It Is Nice to Be Important, but It Is More Important to Be Nice

We spend a large part of our lives trying to become important.

We want a better designation.
A bigger salary.
More influence.
More recognition.
More followers.
More people who know our name.

There is nothing wrong with wanting to grow and achieve.

It is nice to be important.

But somewhere along the journey, we should remember something even more important:

It is more important to be nice.

Importance Is Often Temporary

Today, you may be a manager, director, CEO, founder, professor, politician, or someone with significant influence.

People may answer your calls immediately.

They may listen carefully when you speak.

They may make space for you when you enter a room.

But we should ask ourselves:

Are they respecting me—or are they respecting my position?

Positions change.

Companies change.

Money comes and goes.

Influence rises and falls.

One day, someone else will sit in our chair.

What remains is the way we treated people while we were sitting in it.

Watch How Someone Treats People Who Cannot Help Them

Character is easiest to see when there is nothing to gain.

How do you speak to the security guard?

How do you treat the waiter?

How do you respond to a junior employee who makes a mistake?

Do you acknowledge the housekeeping staff?

Do you listen when someone less experienced than you is speaking?

Being polite to your CEO may be professionalism.

Being equally respectful to someone who can do absolutely nothing for your career—that is character.

Authority Can Be Given. Respect Must Be Earned.

A designation can give you authority overnight.

An organization can announce tomorrow:

“From today, this person is the leader.”

But no announcement can make people genuinely respect you.

That has to be earned.

And often, it is earned through surprisingly small things:

Listening without interrupting.

Saying thank you.

Giving credit.

Admitting a mistake.

Helping someone without expecting anything in return.

Responding respectfully even when you disagree.

Remembering that there is a human being behind every designation.

These things may look small, but over time they build something far more valuable than authority:

Trust.

The Real Test of Leadership

Leadership is not demonstrated only in boardrooms, presentations, strategies, or big decisions.

Sometimes leadership is visible in the smallest interactions.

A powerful leader who makes a junior employee comfortable enough to speak openly is demonstrating leadership.

A successful person who treats support staff with dignity is demonstrating leadership.

A manager who corrects someone without humiliating them is demonstrating leadership.

The higher we rise, the easier it becomes for people around us to say “yes.”

That makes humility even more important.

Power should increase our responsibility to be kind—not decrease it.

People Remember How You Made Them Feel

Years later, people may not remember your designation.

They may not remember the presentation you gave.

They may not remember your quarterly numbers.

They may not even remember exactly what you said.

But they often remember something much simpler:

How did I feel when I was around this person?

Did you make people feel small?

Or did you make them feel valued?

Did people hesitate before approaching you?

Or did they know you would listen?

That may ultimately be a better measure of leadership than the number of people reporting to you.

Success Should Make Us Better, Not Bigger

There is nothing wrong with ambition.

Become successful.

Build companies.

Earn money.

Take leadership positions.

Create influence.

Become important.

But as your importance grows, let your humility grow with it.

The goal should not be to enter a room and make everyone realize how important you are.

The goal should be to leave the room having made other people feel important.

That is a very different kind of power.

At the End, Character Outlives the Title

Your visiting card will change.

Your designation will change.

Your office will change.

Eventually, someone else will occupy your chair.

But the respect you gave people can stay with them for decades.

So pursue success.

Become important if your journey takes you there.

But never allow importance to take away your kindness.

Because:

It is nice to be important, but it is more important to be nice.

Your position tells people how important you are.

Your behaviour tells them who you are.