SacredLeadership Blog

Who Am I? What Is My purpose?

February 20th, 2007 by jdavis

Who am I? What is my purpose? These are two questions that Sacred Leaders must struggle with as they mature as leaders.

Sacred Leaders must have a very strong sense of self. Leaders must have a clearly defined and deeply held sense of positive values as we have discussed in previous postings and within the www.sacredleadership.org web site. Sacred Leaders must also have the moral courage to stand their ground when other forces are acting to move them off of mission or to act outside of their core values. I am not proposing that Sacred Leaders be unbending, uncompromising or just plain stubborn. All good leaders constantly evaluate their strategies and their actions and great leaders make appropriate changes based upon these evaluations. However, Sacred Leaders NEVER compromise their values or the integrity of their mission to serve the common good.

What is my purpose? This question is one of the defining questions of humankind. Our need to answer this question as individuals and as societies is a uniquely human quality.

Sacred Leaders have a calling to serve the greater good and understand that, at times, the common good outweighs the individual good. This altruism is a defining characteristic of Sacred Leaders. I am not insinuating that Sacred Leaders must give up all personal needs and desires on behalf of the mission. Sacred Leaders must, however, feel deeply that the mission is closely tied with their purpose in life. Commitment is derived from this intersection between the leader’s sense of purpose and the organization’s mission to serve the common good.

This intersection of purpose and mission can become all consuming to the Sacred Leader. Therefore, it is important that the leader develop the capacity to care deeply while remaining objective. This type of nonattachment allows the Sacred Leader to maintain perspective and to remain open to the present as well as to the future that is trying to emerge.

Think about your role as leader. Answer these two questions

Who am I?
What is my purpose?

Let us know your thoughts after you have gone through this process.

4 Responses to “Who Am I? What Is My purpose?”

on 21 Feb 2007 at 5:48 pm1 Tom Reynolds

RIght-on Jim. What is the difference between Mission and Purpose?
on 23 Feb 2007 at 1:21 pm2 jdavis

Tom,

In the context of Sacred Leadership, I define purpose as our personal response to the question’ “What am I here for?” It’s is a greater purpose that brings deep meaning into our lives.

Mission is the guiding purpose of the organization. What was the organization designed to do? In the case of
Sacred Leadership, the mission must include some aspect of serving the common good.

Ideally, the Sacred Leader’s purpose intersects with the organization’s mission to serve the common good. This leads to tremendous commitment as well as high levels of effectiveness and efficiency.
on 26 Feb 2007 at 7:19 am3 Marsha

Hi Jim
Thank you for this wonderful website. It is a good way to get re-connected to the concepts that you have presented in the management workshops that I have attended,
on 05 Apr 2007 at 6:04 pm4 Betty

Before taking the leadership seminar and the leadership academy at Duarte Unified School District I didn’t think that I was anybody other than the person working in the business department and doing the tasks that were assigned to me. But I found out that I can lead from any desk that I sit in and I don’t have to be a supervisor or boss to lead.
Who am I? - I am a leader meaning that if I wanted to I could give some “bad” advice and cause people heartache or I can give them “good” advice and ease their decision making. In a manner of speaking I can stear somebody the wrong way if I did not lead them correctly.
What is my purpose? - Treating people the way I would like to be treated is a good start but I also believe that my purpose is to lead by example, if I show kindness and I am willing to help someone (even without being asked) then I will be fulfilling my purpose as a leader from the desk that I am setting in. We do not need to earn the “big bucks” to lead and I have realized that I am more of a leader that I thought I was and I really need to be careful how I do things and what I say because I have several people who are looking at me and respect me for who I am.