Three approaches to excavating your unique reason to serve
Creating your professional brand and all the associated materials from elevator pitch to LinkedIn profile is easier once you figure out why you do what you do. Answering this “why” question can be difficult. But think about it. Getting answers to “why” questions is powerful.
For example, small children are notorious for asking their parents an endless series of why questions: “Why is the sky blue?” “Why do I have to take a bath?” “Why does Tommy wear glasses?” In all, it can tire their parents out. But think about how much small children learn in a day.
In the business world, the “five whys” is a strategy for finding the root cause of a recurring problem. People who use this approach ask the question, “Why does that happen?” five times in a row, diving deeper and deeper into the issue.
As I alluded to at the start of this post, answering a key “why” question is foundational when you’re creating your professional brand. That key question is: “Why do I do what I do?” When you answer it as part of creating your professional brand, you’re on the path to knowing with conviction why you do what you do. Once you know why,telling the world what you do becomes easy.
Let’s talk about three ways to approach defining your driving purpose.
Two Words to Help You Understand Your Why
A great first thing to do is an assessment of who you are.
For example, during the Revealing Genius 7-Day Summit, participants take the two-minute survey at onpurpose.me and receive their two-word “purpose statement.” This amazing tool helps people reflect on why they do what they do, which as we’ve said, is a key stepping stone in creating your professional brand.
“Knowing your purpose in life brings greater focus, confidence, contentment and meaning to life,” says Kevin McCarthy, the creator of onpurpose.me. “Becoming a more authentic you improves your performance and well-being. You’re well-positioned to make a very positive difference for others when you start with yourself.”
Here are some examples of two-word purpose statements that 7-Day Summit participants have received in the past: imparting wisdom, being authentic, bringing light, igniting joy, cultivating growth and embracing grace.
These two-word statements don’t arrive in a vacuum. Onpurpose.me delivers a dozen follow-up emails to help you reflect on your purpose and refine it. One of my summit participants admitted that she thought this “two-word purpose statement stuff” was a lot of “hoo hoo” at first. But after spending some time with her two-word purpose statement, she saw everything she does come into focus. I also watched a salesperson get really motivated to close a big deal after receiving and reflecting on his two-word purpose statement: igniting joy.
Knowing What You Stand for Aids With Creating Your Professional Brand
A second great way to approach answering the question, “Why do I do what I do?” is to imagine that you are going to give a media interview or be a guest on a podcast. You know the interviewer is doing to ask you, “What do you stand for?” And you must prepare to answer the question.
One way you can get your creative juices going is to think about well-known brands. For example, consider these three carmakers: Volvo, Mercedes and BMW. They all sell essentially the same product. Yet each has a very different reason for serving. Volvo has as its top concern making transportation safe. Mercedes and BMW certainly care about safety, but paramount for Mercedes is luxury. And BMW is all about performance.
Another way to prepare to answer the media or podcast interviewer is to think about what celebrities you know stand for. You might expect Tony Dungy’s reason to serve to be “winning.” After all, he’s a former professional football safety, coach and sports analyst; served as head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Indianapolis Colts for 13 seasons; and led the Colts to victory in Super Bowl XLI. But Dungy stands for a winning attitude, which not only embraces his sports career but also how he handles his personal life after losing his son in a tragic suicide.
Creating Your Professional Brand by Knowing Your Why
Take some time today, tonight, this weekend—soon—to try a third exercise that can help you answer the question of why you do what you do. It’s a fill-in-the-blank question:
I exist to serve by ______________________________________.
The exercise looks simple at first, yet may take a great deal of reflection to fully answer. It’s worth the effort!
I find that people who have excavated their unique reason to serve are well on their way through the time-proven ETA™ process for creating your professional brand that we use at Revealing Genius. Discovering your “why” is part of step one: Excavate your brand. Having that in hand readies you for the next steps—creating effective ways to Tell others about your brand and taking the time to Affirm your brand so you can communicate it with conviction.
Ask the parent of any small child: Answering why questions can be hard. But when it comes to creating your professional brand, nothing could be more helpful than authentically answering the question, “Why do I do what I do?” Fortunately, you don’t have to go it alone. Right now, you can download a complimentary resource and sign up for our monthly e-newsletter on the Revealing Genius home page. We look forward to being part of your efforts for creating your professional brand.
