Leading with Meaning and Purpose
What does it mean to lead with meaning and purpose? How will knowing your purpose make you a better leader? How can you tap into your purpose? What exactly is purpose?
Purpose, is the reason we exist! As humans we want to know what our lives are about and that our existence matters.
If you are curious about how meaningful your life is you can check out the Meaning of Life Questionnaire (MLQ) and other resources at the University of Minnesota’s Lab for the Study of Meaning and Quality of Life.
What is the link between meaning and purpose? For starters, if you are engaged in work that taps into your purpose, you are more likely to find your work meaningful.
When I’m engaged in work that I find meaningful I notice that I feel:
- Happier
- Less stressed
- Confident
- Powerful
- Motivated
- Creative
- Generous
- Energized
And I attract people who want to work with me.
But what has this got to do with leadership? Everything!
As an introvert, a writer and a leader I have been most interested in the link between how I live my life and the amount of energy that I have. Being a leader in today’s chaotic workplace is exhausting for many of us.
In order to survive we need to have an edge and being able to tap into our personal energy source (the one that comes from living a life that has meaning) is priceless.
Working on something that you find meaningful will energize you and,
- Help you did deep in order to complete a long and challenging change management project.
- Help you present a talk or facilitate a meeting (especially important for introverts who may find this aspect of work stressful).
- Help you ace an important job interview.
In a recent webinar psychologist Michael Arloski, noted that purpose is something that we discover. Some people find their purpose early in life. Others take longer. Some unfortunate people may never find out what they are truly meant to do with their lives. Of course meaning and purpose can change over time and we can have more than one purpose.
If you lead with meaning and purpose you are more likely to experience a higher sense of mental health and wellbeing and likely be a more effective leader.