The best answer to "What do you do ?"
A couple weeks back I’m dropping off my car in for regular service and the Service Advisor says, "Are you in the aviation business ?" He catches me off guard because I'm in my running gear and about to run home. So I give a rather short reply, "No." Looking back, I might have been a tad curt.
Grinning from ear to ear, he asks, "So what do you do ?"
I say, "I make people happy."
This is my typical response when someone asks. Without skipping a beat, he says,
"So do I !"
I’m thinking, "Yup, that’s your job and you’re doing a great job at it !"
His job description probably includes duties like writing orders, scheduling, dealing with customers, giving service advice, co-ordinating parts and a whole host of activities. You and I both know that when he consistently does these tasks effectively, he knows he'll make his customers happy. Beautiful ! He’s wrapped a bow around his day-to-day activities and transformed his job title (which is how most people answer the question, "What do you do ?") into a purpose statement.
Here’s the thing, he knows it and it was apparent through his service. Not everyone truly knows the purpose of their work—especially in the heat of the busyness that consumes our days.
We know when one’s work aligns with a purpose, it has a huge impact. For the individual, they find more meaning, derive greater fulfillment, experience intrinsic motivation—which ultimately translates into higher levels of job satisfaction and this drives service excellence.
So for you, how do you answer the question, "What do you do ?" And for your broader team—how do they answer the question ? If your answers are job or task oriented or include any kind of jargon or business-speak, it’s time to unearth the purpose in your work.
Here are a few questions to help you and your team uncover what you really do:
How are my client's lives better because of the work I do ?
What is the higher level purpose of my work ?
How does doing my work with excellence make the world better ?
What difference do I want to see in the world ?
What impact in the world am I committed to making happen ?
What are my natural talents ?
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