Ideas and Energy Every Month with the Leadership Caffeine Jam Session

On the second Friday of every month, I get together with a fabulous group of professionals, and for 50 or so minutes, we share ideas on the significant issues in leading, managing, and careers. These Leadership Caffeine Jam Sessions are slide-free and the most interactive professional development events you’ll find online. And, they’re free. 

I guide the discussion, sharing research and insights on the topic du jour, and the participants do something remarkable–they light up the chat stream with their ideas and insights. Our recent Jam Session focused on uncovering or recovering our sense of purpose in our work–and helping our team members do the same. As always, the ideas from the crowd were amazing!

To go to the source material, visit the Leadership Caffeine Jam Session Archive, go to #17, watch/listen to the session, view the anonymous chat stream, and download the mind map notes.

Register to Attend or Receive Recordings/Notes from the Series.

My Top Takeaways from the Jam Session Focusing on Purpose:

Our Statistics Differ from McKinsey’s on the Same Questions:

  • 64% of participants reported having a strong sense of personal purpose in their lives. 
  • 69% of participants indicated their sense of individual purpose carries over into their working lives. (The McKinsey data suggests 85% of upper management and only 15% of front-line managers answer this question affirmatively.)
  • 24% offered that work defines their purpose, in contrast to the McKinsey survey, with 70 percent of people answering this affirmatively. 

While interesting to compare/contrast the Jam Session results with McKinsey (Help Your Employees Find Their Purpose or Watch Them Leave), there are too many unknowns to explain the differences with confidence. The 24% number on work defining their purpose from our participants is reflective of what I see and hear from my coaching clients. Our lives have another layer outside of work, and we don’t need our jobs to define our purpose, is the perspective I draw. 

Purpose on Display Everywhere in Our Lives

We see purpose in action in all walks of our lives. From teachers, great managers, retail workers, healthcare professionals, counselors, and every other vocation, many of us opt to let our passion for our work and a sense of purpose show, and it’s contagious. (See the chat stream for the many examples the group offers.)

We’re Multi-Dimensional When It Comes to Purpose

Purpose can be viewed through multiple lenses: our individual purpose, our purpose in our work, and our organization’s purpose. If all three align, it’s rocket fuel for our performance. 

In reality, we control our sense of purpose and ability to manifest that through our work. We do not control our organization’s purpose. If the personal and organizational purposes are dissonant, that’s a problem. 

Managers Own Helping Team Members Uncover and Align Purpose with Work

Almost all participants agreed, “It’s our job as managers to help out employees tune in to their purpose at/with work and to see if there’s an alignment with organizational purpose. Ideas for doing this include observation, regular discussion on aspirations and goals, career discussions, exposure to different activities, tuning in to what energizes individuals, job rotation, and others. (See the chat stream, mind map, and recording for a complete listing of the group’s/my ideas.)

Sometimes We Have to Mine or Manufacture Our Sense of Purpose

What if we feel a sense of malaise and our purpose got lost around the pandemic?

I shared multiple ideas for uncovering or reviving our sense of purpose, including a reflected best-self exercise, asking others for input on us, and tuning in to those situations where we find a flow state. The group suggested reviewing our personal values and thinking through how we bring those to life in our work. These introspective activities cost nothing and generally yield quality clues to our sense of purpose at this state in our life. 

Job crafting was discussed as a strategy for placing ourselves in more situations that leverage what we’re passionate about and allow us to bring our purpose to life. 

We agreed: 

  • We’re at our best when we’re on purpose, as our team members. 
  • Organizational purpose doesn’t define our individual purpose–but if they align, it’s rocket fuel for us. 
  • If you manage, it’s your job to help individuals align work with their passion and, ideally, their organization’s purpose. 

The Bottom Line for Now:

The group’s passion for “purpose” came through loud and clear. How are you doing bringing yours to life through your work? For each of us, it’s a choice; when we do it, the effect is positive and palpable.

Art's Signature