5 Reasons You're Missing Purpose in Your Impact Career

"I don't feel like I have a sense of purpose in my work. I need to find something more aligned."

This is one of the most common reasons folks reach out to me for career or leadership coaching. They're feeling stuck – they have a job that pays the bills, but it's unfulfilling and they're feeling increasingly disconnected.

This week in the Impact Leaders Incubator, our leadership theme is Purpose. We're exploring the connection between *what* we do and *why* we do it – in other words:

How does the work we're doing connect with the difference we're looking to make in the world?

In our session this week, I offered participants five reasons they might feel disconnected from a sense of purpose. Getting clearer on what the root cause is can help you determine the actions you need to take to re-discover your sense of purpose and get back on track.

1) You’re unclear about the through-line between your actions and the change you’re looking to see in the world

Suggestion: Make sure you have a clear theory of change that guides your career

2) You feel like you fell into the work/sector and didn’t choose this path

Suggestion: A dose of intentionality – how might you refocus your narrative on the decisions you made and re-discover intentional choices?

3) You’re worried you’re not actually good at what you’re doing

Suggestion: Find a way to assess your skill level. How can you better understand your unique value-add and the skills/assets you bring to the table?

4) I’m doing work that makes a difference, but I hate it and it’s destroying my soul.

Suggestion: This is a skills trap – you likely feel stuck because you’re doing something that you’re really good at but don’t like to do. The strategy here is to identify what things you’re good at and like to do, and release the expectation that just because you have a marketable skill, it should be part of your job.

5) Social impact takes forever – does what I’m doing actually matter?

Suggestion: There might be a mismatch in the feedback loop here –  you may need to explore options where you can see the results of your actions more quickly; a lot of people feel frustrated when they are working on projects with a too-long timeline.

Which of these root causes resonates with you? Based on where the disconnect comes from, is there one action you can take today to make things 10% better?

Need help? Reach out to discuss coaching and we can develop a customized plan to help you find a more fulfilling career deeply connected to purpose.