Children get asked questions such as who they admire and who their hero is. But no one is too grown up to have a hero and a professional hero is an important addition to your success circle to serve as a strong model or practical example of the high standards you can aspire to and achieve. Here are some thoughts to reflect on as you identify your own hero. Find someone you can;
Honour: To honour someone is to have the highest regard for them. Here I encourage you to focus not on the person’s title or status, but who they are. What are their character traits? What are their principles? Paying attention to positive personal attributes will help you learn enduring qualities and build your own capability for your advancement.
Emulate: It is easy to emulate someone you greatly admire and honour. You could, for example, learn how they handle difficult situations, moral dilemmas and decisions with ethical implications and how they tackle what may be considered grey areas.
Resonate with: When you think about your core values, who do you resonate with? Having clear values and principles and living them is crucial and keeps you grounded and protected from the kind of agonising that results when you do not have clear values that guide you. Think about the things that are important to you that this person’s qualities resonate with.
Obey: This is not blind obedience, but your ‘hero’ has to be someone you are willing to take correction or guidance from; someone whose advice you trust to be well-meaning enough to act on, especially when you are not seeing clearly but need to move past professional challenges or to take a leap of faith.
Now take action: Identify a professional hero.
Identify a professional hero
