Purpose and Strengths

Nearly 10 years ago, I was in my dream role. I was leading a talented team of designers, facilitators, and consultants who implemented professional and leadership skills development for the enterprise.

This priority development was innovative, high-profile, and exciting. It seemed that years of hard work, transitions, and the balancing act of career and family led me to this role. But as one year went by and our team grew, I came to a painful realization.

I wasn’t fulfilled.

But how was that possible? This was the role that I aspired to! I was working with great people doing meaningful work. But there it was. This feeling of discontent had taken hold of my mind and spirit.

Getting to the Heart of Discontent

After months of deep reflection, journaling, conversations with my mentor, and ruminations with my husband, I came to a realization.

I was living to my purpose, but not using my strengths.

My purpose was (and still is) to “Help people learn and grow so they can achieve their greatest potential.” While I was living this purpose at scale for the organization, I deeply missed the personal connections with people in the business. My natural talents were interacting with people, facilitating their learning, designing solutions and partnering with leaders to implement them. I was in a state of flow when I was building relationships and influencing people on a personal level.

The leadership role I held meant that I was leading leaders who managed the teams. My days were filled with meetings, reports, and operations management. While this is important work, it wasn’t feeding my soul at the time.  

Choosing Strengths

Through that year, and some open conversations with my manager about my fit and direction, I made a choice to step away from this broad team leadership and into strategic consulting. A wonderful colleague moved into my role, and I moved to an emerging team focused on enterprise talent strategy.  

Our respective strengths and passions now clicked. I was back in my flow – with an intense learning curve, direct leadership consultation, and immersive development experiences.

It’s these moments of discontent to focus on how you serve your purpose. What type of work really drives you?

I now find myself back in the transition space as I start my own business. This time around, I took the time to anchor in my purpose and recenter on my strengths.

As you think about your work. Are you living to a strengths-based purpose?