If you’re feeling in need of a little bit of boost, let’s talk purpose, and how you can find and breathe life into yours.
“Purpose” continues to get a lot of airtime in the world of work. But what, practically, is purpose and how do we find and align to ours? Here’s how three seemingly-simple questions can help you find your purpose at work.
Modern Mentor is hosted by Rachel Cooke. A transcript is available at Simplecast.
Have a question for Modern Mentor? Email us at modernmentor@quickanddirtytips.com.
Find Modern Mentor on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, or subscribe to the newsletter to get more tips to fuel your professional success.
Modern Mentor is a part of Quick and Dirty Tips.
Links:
https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/
https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/modern-mentor-newsletter
https://www.facebook.com/QDTModernMentor
https://twitter.com/QDTModernMentor
https://www.linkedin.com/company/modern-mentor-podcast/
https://www.leadabovenoise.com/
Hey, it’s Rachel Cooke, your Modern Mentor. I’m the founder of Lead Above Noise—a firm specializing in retaining, engaging, and developing talent. Did you know that one of the biggest drivers of talent retention—and overall employee wellbeing, according to the research—is a sense of purpose? I mean, measurably. I was just reading this article in Forbes which talked about how a strong sense of purpose has been linked to lower rates of heart disease and loneliness as well as higher rates of commitment, happiness, and productivity.
The power of purpose is real. And I’m being approached more regularly these days by leaders wanting help in infusing purpose at the organizational level. But one of the most gorgeous things about purpose is that you don’t need to wait for your company—or even your leader—to get on board. You can find and align with yours as a party of one.
And when you do, it really kind of lifts you. So if you’re feeling in need of a little bit of boost, let’s talk purpose, and how you can find and breathe life into yours.
I want to start with a disclaimer. Because “purpose” may mean something different to everyone. But the brand I’m talking about today is not anything spiritual or existential. I’m talking practical, nuts and bolts, everyday purpose at work.
Not “why am I here on this earth?” purpose, but “what am I here to deliver at work?” purpose. You can have both for sure. But my expertise is limited to the terrestrial.
OK. So how do you find yours? In some industries—like healthcare or education—finding your sense of purpose may seem more intuitive. Playing a role in saving lives or educating children can seem naturally purposeful.
But what about those of us who are building marketing campaigns or selling knives or organizing stock rooms or researching industry trends or managing investment portfolios? Is it possible to find meaning—a sense of purpose—in these? Totally is.
Here’s how you start.
Ask yourself three key questions:
If you’re thinking…um, I know the answers to those questions and they don’t feel so purposeful—hang with me for just a minute. Let me share how I found mine.
When I first started my business, I absolutely could’ve answered the first question, “what is my job?”
And I’d have listed, well, all the stuff of my job. Designing training programs and presentations, delivering keynotes, running leadership offsites, leading Pulse Checks…you get the drift. The stuff of my job—the activities—has always been clear.
But stuff alone just isn’t purposeful. It’s active, it’s busy, it fills my calendar.
It’s purpose that gives that business meaning. It’s how we find our “why” in all the “what.”
So now, onto the second question. “Who do I work for?” If you’d asked me this in the early years of my business, I’d have named my clients. “I work for companies X,Y, and Z,” I’d have told you.
Today, though, I’d tell you something different. I work for the people—the employees in those organizations. They are the ones counting on me to help equip their leaders to better support and empower them, to help their organizations deliver a more impactful employee experience, to ensure the organizations are designed and equipped to help them do their work with more joy and impact.
And this, friends, feeds straight into the 3rd question which is “what do I need to deliver?” Because, again, my earliest answer would have been “decks, presentations, and reports” and now my answer is “insight, tools, and support and a clear path forward.”
In other words, the “what” of our jobs may be clearly defined, often by someone else. But it’s the clarity of the why—the who we’re doing it for and what impact really matters—that infuses life into our work.
Suddenly you’re not just managing an investment portfolio, but you’re helping someone save for their kid’s college education or prepare for a healthy retirement.
You’re not just producing marketing campaigns, but you’re helping your company’s customers find the products they need and understand how best to use them.
I’m not just producing reports and recommendations—I’m giving leaders a clear roadmap for coaching their teams, for crafting more desirable employee experiences. This is meaningful to me—it fuels my passion for my work. Which helps me to be more productive, more intentional in my choices.
Once you go through this exercise—once you have this clarity around not just what you do, but why and for whom—then use this to better inform your priorities, where and how you spend your time.
If, for example, you’re in a marketing creative role, do you really need to attend every budget meeting? Or is your time better spent on defining the copy that will most resonate with—and effectively educate—your customers?
If you’re an investment manager, how much time should you really be spending selling products to customers versus diving deep into the financial analysis? Which will help you make better decisions on behalf of your clients whose livelihoods you’re in a position to impact?
When you’re clear on your purpose—the impact you know you’re here to deliver—it gives you a clear footing to stand on. You don’t have control over all of your time. There may be a reason you need to attend that budget meeting or to spend time selling.
But your purpose becomes a great platform from which to have a conversation with your leader that says “Hey—I believe I’m here to educate our customers. Do you agree? If so, I’d love to find ways to spend more of my time understanding customer needs and trying to capture those needs in the copy I write. And to do that, I’d need to spend less time in our budget meetings which I don’t feel I’m contributing much to.”
The thing about purpose is it gives, well, purpose to your ask. You don’t just want to bow out of the budget meetings. You want to lean in to something that serves you and the company.
And when you’re spending more of your time and energy on work that feels meaningful, you just feel more satisfied, more engaged, more productive.
Can you feel the shift?
Seriously, give it a try. Think not just about your what, but your for-whom and why. See where that lands you, and how you can use that clarity to fuel your days.