We’ve been having a string of sunny, warm days here in the Midwest—a nice treat for late October. Working from home makes it easy to take a little break in my workday to get outside, even if just for a quick walk around the block. This week, I’ve been watching a friend’s dog, a beautiful, gentle, elderly goldendoodle named Rocky. Rocky’s favorite pastime is to find a patch of soft, green grass, flop down and roll around, just for the sheer joy of it.
Yesterday, at midday, I took Rocky into the yard for a few minutes so that he could engage in his favorite activity on this perfect fall day. As I was sitting on my front steps, I looked down at a pot of yellow mums. There was an enormous bumblebee doing its thing – stepping from flower to flower gathering nectar and pollen, his purpose clear. With only a four-week life span, and the first frost right around the corner, the bee went about his business determinedly. No time to waste.
I watched this bee move along the flowers for several minutes, taking in the beauty of the day and appreciating the moment. It occurred to me that with a long career in medicine and academics, going to work before sunrise and returning home after dark, I’ve missed many moments such as these. Watching the bee’s simple attention to his task, it was hard not to draw parallels to our human experience and my thoughts turned to purpose.
The Oxford dictionary defines purpose as “the reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists.” To understand your purpose in your life, or your life’s work, one must ask the question, “Why am I here? What am I meant to contribute to the world?”
Mark Twain famously wrote, “There are two most important days in your life; the day you are born, and the day you find out why.” True satisfaction in ones’ work, I believe, results only from a passionate alignment to purpose. This is especially true in leadership roles. Leadership is not about the big corner office, the special parking spot, or a desirable salary. Leading others is hard, challenging work, and without pursuing a vision, ignited by purpose, a leader will not be able to accomplish much… or if they do, any successes may ring hollow or feel dissatisfying.
Those who are leaders, or who wish to lead, should be readily able to identify purpose in their work. I’ve had many roles in health care – from direct patient care as an internal medicine physician to clinical leadership to medical education leadership – and in all of those roles, my purpose was to make care better for patients. Whatever I did, I could draw a line, usually quite directly, to how my activities were making things better for patients.
And although identifying your purpose is critical, it is not enough. Leaders must take their gifts and continually hone them, working to improve. Whether it be through leadership development courses, advanced degrees, or through working with a coach, continuous improvement in your leadership skills is an essential part of living your purpose.
Our Great Road Leadership tagline is “Your Road, Our Mission.” I would love to begin a conversation with you to help to identify or re-ignite your purpose in your work.
“Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder. Help someone’s soul heal. Walk out of your house like a shepherd.”
– Rumi
