Tag Archive for: purpose

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Leadership and Purpose

Happy New Year!

I want to start with these words for this new year, “Who you are is how you lead.” 

You are now asking, “what does that mean?” Let’s think of this way. How often have you heard someone say about a person who is happy, joy filled, clicking on all cylinders, “She was born to do this” or “He was born to do that.” Those words are often spoken about persons who are being who they were created to be. They have a purpose in who they are and how they live, work, and play.   

Focus on Your Purpose

As you step into this new year, you have the opportunity to focus upon your purpose for living, loving, and leading. Why are you doing what you are doing? What is your purpose as a leader? As a parent? Or as a colleague? As a human being? 

Your purpose grows out of the essence of who you are. It is the natural flow of your strengths and talents as they are related to the people you serve and to the context in which you are living and working.  Too often people inhibit or ignore this flow, but it is always there. It is what you do because it is who you are. How it gets lived out depends on your ability to recognize it, claim it, and live into it.    

What is Your Purpose?

Contrary to what some people think, your purpose is not a list of accomplishments, education, experience, and skills you have gathered in your life. It is not a professional title, limited to your current job or assignment. Each of these things are important and might assist you in living out your purpose, but none of these things define who you are. 

Your purpose is who you were created to be. Paul came close to defining purpose in his letter to the Ephesians when he wrote, “we are God’s accomplishment, created in Christ Jesus to do good things. God planned for these good things to be the way that we live our lives” (Ephesians 2:10 CEB).  You have been created for a purpose. 

In her book, Kingdom Calling: Vocational Stewardship for the Common Good, Amy Sherman writes that purpose in leadership is significantly related to leader effectiveness. She points out that purpose is found in the center of God’s priorities, personal gifts and passions, and the world’s needs. 

What is a Leader’s Purpose?

With that in mind and using Brene Brown’s definition of leadership, your purpose, as a leader, is about taking responsibility for recognizing the potential in people and processes and then developing that potential. Living out your purpose and how it relates to the people you serve transforms the world. 

My purpose is to assist you in becoming the person you are created to be. Whether you are a leader, parent, preacher, or pastor, I find great joy and satisfaction is assisting you to use your strengths and talents in the context in which you are living and working. 

So, what is your purpose? I know someone, because of who he is, naturally finds ways to affirm and encourage the people around him. He actively engages in ways to help people live into their potential.  When Ruth Bader Ginsburg died, he bought coffee mugs, with these words “Women belong in all places where decisions are being made” on the mugs and gave them out to the people whom he supervises. I am sure he was not trying to make a statement but was naturally offering himself in helping the people around him live into their full potential.  

So, what is your purpose? 

How are you living your purpose in relationship to the people around you and the context in which you live and work. Here are five reasons your purpose helps you become the leader you are created to be. 

Purpose motivates.

Many of us talk of what we do as our calling, as our vocation. What does that mean to you? Are you called to an institution, a business, a particular way of life, or to being who you are created to be?  These examples are not mutually exclusive, but it matters where you start. 

So, what if you lived your life, related to people, and led from being who you are created to be? Would your life, relationships, work be more creative, more satisfying, more impactful? When you pursue your work with purpose it becomes a reservoir of energy, joy, and well-being that keeps you moving forward when facing challenges and adversity. 

Purpose empowers.

Your purpose empowers you to strive for something bigger than yourself. It is not about a position in a hierarchy or about having power over people. It is about sharing and giving power to others. Just as your purpose is being who you were created to be, you assist others in becoming who they were created to be. In this way, purpose is bigger than you. It includes the people entrusted to your card.

Purpose makes you courageous and resilient.

It energizes you to take risks by facing your challenges and fears with stability and hope. It calls you to grow and to be more vulnerable, more courageous, and more resilient than you thought was possible. The ability to take risks is a key to effective leadership. It is required to lead into and through any situation. Having a bigger purpose is what motivates you to put yourself outside of your comfort zone. 

Purpose helps you engage others. 

When you live into your purpose and assist others to live into their purpose, you build engagement. People go the extra mile because their hearts, as well as their minds, are engaged. Effective leaders inspire action through a contagious sense of purpose. 

Purpose helps you navigate obstacles and uncertainty.

Your purpose allows you to be decisive and courageous and empathic and hopeful in service of a bigger cause. When you are living out of your purpose, you make a unique impact upon the lives of the people around you. You contribute to making the world better. It shows up in your decisions, how you face challenges, how you relate to others. However it shows up, when you identify your purpose, you are energized, and you are able to lead through whatever obstacles and uncertainty you face.   

Your Next Steps

So, as you step into this new year, here is what you do. Set aside 10 minutes to answer these questions and to do the following: 

Step 1

Answer these questions: What brings you joy in life? What do you enjoy doing that helps you come alive? What are the experiences that energize you at work, at home, in life?

Purpose comes from your heart, your intuition, and from your emotions. It moves you because you are one with who God created you to be, one with yourself, and one with the people around you.

You might have to take extra time to truly answer this question. But when you come to an understanding of your purpose, you will be blessed beyond measure.

Step 2

Take notes on your reflection. Make mental notes if you don’t write them down.

What are those experiences that energize you at work, at home, in life? Reflect upon the common themes. What are you doing? Who are you being? What strengths are you exercising? What do people seek you out for? What are the challenges you have faced? What inner resources have you developed to overcome those challenges? Who are you drawn to help? 

Step 3

What leadership legacy do you want to leave? What lasting impact do you want to make? In your family? In your work? In your life?

Reflect on and seriously consider what the ideal world would look like if you were in charge? How do you want your contributions to be remembered? A leader with purpose makes a world changing impact when he/she leads out of their purpose.

For me, a perfect world is where everyone is becoming who God created them to be in their relationships with one another. It is your sense of purpose that moves you from being a transactional leader to a transformational leader. 

Step 4

Now find a trusted friend or colleague and share with them your work. Invite them on the journey with you so you can become more the leader you have been created to be. 

Wow! That seems like a lot at the beginning of the year. But, wouldn’t it feel good to be in your sweet spot, where you are your most effective and are making your greatest impact, and at the same time living a joy filled life? It starts with becoming who you are created to be. The question is, what is your purpose? Only you know the answer.

Sara Thomas and I are with you in your leadership journey. When we can be of encouragement or help to you, contact us at connect@transformingmission.org. We are ready to assist you in becoming the leader you are created to be. Don’t hesitate to call as we seek to give insights and resources to assist you in becoming a courageous leader.

Check out our LeaderCast podcast. This month, Sara and I are talking with leaders about purpose. This is one resource you will want to have as you navigate the challenges of 2021. Remember, who you are is how you lead. Let’s face what is coming together.

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What is Your Focus?

You want to live a life of significance. That makes you human. You want to make a difference in the lives of your children, spouse, friends, colleagues, community, and world. That makes you a compassionate human. You work to make your efforts be worth something.

But, let me ask this question: Are your actions aligned with your values and what you do best? It’s likely there is a lack of focus for you. Again, welcome to being human.

It could even be that as much as you want to make a difference, you live with internal conflict and uncertainty that demands your attention. Let’s explore what and where you can focus so that you can accomplish your desired outcomes.

The Mission

At work, your company has a mission.  The mission is posted on the wall in strategic places throughout the building.  As much as you seek to align your work with the mission, you notice that when it comes to making decisions, the mission is nowhere to be found as a guide in moving forward.  It is on the wall, but it never becomes part of the culture.

Over the past 45 years, I have intentionally focused on the mission of the church.  I help develop systems that focus on assisting individuals to discover and develop their purpose. I also help people do this as a congregation.  Ultimately, I want individuals and congregations to keep the focus of their ministry aligned with their mission.

Focused to a Fault

At times, keeping a focus upon the mission has been offensive and inconvenient.  There have been times when I was accused of being “focused to a fault.”

At those moments I am challenged to be centered upon the God who has created me, live into who God created me to be and to reaffirm my purpose. Through prayer and reflection, I turn to search the scriptures for direction and confirmation.

When it comes to focus, I often turn to Luke 9:51-53.  It reads like this:

“When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him; but they did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem.”

Jesus had set his face toward Jerusalem because he was focused upon being who God had created him to be.  His purpose was to be the Christ, the anointed one.

To live into his purpose, he was obedient to God by caring for the people he encountered each day. He gave his life in such a way that he was living beyond himself. In Luke’s story, we read of Jesus feeding, healing, caring, loving, dying as he lived into his purpose.

What I have learned is that you have an ultimate purpose that is greater than your own life.  To be focused upon your purpose is to live beyond yourself. Let me illustrate with a story.

Is Your Purpose Greater Than You

Terry Fox was eighteen years old when he discovered he had cancer. He was diagnosed with fast-metastasizing cancer.  He settled in his legs and arms and later spreads to his lungs, brain, and liver. After the agony of his new reality set in, Terry basically had two choices: give up hope and wait for death or discover something meaningful for which to live.

He chose the latter.  Cancer meant he would lose his leg.  As he lay in his hospital bed, he dreamed of running across Canada.  That day he made a commitment to make his dream a reality.

By committing his life to make a difference in the fight against cancer, he created a true purpose.  The goal of his one-legged run, named the Marathon of Hope, was to raise one million dollars for cancer research.

A New Purpose: Hope

Terry discovered a purpose so great it uplifted him physically and mentally. This power of purpose drove him to remarkable heights of performance.  Even though he had only one healthy leg, a prosthesis attached to the stump of his other leg enabled him to run.

While running, he often wore running shorts. This, of course, exposed his false leg and made some people feel uncomfortable. Instead of trying to please the people who were offended, he lived into who he was.

His response was, “This is me, why hide it?”  Starting out on April 12, 1980, he ran the equivalent of a marathon (twenty-six miles) almost every day, covering a total of 3,339 miles in only 143 days. His amazing feat provided hope for thousands of people all over the world.

In the midst of cancer, Terry Fox successfully forged a new purpose.  His purpose was to help eliminate cancer.  His goal was to raise one million dollars for cancer research.  He met his goal living into his purpose. When he aligned his everyday living, his goals, with his purpose, he enjoyed the peace of mind and a wonderful sense of being alive.

Becoming Who God Created You to Be

What does that story have to do with you?  I am convinced you can do the same.  You can become who God created you to be by focusing upon your purpose.  As you live into your purpose will you make a difference, a life-changing difference, in the lives of the people around you and the world?

First – Discover Your Purpose

Here are a few questions to consider:

  • What are your strengths and talents?
  • What do you do best?
  • What do you really enjoy?
  • Where do you feel you are making a difference?
  • What do you care so deeply about that you are ready to give your life to make it happen?

Terry Fox was profoundly touched by younger cancer victims.  Those persons spurred him on every day, despite the hardships.

Remember, your purpose is bigger than you and will live on after you. What legacy will you leave for those who follow you?

If you want to explore how to leverage your strengths or help your team leverage their strengths, contact us.

 

Second – Align Your Purpose with Your Natural Strengths and Talents.

Terry Fox aligned his purpose with something he really enjoyed.  He excelled at running, so running across the country became a natural vehicle for him to achieve his goal.

You have unique strengths and talents.  Discovering your strengths is part of living your life.

Once you have discovered your strengths, then use your natural strengths and talents to live out your purpose.  Remember, the greatest joy and peace of your life comes when you align your everyday living, your goals, with your purpose.

Listen to Episode 103 of the Podcast to learn how getting clarity drives connections with others and brings your purpose to life.

Third – Stay Focused on Your Purpose

Every day Terry Fox stayed true to his purpose. Despite snow, rain, and sleet, he set his heart, soul, mind, and strength on something bigger than himself. In the early stages of his run, there was almost no media coverage.  He sometimes felt alone and misunderstood.  He overcame that by keeping his purpose at the forefront of his mind.

It is okay to be “focused to a fault.”

Too often, you lose your direction in life because you are easily distracted or influenced by other people. Living your purpose requires single-mindedness, a resolve to do whatever it takes. Staying focused will create a deep passion and a sense of significance deep within which will shape your everyday living and relationships.

Remember, it is a compliment to be “focused to a fault,” especially when your purpose is assisting others to become who God created them to be.

Fourth – Stay True to Your Purpose

In the later stages of his Marathon of Hope, Terry Fox attracted thousands of people in every major city. His attitude throughout was, “Whom am I among all these people? I am no better or no worse than anyone else.  There are a lot of other people involved with this, and they deserve recognition too.”

It was this humble outlook and genuine concern for others, plus his never-give-up attitude as he battled adversity, that endeared him to millions of people.  Even after cancer spread to his lungs, he was determined to carry on.

Terry never got to finish his run.  He died on June 28, 1981.  Yet, the ongoing legacy he left continues to help cancer victims.  Terry Fox stayed true to his purpose which allowed him to live beyond himself.

So, stay true to your purpose.  Don’t allow an unhealthy ego to override your good intentions.  You will have your greatest and most positive impact on your family, friends, and community because you are focused upon something greater than yourself.

Align Your Strengths & Purpose

Remember, when you align your strengths with your purpose and stay focused upon your purpose, your life will have meaning.  You will close your eyes at night with a feeling of fulfillment instead of worrying about all the day-to-day stuff that creates stress and tension.

I don’t know what season of life you are living at the moment, but I do know this; discovering and developing your purpose, then living your purpose indicates that you will make a significant difference in the lives of your family, friends, and community.

You will leave a legacy.

So, set your heart and mind upon the person God has created you to be. As you live into your purpose, care for God’s people you encounter along the way each day. Give your life in such a way that you live beyond yourself.

Your Next Step

Wondering your next step to grow as a Jesus? Take the quick, 5 question quiz. You’ll unlock your “Season” and learn your next steps to grow as a Jesus follower.

As you’ll soon learn, two of the Seasons of Following Jesus focus on claiming your gifts and talents and aligning your purpose. What season are you in the midst of right now? Learn more with the quiz.

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