What Is Your Purpose?

One of the more challenging concepts to come to terms with when developing strategy is understanding what your purpose is. I recently completed the Executive Leadership Programme at Said Business School, Oxford University, where one of the models presented in the course struck a chord with me as a simple representation of the concept.

Why is understanding your purpose important?

In a nutshell, how can you possibly be committed to a course of action if you have no idea of why the action is required? Purpose is your why! It is your inspiration, the reason you do what you do. Simon Sinek speaks enthusiastically about understanding why we and our organisations do things. His mantra is that it means little what you do or how you do it, the important element is why you do it.

Without purpose there can be no enthusiasm for the path you are following, no engagement with the possible outcomes, and a sense of meaninglessness will be pervasive.

The Model

To determine your purpose can be daunting. Where do you start? The Ikigai model starts with asking four basic questions that describe the elements of purpose. Those questions that describe the elements of purpose are:

1. What are you good at?
2. What do you love?
3. What does the world want from you?
4. What can you get paid for doing?

Start by answering those four questions. Then look for crossover points.

• When what you like doing crosses over with what you love then you have found something you are passionate about.
• When what you love coincides with what the world wants that becomes your mission.
• When you can get paid for what the world wants, you have found your vocation.
• And when you can get paid for what you are good at the becomes your profession.
• When all those things coincide, you have found your purpose.

The Japanese Ikigai model sums it up beautifully:

Finding your purpose may sound like feel good nonsense but to ignore what innately makes you up, your essence, will most likely result in a less than complete version of yourself.

The Picture

Associate Dean, Andrew White, from Oxford put it beautifully describing the following scenario:

“So, I want to paint a picture, and that picture is you. And I want you to imagine that you fold your laptop down or switch your tablet off or your phone off, perhaps put them in your bag. You leave the building where you work. You get into your car or onto a train or a bus, and you go back to your home. You make yourself, maybe, a cup of tea or coffee, or maybe take a glass of wine, and you sit down. And at this point, you just worked the last day you will ever work. And you start to sit with the realisation that maybe that time earned you a lot of money, built a retirement fund, but could have all been a bit soulless. Maybe you got to that point, or you’ll get to that point, and find that you never gave voice to your values; you never found your personal purpose as a leader; you never took on roles or worked in an organisation that really gave a chance for that to manifest.

Conversely, you may sit with a quiet sense of satisfaction – that on many occasions you gave voice to your values; on many occasions you found a place for your purpose to manifest. It wasn’t always easy, but actually you made decisions, and you were able to operate in a way that really meant that you felt that who you were, and what you were, had a positive impact on the world.”

Alignment

The next challenge is to align your personal purpose with that of the organisation you work within. If that is your own business your personal purpose will be intricately linked with the organisation’s purpose. Aligning the rest of your team with your purpose and the organisation’s purpose is the challenge every leader takes on. Embracing that task as your primary objective is the essence of leadership. It is where the best leaders spend their time and energy.

The Next Step

Grange Gold would love to help you navigate this process. Call us and book an appointment.

Other Articles