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2 Steps to Find Your Purpose at Work

2 Steps to Find Your Purpose at Work

The vast majority of professionals cite “purpose” as one of their top priorities at work.* Yet, even among executives and students at Harvard Business School, fewer than 20% report having a strong sense of their own individual purpose.** In sum, purpose is something most of professionals want, badly, but few of them have found -- and sadly, not having found it often leaves them feeling lacking, behind, or lost. 

Yes, there are hallmarked examples of individuals finding their life’s work in the blink of an eye, like Newton with his apple or Edison with his light bulb. But recent research has shed light on how creativity and insight are generated via exploration, learning and action, rather than waiting for lightning to strike.***

So here are the two simple steps we’ve found that anyone can take -- today -- to find purpose at work:

Define Your Values In 10 Minutes

Define Your Values In 10 Minutes

Identifying your values is an important step in understanding what motivates you in and out of the office. 

  1. On the chart below, circle the top 15 values of most importance to you out of the 150 values listed
  2. Once you have your top 15, strike 5 from your list to find your top 10
  3. Once you have your top 10, strike 3 more from your list to find your top 7
  4. Now rank your top 7 values from most to least important. This will help you evaluate potential opportunities and how to take the right step in the face of challenging decisions in the future.

Once you have completed this exercise, you can move on to our career direction diagnostic to help you define your purpose at work.