“Rather than grind out tasks on a to-do list while waiting to discover life’s ultimate purpose, 10X leaders find meaning and commitment in their daily activities”, say Tal Ben-Shahar and Angus Ridgway. They believe that “meaning and commitment are the path to joyful leadership….Purpose endows a person with joy in good times and resilience in hard times.” If you want to live your dreams ask yourself what about your work is meaningful, speaks to you and fills you with zest and vigor. This will fuel you for the long haul and toughen you up for the rough patches.
This is not the same as building castles in the sky. “Doing good and doing well can be two sides of the same coin.” Jim Stengel in his book Grow: How Ideals Power Growth and Profit at the World’s Greatest Companies followed 50,000 brands over 10 years. The ‘Stengel-50’ were the best companies (both B2B Business to Business and B2C Business to Customer) that were both successful and had a mission to impact people’s lives. “Top brands were driven by a higher purpose and they outperformed other companies by a wide margin.” They held similar values for themselves and their customers. “Businesses seeking to thrive today require an authentic reason ‘to be’ that is embedded into their DNA.” Stengel shows a clear roadmap from purpose to growth.
Jim Collins and Jerry Porras highlight a similar correlation in Built to Last studying successful companies. Visionary companies endure and last long while being great at the same time.
In the book Purpose Driven Life Rick Warren talks about how purpose helps a person set priorities. When you do not have a sense of purpose you tend to over reach, trying to cover all bases, winding up doing too much, all the while working feverishly. This invariably leads to stress, fatigue and conflict. You make choices that are based on “circumstance, pressures and mood of the moment”. It meets the need of that finite moment but overlooks the bigger picture. Purposeless work ends up garnering less results and less satisfaction to you.
Looking for meaning of life can be self-defeating. It suggests an external locus of control (the outcome is outside of your control) and a value that is out there, vague, elusive and perhaps unattainable. Instead, looking for meaning in life can be self-gratifying. It reflects an internal locus of control (the outcome is within your control) and a value that is within reach, tangible, definable and attainable. Victor Frankl in ‘Man’s Search for Meaning’ showcases in a very moving way how man has a will to meaning, that is an innate desire to find meaning in life.
Identify a positive meaning in your life and then imagine the outcome. Ask yourself what about your work is fulfilling and meaningful to you today and what impact does it have on anyone or anything. Then imagine it vividly in your mind.
Your purpose drives your joy of leadership.