Purpose
This week we are going to focus on Purpose. Purpose is different to Vision.
Vision is something that you can see in your mind's eye and what you want to realise or make happen.
Purpose is the drive behind what you do in your life and why.
Working with Purpose
Sync member, Rachel Gadsden on the Sync website talks about
"...the surprises that my condition sprung upon me gave me the strength to be the individual that I want to be."
Is your experience of disability interwoven with your purpose?
Too often we see people around us working their way up the career ladder, earning more money, getting authority etc.
If that's what they want in life, great, but often people find that in doing this, they lose much of what they love and end up doing more of what they really dislike.
Studs Terkel in his book ‘Working’ says that work should be about
- daily meaning as well as daily bread
- recognition, as well as cash
- a sort of life rather than a Monday through Friday sort-of-dying
But what if your work doesn’t inspire you or drive you, but you need it to make ends meet? What if you are not working at the moment? How can you build purpose back into your current situation if it's not particularly 'purposeful'?
Leading with Purpose
Rob Goffee and Gareth Jones in their book ‘Why Should Anyone be Led by You?’ say
"The single most powerful driver in human beings is the need for some sort of purpose in life and unless we are clear about our purpose and our values and are doing something that we really care about, it is difficult to act as a leader."
Think about the leaders you know and ask yourself whether you can sense their purpose.
Sync member, Cathy Woolley in a conversation with Michael Lynch former CEO at the South Bank talks about the determination that carried her through the criticism and uncertain times when leading and driving some of her earlier projects.
You can see a video of Michael and Cathy the Sync website.
Purpose with a small 'p'
Purpose is just as important in our day to day lives. Purpose with a small ‘p’ might be described as the drive behind smaller decisions.
It’s about stopping and asking yourself at any moment, why you are wanting to respond to something in a particular way.
A good way to connect with small 'p' purpose is to sit on your initial gut responses, e.g. when you disagree with something that someone has said or done, and not act immediately.
Giving your gut responses a little breathing space, and considering outcomes, might help you get more of what you ultimately want, allowing you to take make more 'purposeful' informed action.
Developing your authentic 'inner voice'
How do we get skilled at purpose with a small ‘p’?
The ‘networking’ or 'meeting' scenario is a good place to develop purpose, because of the additional barriers that these situations may hold for us.
The philosopher Emerson talked of listening and feeling our ‘inner voice’ and sticking with it.
Ask yourselves, when you are in a meeting or networking situation. "What do I want from this?" "What is the purpose of me being here?" To skirt silently around the agenda?
If that is your purpose, at that moment, fine, but if what you really want is to be seen, heard and acknowledged and you still find yourself staring into your plate of sausage rolls - are you responding to your inner voice?
It's not always easy, but this is where sharing skills of how we breakthrough is very important. What skills have Sync members developed to overcome the barriers to being visible, so that they can respond to their inner voice?
Connecting with Purpose
Living with purpose is also about when you feel most energised, when you connect with something bigger than yourself. Sounds a bit ethereal, but it’s the most potent part of coaching.
Try thinking through the following:
Think of the past events that have really made you feel resourceful and clear about why you are doing what you are doing in your working life
Think of the past events that have really hurt or challenged you. Go back to the feelings and see if there was any learning that came from these difficult moments that was about you disconnecting from your purpose
Sarah Pickthall, Sync Coaching
