WHAT’S YOUR WHY?

This week I was very privileged to be invited to deliver my keynote on The Power of Purpose with the top 250 leaders from the City of Canterbury Bankstown. This was a watershed moment for their organisation – a day where they launched a new purpose and ambition – one that galvanises the entire organisation to renew their focus on creating a great city for their residents, a city to love.

The organisation has been on a long journey – amalgamation, COVID. This week marked a new turn in the road and an opportunity to rethink how they ignite the fire of purpose, passion and performance in their organisation. City of Canterbury Bankstown CEO, Matthew Stewart, launched the day with a powerful presentation on his why – what  he gets up for everyday, what drives his passion. He extended an invitation to his people to be curious – curious about their why, curious about how they each add value to the lives of the people they work with and the people they serve in their community.

It was great to work alongside the fabulous Simon Banks as MC and co-presenter. Simon is a creativity, innovation and design specialist, and his team of creative artists captured the messages of the day beautifully as speakers presented.

My messages were simple. Purpose is a powerful tool for leaders. When harnessed, it has the power to connect whole organisations, align teams and inspire people. If we don’t spend any time or  energy being curious about our why – we are missing an opportunity to activate the enormous potential that exists within our teams and organisations to deliver extraordinary value.

How do you  find your why? What is your life purpose? What is your work purpose? There are two simple questions you can ask yourself to find the answers to these questions, and it happens to all be about  love.

To find your life purpose, simply ask: Who do you love?
To find your work purpose, ask yourself: What do you love doing?

The answers to these questions brings into sharp relief the reasons you get out of bed, the reasons you strive, and the motivation to push through when things get tough, as they inevitably do. They help us to not sweat the small stuff – because what we do matters.

So, my question to you today is – what is your why?