Our deepest calling
Reflecting on and discussing purpose or calling in life can be deeply personal. For me, growing up in an evangelical household, the idea of purpose or why the good lord created me would bring silent dread and anxiety... What if I miss it?
In my early 20s, fresh out of college, I truly thought there was only one career path I could take – one concrete reason for existence, and I needed to hurry up and find it before my life wasted away!!! Thankfully, I grew up a bit and experienced that I have many versatile strengths and gifts to bring to the world. All I needed to do was discern the most optimal path at the given time – the present moment – given present circumstances.
As with any living organism, you and I included, the living/moving being evolves in co-creation with its environment. It’s impossible to have a singular, unchanging purpose in life – because at any and every moment we are shaped by and connected to the world around us – which hey, is also evolving.
Recently, I’ve learned more about the idea of evolutionary purpose within organizations, which brought new and fresh perspectives to the swirl of thought for myself and the individuals I work with. Evolutionary purpose is what it sounds like – that purpose changes, morphs, and adapts as it moves through time and space.
Individual purpose is morphed and changed by the landscape of life: our daily actions and habits, our relationships and families, our resources and bank accounts, and our general level of safety and stability.
Organizational purpose is morphed and changed by the landscape of business: our political and social rules, our market and economic conditions, and our freedom and autonomy to innovate and explore new possibilities.
For many individuals and leaders, these landscapes have been volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous. Most everyone in the world has been affected by these conditions in one way or another.
What if we were more present to ourselves (and our organizations) in a way that heightened our ability to navigate this constantly changing landscape?
The expression of my own strengths and gifts have evolved, yet the thread running through them is the same as it was in childhood. It goes something like this: Why can’t we come up with ideas for organizing things so that more people are more happy?
I think even then as a kid, I was very interested in collaboration done well – the give and take of being in harmony with my environment and the people in it. I’ll play your game if you play mine. I’ll do the cooking if you do the dishes. I’ll give you a back scratch if you scratch mine. Nearly all of my clients can easily identify how their strengths showed up in some way in childhood (and I still like to trade back scratches).
“Nature, humankind, relationships: everything evolves, driven by a life force, to adapt, transform and grow. From [this] perspective, organizations are viewed as an independent energy field with a purpose that transcends its stakeholders. In this paradigm, we don’t own or run the organization; instead, we are stewards, listening to where it needs to go and helping it to do its work in the world.”
This description reminded me of Parker Palmer’s book Let Your Life Speak – which is a beautiful text to support individuals in embracing their authentic gifts. It starts with listening quietly to our inner voices – what our experiences, strengths, and intuition are telling us. Palmer shares, “Our deepest calling is to grow into our own authentic selfhood, whether or not it conforms to some image of who we ought to be. As we do so, we will not only find the joy that every human being seeks – we will also find our path of authentic service in the world.”
As the steward of Canon Collaborative, I have a big heart for supporting both individuals and organizations in the art of collaboration, which comes only when each individual stands firmly and confidently in their authentic strengths and gifts – their authentic selfhood. Why not embrace this dynamic co-creation happening at multiple levels and scales, and more deeply acknowledge and invest in this process for both individuals and organizations?
Why not invest in growing awareness of your innate strengths and gifts, and develop highly unique strategies for when they inevitably encounter resistance on the landscape of work and life? We can all learn to listen to our personal strengths and intuition in highly practical ways.
Why not invest in your growing awareness of your organization’s innate strength and gifts, and develop highly unique strategies for cultivating agility and collaboration for when they inevitably encounter resistance on the landscape of business? We can all learn to listen to our collective strengths and intuition in highly practical ways.
Reach out to learn more about partnering with Canon Collaborative.
Grounding Journey
Our Grounding Journey is an online interactive course designed to ground individuals and organizations in their natural strength and intuition. This program includes Spark Sessions for all individuals before coming together as a community or team to learn and cultivate strength within.
