Confirming Our Purpose

In the fifth lesson of our Emerging Leader Development course, Cindy and I share how important it is for anyone with leadership responsibility to build time into their routine to reflect on the progress they are making. All too often, those of us who take on the role of a leader get consumed with the busyness of the day-to-day. We keep our heads down and plough through whatever it may be that’s demanding our time in the moment, checking tasks off our list as we go but not always keeping an eye on the bigger picture; that purpose we’re working toward.

I’ve never seemed to have a shortage of weaknesses. The brutal truth I’ve had to deal with throughout my career has been that I’m not naturally talented at any one thing. But where I lack talent, I’ve learned to compensate with a strong work ethic. While that’s served me well over the years, it’s also the one thing that causes me to occasionally lose focus on the clear purpose that’s been so powerful in helping through tough situations. Words from friends like Mark, and some of the things Cindy does to build time into my task-oriented routine, have played a critical role in keeping me dialed in. Every now and then though, we get feedback that confirms we are indeed on the right path and the roadblocks are worth pushing through.

I often mention the impact a hard-charging maintenance supervisor, who had recently moved to the area and had no direct oversight of me, made in my life by taking the time to challenge me to do more than stamp parts off a press for a paycheck while attempting to drink Anheuser out of business in my time off. Terry typically brushes off my compliments when I talk with him directly, and I’ve started to understand that a little more as we’ve had similar experiences.

Since surviving the pandemic that killed so many businesses, not to mention all the families virus behind it, we’ve had a few folks reach out to share how something they pulled from time with us helped them in their careers. We’ve seen several supervisors who completed courses with us moving from struggling in their current roles to earning significant promotions. We’ve had a few folks reach out to share how much more productive their teams are since applying tools we’ve shared with them. We’ve seen a couple of businesses grow exponentially; in revenue, personnel, and profitability. And not so long ago, one fellow I’ve seen as an extremely close friend for nearly two decades sent me an email eerily similar to a card I had sent Terry years before, detailing his appreciation for what he’s learned from me.

Mark Twain once said, “I can live for two months on a good compliment.” I’d have to disagree; when that compliment ties back to my clear purpose, it can fuel me for a lot longer than two months! To that end, just seeing progress in line with that purpose - especially in those times where Cindy forces me to pause and reflect on the work we’ve done - goes a long way toward assuring me that we’re on the right track. With that in mind, I’ll wrap this up next time by sharing how we’ve come to know what our clear and definite purpose is - and then we’ll work through how you can identify yours.