Do you know that saying among performance artists that goes: There are no small parts. Only small actors. Do you know what that actually means? Apparently I didn’t. I assumed that it meant some actors are physically smaller than others, but an actor friend of mine from Hollywood, after laughing at me, politely informed me that I had it all wrong. It doesn’t refer to physical size at all–it refers the size of one’s mind.
Every role is important in the telling of a story — EVERY ROLE. And small actors simply choose to see their role as too small to matter, too small to give it their all, too small to see it as important. As a result, the role becomes diminished — not by the number of lines it delivers, but by the actor’s choice to play it small.
Each role you’re given is only as important as you choose to make it. This applies to us in life on so many levels, not the least of which is your own significance in your own mind. What’s more, the roles you see others take on have an equally important value to the larger story of humanity and the sub-plot we call our lives and our business. As leaders it’s important to recognize and appreciate that. Great leaders see the value and significance in everyone–from the CEO to the custodian. There are no small parts, only small-minded leaders.
We therefore have the opportunity to step into one of the greatest attributes of leadership, regardless of our title, if when we meet people we remind them that they matter.
