How to Create Purpose in Your Life and Career
Helping leaders create a sense of purpose is one of the most meaningful parts of my executive coaching work. Most people assume that purpose is created in a flash of light, through a singular experience. The reality is that we create purpose through intention, reflection, and action. For me, creating purpose was a long and winding road that unfolded over many years. I wanted to share my story as well as what I’ve learned to fast-track the path to creating purpose so that you can build more purpose into your life and career.
From Pre-Med to Consultant to Executive Coach: My Path to Finding Purpose
I grew up as a very typical kid in Northern California. One of my few fun facts growing up was that my parents are both veterinarians. It seemed normal to me, but over time I realized how unique it was to have two vets as parents. Growing up, dinnertime conversations tended to center on their current cases; ACL surgeries for my dad and skin related issues for my mom. My dad is a veterinary orthopedic surgeon and my mom is a retired veterinary dermatologist.
Naturally, my upbringing had an impact on my work prospects. First, my lens into careers centered on health sciences; physician, veterinarian, dentist, and other vocations that earned you a “Doctor” in front of your name and also a predictable income. The other outcome was a natural desire to help. I didn’t realize it at the time, but hearing stories of helping alleviate pain for dogs and cats as well as bringing joy and relief to their owners led to an intrinsic desire to help.
The College Years
My health science focused career lens and natural inkling to help put me on the pre-med path as an undergrad at UC Davis. My first two years consisted of a heavy dose of science and math classes as well as GPA boosters such as Geology 101 and German 101 (I lived in Switzerland as a kid so German was a snap). After countless science classes, mind-numbing lab sessions, and ensuring I had the GPA to gain entrance into medical school, I abruptly changed course. An intense 3-month internship at the UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento provided a window into the intense action in the ER, but also the reality of working with sick people day in, day out. I loved the action, but working with sick people wasn’t the environment for me. I liked helping people, but frankly it bummed me out.
At the same time, I was taking general ed business classes that were interesting and sparked intrigue into the nebulous (to me) world of business. As a result of this newfound interest and disinterest in working in a medical environment, I pivoted toward a career in “business.”
With my newfound career direction, I sought insight into what to do next. Luckily, my best friend’s dad was the CFO of a large bank and acted as a critical mentor during this transition and for the next 10 years. “Even at our bank,” he explained, “we hire hard science majors as it shows you are smart and work hard.” I was relieved that the 2.5 years of science classes weren’t going to go by the wayside. I ended up completing my degree while adding in several business classes and internships that would help me show a commitment to the business world.
When it came time to interview for a job after graduation, I once again turned to my mentor. I still lacked direction or passion for a specific field. He encouraged me to pursue consulting or investment banking. “The broad exposure to multiple companies, corporate cultures, and industries” would help me “figure things out.” I ended up landing a great job at Andersen Consulting (now Accenture) as a consulting analyst. I worked with Fortune 500 companies and gained exposure to companies in tech, life sciences, and professional services while becoming immersed in early internet technology.
My Career as an Accenture Consultant
My time at Accenture provided an incredible business foundation, a strong business acumen, and the confidence to engage with executives at even the largest, most successful companies. It didn’t however, provide much personal fulfillment given my charge to “help clients change to be more successful” – Andersen’s mission statement at the time. It didn’t dawn on me as a 23-year-old professional newbie, but that’s not exactly an inspiring mission statement. To the point yes, but it lacked any sense of purpose. My desire to help people clearly wasn’t being fulfilled.
Bouncing Around from Job to Job
After leaving Accenture, the next 10 years consisted of many bouts of professional fits and starts; entrepreneurship and working in the fashion and apparel space while mixing in the completion of my MBA at UC Berkeley. Clearly, my time at Accenture didn’t help me “figure it all out” as I hoped. Instead, I let my passion for fashion and consumer brands drive career stops at Neutrogena, Gap Inc, and ProFlowers (now FTD). The reality of earning a solid paycheck also led me back to consulting time after time in between stops working for companies that I hoped would inspire passion and purpose.
The Pivot: How I Found Purpose
As I bounced from career to career in search for meaning, I had an unexpected conversation with another mentor of mine, Annette Templeton. On one of our many trips back from LA while working for Ferrazzi Greenlight, she mentioned casually that she had started in a coaching training program. My years as a consultant provided countless examples of projects or strategies going into the ditch as a result of underdeveloped leaders and leadership teams. While I knew that to be true, I wasn’t familiar with how executive coaching could address these problems until that moment. As a former high-school athlete, I only knew of coaching in a sports context. Given my natural proclivity to mentor and manage employees, she encouraged me to consider the course. I took her advice and enrolled.
It turned out, Coach U offers one in-person accelerated coaching training program per year in North America. As luck would have it, the next one was in three months and in Solana Beach – a beach down that sits a mere 10-minute drive down the coast from our house in Encinitas. For the first time in my life, I did something not knowing exactly what would come out the other side. I knew the skillsets would be complementary to my consulting work, but beyond that I wasn’t sure what to expect.
The coach training course was the most professionally fulfilling six days of my career up to that point. I learned about executive coaching and honed skills needed to successfully coach leaders. More importantly, I learned about myself and what mattered most through numerous mock coaching sessions with my peers.
After completing the course, I started to layer executive coaching into my work with clients. Over time, I shifted my firm, Group Sixty, from a consultancy to an executive coaching and training company. Doing so allowed me to combine my intrinsic desire to help people with my interest and understanding of the business world. Finally, I felt meaning and a sense of purpose in my work!
While the case for my work with leaders and teams is to create change in support of corporate “success”, the actual work focuses on transforming leaders, who it turns out are actually real people with dreams and goals as well as challenges and struggles. Helping managers and executives become better leaders from the inside out provides deep meaning not just in my career, but in my life overall.
As I dove more deeply into executive coaching, I spent time to develop a crisp, inspiring, and resonant Personal Purpose Statement – “To unleash the inner lion within leaders so they can lead more authentic and joyful lives while creating stronger and more resilient teams, organizations, and communities.” My purpose statement acts as a North Star to guide me, supports decision-making anchored in my values, and ensures I pursue opportunities aligned with my purpose while steering clear of shiny objects driven by ego, greed, and societal values.
It took a great deal of time, self-reflection, and effort, but the result was the creation of a deep sense of purpose that guides my work and life moving forward.
How to Create Purpose: A Faster and Better Path
Over the last few years, I have spent time working with many leaders helping them create (not find) a sense of purpose. To help you get started, I wanted to provide some quick tips to create purpose in your life and career.
Step 1: Understand the Value of Purpose
To get started, you need to first understand the power of purpose and set intention to create it for yourself. Consider asking yourself, “How would a sense of purpose impact my company, team, or career?” or “How would my life change if I woke up each day with a deeper sense of purpose?” Internalizing the power of purpose is the first step to creating it for yourself.
Step 2: Reflect on What Matters
Instead of waiting for meaning to find you, go find it. Look back to identify meaningful stories from your past. Stories from you past that taught you important lessons about yourself and about life. Stories that family and friends tell about you that highlight who you are as a person and what matters to you. In addition, you can start with a list of values (Coming soon) to identify those which resonate with you. Combine both approaches to build a set of themes and values that inspire a sense of purpose.
Step 3: Start to Apply Values in Your Life
Armed with greater clarity about what matters most, look for opportunities to live out these values in your personal or professional life. If one of your key values is “giving back”, start volunteering in the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization or take on a leadership role in a non-profit. If “growth” is a value, create a lifelong learning plan complete with reading goals, courses to take, and certifications to earn. The point is to start living out your values so that you gain a deeper sense of purpose.
Step 4: Build a Personal Purpose Statement
Creating a crisp, inspiring Personal Purpose Statement provides direction and is a constant reminder of what matters most. Draft a statement using the following format: To [What you seek to do or achieve] so [The result or impact of your actions]. As you do, be sure it reflects the values that are most important to you. As mentioned above, my Personal Purpose Statement is “To unleash the inner lion within leaders so they can lead more authentic and joyful lives while creating stronger and more resilient teams, organizations, and communities.”
Step 5: Implement Your Personal Purpose Statement
Now is where the real work starts. Use your PPS to help you make key decisions in your business and life. Ask yourself, “Does this choice or path align with my PPS?” or “If I pursue this option or career path, does that contradict my PPS?” Consider your PPS as a purpose-anchored North Star that guides you moving forward.
Step 6: Reflect and Iterate
Change is one of the few guarantees in life. New careers. New relationships. New challenges and opportunities. These changes will surely surface additional values that matter most as well create shifts in existing values. Be sure to revisit your values and Personal Purpose Statement on a regular basis to ensure alignment with who you are now, not the version from the past.
Next Steps: How to Create Purpose In Your Life and Career
I hope that sharing my personal story of creating purpose inspires you take intentional effort to do so for yourself. Use the tips above to help you get started. Good luck and be sure to share the challenges that emerge as well as the successes from gaining a greater sense of purpose in your life and career.
Savage Leaders seek and create purpose in their career to ensure a life of fulfillment, impact, and to ensure they focus on what matters most.