The Existential Question of the Week
I interviewed a candidate recently who referenced an author who I liked quite a bit - Simon Sinek.
I have heard Simon Sinek on podcasts, and he is very dynamic. The centerpiece of his leadership philosophy is that one needs to “find their ‘why’”, i.e., understanding one’s sense of purpose as a way of finding that which you are passionate about.
I get it.
Working to understand my purpose, and having that purpose aligned with what I do for a living, has been a part of my thinking for the better part of my adult life.
In 1987, I read a book that had been given to me by my friend Sally Johnston. The book was “The Power of Purpose”, by Richard Leider. The concept behind Leider’s work was simple—that our life’s work needs to align with our purpose around how we want to impact other people in our lives.
If I remember correctly, Leider used the example of the shoe salesman who fits people for new shoes. The shoe salesman doesn’t necessarily wake up every morning and say, “I CAN’T WAIT TO FONDLE SOME SMELLY FEET TODAY!”
But instead, the shoe salesman saw selling footwear as a means to satisfy his sense of purpose – in that instance, the salesman’s purpose was about being able to provide for his family.
I consider myself to be extremely fortunate that a confluence of events put me into a position to enter an industry—executive search—that satisfied my sense of purpose:
I had the good fortune to have parents who, while neither were college graduates, were both huge proponents of higher education and who sacrificed to make sure that my sister Randee, my brother Chip and I were all able to attend college.
I had the good fortune that my mom’s job as the secretary to the President of Lynchburg College (now Lynchburg University) meant that we spent a great deal of time on the Lynchburg College campus and were able to partake in the cultural offerings there. How else could a high school junior with a bad haircut and a worse wardrobe, living in Campbell County, Virginia, be in the audience to hear Truman Capote do a reading of his work?
I had the good fortune to be admitted to Davidson College, an institution whose Statement of Purpose centers upon “assisting students in developing humane instincts and creative minds for lives of leadership and service.”
I had the good fortune to be selected to do a tour of duty in human resources for First Union Corporation—a role that gave me hands-on experience in recruiting, and gave me exposure to the executive search industry, from the client’s side of the table.
I had the good fortune to have had a wonderful friend, Terry Walton, who had joined one of the top firms in the industry, Heidrick & Struggles. Terry was able to give me her insights into the business, and gave me confidence that it would be a good fit for me.
I had the good fortune to have worked with leaders at First Union who introduced me to leadership in the executive search industry in Atlanta. In particular, it was Ben Jenkins, then the President of First Union of Georgia, who introduced me to several of the major executive search firms in Atlanta.
I had the good fortune to meet Alan Neely and Tom Hall of Korn Ferry, who needed to hire an associate for Korn Ferry’s Atlanta office.
I had the good fortune to be taken under the wing of a partner in Korn Ferry’s Washington D.C. office, Parker Harrell, who drilled into me the importance of building a national practice.
I soon realized that executive search was about helping organizations assess, attract, and recruit talent for lives of leadership and service. All of this aligned with what I wanted to do in life. I realized that I would have the opportunity to work across myriad industries, far flung geographies, and multiple job functions. All of this meant that a career in executive search would never suffer from sameness or be boring.
I could go on and on with the “good fortune” that I have had in my life and career.
There are times of late when I have been asking a different kind of “why” question. That is, take each of the bullet points above and turn the statement into a question.
Why did I have the good fortune to…have parents that valued education, or have a mother that had a job that opened my eyes to the broader world, or attend a college whose purpose was around leadership and service, or stumble into human resources, or have friends and connections that helped open doors into executive search, or have mentors who guided me in the early days of my career?
Why me?
Share