Many people have asked us what Ikigai means. For those that don’t know, Ikigai is a Japanese concept that refers to something that gives a person a sense of purpose, a reason for living.
In our Practice the concept of Ikigai is embodied in the way we invite our clients to consider the purpose and impact of their roles, work, actions, conversations and decisions.
We see purpose as a fundamental aspect of leadership. A guiding force. Providing direction, alignment, inspiration, commitment and resilience to stay the course.
But for many leaders staying purposeful can be fraught. Oftentimes we create high expectations on ourselves around the scale of our impact, be hard on ourselves when we don’t achieve this impact or feel helpless in our ability to stay aligned and connected to purpose when “life shows up” and the daily pressures take over.
To avoid this pitfall, we encourage leaders to take smaller steps toward staying aligned to purpose and view this alignment to purpose as an ongoing journey – an imperfect and human journey – rather than a goal or a destination.
In our work, we’ve witnessed purposeful and impactful leaders embody the following practices to stay connected and aligned to purpose:
Purpose beyond self
Purposeful leaders who realise sustainable impact hold a broader leadership purpose that extends beyond self-interest or just commercial gains. We've seen this broader leadership purpose take many forms; from proactively mentoring and developing others; encouraging and implementing sustainable practices in their organisations; championing volunteer and community events; prioritising diversity and inclusion progress; to leading systemic transformation towards sustainable impact.
Leaders who hold a purpose for ‘greater good’ mindset tend to cultivate ethical and responsible leadership, which can impact their organisation's long-term viability and success and create a positive domino effect that benefits and inspires employees, stakeholders and the broader community.
Additionally, this practice of generosity of mindset leads to a greater sense of personal fulfilment, maintaining momentum and building resilience. A virtuous cycle.
Anchoring teams through purpose
Purposeful leaders tend to engage and mobilise people around a broader purpose because they really believe in it, fostering a sense of meaning and fulfilment in everyone’s work. They help teams find alignment at a higher level through shared goals, which supports the team to navigate personalities, tensions, politics and disagreements that occur in their workplaces.
When things get messy and people get caught in disagreements on approach or overwhelmed by yet another change in scope, purposeful leaders tend to reorient their teams to purpose (the why), which can foster their resilience and ability to stay the course. “Let’s please remember that we are here to help the most vulnerable members of our community” or “This project will be a game changer once is completed” or “Can we find a middle ground here for the sake of our shared goal?”.
By saying that, we are not advocating for martyr or heroes here…self care and health boundaries are critical to our ability to stay the course.
Breaking purposes into smaller bites
By breaking down a greater purpose into smaller and actionable goals, purpose driven leaders make the journey for themselves and their people more manageable and less overwhelming.
If we take climate change as an example, it’s easy to be overwhelmed by the scale of the challenge. By orienting people to explore what is the part they can play and make progress towards climate change, breaking the enormity of the issue into actionable goals, celebrating the small wins and experimenting and adapting as they go can make the journey more sustainable.
Purpose driven leaders see purpose as a way of working and as a journey, recognising that purpose may evolve over time. They hold their aspirations and expectations around impact lightly (not because they don’t care, but because it is not about them) and through this they change the narrative around purpose to something practical, accessible and shared, often asking “What is the leadership required of us right now”?
Reflecting on your journey of alignment to purpose:
- What is the role that purpose currently plays in your leadership?
- How do you bring people on the journey of connecting with a collective or shared purpose?
- How has your purpose evolved over time?
Photo by Jordan Madrid on Unsplash
