Change is hard. Transformation is even harder. And when the journey to your greatest, most meaningful dreams requires that you continually transform, the path to success could feel like standing at the base of a mountain with no clear map to the summit.
At The Siegfried Group, LLP (Siegfried), we invest in and equip our professionals with the tools to begin the climb – to grapple little by little each and every day, with the urgency to grow but patience for the fact that fulfilling dreams are a long-term play – and it all starts with individual leadership.
“The speakers today might be inspirational, but you really have to find the inspiration to grow internally, which is always the case with individual leadership,” explained Rob Siegfried, CEO and Founder, as he welcomed employees from across the country to Las Vegas for the Firm’s 28th MY Journey® event, a part of our larger Siegfried Summit. “By being more thoughtful about your individual leadership, you will transform over time and move in the right direction toward your bigger future.”
Throughout the day, employees heard from Rob and featured guest speakers Dr. Nido Qubein, Rachel Campos-Duffy, and Matt Taibbi. Through compelling storytelling and vibrant discussion, the group encouraged attendees to strengthen their individual leadership by being more reflective about themselves, the people they’re surrounded by, and the mindset with which they approach the world around them.
Becoming who you want to be
Excellence is born through change, and according to Dr. Nido Qubein, President of High Point University and repeat MY Journey® speaker, by examining your life and determining your unique and appreciated value, you can clarify who you want to become and the impact you are meant to create.
“How you change is how you succeed,” shared Nido as he returned to the MY Journey® stage. “To live in the transformational zone, you must quit paying so much attention to your ‘to do’ list and start paying more attention to your ‘to be’ list. A ‘to do’ list is transactional. A ‘to be’ list is transformational.”
Then, you must be an actionist. You must protect the belief that you can get there, no matter how daunting or slow the climb, build your character ethic in the face of adversity, and have the patient urgency to take incremental steps for long-term success.
“There are no such thing as unrealistic dreams, only unrealistic timelines,” Nido continued. “You’ve got to believe in the art of the possible. The circumstances that you found yourself in this morning don’t define where you end up – they only determine where you start. There's hope for everyone. There's a place for everyone. It just takes personal initiative and resilience and desire and commitment, but most importantly, belief.”
Welcoming challenges and change
Individual leadership is not just challenging yourself from within; it also means challenging the environment and institutions around you and having the self-motivation to forge your own distinct path. Rachel Campos-Duffy, American TV personality and correspondent for Fox & Friends Weekend, joined Matt Taibbi, American journalist and contributor at Racket News, for a discussion on navigating the information landscape, being relentlessly curious, and finding the truth for yourself.
“When people are self-motivated to learn, they will overlook messages that come from the outside, because they’re interested in satisfying that inner drive,” Matt explained. “You should find your own primary sources when you’re doing any kind of research. This is how you protect yourself from an artificial, manufactured, or manipulated version of reality.”
Rachel echoed the importance of courageously challenging your paradigms and examining a variety of perspectives to form your own opinion, despite it being uncomfortable. “One of the best compliments I get is when people say, ‘Thank you for saying what we think at home,’” said Rachel.
Of course, individual leadership is a life-long journey in which change is a constant, and your perspective may shift as you grow and transform. “I credit myself with having the humility to say, ‘I was wrong,’” Rachel shared.
Supporting our professionals’ journeys
Siegfried is a service organization, and as one of our offerings, we provide leadership advisory services, not just to our clients but to our employees as well. Through the Firm’s MY Journey® program, we live out our higher purpose and the idea that being of service to others requires being of service to yourself first.
“I don’t know that I’ve ever encountered a company that would commit these kinds of resources so that you could go on the right journey, so that you could have great growth in your life, so that you could be happy,” reflected Dr. Nido Qubein on his second MY Journey® experience.
This MY Journey® event was hosted live in Las Vegas. About 1,100 people were in attendance. More information about the Firm is available at siegfriedgroup.com.
About The Siegfried Group, LLP (Siegfried)
Siegfried is an entrepreneurial leadership organization that provides financial executives with a powerful combination of leadership advisory, talent delivery, and financial advisory services. Through this strategic bundle of services, leaders and financial decision makers can better clarify the best path forward and we can assist them with getting their most important work done right. For over 35 years, we’ve worked with our clients to deliver more than just success.
Our higher purpose is to help people transform themselves into better leaders to exponentially improve their lives.
