“Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become leader, success is all about growing others- Jack Welch”
Let me start with a story, which I read some time back and unable to re-collect the source, however my thanks to the person who narrated this story.
A beggar was sitting at the train station with a bowl full of pencils. A young executive passed by and dropped a dollar in the bowl. He then boarded the train. Before the doors closed, something came to his mind and he went back to the beggar, grabbed a bunch of pencils, and said, “They are priced right. After all you are a business person and so am I “, and he left.
Six months later, the executive attended a party. The beggar was also there in a suit and tie. The beggar recognized the executive, went up to him and said, “You probably don‟t recognize me but I remember you.” He then narrated the incident that happened six months before. The executive said, “now that you have reminded me, I do recall that you were begging. What are you doing here in your suit and tie?” The beggar replied, “You probably don‟t know what you did for me that day. You were the first person in my life who gave me back my dignity. You grabbed the bunch of pencils and said, „They are priced right.‟ After all you are a business person and so am I. After you left, I thought to myself, what am I doing here? Why am I begging? I decided to some thing constructive with my life. I packed my bag, started working and here I am. I just want to thank you for giving me back my dignity. That incident changed my life.”
Many of us would have seen the movie “Munnabai MBBS” and the hero- Sanjay Dutt strongly believes that each one has part to play their role with dignity; this is pictured well while he appreciated the sweeper of the hospital and the sweeper tells till date no one has looked at him with so much respect and elated.
We hired a driver for a weeklong trip and ensured that he has food along with us in hotels wherever we stopped and also provided decent accommodation to for good night to sleep. All of us become so close at the end of the travel when we paid his “Bhatta” he told us that “in my 10+ years of travel experience no one has treated me so well with dignity and you took care of me so well as if I am one of your family member. Such trips in the past many not even bothered to ask me whether I had food or not.” I didn‟t see the need for showing different treatment in consumption of food in such occasions. Each one‟s role is very important and has self-esteem so our action should respect each role and the value it is adding to the overall objective.
I had good friend who after his Pre University studies learned typewriting and got the telex operator job. As the years passed by due to invention of technology the concept of “Telex” disappeared like “Telegram” disappeared last year. My friend realized that his job will not exists after couple of years and approached with me with much worry and concern. I told him after office hours sit along with me and learn the job I was doing that point of time. He was prepared to learn and spent time with me learning new things. He had strong background in commerce and was good in accounting. A job opening came up in accounts department and he grabbed the opportunity and I understood that he completed his B.Com and now working as “Accounts Officer” in the same company. In the above examples each one had the self-esteem and self-confidence that really helped them become successful as “Businessmen” or “Accounts Officer” or Driver or Sweeper.
Building self-esteem is very important for professional growth. One needs to be passionate about the role played and assume ownership for the results delivered by them. I think the following points are important to build self-esteem.
Builds strong conviction
Creates willingness to accept responsibility
Builds optimistic attitude
These will lead to
a better relationships and fulfilling lives
Makes a person more sensitive to others‟ needs and develop a caring attitude
Makes a person self-motivated and ambitious
Makes a person open to new opportunities and challenges
Improves performance and increase risk-taking ability
Helps a person give and receive both criticism and compliments tactfully and easily
Few Quotes:
Disciplining yourself to do what you know is right and important, although difficult, is the high road to pride, self-esteem and personal satisfaction---Margret Thatcher
Self-esteem come from what you think of you, not what other people think of you—Gloria Gaynor
