Finding my purpose (diary of a digital transformation)

I’m sharing my story for four reasons:

i) to help me reflect and learn

ii) to share my lessons to help you

iii) to connect and learn alongside people who want to develop

iv) to be honest and open about my experiences, good and bad (to lead by example)

I’ve been involved in digital transformation for a little over a year now and it’s been quite a ride.

But now it’s time for me to reflect on this and find a new purpose. In essence, what do I want to do which will make me leap out of bed in the morning?

The concept of ikigai seems to capture this need for a purpose tailored to you perfectly. It recognises there is a sweet spot which reflects your passions and values but also something that the world needs.

Before I talk about my thoughts about my new purpose, I want to reflect on some landmarks:

Me using the words inspired and excited regarding my contract in everyday conversation.
If you know me, you’ll I don’t tend to get too excited :-)
And I have NEVER used these words in relation to a contract! This is a good sign that I need to understand and grab hold of what I find exciting and inspiring.

This has been one of the most educational and creative periods in my working life.
I have been exposed to many new ideas and, more importantly, a bunch of experienced, motivated people who want to help and learn together. Not everyone but enough people that help stimulate thought and discussion around how we should work together to be successful. That might cover motivation, the nature of high performing teams, mindsets and behaviours, measuring success based on customer and organisational purpose.

Bringing my full experience and strengths to work (not just filling a role)
I’ve had the good fortune of working with people who have found a place that allowed me to play to my strengths. And the new ways of working encourage (mostly) speaking up and challenging and sharing expertise without being expected to limit yourself to your official ‘role’.

Words and deeds don’t necessarily match…
It’s not been rosy all the way. It is demotivating when what leaders say and what they do don’t match. But the POINT of this digital transformation is to encourage, coach, support, influence people to embrace a new way of working. And it doesn’t happen overnight…

Working with motivated people who share the vision
Whatever happens in the day, whether it is good or bad, having a great team and group of supportive individuals within the bank is brilliant. Being able to share the highs and the lows, ask for advice, commiserate or have a vent — these people are what keep you going, inspire you and lift you back up again when you’re down.

So back to the purpose of this post… my purpose.

Early on during this journey I let go of the business analyst label (even if that was the basis of my contract) because it felt too limiting and I needed a new purpose/role title (not sure which) which would enable me to:

• be inspired by work
• make the biggest contribution
• make a living

As part of this. I’ve spent much of this year building my network and supporting people who are trying to make a positive social impact. My most notable success has been helping Hilary Simpson who founded the Sleuth coop (I write about my impact with her here). I plan to do more of this. I’ve also joined a professional network called HiveMind so that I can work with professionals who share my values. Their greatest asset in my opinion is their values which are reflected in their interactions with me. You can read their values here (you’ll need to scroll down to find them).

What is my new purpose and why does it matter to me?

I played with a few new job titles. Coach was good as this is what I have been doing given the opportunity over the last few years. But… I’ve never fully committed with a formal accreditation and training.

I liked Designer in the modern sense of designing solutions to human problems, but not with the technical meaning. It also encompasses a broad range of techniques, gives you the freedom to select according to the context. It does not enforce a methodology.

But these don’t reflect a mission or purpose that is exciting and will motivate me personally.

Agile is a term that is used widely in this space. It offers a great deal in terms of mindset and tools and techniques that have inspired and excited me. But… agile is a means not an end. And as much as I value what agile has to offer and continue to learn and develop my agile skills, it does not represent a purpose that will motivate me.

I discovered the mission I want to pursue when I connected a number of facts:

1. It is important to me to have a positive and fulfilling work life. And I want to use all of my strengths to have the biggest impact without wasting my energy on politics.
2. The old models for designing and running organisations are failing. They are ineffective, slow and are the cause of companies failing as well as customer and employee frustration. New models are emerging to replace the old approaches and they are being very successful.
3. The new models provide a system and culture where employees can flourish. They invest their energy in pursuing their passions using their strengths, collaborating with others, NOT navigating the organisation politics.

Now this is a world view that inspires me. Coaching and supporting individuals who share these beliefs will be very motivating. This could involve either coaching leaders who are moving existing organisations to a new model (such as Lloyds).

Or coaching leaders who are building new organisations using new models from the ground up (such as Sleuth).

I’d welcome your thoughts or questions on anything that’s been explored here.