What's Your One Sentence (Purpose) at Work?

I just finished Daniel Pink's Drive, recommended by a friend / fellow GEer from my congregation.  A great read, many wonderful nuggets to explore and contemplate.  The three-legged stool of autonomy, mastery and purpose is especially relevant.

The one that sticks with me right now is Pink's reference to Claire Boothe Luce and her advice to John F. Kennedy, resonant with Kawasaki's seminal Positioning Statement in his own book, Enchantment:

In 1962, Clare Boothe Luce, one of the first women to serve in the U.S. Congress, offered some advice to President John F. Kennedy. “A great man,” she told him, “is one sentence.” Abraham Lincoln’s sentence was: “He preserved the union and freed the slaves.” Franklin Roosevelt’s was: “He lifted us out of a great depression and helped us win a world war.” Luce feared that Kennedy’s attention was so splintered among different priorities that his sentence risked becoming a muddled paragraph.

You don’t have to be a president—of the United States or of your local gardening club—to learn from this tale. One way to orient your life toward greater purpose is to think about your sentence. Maybe it’s: “He raised four kids who became happy and healthy adults.” Or “She invented a device that made people’s lives easier.” Or “He cared for every person who walked into his office regardless of whether that person could pay.” Or "She taught two generations of children how to read.”

As you contemplate your purpose, begin with the big question: What’s your sentence?

My own sentence sounds something like the quote on the banner I bought at Peaceful Inspirations a few weeks ago:

It is literally true

that you can succeed best and quickest

by helping others to succeed.

What is your one sentence (purpose) at work, vocationally or both? Share it so we can all know it and uplift it, too.

What We Have Here is an Opportunity to Communicate at Work

My friend and colleague Lisa gave a seminar on the Enneagram last night:  in some ways, I find it a deeper dive on the Myers-Briggs assessment. Lisa uses it in her practice, The Right Fit Coaching.  

Whether you're using the DISC, Myers-Briggs, Enneagram or other instrument to determine communications styles, I have found that such instruments can turn personality conflict issues into more objective discussions of individual style and consequently how to most effectively navigate and communicate through our respective differences, especially in the workplace.

Early in my HR career, my HR teammates Steve and George appeared solemnly at my office door threshold.  They filed in, shut the door and each took a seat in front of my desk.  "What's up, guys?" I queried.  This was an unexpected visit.  George began.  "Deb, we like you and we think you're very smart."  Steve nodded in agreement.  "Because we like you, we're here to give you some advice to support your success,"  George continued. 

I leaned forward in my chair.  I respected George and Steve as well, and I was learning a lot from them.  "Okay, I'm all ears,"  I replied.  Steve shifted uncomfortably in his chair and looked at George.  George smiled at me.  "Bluntly, you're a show-off and a career-climber."  I was a bit taken aback and not quite comprehending the feedback.  George, Steve and I were all wearing safety glasses, metal-toed safety shoes, dirt-streaked jeans, polo shirts and hard hats.  Somehow, I envisioned a more glamorous environment (a la Katherine Hepburn in Adam's Rib) with accompanying wardrobe accoutrements for dialogue like this.  "What do you mean?"  I sputtered.  "I don't understand."

Steve spoke up.  "At every staff meeting, you have to talk about your latest HR challenge,"  he clarified.  "We work on the same issues and you don't see us talking about our work."  I was still confused.  "I talk about my HR challenges because I'm looking for your feedback and coaching:  that's how I learn,"  I explained.  "I'm sorry if you think I'm showing off.  I'm sharing with the purpose of learning from each other."  Both George and Steve looking at my face, then at each other.  "I believe what you're saying," George continued.  "But we both find it irritating.  Can you at least not talk as much?" 

"Sure,"  I replied, still puzzled about the formal chat.  "I enjoy working with both you."  George rose to leave, and Steve followed suit.  "Great!"  George said.  "Thanks for the time."  I was still processing the conversation.  "Wait, before you go:  could we talk to Bill (our boss) about this?"  George and Steve looked at each other.  "In the spirit of supporting our work together."  I continued.  George smiled, and nodded.  "Yes, that's a good idea,"  he replied.  They both left.  I rose from my desk and went to Bill's office.

"What am I doing wrong?"  I asked Bill after I shared my recent visit from George and Steve.  Bill thought for a moment.  "Have you ever taken the Myer-Briggs assessment?" Bill asked.  "Yes, a couple of years ago,"  I replied.  "I'm an ENTJ."  Bill smiled.  "Don't worry, I'll take care of it,"  he replied.

And Bill did take care of it, in short order.  He arranged for a Myers-Briggs team building session for our HR team with an outside consultant who was certified to administer the Myers-Briggs assessment.  Turns out I was the only Extrovert (E) on my team (Myers-Briggs E's think and talk at the same time) while the rest of the team, including George and Steve, were Myers-Briggs Introverts (Is) who think and then talk:  sometimes, not until the next day.  And that my type, the ENTJ, represented only 3% of the entire population; and only 1% of all women were ENTJs.  And the success profile at my organization was ISTJ.  And finally:  that ENTJ was not a typical Myers-Briggs profile for HR professionals.  For example, Steve Jobs was an ENTJ.  "So," our Myers-Briggs consultant explained, "Deb is a contrast when compared to the rest of the team, where Introverts are the norm.  Now that you all know that, you can focus on the facts, rather than the personalities."

The Monday morning after the HR team-building, George and Steve appeared at my office threshold again, and sat down, definitely with a different tone.  Steve spoke first this time.  "We wanted to apologize for accusing you of being a climber," Steve said.  "We know now that it's the way you're wired, and that's not your intention," George added.  I smiled back at both of them.  "Thank you, I really appreciate that," I replied.  "However, I'm also now aware that I'm the equivalent of fingernails on a chalkboard for both of you, based on our profiles.  It's also my responsibility to manage myself with both of you, and modulate accordingly."

And in typical Myers-Briggs Introvert style, they both smiled, nodded, said nothing, and got on with their day.  And so did I.

Celebrate Success with the People Who Make it Possible: Your Customers

I attended two business anniversary celebrations in the last 24 hours.

The first celebration was the 6th anniversary of a retail store in Delmar, NY.  The owner, a kindred-spirit transplant from New York City, sent us customers several emails promoting the anniversary sale.  The store filled with her happy customers shortly after opening for the day,  who were and are clearly grateful for the haven she creates with her store and the equally kindred practitioners she sponsors in her space for the benefit of all.  She rewarded us with anniversary discounts.  In the spirit of the moment, I purchased a wall hanging:

Success

It is literally true

that you can succeed best and quickest

by helping others to succeed

And at the same time succinctly articulated the vision of my professional practice.  Thanks, Anne.

I just returned from the 16th anniversary of another business:  a vibrant entrepreneur who took the risk 16 years ago to implement her vision in a mentorless wilderness to become a successful and well-respected independent financial planner.  Although I am not a customer, she graciously included me in the celebration, and I brought my friend Lisa as my guest.  There was delicious food and a lively band (also one of her customers!) for her roomful of happy customers.  I was grateful to bear witness to this scene of mutual celebration and success.

This week's best practice, as we enter this season of Thanksgiving:  create your own success celebration with your customer(s) and share it with your network, here or in person.  And let us know how you succeeded best and quickest by helping your customers to succeed.

Do the Job Before You're Hired

I love Nick Corcodilos of Ask the Headhunter fame.  Among the plethora of gems in his wealth of sage advice for all of us -- candidates and hiring authorities alike -- is his mantra to do the job in the interview.  In other words, a successful interview is not the hiring authority asking you a prescribed set of questions to which you provide a pre-rehearsed set of stock answers.  Think about it:  how do the participants in an artificial conversation like that determine authentically how well they will partner and contribute to the bottom line together, or not?

Instead, Corcodilos encourages candidates to adopt the salesman's stance to discover the business needs the hiring authority has and then effectively provide and demonstrate how their needs will be met / exceeded during the interview.  Clearly, a much more authentic and revealing evaluation.

One of my best experiences of doing the job in the interview was when Bill, the best mentor / manager of my career to date, gave us both a break from the formal interview and asked me to write a press holding statement based on a chemical accident scenario he provided, giving me 15 minutes to do so.  I loved it.  I banged out the holding statement in 5 minutes and handed it over to him.  Bill looked at me, looked at his co-interviewer and smiled.  I knew then that I had the job.  More importantly, I had the wonderful experience of witnessing Bill's appreciation for my talent and abilities as part of the interview process.  Because Bill had the insight as the hiring authority to ask me to do the job in the interview, we had each other at hello.  It was the beginning of a rewarding work experience for both of us.

During this last transformative trip to the Recession Rodeo, my trope or variation on this theme is to do the job before you're hired:  as a 1099 contractor / consultant performing a small / short-term project for the potential employer.  

Doing the job before you're hired via a contract project is all upside.  Both you and the hiring authority get to experience what your shared work life will be like, allowing both parties to assess each other in much more detail than the much shallower artifice of an interview process.  You get to interact with both your potential boss and your potential co-workers in the daily routine of their work environment.  You can weigh the positives and negatives of working with the potential employer more objectively when they are your customer:  frankly, it's less emotional and for the most part, more collegial.  It also levels the playing field to the cost / benefit of a commercial relationship, rather than the often distracting power dynamic of the employer-employee relationship.  

During such a contract trial period, the employer benefits from the product you produce to move their business forward, and you are paid for your work product / talent in the process.  It's a business transaction:  it's a win-win.  

And if one or both parties decide not to move forward with an employment relationship, no harm, no foul.   The employer has not made a bad hiring decision; and you do not have a short tenure on your résumé to explain to the next hiring authority.

Both interview parties -- candidate and hiring authority -- literally putting their money where the static interview used to be:  now that's a human capital investment I can get behind.