Aug 25, 2023

What matters to you beyond the work?

Your why. Your purpose. Your passion.

If you've been a follower of my musings, you know I'm not a fan of Why or Purpose when it comes to our careers. For many people their why is a roof over their head and food on the table. And they don't feel connected to a deeper purpose around work. And that's perfectly ok and dare I say, normal. But our passions — those are the things that truly matter to us. Those are the hobbies that give us joy and the people that give us joy (and often heartburn! Hi Mom. Kidding!). Your passion is usually what matters beyond the work, or outside of the work. For most people this matters MORE than the work (no one ever said I wished I had worked more — this quote gets an Amen from me).

You are more than the work

Spoiler alert: all of my presentations and workshops start with the same question and answer sequence: Slide 1: What do you do? Slide 2: You aren't your job title or job description Especially if you work inside an organization, you've likely coopted the identity of the titles and jobs you've held instead of cultivating your own identity. So when you get asked what you do, you don't respond with what or even how, you respond with a meaningless title or composite of tasks. You make it about the work and not about YOU.

Let's talk about You

If you've ever posted a photo of yourself or said something vulnerable on social media, you've likely seen the most engagement of anything you've ever posted. This is because people want to know who you are, not what you do.

We're all looking for connection! Meaningful and deep connection. And we want someone else to share so we can share too. Case in point: I posted this same video slide show (below) on LinkedIn this week and the amount of comments and engagement I got was more than almost any post since my Taylor Swift one went viral. Ain't nothing going to top Tay Tay.

According to a recent article in the Harvard Business Review, "For better or worse, in today’s world everyone is a brand, and you need to develop yours and get comfortable marketing it." Part of that process isn't just conveying your value (hugely important) but also conveying your humanity. Yes, even in business. Especially in business.

What's the Upside?

In July I joined a networking, community and learning group of business leaders called The Upside. And the below campaign was led by and designed by them. This proved that they're the right group for me because they understand how to prioritize what matters beyond our work. So "the upside" to me is finding a like-minded community of people who all work hard, share generously and understand that connection is made through getting to know people at their core. Not just for their skills.

There's nothing I love more than sharing what I love to do outside of the work. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE that my job is about helping you be more you in professional spaces, but I love my family, my friends, my barbell and my wine more. #Sorrynotsorry

And I hope you do too! (You can play the video above or just peep the pics below to see what matters to me beyond the work)