You've climbed the mountain, a steady trek that has tested and challenged you and your team. In a moment of triumph, you reach the summit. At this point, you can plant your flag and be done. After all, you and the organization have reached the pinnacle that you set out to achieve: the creation of a values-based organization. As you sit on top of your mountain enjoying the view, however, you realize that you have scaled only one peak. There are still many more mountains and much higher ground to be conquered.

Those mountains represent problems, issues, and challenges that go well beyond your individual endeavors. These include social ills, such as poverty and environmental problems; health crises, such as malaria, infant mortality, and HIV/AIDS; and societal issues, such as literacy and the digital divide. But as you study the peaks that stretch out in all directions, you can't help but ask yourself, Are those mountains really mine to climb? Surely there are experts who can scale them and effect change on a global level. Then, thanks to your practice of self-reflection, you receive a bit of enlightenment: if you are truly a values-based leader, and yours is a values-based organization, then you should look beyond the horizon of your own mission and consider what it means to be socially responsible. Who else is better equipped to take on one of those bigger challenges than you and your team?

In that moment, you realize that you cannot expect someone else to take on the challenges to solve the problems of the world. Whether you are leading a function or a division or you are a member of the executive team, you begin to realize that you have a responsibility to the world. If you are willing to sign on to this leg of the journey, you are in for quite an adventure. Joining with other values-based leaders, you will learn more about the scope of the problems and issues and the range of solutions than you ever thought possible. Along the way, you will expand your view of the world and your part in it. You will move from sitting back as a spectator to joining in as a participant, from success on your own playing field to significance on a global level.

Different people come to this realization in different ways. For me, it was a result of self-reflection and looking at things in a more balanced way. I came to see that as a values-based leader, I could truly make a difference beyond my own organization. As I began to appreciate this journey, I found inspiration and motivation in the words of others. Mahatma Gandhi said, “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others” and “You must become the change you want to see in the world.” In the Gospel of Luke, we read, “To whom much is given much is expected.” Reflecting on this wisdom, I knew I had a purpose beyond leading an organization, as important and challenging as that was. As a values-based leader, I had a broader calling as well.