Five Takeaways on Leading with Purpose with Richard Leider

How can we become more Purposeful Leaders? How do we begin to unpack purpose?

We recently tackled these questions and more with guidance from Purpose Guru Richard Leider during a special webinar presented by the Global Institute for Leadership Development (GILD).

Richard’s presentation was packed with important insights into how to inspire, innovate, engage, achieve, and ultimately become a purposeful—and more effective—leader.

As Richard explains, today’s “new work” is about finding organizations and leaders who have a purpose and are willing to align their work with that purpose.

Here are five of our favorite moments from the webinar. And if you’re looking for more, be sure to view a recording.

1. Combine your gifts with your passions and values to truly live your calling.

Another word for purpose is calling, and you can rely on a simple equation to help you find yours: Gifts + Passion + Values = Calling. As leaders, our goal is to inspire gifts, passions, and values in ourselves and others—and bring them to work with us on a day-to-day basis.

2. Purpose comes to life during our daily interactions.

Pause for a minute and ask yourself an important question: Who has affirmed your character (your gifts, passions, and values), other than a member of your own family? This can be a colleague, mentor, or boss. Richard Leider suggests that this is the power of purpose—the daily interactions that give us meaning. Now, take this a step further—how are you affirming the character of those around who? Who is picturing you when they do this exercise?

3. The first hour of your morning defines the rest of your day.

One way to live and lead purposefully is to set an intention—and then translate that intention into action. Every morning, before you reach for your phone or computer, ask yourself this question: What are you going to do today to make a difference in someone’s life? Then, live your day with this intention in mind.

4. Define a purpose project for 2019.

Steve Jobs said, “If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. As with all matters of the heart, you will know when you find it.” Richard explains that purpose is a matter of the heart—and it’s also a verb, which means every leader must define his or her own purpose practices for him- or herself. Ask yourself, What will be your purpose project in 2019, where you will make a difference?

5. Write down your purpose and refer to it every day.

Write down our default purpose—to grow and give—on a sticky note, and stick it to your bathroom mirror so that it’s the first thing you see in the morning and the last thing you see before you go to bed. Every evening, hold yourself accountable by asking, How did I grow and give today?

If you’re not curious about yourself and others, you’re not going to become a Purposeful Leader, explains Richard, and we hope these five insights will spark curiosity in you and help you on your own Purposeful Leadership journey.

How will you introduce purposeful practices into your leadership style? Tell us your thoughts in the comments.

Looking for more insights into Purposeful Leadership? Hear from Richard Leider during Linkage’s Global Institute for Leadership Development (GILD) on September 16–19, 2019, in Palm Desert, California.