You Only Have One Flashlight
You Only Have One Flashlight
Guest writer Sonya Law shares the importance of honing your focus and discovering your purpose. You only have one flashlight, and you need to be particular about where you shine that light!
What you FOCUS on grows.
When we focus on PURPOSEFUL work that we feel connected to it’s POWERFUL.
“Find clarity on what is your passion, focus on what gives you joy, it will bring you closer to your purpose, then align your life and work with it…” Sonya Law
Driven employees take ownership!
We know that feeling when we can’t wait to get out of bed and get working, we are energized by our work-day not the other way around. Commonly though most employees are out of step with what they enjoy.
We have all been asked to do things in our job that we don’t agree with but because of our position and responsibility we carry out the task. In Human Resources this is very common particularly in restructuring and redundancy situations. Tasks that leave us questioning why we do the work we do? Creates a feeling of emotional dissonance and we feel burnt out, broken and overwhelmed instead.
This isn’t always the case, when we carry out these tasks with humility, care and professionalism we create trust, respect and genuine connection with employees.
Why is this important? Because as leaders we spend a lot of time and money directing, delegating and managing the performance of others and what we need is driven employees to take ownership.
This is a journey of focusing on work that gives us joy and aligning ourselves with it!
Happy employees are fulfilled employees!
When we align our life with work that we enjoy we experience fulfillment. Our purpose is a cross section of work that we are good at and that we enjoy. As an activity we can reflect on our career to gain clarity on what work we enjoy.
This inquiry asks 3 questions:
- What do you want for self, family and the world (greater good)?
- What is the problem you are trying to solve in society?
- What do you CARE about?
Over the last 30 years I have talked with thousands of people about their career and they talk a lot about not feeling connected to their work and wanting something that makes them feel fulfilled and part of something bigger than themselves.
Because as we know from Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs, once we have satisfied our desire for food, shelter and love, we want to experience self-actualization, to live our best lives and work is a big part of our life!
Leader as Coach – what is their role!
As leaders, we lean into the role of leader as coach and engage with our people in new ways.
When, we are given the privilege of a position in leadership it is a great responsibility, our IMPACT has a ripple effect.
As leaders we need to:
- BE clear on our PURPOSE
- ENABLE others to find theirs
- CONNECT people with work that is engaging and empowering.
What are the attributes of a leader as coach?
- Lean in, listen and learn – BE curious
- Understand – BE empathetic
- Connect and build relationships with their people – BE RELATIONAL.
Purpose is number one in the TALENT game!
Best Practice in Employee Value Proposition (EVP) in human resources and staffing is connecting people with their purpose. Organizations who focus on the following will retain and attract and develop top talent.
- Purpose – to engage employees in work that is purposeful that they enjoy.
- Autonomy – trust employees to decide when, where and how work gets done.
- Cultural alignment – provide a sense of belonging, they feel they have found their tribe.
- Psychological safety – understand people want to maintain emotional well-being and positive mental health.
- Connection and Community – want time with family, partners, pet’s and be connected to the community in which they live.
Purpose focuses us on what we are good at and what we enjoy!
Purpose is a cross section of both what we are good at and what we enjoy. So how do we know when we are connected with our purpose at work?
- Our values are ALIGNED
- Our work makes a DIFFERENCE
- It doesn’t feel like work, more like FLOW or PLAY
- We SHOW up as ourselves
- We have increased ENERGY and vibrancy
- We deliver VALUE to our stakeholders, employees and customers
- We DO life, it does not DO us!
“We only have one flashlight and when we focus on PUPOSEFUL work that we feel connected to its POWERFUL”.