Leaders have a purpose, do you know yours?

Last month, we kicked off our leadership simplified series by establishing that we all have the potential to be leaders given that leadership is all about influence.  This month, we dive into principles of personal management to discover how to best manage ourselves and grow in our leadership so that we can effectively serve others.
Different people have given us definitions of what the term purpose. However, the one that continues to make sense to me comes from my coach Valorie Burton who said, “Your purpose defines how the world is somehow better because you are here”. Please reflect on the simplicity of this definition.

To illustrate this point allow me to share a story. A client came to my coaching practice for self-discovery. During coaching, the agenda is always set by the client and so for that session they choose that we discuss purpose. 
After they had answered the question of what they thought purpose meant, I asked if I could share with them another angle of how to view what purpose entails. 
When I shared the definition above, their eyes filled with excitement as they boldly stated, “It means I am fulfilling my purpose”. They followed this statement with a beautiful story of what they are doing and the feedback they have got about their work. 

You see from our definition above, purpose simply means we all exist for something. It, therefore, appears safe for me to draw the conclusion that we have all been endowed with the gifts, strengthens and talents to fulfil this something. In view of this, I believe that in order for one to come to the realisation of what their purpose is, they need to have attained a certain level of self-awareness and acceptance. 
In effect, we discover our purposes when we realise who we are. This is simply because our purposes tend to resonate with our beings. 
In his book, the Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren boldly states that, “Humans were meant to have meaning. Without purpose life is meaningless. A meaningless life is one without hope or significance.” 

Effective leaders know that they have a purpose to fulfil and they take the time to discover what that purpose is. You know why? Because leadership is all about influence and they want to make a difference in the lives of those they lead and to live a life of significance. I love the quote by John Maxwell in his book Intentional Living: Choosing a Life that Matters. He states, “Once you find your why, you will be able to find your way.” I find this to be very true because my purpose is certainly what is guiding me as I say yes to certain opportunities and no to those that do not align with my purpose.
Allow me to make a case for why I believe that as a leader, if you are not yet clear on what your purpose is, now is the time to do the work to discover your purpose.
In my view, the starting point is that, living a purposeful life enables you to shift the focus from yourself to others. Purpose is what enables you to do the work of growing yourself and then because you are bigger on the inside you want others to experience what you have. 

Secondly, purpose serves as our true north. It is what gives us a sense of direction as leaders. It is also what helps us to focus and avoid being drawn into things that do not tap into our areas of strength.
Finally, leaders who know their purpose can impact more people. This is because they do the right thing, for the right reason with the right people. You will agree that there is a leader you hold dear because of the way they treated you or made you feel.
We will continue our discussion on purpose next week and look at some questions to guide us. For now, let us reflect on the question below:
How is the world a better place because you are in it?

Wamambe is a transformational leadership coach with the Maxwell Certified Leadership Team    [email protected]