What’s in it for me?

That’s a phrase which is particularly popular in sales, to help marketing and sales people to focus on the customer rather than themselves. WIIFM.

But do you want to be a self-focused person and leader?

If you are, you’re going to wear out your employees, distance your partners, and repel customers. Yet it’s a powerful force in our society. We become isolated, disconnected, and separated from those who are generous.

Despite having the most powerful and sophisticated communication tools in the history of mankind, we are more isolated than we’ve ever been. It turns out that communication is not connection.

Kelly Weiss talks about this in her model of Heart-Driven Leadership:

This applies to you as a person, you as a leader, and to every kind of company and other organization.

When you focus on the larger good, you see the connection between what you do and the good for society. You discover amazing resources for co-creation, sharing, and building unity.

You’re a powerful part of creating a community.

As a leader, there are several communities you serve:

  • Your employee base
  • Your business ecosystem – partners, suppliers, and so on
  • The physical communities where you have a presence
  • Larger societies
  • Groups you choose to connect with
  • Humanity and the planet

What are the connections YOU’RE focusing on? Who do you serve?