Unlocking Purpose for Personal and Professional Growth 🚀 #SuperhumanFramework

Good morning, LinkedIn, YouTube, wherever you might be watching this. Happy Thursday. Back for another edition of let's Build Superhumans with George B. Thomas. How you doing, fella?

I'm good, brother. I live in life. Sometimes it's a dream, sometimes it's scary, but at least I am still here, able to add value to other humans. So doing good. How are you doing today?

Feeling similar. Feeling similar. It's. It's a dreamy, you know, and most of the time, not nightmarish right now, but every now and then, the overwhelm can set in because the opportunity is just, like, staring you in the face, and it's like, oh, my God, how do I do all the things and keep up right now? But having a good time trying to do the things that, you know, matter to me and I think matter to the audience. And this is definitely, you know, one of those shows. And today, you know, last time we talked about love as the first of the four cornerstones that create the foundation for the 10 pillars that we've talked about, and that one specifically, you know, setting up meaningful connections in the workplace. But now that we've covered that, you know, gonna take on cornerstone number two, purpose. How does that follow and what does that do to kind of build on that love cornerstone that we covered last time?

Yeah, I love it. It's a great question. And it's funny, Chris, because you know how you're not supposed to have, like, a favorite child and you're not supposed to have, like, a favorite dog or whatever? Purpose actually might be my favorite out of the cornerstones. I mean, don't get me wrong, like, love is really important. Love is, like, fundamental to who I am. But purpose, there's just this, like. I don't know, there's just something about it. Because purpose, Chris, is the driving force that channels love into what we all need, which is meaningful action or meaningful actions. And while love that we talked about last time connects people, you know, through trust and empathy and the relationships, the connections that they're building per purpose, the topic that we're covering today gives that connection direction, but also gives it focus. And again, some things that we need in life, meaningful action, direction and focus into where we're trying to go. Even at the beginning, you're, like, trying to pay attention to all the things and figure out what. All the things I can do. Like, well, what. What's your purpose? And how does it align? Right. Purpose transforms the questions that we somewhat ask ourselves of, who are we here for or why are we doing this work? That we're doing and, and what is the actual impact we want to create? Which, by the way, Chris, I don't know if the viewers and listeners ask themselves questions like that, but, like, that's a good place to start, is like, why are you doing what you're doing? Why are you. Who you are? And like, do you even know the impact that you want to bring to the world? And in. In what way? Like, what is your purpose? Like, these days, so many people, when you look around, it's not hard to find people feeling burned out, checked out, especially work. But just sometimes life in general, we're getting to a point where. And maybe this is why it's my favorite child of the cornerstones and while. Why. I think it's going to probably be the first course that we create that we can put out to the world. Which, by the way, if you'd be down with a course, like a deep dive on purpose, you just need to let Chris or me know. So we know folks that are like, oh, yeah, that sounds like a good idea. But purpose, at this point, it's not a nice to have. It's. It's a must have because there's. There are so many things going on in life. There are so many squirrel moments. There is so much with AI and like, business and. But purpose can kind of like, bring it in. Chris. A Gallup study found that 67% of employees are disengaged at work. That number scares the crap out of me, by the way, especially since I've hired mostly family members. So I do everything I can do not to have them be distant, disengaged at work. But. But imagine that, though, like, the amount of humans that companies or organizations are hiring, and 67% of those humans are just like, I show up, I do some stuff like this. Disengagement costs businesses literally billions in lost productivity annually. And both employees and leaders, I think we're at this place where we're craving work that resonates with our values, that we understand we're doing something that leaves a lasting and meaningful impact on the world. Chris, you hear me all the time. I'm talking about, like, it's all about the ripples for me, right? I want. I want to know that I'm leaving a legacy. I'm doing something that matters. I don't just want to, like, be a hamster on a hamster wheel. And this is where purpose kind of helps us cut through the noise. It helps provide clarity in a world filled with, like, oh, my God, I don't know about you, but sometimes I feel like I. There's all these competing priorities. Like which? Which one? Purpose. It connects individuals, teams, and organizations to this shared why. Right. And we've all heard, you know, Simon Sinek and start with why. And everybody wants to talk about why. And you're always asking why. Your kids are always asking why this why. But, like, in this scenario that shared why, it creates alignment and energy that drives innovation and engagement in these organizations. And when leaders and employees fully embrace purpose, it becomes a powerful catalyst for resilience. Now, we just talked about resilience on our other podcast. We do Wake up with AI. It's a reoccurring theme in. In two weeks or three weeks, we're going to be doing an episode on Beyond. You'd default on resilience because it's just this word that keeps coming back into conversations that I'm having. What this does is it. It unlocks creativity and it starts to cultivate what I'll call a deep sense of connection. Right. And now you're kind of seeing the thread. Love was about relationships and conn. Purpose is about the direction and the deep sense of connection, but also this, like, belonging within the teams and the organizations. And Chris, I'm going to step out here this morning and say I believe that this conversation about purpose couldn't be more timely as we head into 2025. Oh, God, did I say it? As we head into 2025, it's almost the end of the year. We need a year where clarity and alignment will define the success for many businesses. And again, if you're watching this and you haven't been paying or other podcasts like clarity and alignment are going to be some things that you're going to need inside your organization for success. So that's my thoughts. What are yours?

Yeah, and well said. I mean, clarity and alignment, like, between, you know, individuals and the teams that they're on and like, in those groups and leadership. Because where I was going to go until you said that last part is like just sort of a reminder. The problem that we're trying to solve by showing up, especially with the topic of purpose, is, like, this disengagement, a great resignation, people just showing up to cash checks. You know, I've literally talked to leaders. They have no idea how to solve that problem. Why can't people just show up and do their job? Because they're getting a paycheck. Like, hey, maybe it used to be that way. Like, maybe that's why y' all were called the Greatest generation, you know, but we're not there anymore. So I still went there. But then that clarity happened at the individual level when it becomes clear that you're not going to give me the space to do meaningful work here. So I am clearly just doing this for money because I got a family to feed and I'm going to clock in, I'm going to clock out and that's what you're getting. That's real clear for me. I'm aligning with my life in order to do that. And what you want to talk about resilience, it takes a shit ton of resilience to go and do that every day with that outcome. So let's say we, we recognize that and we don't want that. As leaders, how do they kind of connect those dots for people and maybe help them find some purpose, tie some purpose to the business? Like how. What's your advice there?

I think my advice here is that we're not going to jump to the leaders yet because I want to focus in on the individuals. Right? Us as humans, we have to have some ownership of this as well. Sure, they've created the culture that you're living in, you've accepted the job that you're now doing. But how do you help dig yourself out of it? Because, Chris, at the individual level, purpose is a deeply personal yet universally transformative piece that we can have in our life. Purpose is what gives our average everyday work meaning. And it's purpose when we can align it, when we can find it, when we can dig into it, it gets us past just a simple paycheck for the individuals. Studies show that employees who find meaning in their work are three times more likely to stay engaged and satisfied. Three times doesn't sound like a lot, but if you think about the 67% from earlier, if you do some simple math like it's, it's actually a big piece here to notice how the individuals can do this. But discovering individual purpose requires intentionality. Chris. It's not something that you're just going to be walking down the road. Do, do, do, do, do. There's my purpose. Like it's, it's not going to happen that way. Purpose starts with looking inward. It is literally a journey of self discovery where both leaders and employees need to ask themselves some questions. And by the way, when I think about self discovery and I think about like self awareness beyond your default dot com, there's an episode. Go dig in deeper with it. But here's the questions that you would have to ask yourself as an individual, by the way, employee or leader, we're all individuals. And I want you to ask yourself these questions today. By the way, as you're watching this, whether it's live or whether it's recorded, what energizes me, do you have an immediate knee jerk response to that? Also ask yourself, how do my strengths and passions align with the impact I want to make? Again, do you have an answer for that? An immediate like, oh, yeah, in what ways does my work contribute to something larger than myself? That might be difficult for a lot of people, but there's ways that leaders might be able to help you see that if we add it to our culture, but we'll talk about in a little bit. As an individual, I could use maybe a practical tool like a purpose inventory. Right. It could help me uncover these answers to these questions that I'm asking. But this involves again, identifying your core skills, mapping them to your passions, and then aligning them with your values. There's some keywords in there. Purpose inventory. Identify your core skills, write them down on a sheet of paper, map them out to your passions. What are you passionate about? Because, by the way, that's why passion is one of the four cornerstones. Purpose, passion, persistence, and love. But what are you passionate about? And how does this passion and how do these skills and the purpose align with your values of you as a human? So, for example, an employee who loves problem solving might find their purpose in designing innovative solutions that help customers. I also love this idea or this concept because it highlights something super important. Part of this is the individual. You immediately went to like the leader. Right. And I think it's because you fundamentally understand. I understand that leaders hold the key to unlocking purpose within their teams. But I had to start with the individual because we have to own our own ish. But. But if we understand that the leaders hold the key to unlocking purpose within their teams, it's not just about setting goals and giving tasks. It really, truly is about creating a space where meaningful conversations can happen. The amount of times I've joked when I'm doing like HubSpot coaching about, yes, what I'm saying right now is you have to have a conversation with your team and people are like, oh no. Like, oh my God. But especially as leaders, we have the power to ask the right questions. And if you're a leader watching this, I'm going to ask you, when's the last time you asked one of your teammates, members or employees what excites you about your work? Or what impact do you want to make here. And by the way, when you ask those questions, even if you're asking them slightly fearfully of the answers that you're going to get or potentially could get, my bonus points to you would be and truly listen to the answers. Don't ask them to have a narrative to say immediately back. Ask them to be listening to the human. Because when we as leaders take the time to connect on like these individual human motivations and we can align them to the organization's mission, then something remarkable or potentially something remarkable can happen. Because that's when we get where people don't just show up to work, they show up with purpose. It's in those moments that leaders unlock potential far beyond the surface. They. They have the ability to spark performance that feels effortless. They have the potential to build loyalty that's unshakable and even cultivate fulfillment in the individual humans in the teams that lasts for a long, long time. Right? This is when you start to think about this. This is what the dopest cultures on the planet are built on. The role of us as leaders isn't just to direct. I wish that I could get more leaders to realize that it's about inspiring, it's about aligning, it's about nurturing the humans, right? The others, the team. And Chris, when, when we do that, when they do that, when you as a leader do that, it transforms not just the work. And here's where I love the superhuman framework because it's, it's all about the humans. It doesn't just transform the work because we're always trying to do process or platform, but my man, it transforms the people doing the work. Chris, what are your thoughts?

I nailed it. I mean, the people doing the work, like so often comes back to like internal communications and how this is happening. Like the questions that we could be asking each other from individuals to leaders, you know, I would, I would offer from a leader's perspective, like, do you know, like asking your team, do you know why we do what we do, why you do the job that you do? And like, one of the coolest results of starting to do digital marketing in some other organizations I've been in and just have having more information out there, more communication happening on the website, internally, whatever, as people come up and say, like, man, I'm actually learning about why we build the things that we build now. And they feel good about it. And it's like that disconnect, which I get from a leader's perspective that I'm sure it's very Easy to just assume that people know why your product exists, why people buy it, why it's helpful, why it changes the world sometimes. But when they get onboarded and that's not necessarily a part of the process, and they just dive in to getting tasks done, they just don't even have a chance to understand. And so often they can see themselves within that purpose of the business immediately once you just help them see it and tell it to them.

It's funny because I hear you talking, Chris, about shared purpose, and you're even going in the right direction where we're talking about teams and leaders. And it's almost like, I know I've asked myself this question, you've probably asked this question, but how can leaders, how can we help our teams discover a shared purpose? Because then you even said it feels great. It feels. Because then it's not just about results, but it's like it's about strength and collaboration and just this shared purpose piece. And here's the thing, when purpose operates at the team level, it creates a foundation of trust and alignment. And again, if you as a leader can get that in your team, it's because you first paid attention to the individual and you've done the things that we've talked about. Purpose answers the question, why does this team exist and how do we win together? That last part is very important for so many humans and teams in organizations. How do we win together? Not how do I climb the corporate ladder? Not how do I stab Jimmy in the back? Not how do I look good so that I get a good review. How do we win together? You see, because teams with a shared purpose are 25% more effective because they reduce internal friction and they channel their energy into common goals. And for teams to discover their purpose, leaders have to focus on. And by the way, this is. This is hard in today's world. But leaders must focus on clarity, communication, and collaboration. Those are the three Cs that I would beg. Everybody that is either close to a leader is a leader, or just those three things. Clarity, communication, and collaboration. Because here's the thing, clarity brings the defining. Like you're defining the team's mission, right? They understand, they're clear. And when you have clarity, you can focus. An example of this. A marketing team's purpose might go beyond generating leads, and it should, by the way, to telling stories that inspire customers to take meaningful actions. So if we think about communication, that's the mission. Consistently making sure every member understands their role in achieving the thing that we're now clear about. So, so we're like, here's your mission because we're headed in this direction and I've let you know about it. So by the way, let's row together. Collaboration, right? It's the final ingredient. Like purpose at the team level cannot be imposed. It must be co created. Leaders should involve their team members in discussions about how their goals align with the broader mission. A powerful approach that you might try in your organization is to conduct team purpose workshops where individuals share their personal values and collectively define how those values intersect with their objectives. Now we'll talk deeper on that in a little bit as we move down the food chain of the organization in and around purpose. But purposeful teams not only achieve their goals, but also create this environment where the members of the teams feel included, they feel valued, they want to row together, they want to collaborate because they're collaborating, they're communicating because they're. And I'm going back up the seas right now. There's clarity because we're all together. The sense of belonging leads to higher morale, greater creativity, and more resilient. There's that word again, Chris. I'm telling you, it's everywhere. Relationships, even in times of stress. And listen, it's called work for a reason. There's going to be stressful times, but it doesn't mean it has to suck. Stress doesn't necessarily mean suck. Stress can also mean learn. So what does all this mean at the end of the day? Better internal and external experiences. And because of that, a boost in organizational roi. And by the way, that's what most leaders are trying to get to anyway. But they're starting there instead of starting with the people. Chris, what are your thoughts?

I think the phrase like team chemistry comes to mind. And again, this is another spot where the angle of just like, hey, you got to work with this dude. So figure it out. It's like, no. And those three Cs, like for me, simple. If you have clarity now, you can communicate with clarity. If you can communicate with clarity, collaboration can happen, right? Instead of starting from the other spot. Hey, you got to work with this person, which means you got to collaborate with them. We don't communicate well, right? Because we don't have any clarity now. The collaboration can't happen. And it just makes so much sense. So I love the way you broke it down. Now let's say we've got that happening. We've got collaboration. I'm loving it in a lot of different spots right now in terms of how even AI is helping with that in amazing Ways, if we get there and we just have natural collaboration, organic collaboration happening, what is that doing for us at the organizational level?

And I love it because, Chris, at the organizational level, purpose is the guiding principle that drives strategy and culture. By the way, I hope that you would rewind to the beginning of each of these sections because I literally tell you, or have been telling you what purpose is in each of these areas. By the way, maybe I'll just recap it towards the end. But at the organizational level, purpose is the guiding principle that drives strategy and culture. It answers the question, why do we exist as a company and what is the impact we want to make in the world? By all that is holy, please don't let that impact be sell our products and services. It's the organizations that find something outside of that that truly are the organizations that people want to pay attention to. Again, this clarity attracts not only customers, but also employees who align with the company's mission. It is the powerhouse to creating a culture of engagement and loyalty. And Chris, the statistics paint a very compelling picture at the organizational level when we're talking about purpose, because companies with a stronger sense of purpose outperform their peers by 42% in financial performance. Every leader wanted to hear those words with that number. 42% in financial performance, according by the way, this is a Deloitte study. So if you're focused on having a company with a strong purpose, you will reap the benefits. But that's because you're focused on the people and the purpose. See, so many organizations struggle to embed purpose into their daily operations. Too often, Chris, mission statements become empty words. Empty words that are displayed on a wall, but absent from the daily decisions and actions that actually define an organizational culture. Here's something that I need you to ask yourself. And I'm not talking to Chris. I'm talking to you viewers and listeners. I need you to ask yourself. And then after you do, I want you to think about this. How often do your organization's missions and value show up in the choice you make, the conversations you have, and the way your team works each and every day? I'm going to let that sit for a second. You see, to make purpose real, we as leaders, every decision from hiring, product development, whatever it is for you, it should reflect the organization's values. It should be aligned with the organization's mission. We have to get really good at storytelling in this. And I know it's kind of like a hard right turn or might feel like it, but when I talk about storytelling in this Sense. And Chris, you alluded to this a little earlier, but sharing real life examples of how the company's work has made a difference for the customers, for communities or the world. When you can be a great storyteller and share the real life examples internally, it brings purpose to life. Like, people can actually see it. Employees, individuals, humans are like, oh, I get it. Versus just looking down at the, you know, conveyor belt of stuff that's hitting their desk. The storytelling makes them look up and see and understand. An example, if you're a healthcare company, you might regularly highlight patient success stories to remind employees of the lives that they're actually improving. I know for me this would equal pride. And because I'm proud of that, then I would, I would have a deeper commitment to it as I move forward. Purpose serves as this anchor for us as individuals, for us as teams, and especially for the organizational level, it's an anchor. In challenging times when teams are aligned with a clear mission, they're more likely to kind of persevere, if you will be persistent through setbacks, knowing simply that their work contributes to something larger than themselves, something bigger, something more important, something that is, well, it has purpose. Chris, what are your thoughts?

Again, the challenge of mission and values, like mattering and not just checking boxes. It's like one of those accepted things where it's like, yeah, but we got to have it on the wall and like, no, you got to have it in people's hearts and minds and the things that they do, like every day. And like one of the best exercises and at some point you just have to learn to connect the dots to the revenue. Like, it's not going to be in the spreadsheet. It won't be. But when you have exercises like, hey, you know, what did you do this week? Or, you know, can somebody like, you know, highlight somebody else that they thought was. They exemplify one of the values that we talk about? What did they do yesterday? What did somebody do this week? What did a customer do that, you know, that kind of review doesn't take a long time. And when you can hit it on a daily or weekly basis, it helps this sink in. And it helps because half the battle is, you know, they might have been so excited that first day and they saw that values list, they saw that mission, like, yeah, let's do it right. But then they never hear about it. Clearly doesn't matter to anybody. And that's where we make a lot of assumptions that people don't care or people ignore or people, you know, are Doing have negative intentions and they just don't. Like, they. You start to realize that this stuff doesn't matter, so why should I put effort into it? Right. You start to change directions, and it's then you got everybody rolling in different directions. So I think, you know, as we, you know, kind of move forward and kind of hinting at like, okay, like all this makes sense, I think a lot of leaders have understood that they need to fix these problems or find a way to address these things. Like, how do they go about putting this stuff into practice?

Yeah, the implementation, like, because my brain goes to. I would much rather you have your mission and values in the head, heart and hands of your humans than hanging on your wall. Right. And Chris, you write purpose. It's a transformative idea, but it does require action to create what we're looking for, which, by the way, is tangible results. And I think there's three actionable ways that we, as leaders, individuals, company cultures, organizations, can implement purpose. And again, at the three different kind of layers here. Individuals, teams, and organizations. And again, I'm taking ownership of this because I am a leader of an organization. And so just know I'm kind of preaching to myself as I'm. I'm preaching this. But first, we have to facilitate regular reflections where we're kind of considering how our work aligns with our personal team's missions. Listen, this is not easy. I need to reflect on mine. I need to facilitate others reflecting on theirs. I need to reflect on how it all aligns together as a team. In other words, this is something that's going to take a little bit time, but you have to be the facilitator of this regular reflection where you're getting people, employees to consider how their work, how your work aligns with personal and team missions. A simple way that you might do this is like, what impact do we want to create today? Not just impact in general, but today. How does my role. How does your role contribute to the company's goals? These two questions can spark some powerful insights and some very interesting conversations. So that reflection, that conversation, that understanding, and again, digging into that. Second, I think organizations should routinely evaluate how team and departmental goals align with the broader mission. I don't know about you, Chris, but I've been in organizations where something that was said in a manual that was written 12 years ago or something that hangs on a wall since they actually got the new building is grossly outdated from where we're headed or what we're doing. And there's this massive disconnect so how do you actually get that alignment? How do you get that departmental like everybody understanding the goals? Like I don't even, I mean I guess I have to like marketing, sales, service. Let's just go back to stuff we know. Like we've been hearing for years that we want to align them, right? But yet how many organizations don't involve cross functional meetings where teams identify gaps and collaborate on solutions to bring purpose back in focus? Are we doing that? Are you doing that in your organization? Like my guess is probably not because this hand is over here doing this thing and this hand is over here doing this thing and the umbrella is like trying to mask the thing that they think that anyway, again, communication, right? Last thing that we might be able to do is is start to recognize the contributions that reflect purpose because this will reinforce the importance of the purpose and that it's actually happening. For instance. And again you have to ask yourself when's the last time you've seen this happen at your organization? Publicly celebrating an employee who's work improved a customer experience. It sounds simple but like how do you shine a light on the efforts that they presented? How do you align that and show that it's then or directed towards the company's mission? How do you use that moment to celebrate the employees? And by the way, I'm not talking about a frickin employee the month plaque, I'm just not. But how do you use that to inspire others to do the same? So I think those are three ways that they're simple, they're powerful, they're, they're things you can do daily in small little ways and they'll help embed purpose into the daily operations and make it this active force in the workplace versus a word on a pretty picture of a lion or an eagle. I don't need, I don't need one of those posters. Chris, what are your thoughts?

Show and tell, show and tell, show and tell, show and tell, over and over and over. If you want people to understand and align, you got to be talking about this stuff. And it doesn't have to like it's not as hard as most leaders make it, as most team members make it, even as an individual, like just asking the right questions to ignite some of these conversations that could be happening out in the open. Like that's how we get to, you know, it actually becoming practice. Like so I think, you know, as we, as we wrap this up today, how does it, how does it connect, you know, to the rest of the framework? And like how do we, how do we think about integrating it, you know.

Yeah.

With the other stuff we've been talking about.

We've come a long way, by the way. 10H pillars, cornerstone of love. We've got purpose. We've got two, left, right, passion and persistence. Like. But you have to understand, purpose is not a standalone concept. It is deeply, what? Entrenched, intertwined, whatever words you want to use there, with the other cornerstones, with the other pillars of the superhuman framework. Purpose fuels passion because knowing why you do something ignites energy and enthusiasm. It just is what it does. It drives persistence, by the way, which we're going to talk about in the future, by giving people the resilience to push through obstacles when things get hard, and they will. And as we've discovered here today, it channels love into action by ensuring that our efforts are meaningful and impactful. Right. So you can see just in the cornerstones. Now, if we try to do all 10, we run completely out of time. But to integrate purpose into your leadership or workplace. Here's the thing. Start small. Take 30 minutes to reflect on your purpose or your team shared mission. Identify tangible actions you can take to align your work more closely with that purpose. Maybe it's a conversation with a team member to explore what motivates them. Perhaps it's a review of your team's goals to ensure they connect to the company's mission. Purpose, when you take the time for it, transforms individuals, teams and organizations. When people work with a clear sense of why, they find joy in the process. Resilience in the challenges and connection in collaboration. And. And so do me a favor moving forward, listeners and viewers, just one favor, that's all I'm asking. Align your actions with your values. And watch how purpose becomes the driving force that transforms your leadership, the driving force that strengthens your company culture, the driving force that inspires everyone around you to move forward with clarity and conviction. You see, when purpose is discovered and embraced at every level, individual, team and organization, it unlocks extraordinary power. At the individual level, Chris, as we've talked, purpose transforms the everyday into something meaningful, turning a job into a mission. With teams, as we've talked, purpose becomes the foundation of trust and alignment, creating a shared vision that drives collaboration and success. And as we shared at the organizational level, purpose is the guiding principle that shapes culture, strategy and accompanies impact to the world. And when all three alignments, when individuals feel connected to their work, teams rally around a common mission and the organization leads with a clear sense of why. Well, Chris, the possibilities are limitless. Purpose fuels Resilience sparks innovation and fosters a sense of belonging that binds people together. And it's no longer just about doing work. It's about creating a legacy. Imagine what could happen if purpose lit the path for every person, every team, and every company you lead. Kris, that's the power of purpose.

Chills, brother. That is the power. Lighting paths might be a phrase you might start hearing from me more often because that's what we're trying to do here and that's what you're trying to do in your organization. This has been awesome, as always. I don't even say I hope it was helpful. I know this is helpful for some of the people that I know are out there watching and listening to this. So I thank you for sharing your knowledge, creating this framework. So for those that are listening or watching, you're thinking about how you can start to tie these together, how to create more meaning in the workplace for your individuals, teams and orgs. Find those opportunities and let's grow, people. Have a great day, everybody.