Ask this question at your next dinner party or family barbecue and the answers will most likely be different than if you asked the same question in the boardroom or during an executive meeting. As the qualities of integrity and authenticity in leadership pivot from dialogue to action, so too will the responses to the questions we ask around success. 

Success has many measures. As the saying goes, if it can't be measured it can't be improved or changed. Organisations are beginning to alter the way they measure 'things'. Take Zappos for example. The organisation measures call-centre success by how many thank you cards were sent out to clients, or how quickly a caller got to talk human-to-human once the call was answered. Not a bad measurement for an online shoe and clothing retailer.

Do you measure success by the number of dollars in the bank account, the number of new clients onboarded, or the number of awards won? Or do you measure success according to employment happiness, collaboration and innovation? Most people would want to answer the latter. Most organisations action the former. Yet people make up organisations. All organisations need to win contracts and onboard new clients in order to have the dollars in the bank to pay their employees which increases their happiness score. When we break it all down, it is matter of balance.

As we enter a phase of healing and growth post a tumultuous time, we have the opportunity to pause and decide what we want to stand for and how we want to show up for each other. There is no perfect universal answer. There are universal guidelines around respect, kindness, compassion and love. 

Let's show up each day, wherever we are, being successful in our relationships and in our interactions, regardless of the environment we find ourselves in. As you find time for contemplation, or while you are waiting at the traffic lights, consider what this means for you, and the affect you will choose to have on those around you.