What’s your personal purpose at work?

You are probably reading this while sipping your coffee on a Saturday morning and probably don’t want to think deep thoughts on the weekend. But when it comes to running your business, perhaps you should.

One question that I regularly come back to is “what is my purpose at work?” For most of us, this is not an easy question to answer and it can provoke serious existential thoughts: Why do I work? What difference am I really trying to make with my business? However, if you can resolve this simple but profound question about your purpose at work, you’re more likely to do things that you’re passionate about, enjoy your work and as a result deliver a transformational outcome.

Those of us that work for large companies usually have a ready-made corporate mission statement. But how meaningful is this to you as an individual? Does it help you get out of bed in the morning and imbue you with a sense of personal pride? Does it help you navigate through things when work gets tough? In most cases, I expect the answer is no. This is why defining your own personal purpose statement is such a worthwhile investment.

Writing a personal purpose statement is not easy. The best advice I’ve received – and will share with you – is to keep the statement simple and clear. One or two sentences at most should suffice. Then think through four questions: What are you passionate about? How are you going to apply this passion? What outcomes do you want to achieve? How will these outcomes impact the world we live in?

William Arruda, author of Ditch, Dare, Do: 3D Personal Branding for Executives has written extensively on this subject. I particularly like one of his examples of a personal purpose statement that could apply to a medical research assistant: “I use my passion and expertise in technology to inspire researchers to create drugs to cure rare diseases.” This simple statement projects enthusiasm, energy and clearly articulates how the individual’s day-to-day work makes a positive impact to our society.

I think it’s important to avoid numerical targets in your purpose statement. In the workplace, we often hear phrases such as “we want to be No 1” or “this year, we will deliver double digit growth”. These hard, numerical targets are useful to measure progress, but they tend to evoke competitive emotions. Instead, try to identify a more powerful, collaborative goal that will resonate with a broader section of your colleagues, family and friends.

Once you have created your personal purpose statement, remember to update it regularly. A statement that inspires a junior analyst is unlikely to still be relevant to a managing director.