To be relevant is to be significant. To contribute in a meaningful way. Doesn't matter what the relationship is, we want to be relevant.
In personal relationships relevance is closely related to being needed, to be loved. We want that from our families and we want that from our friends.
In the workplace, we have the same need for relevance. We want to feel relevant to the organisation we work for and we want to know that what we do is relevant to the success and growth of the company.
It's a fact that knowing you do meaningful work, in other words what you do is relevant, is a major factor in self motivation. Managers have a responsibility to make sure that their team members understand the relevance of what they do - and to be told often.
Equally important, but sometimes overlooked, is our own responsibility to make sure others understand our relevance and to make sure we stay relevant. We can't just wait for someone to tell us when and how to be relevant.
We have to regularly assess our own relevance and take action. Skills, participation, commitment, goals - have a checklist and do a little self evaluation.
Be a lifelong learner. There is always something to learn. To stay relevant requires continuous learning.
Challenge yourself and get out of your comfort zone. The real growth happens outside our comfort zones.
Make sure you understand what is required of you to stay relevant. Ask, and ask again.
Of course we are relevant. How relevant we are to those around us, is largely up to us.
"Neither a wise man or a brave man lies down on the tracks of history to wait for the train of the future to run over him" - Dwight D Eisenhower
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