harder to maintain. But I believe very strongly that if you don’t love and respect yourself—as you are—it is impossible to love and respect others as they are, which makes it impossible to have a servant’s heart.
I know this is hard because it’s something that I struggle with often. I did not discover that I had value separate from being my father’s daughter until well into my twenties. In terms of child development, that’s relatively late to develop self-esteem. Therefore, I have to work hard at it every day, even now.
Just like maintaining your physical fitness requires discipline—eating well, drinking lots of water, and exercising regularly—your self-esteem is part of your emotional fitness. Maintaining it is just as much a discipline that requires consistent effort. That discipline is essential to leadership.
Read Lauren’s Whitepaper on The Nine Essentials of Significant Leadership.