Be bold & follow your passion to ensure professional bliss
Finding Purpose Is Crucial,
No Matter If You Are A Fresher, Mid-Career Professional Or An Experienced
Senior Executive
I recently interviewed at a
business school a bright, articulate and very ambitious student specialising in
human resources. She was a perfect candidate for the job. However, what
intrigued me about her was that she was a qualified doctor from a premier medical
college. Hence, why the change of course? I asked her why she wanted to opt for
a career in HR when she had already attained a professional degree in a
seemingly nobler and tougher profession. “I made the wrong choice,“ was her
instant simple response. The conviction was oozing from her eyes. That moment
reaffirmed my strong belief that, “Happiness and success is not about doing
well in a popular career, it's about successfully finding a career that aligns
with one's life purpose. That is true happiness!“ Finding your purpose is not a
fashionable, philosophical or spiritual exploration. It is grounded in the
fundamental principles of experimentation, action learning and constant course
correction. Discovering one's purpose is an individual's obligation and is a
lifelong journey . Finding your purpose is crucial, no matter if you are a
fresher, mid-career professional or an expe rienced senior executive. Your
purpose can change based on your career priorities, life stage, family needs or
even health conditions. Purpose is like a compass -it gives direction and
meaning to your life, keeps the noise away and serves as a beacon when in
dilemma. In his extraordinary book `Man's Search for Meaning', Viktor Frankl
wrote, “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: The last of the human
freedoms -to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose
one's own way .“
So how do you find your
purpose? Purpose is a direction and involves choosing. I recommend three key
practices to help you in this journey. The first practice is set ting up small
experiments. Experiments provide a safety net and give valuable feedback on
what works and what doesn't. Internships and training period for fresh
graduates is a great opportunity for experimentation. Experienced executives
can do a variety of things like joining a crack te am for solving complex
problems, managing an irate customer and working with millennials. Experiments
provide key insights about who you are, what you are good at and what you need
to improve.
The second practice is
working with multiple mentors. Mentors have existed in all cultures across the
world, but in today's VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) world,
it is im portant to stretch the construct of mentoring. In today's complex
world, one mentor is not enough -we need multiple mentors for different
challenges and sometimes from different walks of life too. Some of your mentors
must be elder to you and should have walked the path you intend to take and
some of your mentors can be even younger to you. You must also have a mentor
who will challenge you and force you to think differently.
Last but not the least, re
lentlessly synthesize learnings from the experiments, feedback and insights you
get from your mentors. Make introspection a daily ritual and if possible
maintain a journal to record your thoughts, insights and feelings to reap
maximum benefits.Journaling, though considered old fashioned, is a very
powerful practice -it unleashes creativity and gives clarity. Finally ,
remember that there is no one model or way to have a successful career. As they
say: Good judgments come from experience and experience comes from bad
judgments. So be bold and follow your passion. A successful career is just
around the corner!
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By
Makarand Khatavkar
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The writer is group head
(HR), Kotak Mahindra Bank. All views are personal
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