Important Question for All Leaders—What is Your Sentence?
July 20th, 2010 by Andrea Moore in Human Resource EssentialsAt the end of a recent keynote address, Dan Pink, author of the popular book, Drive: The Surprising Truth about What Motivates Us, left the audience with this question:
What is your sentence?
Pink had gotten the idea for the question from Clare Luce Boothe, one of the first women to serve in the US Congress. In the early 1960s, Boothe had visited JFK and told him “a great man is a sentence.” She was worried that JFK was trying to do too many things and that his sentence was becoming a muddled paragraph.
In describing the essence of this question, Pink offered a couple of examples.
- Abraham Lincoln’s sentence: He preserved the nation and freed the slaves.
- FDR’s sentence: He lifted us out of a great depression and helped us win a war.
The question of your sentence is similar to another that is often explored within leadership development programs:
What is your legacy?
While both questions may lead you to similar thoughts, I like the simplicity of summing up your influence in one sentence. The legacy question is more likely to lead to a muddled paragraph, while your sentence could be described as your mantra, your credo, or your something special. The most important thing is that it’s yours.
Leadership flows from who you are as a person; while human beings are multifaceted and dynamic, the essence of who you are can be described in a sentence, particularly, if you are clear on your personal values and what’s most important to you. There is great value in the thought process of answering this question as it leads you back to your core. Many of us fall into the trap of trying to be too many things to too many people. You will never be able to be all things, but you can always be more of who you already are.
Since hearing Pink’s question, I have been working on my own sentence. Several years ago, I may have added aspects that I thought others would want to hear, but today, I appreciate my strengths and recognize the unique contribution that I bring. While my sentence may evolve as I do, for today, I feel confident in the following:
- Andrea Moore’s sentence: She empowers and shares positivity to bring out the best in others.
So, I’m curious . . . what is your sentence? Please share your ideas!
Image: healingdream
What a great way to keep sight of what you are really trying to do. As I sit here thinking of my sentence, I am definitely falling into the trap of trying to be everything to everyone – my sentence is trying to turn into a short story! I am taking this as a homework assignment and am really going to think about it over the next week. I’ll be sure to post my sentence here when it becomes clear. Thanks for the thought provoking post.