05 May Your organisation has a purpose – Do you?

Leaders are spending more and more time defining the purpose of their organisation. It’s a concept that’s gained significant attention in recent years, especially as the world begins to place increased demands on businesses and institutions to justify their place in our society.

However, it’s not just an organisation as a whole that needs a purpose, the person in charge does as well, and it has to be much more than a professional tie to a business. Their role is an important element of it, sure, but it’s a tool for finding an individual’s purpose, not a complete summation of their existence.

Deep down, enlightened leaders know that their individual purpose is not captured in their job title nor enshrined in their CV, as this is just a list of the education, experience, and skills they’ve gathered in their professional life.

Leaders who have a consistent need for achievement often unconsciously trade an extra hour of time or surplus energy for tangible professional accomplishments because their careers provide the most concrete evidence that they are moving forward.

This myopic approach to excelling professionally often results in a propensity to underinvest in their families and overinvest in career development – even though intimate and loving relationships with their families should be the most powerful and enduring source of happiness.

Leadership consultant Simon Sinek challenges leaders to start with “Why?”. Why is what they do every day important, and why are they leading an organisation?

Is your purpose a mighty one?

Playwright George Bernard Shaw challenges us with this question. Is leading “the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognised by yourself as a mighty one?”

Leaders are losing track of what they would previously have considered the most important aspects of their lives. Regardless of your opinion of reality TV shows such as Masterchef and The Voice, they show people who have never lost sight of their true passion. While they may be doctors or builders in their daily lives, they’re hounded by desires to cook or sing, and be defined by much more than just what’s on their CV.

Decisions about allocating your personal time, energy, and talent ultimately shape your life’s strategy, but a life strategy without a purpose can become hollow. Just ask the retired CEO suffering from relevance deprivation, or the cashed out entrepreneur who was defined by their business.

Making the link between purpose and happiness

Aristotle recognised the close connection between having a sense of purpose and happiness. The philosopher called the good life “eudaimonia” and noted that whilst it did not imply an easy life, it was a life filled with meaning and direction.

Put simply, Aristotle was referring to a sense of purpose. In a leadership context, this refers to the essence of who you are, your brand, what you’re driven to achieve and the magic that makes you tick.

It’s not what you do that defines your purpose, it’s how you do your job and why – the strengths and passions you bring to the table no matter where you’re seated.

Although you may express your purpose in different ways in different contexts, it’s what everyone close to you recognises as uniquely you and would miss most if you were gone.

The concept is expressed succinctly in German. The word “sosein” translates into “essence” or “thus and no other”, and is that which is inborn and “recalcitrant to change”.

Be nobody but yourself

The poet E. E. Cummings gave a challenge that read “To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else, means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting”. How can people respond to this within the context of organisational leadership?

Start by developing a strategy for a transition in your life, rather than committing to the fantasy of pursuing a complete transformation. The sooner in advance you start planning the better, as this gives you more runway to experiment. Maybe you’ll discover a purposeful endeavour to dedicated a couple of decades to?

A mid-career professional might only have one more roll of the dice to find meaningful work in mid-life, but should have shaped enough of an autobiography to know themselves very well. Those insights should assist in designing the next phase of their life strategy.

Arguably those that try, fail and revert to their safe harbour career would not voice regret more than those who worked out their middle years on auto pilot and never tried.

Don’t leave your best music unplayed

Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote that “most of us go to our graves with our music still inside us – unplayed”. If that quote resonates, it might be time to think about how you can foster a guiding purpose to live by.

It’s never too later either, as many of today’s professionals want to keep working in retirement – ideally taking on an interesting, personal growth calling or opportunity.

By asking yourself these questions, and starting to plan for your next stage of your life as soon as possible, you could create a runway that leads you directly into your next meaningful challenge.

My own walk in the desert over the last few years from being a CEO has allowed me to create a portfolio career and life where I now work around the world with the people I want to work with, on a number of endeavours of my choosing.

Mark Twain said “the two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why”, a quote that has directed my life over the past few years.

My choices have helped me to find my why, to discover my sosein and pursue my life purpose which is to be the mentor I wish I had.

To be a truly effective leader, you are encouraged to do the same. Clarify your purpose, and put it to work.

This article was originally published in LinkedIn Pulse on May 6, 2016.