P for purpose
Over the bank holiday weekend, we visited the gorgeous Puffin willow sculptures which have been erected at Plemont by the National Trust. It was an absolute joy to take a walk along the gorgeous headland in the sunshine.
The Puffins of Plemont also seemed a very fitting image for the topic of ‘purpose’.
Their purpose is to highlight the key role Jersey has to play in order to protect and save the Puffins and other seabirds.
‘Purpose’ is often a topic that arises in career coaching as, naturally, many people would like to find ‘purpose’ in their work. But, like many of the subjects that arise during coaching sessions, it’s open to personal perspective and can be hard to define what we actually mean by ‘finding purpose’.
According to Daniel Pink, a good starting point is to understand the different types of purpose.
During a recent “The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett”, Podcast he explained his perspective - and the difference between “capital P” purpose and “small p” purpose.
He calls the first kind “capital P” purpose. This “big P” purpose is often what we dream of doing. For example, feeding people who are starving, solving the climate crisis, or curing cancer. These Purposes are world-changing and are ones that most of us will probably never experience.
The cause of the National Trust Jersey is to ‘permanently protect Jersey’s natural beauty, rich wildlife and historic places for everyone to enjoy and experience’. To me, this seems like a “capital P” purpose.
Whereas, the second kind of purpose, which he calls “small ‘p” purpose, is more individual, more personal. This purpose is focused on ‘making a contribution’. This purpose of course also makes an impact but on a much smaller scale. For example, did you help a client resolve their problem? Did you help a member of your team to deliver a great presentation? Did you support a family member?
I’d like to hope that sharing my photo of the Puffins is at least making a tiny ‘p’ contribution to the bigger cause!
This explanation can be a useful starting point in helping to clarify what we mean by purpose. So, if it’s an area that interests you, I would recommend having a listen.
I’d also recommend getting out to see the Puffins of Plemont. The photo doesn’t do them justice!