Purpose-driven leadership has seen a huge surge in interest over the last several years. Experts in business and psychology argue that purpose is the key to extraordinary performance and also the path to living a fulfilling life.
The Most Important Two Things You Can Understand – (Your Purpose & How To Create Impact)
Purpose-driven leadership has seen a huge surge in interest over the last several years. The purpose of the leadership team is that of being stewards of the organisation’s purpose. Experts in business and psychology argue that purpose is the key to extraordinary performance and also the path to living a fulfilling life.
Research also suggests that people who have a purpose in life are less likely to get sick, this is something which has also been mentioned in philosophical and religious texts for millennia. In today’s volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (V.U.C.A) world, decisions are often unclear and strategy is constantly changing, purpose is becoming a key factor in navigating the best way forward.
This growing awareness is not without its challenges, it is suggested found that less than 20% of leaders, have a clear sense of their individual purpose, it is also suggested that even less than 20% of the general population know theirs. Although some leaders may be able articulate the organisation’s mission, few can do so clearly or really let that mission intertwine with their own. It is a sad fact that most people have limited their ambitions and fail to realise their highest professional and personal goals.
We aim to change that, to help organisations, their leaders and teams identify and find their purpose and use that to impact the world. Our purpose is “Inspired to empower communities of people to realise their full potential, challenge the status quo, and improve our world.”
“As a master coach, facilitator and trainer I focus on purpose as being a key factor in accelerating growth and increasing impact for executives, both professionally and personally. Finding your purpose, articulating it and then living it with passion is the most important thing you can do with as a leader. This is also how you do what you were born to do and impact the world in a way that only you can”.- Kyle Hand
As a master coach I have helped a multitude of organisations, their, leaders and teams to achieve greater clarity and impact through our partnership. Over the past few years, many have seen remarkable results including substantially increased clarity, sustained improvements in business results and a significant increase in impact. The most important thing is that the majority of them have a new ability and are able to thrive even in the most difficult times.
This article will help you identify your purpose, and create an impact plan that can deliver concrete results.
What Is Purpose?
Purpose is what you stand for and what you do best. Your purpose is what makes you unique and is also your brand. It’s not what you do or how you do it, its WHY you do what you do.
Your passions are your strengths and your strengths are what you bring to the world, an organisation or community regardless of where you are and what you are doing.
Your purpose is at its core who you are, your identity your reason for being. Purpose does not refer to a job title or position. It is not a attention grabbing marketing slogan. It’s not what you believe it should be. It should be personal and specific, and resonate with you and a soul-level. It’s what you just can’t help but be. It might not be flattering, but it could be.
What is the Purpose Of Business? (Let’s re-define it)
At its core we have the belief that capitalism can be a positive force in the world, enterprise can also be run in a way that benefits its employees, the community, the environment and all other stakeholders.
A purpose driven company does not serve only the Bottom Line, its serves the Triple Bottom Line. It serves people, planet, and profit.
Profit is still an important motivator but it is not all that is needed. Free enterprise capitalism is one of our most powerful ideas that humanity has ever conceived as it has the ability to holistically create a world and eco-system that befits all stakeholders
How do you find you purpose?
It can be difficult for most to find their purpose. From a young age we are constantly being bombarded with powerful messages from parents, managers, influencer, marketing and celebrities about who we should be and among this bombardment is the messaging of who we should be, how we should do things and how we should live and work. It can be hard to figure out who you really are in such a world. However, once you I identify your purpose and have a clear understanding of who you really are, everything else will naturally start to flow.
Some people are naturally drawn to discovering their purpose and others find it uncomfortable and stressful, others simply roll their eyes. We have worked with many leaders and can confirm that even the most sceptical find personal and professional benefit from the experience.
First, you need to look at your life and identify common themes. It is important to identify your core values, strengths, and passions. These are the pursuits that inspire you and add that kick to your step. There are many questions you can ask yourself and the below three are a good place to start:
- What do you love doing? What have you always loved doing?
- What are sometimes that you took a stand and stood up for something you believed in?
- What things do you currently do that make you excited and you are passionate about?
Write down these times and how they made your feel. Take time too deeply contemplate these questions and see if you can identify the themes.
You ask yourself these questions or you can discuss them in small groups with a few of your peers, discussing these questions in groups has proven to be extremely productive.
After doing some reflective work, you can try your hand at creating a concise and clear statement of purpose. They should capture your essence. They must inspire you to take action.
Putting your purpose into action?
It is important to clarify your purpose as leader, but it is not enough to simply write the statement. Living your purpose requires you to see the positive impact on the world that your actions will have. It is your actions that matter, not your words. It’s almost impossible for anyone to live up to their purpose 100% of time. However, with some hard work and planning we can achieve this more often, more consciously and more effectively.
One of the best ways to full-fill your purpose is to:
1. Define your goals
Be clear about your purpose, intentions and how you want to impact this world
2. Look at the big picture
Define what the long-term picture looks like for you, we suggest looking towards the future as far as you can 2, 4, 5, 10 years or more is ok
3. Decompose the big picture down into smaller bite size iterations/ goals (3 year, 2 years, 1 years etc.)
Do this all the way down into 12 months, 6 months, 3 months, 1 months, 4 weeks, 1 week, 1-day etc
4. Identify your strengths and weakness
It’s essential to understand your strengths and weaknesses, this way you can use your strengths to your advantage and fill in the gaps of your weaknesses.
5. Identify your key relationships
By identify the key relationships you need to be successful the implementation of your purpose, you are able to start, making meaningful connections and asking for help and assistance when/ where needed.
6. Identify the critical steps
If a prior action or another human action is not taken correctly, a critical step can cause irreversible and immediate damage to an asset. Management of Critical Steps has the overarching goal to maximise success and minimise risk and damage.
7. Create a plan & automate as much as you can
We like working in iterations/ or sprints, where you create a backlog of all the high-level actions you need to take, then focus on one week at a time, implementing the highest value actions first (always work on the high impact/ low effort actions first.
At the end of each week, retrospect and review the week, then plan your next sprint, adjusting, adapting and pivoting as new information and feedback become available.
8. Work towards it everyday
It is simple: small, consistent actions taken towards our goals create impact. The small, consistent steps towards our goals is what gives us the best chance of success.
9. Think about your legacy
Mental Constraining is a visualisation technique, which has been proven to be extremely effective in helping people achieve their goals and reach their objectives. This involves three steps:
-visualising what your future looks like once you achieve your goal
-imagining where you are now
-then reflect on the differences between them and the steps required to get there.
It is easier to remain motivated in difficult situations if you have a clear vision of the end result. This helps you build resilience and overcome challenges.
Key Learning Points:
- Have a growth mindset
- Make a vision statement about your personal goals
- Give back to others as much as you can
- Practice gratitude everyday
- Transform your pain into purpose
- Discover your passions
- Be a part of a like minded community
- Spend time with people who are inspiring to you
- Read inspiring books and articles
- Get involved in higher causes
- Practice self-acceptance
- It doesn’t need to be difficult to find purpose in your life
