So what ONE thing was he talking about? How about PURPOSE! Our life purpose plays a vital part in the direction we take our lives, relationships and our work. Without purpose, we rarely understand where we are going. Any road looks inviting at the outset. We take the easy road to the first opportunity that pops up rather than the road that will move us along in the direction of our hopes and dreams—and our purpose. Whether you have a written purpose or not, or if you have even thought about what that purpose might be, you have a definite major purpose. Understanding what it is becomes the challenge. Remember that if you don’t know where you are going, any road will take you there.

Recently I have been spending a lot of time identifying superior performers in organizations. There is growing evidence in my research that supports my conclusion. If you want to be a superior performer, you must understand your purpose. I use a number of assessment tools in my practice. One of them measures self direction and role awareness. I have found that high scores for those capacities were dependable indicators of longevity and promotability. Let me give you a couple of examples.

I recently worked with a company that was hiring someone that had a history of job hopping. This person seemed to have perfectly acceptable reasons for the job history on the resume’. I was asked specifically if I saw anything in the assessment results that would indicate the trend towards shortened employment. What I found is that although the ability to understand the future and the ability to get there (self direction) was high, the ability to understand the current roles being carried out (role awareness) was low. While the candidate had a strong idea of where to go in work and in life, there was a likelihood that there was no clear understanding of what kinds of roles would allow the destination to be reached. A clearer understanding of purpose would help.

In the other case, several candidates were up for a promotion. As a part of the process I was asked to assess each candidate and give recommendations as to their suitability for the job they were aspiring to. I was able to interview each candidate after the promotions were announced. Candidates that had low self direction scores put their names in for promotion because they thought they should for external reasons (spouses, parents, more pay, etc.. They weren’t sure they really wanted the promotion. They didn’t have a firm idea of what the purpose of being promoted was to their life because they hadn’t figured out their purpose. Any promotion was better than no promotion, even if there wasn’t a clear idea what the job entailed or where they wanted to go long term.

So what does this all mean? For you, purpose becomes the beacon that guides your life around the rough spots and rocky seas. You can be temporarily be thrown off by circumstances, but because your life has a purpose that you understand, you can continue heading in that direction. For the people that depend on you, whether employees, family or friends, it is important for you to help them find purpose.

Next month let’s talk more about purpose and how you can find it. In the meantime, look for the things that give you the most joy. Remember the last time you truly felt alive. This will give you some clues about your purpose.