Page 162 - Leadership Secrets of Hillary Clinton

LEADING WITH PURPOSE

by the day-to-day activities of running a company and I
begin to feel drained, the best thing I can do is speak at a
conference or some sort of leadership forum. That always
seems to get me back on track and feeling fulfilled again.
Recently, I took a red-eye flight back from the West Coast
to speak at a Latino conference. A few short hours after land-
ing in Washington, D.C., I spent 90 minutes leading a large
group of emerging leaders through a process to expand their
awareness of their leadership potential, then gave them some
tools and techniques for leading projects back in their work
environments. At the end of the session, I felt totally ener-
gized, and I could have continued with the group for hours
without feeling tired or losing interest. Knowing that I might
be making a difference to these potential leaders is what keeps
me going, no matter what my calendar looks like or what
issues I may be addressing back in the office. Experiences like
this remind me of what I am all about and keep me on track
when I am tempted to spend too much of my time being an
executive. And I think this happens to many of us who take
on a major leadership role in an organization. We get away
from doing what we love to do on a daily basis, so we need to
find intentional ways to keep our sense of purpose alive.
You can do this by integrating certain reminders, experi-
ences, and rituals into your life. These could be such things as

• Speaking at events on a topic that you care about—
that forwards your purpose

x 151 z