Quick turns on our journey
Closing out our trifecta on Agility (Agile Leadership, Emotional Agility) we’re exploring the Agility of Purpose, why it matters and what to do about it.
One of the best and worst things about purpose is that it represents an umbrella statement. That is, it can encompass so many (good) things and be applied in so many (good) ways. So, purpose certainly encourages agility. We can take it in many different directions, and pivot quickly, while still advancing our purpose – and that’s all good, as our purpose represents the essence of us at our best. However, it’s far more valuable if where we’re going, what we want to achieve along the way and how we’re going to show up. So having a game plan around our purpose can help guide our journey, and enable us to be agile along the way.
In our model:
Purpose = Passion + Impact + Application.
Passion and Impact help you discover and articulate your purpose. The essence of what drives your passions and impact, how you show up in the world, the difference you want to make – these are all reflected in your purpose statement. There are many programs, books and podcasts that can help you discover and articulate your purpose and it’s a super rewarding exercise to reflect upon. As good as it feels to get your purpose down on paper however, that’s all you have done at this stage and there’s really no point in doing that unless you’re willing to take it off the page and put it into practice.
This is where it’s important to appreciate that having a purpose statement is not enough. Purpose cannot live in a vacuum. You need a game plan to frame out how you can bring it to life. It’s this context, that will enable you to embrace and optimize the agility of purpose.
In our approach, while fundamental and foundational, purpose is 1/7 of the game plan our clients establish (one a one pager) that represents the most authentic, best version of themselves making a difference for the next 10 years. The other components include their aspiration, impact & destination (where), ambitions (what), principles and focus (how) which then guides the application of their purpose (why).
At this point, we have tackled 2/3 of the model, but only 50% of the work and this is where the agility of purpose needs to be understood, before the rubber meets the road.
The game plan maps out our journey towards our aspiration and impact, so now we can start planning the details of trip. Where do we want to visit along the way, what do we want to see, what experiences do we want to have, who would we like to share some of the journey with? This is where 25% of the work comes in and where the richness of experience and agility can come to life.
At this point we look at our game plan against our current reality. What does a typical day look like. How would it compare to an ideal day? What commitments can we make to close the gap? Once we have the commitments, we can start informing our agility – identifying small actions, short term priorities, important conversations, quick pivots – things that tell us which steps to take which all advance forward, albeit not necessarily in a straight line. Having the intentionality behind small actions that add up to bigger commitments, and having those bigger commitments bridging us from today to the ideal version of where we want to be (against the game plan) provides us with a play book to guide, our nearer term experiences and in the moment decisions.
And it’s these shorter-term, in the moment decisions that drive our agility. So the remaining 25% of the work (and then of course, the lifetime of effort that comes thereafter) is about who we’re going to share our plans with, who we want on our support teams, how our purpose and game plan change and improve our leadership focus, what we want to learn, practice and improve upon from a growth and development perspective.
Anyone can be agile, move quickly, think quickly, act quickly but it doesn’t make us effective or successful, unless we’re agile within the context of direction and meaning. We have to intentionally be moving towards the things that mean the most to us, the things enable us to contribute at our best, and that align with the impact we want to achieve. With the foundation of a purpose, and the clarity of where we want to go, what we want to achieve and how we get there as the best version of ourselves, we can make the most informed, nimble decisions that amplify the impact of our actions while accelerating our progress along the way.
If you’d like to learn more about how we help people embrace the agility of purpose to optimize their performance and impact please get in touch.