What Does It Mean to Make a Contribution?
To make a contribution means to add something of value to a person, organisation, community, field or society.
Contribution does not necessarily mean doing something famous.
It can be as simple as solving a problem that someone else could not solve, teaching someone what you know, creating something useful, caring for someone, improving a process or helping a team accomplish something important.
Contribution Can Take Different Forms
Someone may contribute through knowledge.
A researcher discovers information that helps others understand a problem.
Someone may contribute through skills.
A designer creates something that makes an experience easier.
Someone may contribute through leadership.
A leader helps people move toward a shared objective.
Someone may contribute through care.
A caregiver improves another person's wellbeing.
Someone may contribute through creativity.
An artist creates something that communicates an idea or gives people a new experience.
Someone may contribute through organisation.
A person who brings order to complexity can make an entire team more effective.
Beyond Job Titles
This is why contribution should not be defined only by job title.
The deeper question is:
What becomes better, easier, clearer, stronger, healthier or more possible because I am involved?
That question moves the conversation from simply asking what someone wants to have from a career to considering what they are able to give through it.
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