As I thought about what I could do in an article during our Anniversary week, I decided I could focus on some of the core things that I feel I have learned in this decade and a half, and that I try to apply in dealing with our team, our clients, and the procurement community at large. So I broke it down into seven topics:
Find Your Ikigai: I’ve mentioned before the Japanese concept of ikigai, or your “reason for being.” Picture four overlapping circles - what you love, what you’re good at, what the world needs, and what you can be paid for – if you can be in the center, you can always find a way to contribute and come back to purpose. I’m fortunate to have established that with Civic for myself, and then shared that with our great team, who we pick first for culture fit over all else.
Prioritize your Physical and Mental Health: You can’t do anything when you are dead - or to say it the other way, your robust life is tied to your health, strength, and mental fortitude. There will always be more work to do, and success can create a lot of noise that can make us feel pressed to find time for both work and ourselves. Create an exercise plan and reserve time for it. Prioritize protein and eat thoughtfully. Find activities you enjoy and create social connections. Take time away. These are all common sense elements of life-work balance that we emphasize at Civic, and they are the most personal commitment you can make to yourself. Do a favor for future you.
Earn Your Sunset: John Cena (yes, the wrestler turned actor) had an interview in the last couple of weeks that put words to a concept much better than I ever have. His words: “I am significantly insignificant… I just want to be useful… Life is a gift … I am lucky - I understand my luck and I try to live each day grateful for the luck, so when the sun goes down, I look at what I did for the day, even if it’s relaxing - did I earn the sunset? Some days I don’t and I motivate myself to try to do it again, but most days I do, and that’s my sense of purpose.” (Check the audio companion to hear John Cena say this himself.)
Find the Signal through the Noise: There are so many ways that you could spend your time in a day or hour, and there is noise everywhere that wants your time and attention. From the totally frivolous to the fast but small to the long but challenging. Shutting out the background noise and locking in on what you are trying to accomplish is one of the critical skills for both individual and team leadership. Some days are harder to find focus than others, but coming back to “what is the best thing I can do right now” is a technique that keeps me in the zone. Find your muse and let them lead back to purpose and meaning.
Authenticity Shines: You can probably picture for yourself someone you know that you consider an authentic person, and potentially someone who isn’t. What’s the difference between them? You know that they know what they are talking about, and you know that they mean what they say. I certainly seek to hold myself that way personally, and globally for Civic. I have dedicated from day one to the proposition that it is better to teach procurement professionals about consulting - than to teach consultants about procurement. Almost every single person at Civic who interacts with a client, from the project teams to the client success, outreach, and marketing are authentically people who have done the job of our clients. It is corporate DNA for us at Civic and the driving factor of our longevity.
Learn about Humility through Sonder: “Sonder” is a newly coined word from 2012. It means: “the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own…in which you might appear only once, as an extra sipping coffee in the background.” There is humility that comes from understanding we are all the main characters in our own story, and this sudden realization instills empathy and respect for others as they seek to find their meaning in life. Once you understand, I think that you treat people differently. Even if you have a disagreement, you understand them as human beings. I have always said that it is very hard to be successful in life unless a lot of other people want you to be, and that comes from a place of humility and appreciation of the people who have helped me in my life to be where I am now.
Combine it all servant leadership: Someone who believes in servant leadership and strives to serve from a place of purpose and chart a vision that will attract authentic people to fulfill it. For our clients, we go above and beyond and are focused on the long-term relationship. In service to our employees, I seek to focus on the outcomes, not the methods, to allow each person to forge their contribution in a way that gives purpose and meaning. And I try to be kind, in ways I wish I had been treated in certain jobs in my life, and to make Civic a place to work that respects the empowerment and health of our employees.
So - do I earn my sunsets? Some days I don’t and I motivate myself to try to do it again, but most days I do, and that’s my sense of purpose.
