How to Work on Purpose: Life at Work Is Like a Marriage

A lot of good people are unhappy at work. One of the main reasons is that who they are as a person
and the work culture are not a good fit.

I am frequently hired by companies to help hiring managers with their selection process. Just like good marriage their needs to be the right fit.

The more knowledge I have about the company culture the better we can predict a candidate's suitability. The goal is for both employees and the organization to share a common purpose.

Is your workplace configured to ensure that employees have meaningful work aligned with the organization's mission and values?

Many people spend more time at their work than in their marriages. Yet more energy is usually spent resolving marital issues than those at work. Finding true meaning at work is a personal and individual project that must also be linked to the organization. For true commitment to take place there must be a marriage of ideals, both personal and organizational.

A couple may learn communication skills that change the way they argue, make decisions, and make requests of each other. There is another level of awareness and development that must be in place for a marriage to sustain itself and flourish. This level goes beyond communication techniques to include mutual respect, self-responsibility, and shared values. Profound communication arises naturally when these deeper changes are in place.

So too are empowerment, teams, and organization development helpful tools for companies and leaders. They produce positive and worthwhile changes in both corporate competitiveness and integrity. Finding true meaning and commitment at work is about going deeper to reconfigure work life in ways that can bring out the deepest human potential.

Are you an enlightened leader unleashing the full potential of your people?