On our professional relevance.

Following on from my previous discussion on clarity and how important it is for understanding what matters to us, I think the notion of relevance is directly connected.  Relevance implies the idea of how something matters and how important it is in any given context. Relevance also suggests significance, bearing, applicability, consequence, pertinence, connection and influence. 

Have you ever asked yourself how relevant you are professionally? I did, it was a scary moment! However, it was useful because it helped me understand how important it is to frame such a key question to get a meaningful and valuable answer.  

How do we measure our own professional relevance? How do we answer this big question, do we answer based on our own beliefs, and if so, what if our beliefs are limiting? Do we need to then question and transform our beliefs in order to get a resourceful answer? There is an opportunity for personal growth just right there.  

If we accept the principle that we are who we are, rather than what we do; we get greater clarity on what relevance may mean to us.  Separating the person from their behaviour makes a great difference in understanding the relevance of their actions. 

 Everything we do is intimately connected by causes and consequences. Whether we know it or not, we are part of something a lot bigger than ourselves, we are all connected. When there are countless moving pieces, we only have control over a small number of things at any given moment. As we accept that we can’t control everything, we could choose to focus on what we can control instead, gaining a clearer sense of scope and effectiveness in what we do.   

The relevance of what we do (not who we are) is interdependent. Everything we do and how we do it as professionals has a measurable impact affecting everything around us, our families, our businesses, our staff, our colleagues, our clients, their clients, their employees, communities, the environment at large and so on.   

What we do professionally is relevant, it matters, it has consequences, is generative, as it becomes the beginning of something else. We can generate effects either by action or omission.  Having the ability to influence the future, we must ensure that our actions are ecological, or in other words, resourceful and beneficial not only for us, but for everyone around us and as importantly, for the greater good.