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Money Or Satisfaction: Insights with Grant Wattie

Imagine you’ve just been offered two leadership positions, and you have to make a choice of one over the other. You’d be happy with both; however, the first position will be more satisfying (for example, it could be a sports coach). Whereas the second job is higher status and more money, like a CEO position.

So while imagining this choice, you also have to consider why you would want one position over the other (is it more status or more satisfaction or both?), and what kind of person you are going to be. For example, are you going to be the kind of person for whom helping others is more valuable than status or money?

I’ve made that decision a few times in my life. Early on in my career I left a very highly paid job as a corporate manager to become a self-employed business person. I chose to value freedom and lifestyle over security and money. And this was the meaning of my life at the time while my children were young.

I once asked a highly rule leader what was his purpose in life. And he replied in a kind of sad voice, “You know, I don’t have a purpose. I just do what I do to serve my organisation and my family.” Two years later he left his wife for someone much younger. He chose to place his value away from his family and career towards new and exciting things, and this became the new purpose of his life.

So I did a Google on “purpose” and it came up with two definitions:  The first is the reason for which something is done or created; and the second is the person’s sense of resolve. So I prefer the second definition of a ‘person’s sense of resolve,’ because it brings personal responsibility for creating a meaning for your life.

Resolve becomes something you choose every day in everything you do. So if for example you choose a job that brings money and power, then you implicitly assert that your choice and pursuit of money and power is a more valuable way of being a person than the other possibilities. So this assertion becomes the meaning of your life.

As human being, by nature we are different from animals because we care, so caring is the same as pursuing meaning in everything we do. As we choose to care about one particular thing we rule out other possibilities. For example, when you care about working long hours you rule out spending with your family. So what we choose to care about determines what we ultimately value the most.

When my sister, Bridget, was dying of a kidney failure I sat by her bed and we had long chats reflecting on her life. She had been very career-driven early on, and we didn’t see a lot of her. However, at the end she said that what meant most to her was relationships and spending time with her family. This became the single-most important purpose of her life.

So being an extraordinary leader of character means having the resolve and determination to choose your preference over what you value the most, and how that reflects on your vision of the future and discover what values are present.

What values have you kind of just ended up with, and now you want to move away from? Are you being too busy, focused on the wrong things, have too many projects? Are you losing focus and clarity?

What values do you choose to move towards? A more satisfying career? Taking a stand for something bigger than yourself? Building stronger relationships with family and friends? What can you do to get clearer on your most important values? And how can you give preference to them?

So take care and live towards your highest vision and values of the future. This is the mark of extraordinary leadership!