Being a Difference Maker in Something Significant! Leading the SpringHill Way Part 11

If you could, unhindered and with clarity, delve deeply into your own heart and soul how would you answer this question – “what are my deepest desires for my job and career?”

My guess is that your answer would be something like this – “I want to be a part of something bigger than myself and I want to do something meaningful in that something bigger.”

I know your answer because, from the first moment of creation, God put these desires into each of us. They’re a significant part of who we are as image bearers of God.

This first desire, to be a part of something bigger and more significant ourselves, comes from a reality we also sense in the deepest recesses of our soul – that we and the world are not an outcome of  time + chance + matter. Instead we’re a result of a thoughtful, intentional, orderly and purposeful plan. And because of this we desire to be a part of a community or organization that is working on and aligned with this order of the world. In other words, what we want to be part of a cause that is making a positive difference in the world and in the lives of others.

The second deeply held desire for our work is directly related to the first. Not only do we want to be a part of something bigger than ourselves but we want to make a meaningful contribution in something significant. We want to be a difference maker in an important work. You see it’s not enough to be in the stadium of an important game, we need to be in the game making plays.

These two deeply held desires for our work – being a part of something bigger than ourselves and doing something meaningful in that big thing – need to guide our leadership. As leaders we need to assure that our organizations are doing important work and that the people we lead see and experience that on a regular basis. Secondly, we need to assure that those we lead are appropriately challenged and doing meaningful work. Then we need to make sure they see the difference their work is making.

At SpringHill we lead with this conviction – that all people want to be difference makers in something significant. We believe if we do this, help our staff see the difference their work is making in SpringHill and in the lives of young people, we’ll never have to motivate them to do their work; they’ll do it naturally with zeal, joy and impact.