Helping Employees Find Their Inner Purpose

Employees feel more engaged and satisfied with their jobs when they believe their company supports their own career and life ambitions.
 
No matter one’s job, industry, or career, we all benefit from finding a personal sense of meaning in what we do. And good managers help their employees to find their inner purpose. Writing in the Harvard Business Review, Kristi Hedges, a senior leadership coach and author of The Inspiration Code suggests regular check-ins that use five areas of inquiry to help employees identify and explore their inner purpose:

1. What are you good at doing? What have you gotten noticed for throughout your career? What do you take on because you believe you’re the best person to do it? The idea here is to help people identify their strengths.
   
   
2. What do you enjoy? In a typical workweek, what do you look forward to? If you could design your job with no restrictions, how would you spend your time? These questions help people find or rediscover what they love about work.
   
   
3. What feels most useful? Which work outcomes make you most proud? Which of your tasks are most critical to the team or organization? What are the highest priorities for your life and how does your work fit in? This line of inquiry highlights the inherent value of certain work.
   
   
4. What creates a sense of forward momentum? What are you learning that you’ll use in the future? What do you envision for yourself next? How is your work today getting you closer to what you want? The goal here is to help advance toward future goals.
   
   
5. How do you relate to others? Which working partnerships feel best to you? What would an office of your favorite people look like? Does your work enhance your family and social connections? These questions encourage people to foster relationships that make their work more meaningful.

 
How did you discover your own inner purpose, and what do you do to help others find meaning at work? To join the conversation, click "comments" above.

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