Find Your Why: a practical Guide for Discovering Purpose for You and Your Team pdfdrive com

The greatest contribution of a leader is
to make other leaders.
HOWs as Filters
When our HOWs are clearly stated, we have a recipe to put ourselves into and
create environments where we can be at our natural best. We don’t live in a
perfect world. While it’s not possible to do this in every situation, the name of
the game is to seek out and seize the opportunities in which we can each make
the greatest possible impact for others and, in turn, feel more fulfilled.
To help ensure that the people we partner with, the projects we take on and the
organizations we choose to work in are aligned with our personal values, we can
use our HOWs as a filter. Once you’ve stated your HOWs in a simple, actionable
way, it’s helpful to add a few bullets to clarify what they mean in practice. This
additional detail is useful for you and those with whom you collaborate. Picking
back up on the example of an individual, see how Simon does this below.
Simon’s HOWs are:
1. Take the unconventional perspective
See something from a different angle. Open up to doing things a different
way.
Ask, “Is there another, possibly better, way of doing this?”

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Try something. If it doesn’t work, try something else.
2. Keep it simple
When things are simple, everyone can understand. If a ten-year-old can
understand what you’re saying, you’re good to go.
Simple language and simple ideas are easily understood and easier to
execute.
3. Silver line it
Find something positive in every situation and in every person.
4. Share everything
Share ideas and feelings. Invite and teach others to share too.
Share your idea, especially if it’s not perfect. Even the “worst” ideas can be
built upon.
Others won’t know how you feel or what you want until you share it.
5. Focus on the long term
Build something that will outlast every one of us.
Focus on momentum and trending more than hitting arbitrary numbers and
dates.
Simon puts his HOWs into daily practice. He uses them to determine whether a
new project or opportunity will allow him to live his WHY as fully as possible.
Years ago a leader asked Simon if he could help them create an organization that
put people first. Right off the bat, Simon liked this leader and the initial proposal
piqued his interest. Remember, Simon’s WHY is to inspire people to do the
things that inspire them so that, together, we can change our world. Simon
knows that people-first cultures are more inspiring for employees and customers
alike. He also knows that helping an organization change not only their mindset
but also their systems and processes to create a people-first organization isn’t
easy. This collaboration would need to be long term if it were to be successful,

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so Simon knew he needed to ensure they would be a good fit. Though Simon and
this leader were aligned at the WHY level, this is only the first filter.
Simon had a good feeling about this but took the time to ask some questions
about how this leader saw this partnership working. Excitedly, the executive
presented him with a complex diagram detailing how the initiative would unfold.
He explained to Simon that if his board were to invest in this, they’d be looking
for quick results.
Immediately red flags popped up. That complex diagram, coupled with a desire
for “quick results” would likely not equal long-term progress (see HOW: Focus
on the long term). Simon expressed his concern and asked the leader what he
meant when he said “quick results.” If the board wanted to see things trending in
the right direction in the first few months, Simon felt they might be able to find
some leading metrics. Simon explained that if he was to collaborate with this
leader, that he and his board would need to be open to some wildly new
perspectives (see HOW: Take the unconventional perspective). They would need
to be open to taking a different approach to effect the desired change than they’d
taken before. In the end, it became clear that the complexity (see HOW: Keep it
simple), timeline and leadership’s mindset were not going to make this a good fit
for either party.
This was a big organization, and it was a great opportunity to touch the lives of
many people. It was early in Simon’s career, and this organization would have
looked great on his list of clients. Yet, it just didn’t feel right. Simon knew from
experience that it was better to sit on the sidelines and cheer on this organization
rather than to actively engage in a relationship that was sure to be hard for both
of them because he would not be in an environment where he could be at his
natural best. Since Simon believed this leader did truly want to make a change in
his organization, he introduced him to a few of his contacts whom he thought
might be better fits.
Start using your HOWs as filters for making important decisions. Though not
every relationship, project or partnership will be in perfect alignment with all
your HOWs, you’ll have a good idea where challenges or tensions might arise.
Knowing these can give you an opportunity to talk about potential issues in
advance, giving you and whomever you collaborate with the best possible setup
for the partnership to thrive.

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It works in reverse too. When you find yourself in a situation where you’re
frustrated—it “just doesn’t feel right” yet you “can’t put your finger on it”—use
your HOWs to see if you can find out what’s out of alignment. Sometimes by
simply running down the list of HOWs, you’ll immediately be able to put into
words what isn’t working for you. Once you can put your frustration into words,
it makes it easier to ask for what you need to get things back on track.
At Start With Why, we encourage team members experiencing tension to look
not only at their Golden Circle but also at the Golden Circle of the colleague
they are frustrated with. We have each team member’s Golden Circle available
for any teammate to look up the WHY and HOWs of any colleague at any time.
It’s sometimes the case that what is bothering us the most about another is
something that is their strength! Seeing this can give us empathy and help us
appreciate the gifts of our teammates. It allows us to talk about tension in a
common language, which allows us to move through tensions quickly. Like most
tools, the more you practice talking about your HOWs and using them as tools,
the more adept you become with them.