Chapter Two: Purpose - Why We Do What We Do? (Part 1)
Nathan Cornwell ??
Organisational Psychologist | Creating Workplace Success for Expats and International Organisations ?? ?? Increase employee performance through talent management, leadership coaching & org. development ??
In 1961, John F. Kennedy announced the ambitious goal of sending an American safely to the moon. This was more than just a mission but a statement to the world. In a famous speech, the president announced “We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do other things not because they are easy…but because they are hard.” This captivated the nation, especially those working at NASA. The president visited a year later to enquire about the progress of the audacious task ahead. As officials were taking him on a tour of the facility, he noticed a cleaner out of the corner of his eye. He asked him, “What do you do?” The cleaner replied, “Well, I am helping put a man on the moon, Mr. President.”? This man knew his career purpose.
“What do you do for work?” This is one of the most common questions we ask others when we first meet them. Careers have become embedded with our identity and help describe the value we offer to our society. Moreover, they are used to represent our ‘status’ which creates both positive and negative emotions and can drive us to become more reflective over our career direction.
The Nature and Meaning of Purpose
In recent years, there seems to be a growing proportion of the population interested in the subject of purpose.? We speculate that this could be due to a combination of many factors including:
1.???? A reduction in the proportion of the world’s population living in poverty.? That said, even one such person is too many!? As people manage to get their needs for survival and safety met, they progress up the well-known hierarchy of needs proposed by Maslow. This prompts more personal consideration of deeper aspects of meaning and purpose.
2.???? Accessibility of learning material on the subject of meaning and purpose.? Just a few decades ago, if people wished to learn about meaning and purpose, they would probably have had to buy a book, visit a library or embark on a course of study.? Today, people have access to countless documentaries and other content on such subjects, especially through general Internet search, applications such as YouTube and now AI.
3.???? Employers are realising that “purpose pays”.? We have personally worked extensively with business leaders who have made the connection between engaging employees in the societal purpose of their organisation and the constant challenge of retaining talent.? Later we will explore the trend towards people moving from job to job more frequently than ever before.
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Activity:? This is just the tip of the iceberg.? What other societal factors can you think of that might raise the awareness of working people to the importance of purpose?? Make a note in your learning journal.
It’s also worth pausing for a moment to consider how purpose arises, not just for working people, or even people in general, but for all of life.? Renowned, author and stem-cell biologist, Bruce Lipton noticed that stem cells placed in one solution grew into one tissue type (such as skin), whilst those placed in another solution could grow into lung tissue.? He deduced that this indicates how any life form derives its purpose largely from its environment and context.
In his previous books, Clive has melded these insights with those of Benoit Mandelbrot, the father of Fractal Mathematics.? Fractals suggest that, in life, there is likely to be self-similarity between how life manifests at the micro-level and how it plays out at larger scale.? So, what is true for a single cell, is often the case for a human, a team, an organisation or even all of society.? For complex life forms such as humans, teams, organisations and society, it is also important to note that it is not what the life form is – it is who they think they are.? Similarly, its not what the world is, its what the life form thinks their world (or context) is.
Herein lies a fundamental lesson for anyone trying to work on their own purpose or indeed that of others, such as a manager aiming to repurpose their team.? Help people to think differently of themselves by shining a light on their capability or offering training and you will surely influence their sense of purpose.? Help them to see their world differently, perhaps through travel, attending a conference or visiting a customer and you will again influence their purpose.
Another vital consideration regarding purpose is motivation.? It is well known that people are principally motivated away from fear or towards love of something positive (such as a better world).? Clive talks much more about this in his 2024 book “Leading Beyond Sustainability”.? Leaders, including (and especially) career coaches can tap into such insights as they encourage someone in their career journey.? Are we helping someone to avoid being hungry or are we helping them transition to a world of abundant energy, water, health, food and other resources?
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Modern careers through different lenses
When people talk about purpose in the context of a career, they are principally referring to some over-arching inspiration behind how they will spend their time at work - their “why” for doing what they do now and for what they hope to do in the future. Whilst this is important, we want to remind people of the root meaning of the word career. It originates from the Latin carrus meaning wheeled vehicle. It has also been used to describe the road upon which vehicles run and even the path of heavenly objects through the night sky. Nowadays it is mainly used to describe what we do at work or in our profession. However, in education, it is often regarded as a journey through learning and work.
This centrality of careers within contemporary lives can be exemplified by the delay in starting families. Career progression was cited in a recent study as a reason that the average age of women having children in the US has increased from 21 to 26, and for men 27 to 31 (Forbes, 2020.) This demonstrates the importance that people are placing on their careers today.
People have become much more active in their work and are changing jobs at the fastest rate in history (Forbes, 2019.) There is a reduced interest in the “one company for life,” and tenure at the same organisation is continually dropping. Conversely, the number of career-changes an individual will likely make in today’s generation is much higher than it has ever been before. In the modern world boundaries between work and life have become increasingly blurred. Many modern-day careers are being shaped by project work and individuals are changing employers and professions more readily than before. We have taken a career to mean more than just what we do in our paid work and to relate instead to that broader journey we take through life in terms of how we develop who we are, what we have to offer and how we bring ourselves into service alongside others, whether this is paid or unpaid.?
The dissipation of boundaries was exacerbated during the pandemic as people began “working from home.” This led to some people working more than they ever had in their lives. Work was now in our homes and the immersion between work and life was hard to separate. Incidentally, the modern-day person will work a lot longer than some of our early ancestors. These aspects evidence just how central work and our careers are in shaping our current lives.
?In some ways, the pandemic provided some of us with a period of reflection on the way they were working and who they were working for. It led to “the big resignation” whereby many employees had decided their current workplaces no longer aligned with their purpose. Employees became much more empowered and could be conscientious about the companies they choose to work for. This is much different from the ways of the world earlier this century.
?Alongside these career changes is the rapidly developing world that has enabled more abundant lives (for a lot of people.) The life we lead now would have been a pipe dream for the richest man in the world at the start of the century. This has enabled greater numbers of the population to scale Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and conquer or at least glimpse the summit. Our basic needs are largely covered and this has provided us with more agency to ‘self-actualize.’ In other words, we have the opportunity today to focus more on establishing our life purpose and careers serve the perfect vehicle for allowing us to do that.
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This book is co-authored by Nathan Cornwell and Clive Wilson.? Nathan is an employability specialist and organisational psychologist and recently founded Nathan Cornwell Consulting who support expats with their careers. Clive is a speaker, published author and coach and has specialised in Purposeful Leadership for over twenty years. They connected during the global pandemic and committed to work together on this publication, releasing it chapter by chapter on Linked In and ultimately as a complete work to be available towards the end of 2024.? We hope you will enjoy, comment and share these thoughts in the interests career enhancement for purposeful leaders in any and every context, from those beginning their career journeys to those determining new careers, even into retirement.
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