Aligning Purposes – ElPropósito3 min de lectura

How do we find harmony with others?

Photo by Brendan Church on Unsplash

How do we know something truly lights us up? What does it mean to enjoy what we do? How can we find happiness in our purpose? The main responsibility of any person or organization is to identify what gives their existence meaning, that is, to find the purpose we’re here for. Look closely and you’ll see that no two purposes are alike. No two organizations share the same purpose, and neither do two people. So the interesting question is how to align purposes when it comes to teamwork, say, or to two people agreeing on a shared goal. What comes out of aligned purposes?

Aligning purposes is a lot like a great orchestra. There may be similar instruments on either side, yet the orchestra brings together a huge variety of very different instruments. It gets more complex once you remember that every musician is a different person, with their own way of playing and their own reason for being there. The fascinating part is how, amid all that complexity, everyone aligns around the same melody and performs it in a unique way, a true work of art in perfect harmony. Forcing people never produces that alignment. It grows from the will that rises in someone when they see how their purpose fits the larger purpose of a group chasing a goal. That’s why, in organizations, leadership plays a vital role in recognizing the need to align purposes.

Walking in the same direction often means matching one person’s need with another’s offer. A market does this naturally and regulates itself: nobody is forced into a deal they don’t want. When the person with a need is served by the person with an offer, their purposes align as well. One side offers something it does very well, and the other freely meets its need and reaches its goal. When we’re forced to act against our will, though, we place someone else’s values, rules and purposes above our own. That may deliver something in the short term, but in the medium and long term it only breeds exhaustion and outright rejection.

By its very nature, a purpose must respect the purposes of others. The highest aim of an organization or a person can never be to harm nature or ignore the good of others. Aligning purposes also means finding, among countless ideas, a stronger, sturdier and more meaningful path to solving the great challenges we face every day. When what we think and do lines up with our purpose, passion usually follows, and when what we’re passionate about bears fruit, joy follows. One of our biggest challenges is identifying what we’re passionate about (meaningful goals) and how to give our very best to achieve it. However many goals we set, we’ll always need to know our purpose and the purpose of others, get aligned and walk together.

Warm regards and all the best,

Rodrigo Baccaro

Author: Rodrigo Baccaro

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