February 25, 2025 • 12 mins
Success is great—but what if significance is the real game-changer? Early in our careers, we chase success—until we realize significance gives it meaning. In this episode, we dive into:
- How authentic leadership blends success with lasting impact
- Building a personal brand that truly matters
- Key questions to shape your success & significance journey
Jill Griffin, host of The Career Refresh, delivers expert guidance on workplace challenges and career transitions. Jill leverages her experience working for the world's top brands like Coca-Cola, Microsoft, Hilton Hotels, and Martha Stewart to address leadership, burnout, team dynamics, and the 4Ps (perfectionism, people-pleasing, procrastination, and personalities).
Visit JillGriffinCoaching.com for more details on:
- Book a 1:1 Career Strategy and Executive Coaching HERE
- Build a Leadership Identity That Earns Trust and Delivers Results.
- Gallup CliftonStrengths Corporate Workshops to build a strengths-based culture
- Team Dynamics training to increase retention, communication, goal setting, and effective decision-making
- Keynote Speaking
- Grab a personal Resume Refresh with Jill Griffin HERE
Follow @JillGriffinOffical on Instagram for daily inspiration
Connect with and follow Jill on LinkedIn
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, welcome back to the Career Refresh.
This is where we dive intostrategies that you need to
navigate challenges ofleadership In this ever-changing
world.
I'm your host, jill Griffin, aleadership strategist and an
executive coach, and, after asuccessful career in corporate,
I've spent the last 15 yearshelping thousands of
professionals achieve theirgoals, grow, scale and improve
(00:25):
overall workplace performance.
And that performance startswith yourself.
And today I am digging indeeper on the relationship
between success and significance.
I think early in our careers wechase success and then at some
point, all of a sudden, we thinkwe may not be actually saying
(00:47):
the word significance, but we'relike what does this all mean?
We realized that withoutsignificance, what are we doing
here?
Success and significance aretwo powerful forces that shape
personal branding, and whilesuccess is measured by
achievements what's in your bankaccount recognition
significance goes beyond thatpersonal gain and thinks about
(01:11):
how you're creating lastingimpact.
And I've always been fascinatedby this dance between these two
, and I think it's reallyimportant for you to think
through how you want to approachthese two areas, as you are
thinking through your leadershipapproach to your team and again
ourselves first, and then howwe're leading our team.
(01:31):
So let's dig in.
Figures like Howard Schultz,the former CEO of Starbucks, or
Malala Yousafzai.
Schultz, the former CEO ofStarbucks, or Malala Yousafzai,
the youngest ever winner of theNobel Peace Prize, exemplify how
success can elevate a personalbrand, and I'm not saying either
(01:53):
of them went after it as apersonal brand.
We're looking at it right,we're in the rearview mirror now
.
We're looking at it that way,but it's the significance that
they've created that createsthat impact, significance that
they've created that createsthat impact.
So Schultz built a businessempire that he prioritized
ethical leadership, making surethat employee well-being was
front and center.
And then Yousafzai she was theone who turned the adversity
(02:18):
into a movement for globaleducation.
This idea of a personal brandisn't about external success.
It's also about how you'recontributing to something
greater, and the mostinfluential brands combine both,
ensuring that both a legacy andsomething beyond.
Personal accomplishments havethe renaissance right.
(02:39):
How are they resonating withall of us?
And leaders who go aboutseeking a way of creating impact
really need to think throughhow are they going to embrace
this significance.
So, while achievements buildauthority, it's the true
leadership that is really aboutinfluence, or the purpose and
(03:00):
how you're creating lastingchange.
Your personal brand is how youpresent yourself to the world,
right, this is your reputation,value, skills, the impact that
you're making, either withinyour team, your department, your
company, your community, right,how it radiates out.
And getting clear is whereyou're thinking about how are
(03:20):
you fostering trust?
Where are you inspiring others,whether they're teams or
community, and how you arecultivating workplaces that
drive productivity and long-termimpact.
Both success and significanceplay a role in shaping all of
this, but they do it indifferent ways.
So if we think about successand really kind of like
(03:41):
everybody's going to have adifferent perspective on what
success means and that's whatmakes us all unique and original
.
But there's the perspective,there's context and then there's
personal value.
So if we're just like gettingclear on definitions here, it's
about success is really aboutthat achievement that maybe it's
wealth achievement, like what'sin the bank account, it's the
(04:02):
recognition, it's the award,it's the status, it's the career
accomplishment and that's sortof the traditional definition.
And then when you're thinkingabout success and I know if
you've listened to other coachesor mentors, or even if your HR
department is doing a learningand development push it's like
well, what do you want?
What do you want to create?
(04:23):
And that's where that personaldefinition of success is really,
really important, and it has toconnect with your own
aspirations and values, and itmay involve happiness,
self-improvement, strongconnections and relationships
and go beyond just externalachievements.
But normally when we think ofsuccess we are in such a
data-driven world that it isabout the numbers and the
(04:43):
success.
The psychological definitionmay also include your
non-negotiables, things likeyour well-being and the
contentment that comes fromachieving that personal
satisfaction where you'veovercome challenges or learned
to pivot, how you're makingmeaningful connections.
And then you know, when youthink about how success connects
in with your personal brand,it's going to build credibility
(05:06):
and recognition.
It's again those awards, theachievements, if you're able to
accumulate wealth as a result ofit.
What is that wealth affordingyou, which therefore impacts
your lifestyle and that of yourfamily and friends potentially,
and it all enhances how peopleoverall perceived you.
And this is all a personaldecision of how you want to go
(05:27):
about it.
Being able to be able to talkto a successful track record is
going to make you be a trustedexpert on your inner field, on
your LinkedIn profile, on yourresume, if you're speaking at a
leadership event or an industryevent, right, it's being able to
establish that authority.
That's what we hear from right.
Whenever we go to an event,it's always the person who has
(05:47):
achieved the hardcore successthat we have tangible data and
numbers to talk about.
And I think an example of wheresuccess focus can become shallow
is you know, you have a leaderof a brand that has high
achievements and everything isabout the success and the sales,
which, again, is important, butthere's gotta be.
(06:12):
Not every brand has to changethe world, but if you can at
least say that your workforce isbalanced and healthy, then I
think that's something you needto think about.
There's room enough for brandsthat are creating impact and
sustainability, and also peoplethat are creating brands and
companies that are putting aproduct into the world but treat
(06:32):
their people well.
That needs to be taken intoconsideration and you may decide
, nope, it's just about the sale, but I would offer you, the
treatment of your organizationand the people in your
organization is a big part ofsuccess.
So success is totallysubjective and it's going to
mean different things for oneperson or another.
(06:52):
So I think for you at thispoint, whether you're a notes
person or a pen and paper person, I would encourage you just to
pause and think through whatdoes that success mean for you?
And then significance right,here's the dance.
Significance is the importance,the meaning, the impact of
something.
And there's the generaldefinition right, where we can
(07:13):
then start thinking about wheresignificance has a personal
meaning the value or the purposethat something holds in your
life.
An inherited watch from yourgrandfather may have personal
significance, right, that's whatwe're talking about there.
It may also be the sense ofthinking about your
grandfather's legacy that givesyou fulfillment to know that
(07:34):
you're standing on the shouldersof giants, right?
So there could be a personalmeaning there.
And then there's also thatphilosophical, the deeper
meaning or purpose behind a lifeevent or an action or the
things that you're doing.
You want to be thinking throughhow this impact, this meeting
and this value, and what do youwant to do with it in your
personal life or your community,or your company or your
(07:57):
industry what do you want to dowith it?
So, when you think aboutsignificance with the personal
brand, right, it's going tocreate purpose and legacy.
It's going to focus on thatimpact, that contribution, where
you're talking about some ofthose deeper values.
It's going to definitely havean emotional connection because
people are going to resonatewith someone who stands for
something, versus just going toresonate with someone who stands
(08:19):
for something, versus just thebasic part of success.
Right, people are going to wantto be loyal, whether it's by a
brand purchase or whether it'sby the people and leaders that
we're around that are mixingboth success and significance.
And then you're thinking about,with significance, what is that
long-term impact?
So someone, if we're thinkingabout a leader, it's someone who
not only mentors others andadvocates for change and is also
(08:41):
creating impact in theircompany.
And, yeah, they're successfulbecause they're reaching their
numbers, and that's what we'retalking about.
And how are you a change forthat longer, deeper, lasting
value?
So, the similarities whenyou're thinking about both
success and significance andonce again, this is where you
need to use your brain, yourthoughts the answers are inside
you.
And even if you work with acoach or a mentor, the answers
(09:04):
are still inside you.
So you want to think, if you'reblending this success and
significance, it's achievementoriented, right, they're both
striving for a goal or a purpose.
There can be personalfulfillment.
There's a sense of satisfaction, in addition to a hardcore,
data-driven numbers fulfillment.
There's the influence on others, people who are successful.
Let me tell you they're goingto have an influence on you
(09:25):
because of the personalachievements.
You're going to be inspired,you're going to see it as what
is possible.
It's the meaningfulcontributions of significance
that often, when the two ofthose blend, make you really
really powerful and really havetremendous amount of impact.
There's growth and developmentboth success and significant
require effort, learning and theresilience, right, that grit to
(09:49):
constantly be pivoting andlearning and scaling yourself or
the product or project thatyou're working on.
So if success is aboutachieving something for one
oneself, thinking aboutsignificance as the contribution
beyond oneself, one can befleeting, but the other one is
going to create a lasting legacyand many people, as I said in
(10:13):
the beginning, first go aftersuccess and then seek
significance because they'regetting that higher level of
fulfillment.
So let's talk about somepersonal brands here so that you
can kind of see how this fitstogether.
Right, of course there's thequeen, oprah Winfrey massive
success, but also focused onmaking a difference.
When we go back to MalalaYousafzai, she turned a personal
(10:37):
struggle into a globalsignificance, using her platform
to fight for education,equality and human rights.
As I mentioned Howard Schultz,he used business success to
create a brand centered onemployee well-being, with
ethical leadership and socialresponsibility.
We also have people likeMichelle Obama, known for
creating success but alsofocusing on meaningful
(11:00):
contributions.
So, if your goal is a strong,lasting personal brand, success
alone isn't enough.
You're going to needsignificance to stand out and
make an impact.
So, friends, your homeworkafter listening to this, if you
choose is to think through whatis the balance you want between
success and significance.
(11:20):
When does it dance?
When does it balance back andforth?
When are you leaning into moreone than the other?
It is a personal decision, andthese are the great things for
you to take to a mentor or acoach, and that, of course, is a
great place for me to say I'dlove to work with you and be
your coach and help you reallythink through.
What does success andsignificance mean for you?
(11:41):
How does it impact yourpersonal brand?
How does it align with yourleadership goals and your
personal goals and yeah, yoursales goals?
Because cash in the bank, moneyin the wallet, those are great
things to have too.
All right, friends, until nexttime, embrace possibility, be
intentional and always, alwaysbe kind.
I'll see you soon.
Hey, welcome back to the Career Refresh.
This is where we dive intostrategies that you need to
navigate challenges ofleadership In this ever-changing
world.
I'm your host, jill Griffin, aleadership strategist and an
executive coach, and, after asuccessful career in corporate,
I've spent the last 15 yearshelping thousands of
professionals achieve theirgoals, grow, scale and improve
(00:25):
overall workplace performance.
And that performance startswith yourself.
And today I am digging indeeper on the relationship
between success and significance.
I think early in our careers wechase success and then at some
point, all of a sudden, we thinkwe may not be actually saying
(00:47):
the word significance, but we'relike what does this all mean?
We realized that withoutsignificance, what are we doing
here?
Success and significance aretwo powerful forces that shape
personal branding, and whilesuccess is measured by
achievements what's in your bankaccount recognition
significance goes beyond thatpersonal gain and thinks about
(01:11):
how you're creating lastingimpact.
And I've always been fascinatedby this dance between these two
, and I think it's reallyimportant for you to think
through how you want to approachthese two areas, as you are
thinking through your leadershipapproach to your team and again
ourselves first, and then howwe're leading our team.
(01:31):
So let's dig in.
Figures like Howard Schultz,the former CEO of Starbucks, or
Malala Yousafzai.
Schultz, the former CEO ofStarbucks, or Malala Yousafzai,
the youngest ever winner of theNobel Peace Prize, exemplify how
success can elevate a personalbrand, and I'm not saying either
(01:53):
of them went after it as apersonal brand.
We're looking at it right,we're in the rearview mirror now
.
We're looking at it that way,but it's the significance that
they've created that createsthat impact, significance that
they've created that createsthat impact.
So Schultz built a businessempire that he prioritized
ethical leadership, making surethat employee well-being was
front and center.
And then Yousafzai she was theone who turned the adversity
(02:18):
into a movement for globaleducation.
This idea of a personal brandisn't about external success.
It's also about how you'recontributing to something
greater, and the mostinfluential brands combine both,
ensuring that both a legacy andsomething beyond.
Personal accomplishments havethe renaissance right.
(02:39):
How are they resonating withall of us?
And leaders who go aboutseeking a way of creating impact
really need to think throughhow are they going to embrace
this significance.
So, while achievements buildauthority, it's the true
leadership that is really aboutinfluence, or the purpose and
(03:00):
how you're creating lastingchange.
Your personal brand is how youpresent yourself to the world,
right, this is your reputation,value, skills, the impact that
you're making, either withinyour team, your department, your
company, your community, right,how it radiates out.
And getting clear is whereyou're thinking about how are
(03:20):
you fostering trust?
Where are you inspiring others,whether they're teams or
community, and how you arecultivating workplaces that
drive productivity and long-termimpact.
Both success and significanceplay a role in shaping all of
this, but they do it indifferent ways.
So if we think about successand really kind of like
(03:41):
everybody's going to have adifferent perspective on what
success means and that's whatmakes us all unique and original
.
But there's the perspective,there's context and then there's
personal value.
So if we're just like gettingclear on definitions here, it's
about success is really aboutthat achievement that maybe it's
wealth achievement, like what'sin the bank account, it's the
(04:02):
recognition, it's the award,it's the status, it's the career
accomplishment and that's sortof the traditional definition.
And then when you're thinkingabout success and I know if
you've listened to other coachesor mentors, or even if your HR
department is doing a learningand development push it's like
well, what do you want?
What do you want to create?
(04:23):
And that's where that personaldefinition of success is really,
really important, and it has toconnect with your own
aspirations and values, and itmay involve happiness,
self-improvement, strongconnections and relationships
and go beyond just externalachievements.
But normally when we think ofsuccess we are in such a
data-driven world that it isabout the numbers and the
(04:43):
success.
The psychological definitionmay also include your
non-negotiables, things likeyour well-being and the
contentment that comes fromachieving that personal
satisfaction where you'veovercome challenges or learned
to pivot, how you're makingmeaningful connections.
And then you know, when youthink about how success connects
in with your personal brand,it's going to build credibility
(05:06):
and recognition.
It's again those awards, theachievements, if you're able to
accumulate wealth as a result ofit.
What is that wealth affordingyou, which therefore impacts
your lifestyle and that of yourfamily and friends potentially,
and it all enhances how peopleoverall perceived you.
And this is all a personaldecision of how you want to go
(05:27):
about it.
Being able to be able to talkto a successful track record is
going to make you be a trustedexpert on your inner field, on
your LinkedIn profile, on yourresume, if you're speaking at a
leadership event or an industryevent, right, it's being able to
establish that authority.
That's what we hear from right.
Whenever we go to an event,it's always the person who has
(05:47):
achieved the hardcore successthat we have tangible data and
numbers to talk about.
And I think an example of wheresuccess focus can become shallow
is you know, you have a leaderof a brand that has high
achievements and everything isabout the success and the sales,
which, again, is important, butthere's gotta be.
(06:12):
Not every brand has to changethe world, but if you can at
least say that your workforce isbalanced and healthy, then I
think that's something you needto think about.
There's room enough for brandsthat are creating impact and
sustainability, and also peoplethat are creating brands and
companies that are putting aproduct into the world but treat
(06:32):
their people well.
That needs to be taken intoconsideration and you may decide
, nope, it's just about the sale, but I would offer you, the
treatment of your organizationand the people in your
organization is a big part ofsuccess.
So success is totallysubjective and it's going to
mean different things for oneperson or another.
(06:52):
So I think for you at thispoint, whether you're a notes
person or a pen and paper person, I would encourage you just to
pause and think through whatdoes that success mean for you?
And then significance right,here's the dance.
Significance is the importance,the meaning, the impact of
something.
And there's the generaldefinition right, where we can
(07:13):
then start thinking about wheresignificance has a personal
meaning the value or the purposethat something holds in your
life.
An inherited watch from yourgrandfather may have personal
significance, right, that's whatwe're talking about there.
It may also be the sense ofthinking about your
grandfather's legacy that givesyou fulfillment to know that
(07:34):
you're standing on the shouldersof giants, right?
So there could be a personalmeaning there.
And then there's also thatphilosophical, the deeper
meaning or purpose behind a lifeevent or an action or the
things that you're doing.
You want to be thinking throughhow this impact, this meeting
and this value, and what do youwant to do with it in your
personal life or your community,or your company or your
(07:57):
industry what do you want to dowith it?
So, when you think aboutsignificance with the personal
brand, right, it's going tocreate purpose and legacy.
It's going to focus on thatimpact, that contribution, where
you're talking about some ofthose deeper values.
It's going to definitely havean emotional connection because
people are going to resonatewith someone who stands for
something, versus just going toresonate with someone who stands
(08:19):
for something, versus just thebasic part of success.
Right, people are going to wantto be loyal, whether it's by a
brand purchase or whether it'sby the people and leaders that
we're around that are mixingboth success and significance.
And then you're thinking about,with significance, what is that
long-term impact?
So someone, if we're thinkingabout a leader, it's someone who
not only mentors others andadvocates for change and is also
(08:41):
creating impact in theircompany.
And, yeah, they're successfulbecause they're reaching their
numbers, and that's what we'retalking about.
And how are you a change forthat longer, deeper, lasting
value?
So, the similarities whenyou're thinking about both
success and significance andonce again, this is where you
need to use your brain, yourthoughts the answers are inside
you.
And even if you work with acoach or a mentor, the answers
(09:04):
are still inside you.
So you want to think, if you'reblending this success and
significance, it's achievementoriented, right, they're both
striving for a goal or a purpose.
There can be personalfulfillment.
There's a sense of satisfaction, in addition to a hardcore,
data-driven numbers fulfillment.
There's the influence on others, people who are successful.
Let me tell you they're goingto have an influence on you
(09:25):
because of the personalachievements.
You're going to be inspired,you're going to see it as what
is possible.
It's the meaningfulcontributions of significance
that often, when the two ofthose blend, make you really
really powerful and really havetremendous amount of impact.
There's growth and developmentboth success and significant
require effort, learning and theresilience, right, that grit to
(09:49):
constantly be pivoting andlearning and scaling yourself or
the product or project thatyou're working on.
So if success is aboutachieving something for one
oneself, thinking aboutsignificance as the contribution
beyond oneself, one can befleeting, but the other one is
going to create a lasting legacyand many people, as I said in
(10:13):
the beginning, first go aftersuccess and then seek
significance because they'regetting that higher level of
fulfillment.
So let's talk about somepersonal brands here so that you
can kind of see how this fitstogether.
Right, of course there's thequeen, oprah Winfrey massive
success, but also focused onmaking a difference.
When we go back to MalalaYousafzai, she turned a personal
(10:37):
struggle into a globalsignificance, using her platform
to fight for education,equality and human rights.
As I mentioned Howard Schultz,he used business success to
create a brand centered onemployee well-being, with
ethical leadership and socialresponsibility.
We also have people likeMichelle Obama, known for
creating success but alsofocusing on meaningful
(11:00):
contributions.
So, if your goal is a strong,lasting personal brand, success
alone isn't enough.
You're going to needsignificance to stand out and
make an impact.
So, friends, your homeworkafter listening to this, if you
choose is to think through whatis the balance you want between
success and significance.
(11:20):
When does it dance?
When does it balance back andforth?
When are you leaning into moreone than the other?
It is a personal decision, andthese are the great things for
you to take to a mentor or acoach, and that, of course, is a
great place for me to say I'dlove to work with you and be
your coach and help you reallythink through.
What does success andsignificance mean for you?
(11:41):
How does it impact yourpersonal brand?
How does it align with yourleadership goals and your
personal goals and yeah, yoursales goals?
Because cash in the bank, moneyin the wallet, those are great
things to have too.
All right, friends, until nexttime, embrace possibility, be
intentional and always, alwaysbe kind.
I'll see you soon.
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