In a previous article, we discussed that, as much as we may be ready for this pandemic to be over and normality to resume, we have an enormous opportunity to intentionally create a better “future normal” rather than rushing back into the old normal. Having that perspective means we’ll need to do some things differently.
To create a better normal, we need to define what’s truly important. We need to know our purpose at work – what matters. What matters will define how we spend our money and our time.
Why is it important for your job to exist? Not just why does it exist, but why is it important that it exist?
At the core of your job, there’s a specific purpose. It meets a specific need and accomplishes something unique or else it wouldn’t need to exist. Consider how your role ties in to your company’s mission, or perhaps consider the things that wouldn’t happen if your role didn’t exist.
To go a step further, there’s a specific purpose you fulfill in your role. You bring something to the table that no one else can because no one else is you.
It’s so easy for our core purpose to get minimized as we react to the demands of the day. With a never-ending flood of emails, meetings, projects, and deadlines, you likely have such an immensely long to-do list that you may feel like it controls you. Now, I love a good to-do list and have been known to write things I’ve already accomplished on the list so I can check them off. If I’m not careful, though, I’ll overwhelm myself with a lot of busyness and not leave room for what’s actually important. I’ll react to what others have decided is important rather than responding in light of how it relates to my purpose.
During this pandemic, we’ve had to quickly simplify our lives. There’s no longer been the ability to do anything and everything, so we’ve had to decide what’s most important and prioritize those things. We’ve experienced this both personally and professionally, with some major changes happening in the workplace. Some businesses have remained open while others have gone remote or closed temporarily. Regardless of which route taken, each has had to decide what is most important and how to accomplish it.
As a leader, you’ve had to determine what tasks and projects were truly important and the best way to get them done in a new dynamic. If you have employees reporting to you, you’ve had to figure out different ways for your team to get work done and how to keep everyone motivated in the midst of so much change and uncertainty.
You have a newfound clarity now for what truly matters. What items deserve more of your time and energy, and which ones really don’t matter and you could probably do just fine without. To get to the heart of your purpose at work, ask yourself this question:
- What do I want my legacy to be in this job?
Too often, we think about our legacy on our last day on the job once it’s too late to do anything about it. By deciding now what you want your legacy to be, you have the opportunity to make sure it happens. When we previously discussed our perspective, we asked the question, “What have you learned about being a leader that can improve your leadership in the future?” Your response to that question likely gives you some indication of what kind of leader you want to be and what kind of legacy you want to create.
This may sound way too ideal to be practical. After all, the daily grind will still be there – huge email inboxes to tackle, meetings to attend, paperwork to complete, and the list goes on.
Knowing what matters doesn’t always cause a seismic shift in our lives – although it certainly can. More often, it causes a shift in our perspective. We begin to look at our tasks and responsibilities through the lens of how they relate to our purpose. If part of your legacy will be that you helped and supported others, for example, then responding to frustrated customers takes on a whole new meaning. It may not always be an enjoyable part of your job, but you’ll know that each interaction is an opportunity to put into action what matters.
Intentionally focusing your time and energy on what truly matters requires discipline to minimize your time spent on things that don’t relate to your purpose. There will always be some things that you have to do, so the challenge is to try to maintain most of your focus on what matters. This can be especially challenging if others don’t share the same perspective, so this may require some conversations with your boss, colleagues, or employees.
If you have employees reporting to you, consider having each of them determine what they want their individual legacies to be so that you can support them in that. Then, consider your team as a whole. Why is it important for your team to exist? What gets people excited is to feel a sense of purpose, to be part of accomplishing something bigger than themselves. As a team, you can work to have a shared sense of purpose by working through this question together:
- What do we want our team’s legacy to be?
As we think about the future, it would be easy to fall back into our old habits of having mile-long to-do lists and nonstop schedules. It takes a lot of discipline to do things differently. Knowing your purpose is key to focusing your attention on what truly matters. This is your chance to ensure that you’re building the legacy you want to have. Knowing your purpose at work prepares us to talk next about aligning our finances accordingly.
Photo credit: By R_Tee / Canva
