Page 165 - Leadership Secrets of Hillary Clinton

LEADERSHIP SECRETS OF HILLARY CLINTON

behaving with specific intention. Remember that taking
action on your purpose does not have to be something mon-
umental. It is just being conscious of your purpose and
being open to the opportunities around you on a daily basis.
I spoke recently with Denise Christy, president of Humana
Michigan, and we were talking about the strong connection
between purpose and resilience. In many ways, Denise
seems to have a natural “flow” in her life. She has very little
internal conflict and seems always to be focused on her pur-
pose. Denise’s purpose in life is finding ways to help oth-
ers and the community. She makes every day purposeful.
She is always aware and intentional about bringing value to
a conversation or taking appropriate action when dealing
with a difficult or opportunistic situation. In addition to
working to find better ways for men and women to be suc-
cessful in her company as part of her leadership role there,
she also does this outside of her formal duties.
Denise said, “Every time I have a lunch meeting, I want
it to be a helpful experience for someone. When I walk into
that restaurant, I want to make sure our time together is
not just an opportunity for catching up, but that we engage
in purposeful conversation. It might be that I can help
someone to see something in himself that no one has
shared with him before, or it might be that we have a brain-
storming session about an issue that is important to that
person. I never know exactly what the lunch conversation
will look like, but my focus is always, how can I help you?”

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