On Your Career Being A Solution
(Reading Time: ~ 4:20 or Listening time: ~ 5:30)
I haven’t written in a while and the reason is in the headline. I’ll explain…
“Why are you here?” is a question I often ask clients in our first conversation.
Most don’t have an answer. And few have ever considered the question.
Instead, many of us try to answer, “What do I want to do?” Which can create an existential angst as it implies there’s a definitive insight we should know about ourselves yet somehow don’t.
But what if I told you it’s backwards. That we’re trying to decide what action to take before we know what problem we need to solve.
That it’s like picking a house to buy before you know why you need one, where you want to live, who you’re going to live with, how much space you need, and how much you can spend.
“What do I want to do for what?”
To make money? To fix something wrong with our world? To feel valued? To tell underrepresented stories? To have health insurance? To bring a smile to someone’s face? Or to help your parents with retirement?
The answers (yes, there's more than one) to “What do I want to do?” should be solutions to the many problems we’re trying to solve.
And to identify the problems we're trying to solve, we start with... “Why are you here?”
From age 10 to 32, I would’ve told you I was here to work in sports, explore the world, and live my version of happiness. To check off as many bucket list countries to visit, mountains to ski, and restaurants to try; live and work from wherever I want; and help people along the way.
From 32 onwards, I realized I’m here to help people find meaningful work they love so they can be better for themselves and thus their friends, families, and communities.
Because two thirds of the U.S. is unhappy or unfulfilled at work and that’s no way to live.
Because I’ve experienced how job stress and dissatisfaction contribute to dysfunction at home and dissatisfaction in life.
Because the problems in our world are only getting bigger and we need people to dig in and solve them.
Because wealth and power are increasingly concentrated amongst a select few and everyday people need to reclaim their agency.
Because our work is a vital part of our ability to live the lives we want, to understand ourselves, and to create value in the world.
And because there are many ways I can answer “What do I want to do?” given all of the above, you haven’t heard from me in a while.
Because writing and coaching aren’t why I’m here on this planet. They’re just things I’ve done to action why I’m here.
Throughout 2020, I wanted to do more than sign petitions, protest, and donate. And with the power I had in the spaces I occupied, I felt I could do more to hold companies accountable to the promises they made to create inclusive cultures and address the inequities within their own walls.
Since many of us will be employees somewhere, finding work we love is tough if the places where we work are unhealthy. No matter who I helped through coaching, it was demoralizing when people found dream jobs then experienced a reality that didn't match the story they were sold.
So, I focused most of 2021 on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts through speaking at companies, writing on LinkedIn, and launching Agency DEI with my co-founders, Amanda Wu and Jo Hayes. We’re tracking workforce diversity data to measure progress annually at ad agencies with an aim to track brands and public companies as well. It’s a long term strategy, but most sustainable solutions are.
I was fortunate to get inbound clients and paid speaking gigs, but I made the conscious (though scary) choice to deprioritize building my business and short-term income because I felt the DEI work was the best way I could create value at that time.
It was a tradeoff that made sense given my goals, needs, and priorities then. I absolutely questioned it many times over, but that’s the value of clarity… The certainty of purpose to stare down doubt, even when it’s your own.
Now, I can refocus on building my group coaching program and writing this newsletter. As an introduction (or a refresher), here are a few pieces I’ve been revisiting because:
Virgil Abloh, 41, just died the day before Chadwick Boseman’s birthday followed by a deadly school shooting - On Tragedy As Motivation
2020/21 reshaped this for me - On The Impact We Create
We’re human and this will keep happening - On Something Better Coming Along
I share all this to say that your career isn’t fixed, your profession is not your identity, and your choices aren’t permanent.
Our decisions should be based on the life we want to live, the realities we experience, and our current priorities. Understand those before trying to answer, "What do I do?" And since our lives are constantly changing, give yourself the room to test and iterate from your decisions and the grace to change your mind.
There is no cohesive narrative you need to live up to. There’s only your life you need to live into.
So, why are you here?
🙏,
Pam
