Defining Your Purpose

If you’re a leader in the insurance based financial industry, you already make a difference for clients in building their portfolio, anticipating the unexpected and in often managing generational wealth transfer.  But are you also taking care of you? 

Other than human resources, are you asking your agents and advisors if they have purpose beyond their work product?  There’s a standard belief that about 80 percent of people who leave an enterprise don’t leave the company - they leave the boss.  This is where purpose becomes essential.

I believe there are four steps that define purpose:

1.   Look for passion

2.   Look for the right people to engage

3.   Look for impact

4.   Why do I exist?

So how do you get started?

The first step is the realization that you want to accomplish more in your life, which necessitates planning.  Wanting more does not pertain to being wealthier, healthier, more powerful or famous, the concept of purpose is to add additional effort to your life’s a plan to stay engaged.  For instance, if you read the same blogs or newspapers every day and are not listening to podcasts with contrarian economic or business views, maybe you’re missing out on being as relevant as you could—bringing more purpose to yourself and your teams.

Having supported hundreds of companies over the decades find exceptional talent for executive roles, here are the standards I have embedded into my own life so I never lose being relevant and having purpose:

1.   Determine your passions and interests and share them with the people in your personal life.

2.   Look for others who may have similar interests and begin having informal web based meetings- with a regular schedule- to kick start a conversation and see what may emerge.  You may be surprised at synergy that you never expected!

3.   Devote time to building this unique group of women and men who share common purpose, but never forget to include the outliers- people whose opinions and practices may be different. Learn from them. Debate respectfully with them.  Challenge yourself and others, coming back to purpose: what will change in my leadership style, the way I organize my projects and schedule, the accountability I expect of myself and others—what can I learn from these peers?

In one organization where I literally “clean the slate” to ensure I never miss a meeting, this consortium of thought leaders led to an astoundingly important new business.  We developed an operating agreement, pricing structure and said: “If we find new opportunities where you have X skill and I can bring you Y insight, let’s collaborate, minimize the bureaucracy and help others.”  The outcome?  New purpose.  Helping other succeed.  Being more purposeful.

So think it out.  Attending industry meetings is useful but it is rare to find a new business emerge from sitting next to strangers.  You know people, right now, that have clients, strategies and business gifts that you lack.  If open minded, they’ll find the same is true about you.  So the real question is—who will make the first move?