The Power of Significance and Leading with Hope

The past few weeks have been a time of great celebration for our organization. On February 20th, we celebrated John C. Maxwell’s 75th birthday and his ongoing legacy of more than five decades of leadership teaching and transformation. And most recently, we hosted our International Maxwell Leadership Certification event, welcoming over 1,000 newly Certified Team members who were joined by 700 returning alumni members. This event was a defining moment in the legacy of our company because we unveiled our new, unified brand: Maxwell Leadership®. This transformation signifies a key shift in our approach to leadership development – a shift that focuses beyond success and seeks a greater leadership calling of significance.

While we have a lot to celebrate as an organization, I want to contextualize that within the reality that much of the rest of the world is not in a place of celebration. As events unfold in the world, across oceans and in our own communities, I believe there has never been a greater need for values-based, people-centered leadership than there is now.

Even as we’ve celebrated the past couple of weeks, this idea of leading with significance – which I believe is ultimately an expression of hope – is what’s been top of mind for me as I’ve reflected on the leadership teachings that have inspired my personal growth and the growth of so many of the leaders and leadership experts I admire. So, I thought I’d share a few thoughts on what the power of significance and leading with hope have come to mean to me over the years, especially in times of transformation or turmoil.

The world is hungry for powerful, positive change.

The Power of Significance

Looking ahead, as the world searches for its next great leaders, we realize that what people long for – after success – is significance. Significance is the transformational power of helping others leave a powerful, positive legacy of change that outlasts them. It’s helping someone recognize their own potential for the first time. It’s pulling the best out of a team that has all the right, raw potential to achieve something greater through their collective abilities. It’s doing the right thing when no one is looking, and it’s serving others over self. I could go on, but we’ve all witnessed significance at some point in our lives. When we’ve tasted significance, there’s no going back. And as leaders, as people who influence others, it’s never been more important to live and inspire a life of significance.

Leading with Hope

One of my favorite quotes from John about hope is this one: “Where there is no hope in the future, there is no power in the present.” These words have certainly helped me in my most challenging times as a leader. To lead with hope, we must acknowledge two things: First, we have to establish that hope is a choice, not just a feeling. The decision to choose hope communicates that we believe there is a way forward as long as we work to find it. Second, when we don’t choose hope, we give into the passive thinking that the future is out of our hands. Leaders who choose hope know this is not true. Even though we may not be able to control the future, we can choose to shape it through our actions and the ways we influence and inspire others.

I look forward to hearing your stories of leading with significance and hope as we seek to spark transformational change – in our own lives, in our organizations and in the world.

Grow Your Potential with Maxwell Leadership

Are you searching for ways to grow your potential as a leader? I invite you to explore what Maxwell Leadership has to offer and choose the right solution for you and your leadership journey. If you’re just beginning your personal growth journey and don’t know where to start, download our 30-Day Growth Plan – a guide to growing your leadership potential.