Redefining Work Perspective

Keystone has been banging on about reimagining work since its inception in 2017.  We understand the wellness benefits of purpose, the joy of working at your potential, the value of perspective and the freedom of power. We recognised that we wanted more for our working lives, as women but also as a culture. Now with the COVID-19 crisis firmly embedded into every aspect of our lives, individuals and businesses are taking a long look in the mirror. What needs to change? Where are the opportunities to rebuild and reposition? Ben Hirschler from The World Economic Forum writes, “COVID-19 has been a wake-up call for business, shining an unsparing spotlight on the vulnerabilities of many organisations and pulling forward changes in working practices that were expected to take years into a matter of weeks.  The disruption unleashed by the worst health crisis in more than a century has ricocheted through every sector of the economy, from financial services giants on Wall Street to small shops and restaurants on main street. The after-shocks will have a profound impact on many aspects of commerce far into the future.  Importantly, coronavirus has also accelerated significant shifts in the complex relations between business and society, underscoring the need for a transformation towards a more inclusive form of capitalism.

“Companies which think that along the axis of people-planet-profit you can only be successful on profit will be the dinosaurs of the future.”  — Dimitri de Vreeze, Co-Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer, Royal DSM

 

Championing an Impact Culture and our Collective Potential

How can we embrace our individual purpose and expertise and use it as a force of good in the collective responsibility as agents for positive change? Calling on our collective sense of purpose, like championing an impact culture, can promote feelings of being part of a global community.  But figuring out how you fit and where to start is no easy feat. We believe the key to championing an impact culture has a lot to do with understanding and working with your stakeholders. But to cast a wide net for stakeholders, one that extends to the planet. Most of our members and future members are running small to medium businesses but we think it is vital to know what is happening at all levels of business globally. Early this year, a growing coalition of over 60 top business leaders across industries announced their commitment to the Stakeholder Capitalism Metrics, a set of environmental, social and governance (ESG) metrics and disclosures released by the World Economic Forum and its International Business Council (IBC) in September 2020, that measure the long-term enterprise value creation for all stakeholders. The Stakeholder Capitalism Metrics, drawn from existing voluntary standards, offer a core set of 21 universal, comparable disclosures focused on people, planet, prosperity and principles of governance that are considered most critical for business, society and the planet, and that companies can report on regardless of industry or region. They strengthen the ability of companies and investors to benchmark progress on sustainability matters, thereby improving decision-making and enhancing transparency and accountability regarding the shared and sustainable value companies create.

 

Finding Purpose Promotes Wellbeing

According to Anthony Burrow and The Ecology of Purposeful Living Across the Lifespan, there is mounting evidence from intricately designed experiments and large-scale studies which reveal how pursuing a purpose can make a person happier, healthier, and even lengthen their lifespan. People who score highly on measures on purpose, also tend to have broader and deeper social connections. When you are pursuing something that is meaningful to you, people are more attracted to you. This might be because people can connect to you more easily because there is an energy around you.  A sense of purpose is not an objective truth but a subjective experience. Feeling like your life has purpose or sense of purpose, is associated with a whole host of physical and physiological benefits of health, cognitive abilities and even financial security. Purpose is an ancient concept; it is a deep and profound resource— worth taking your time to cultivate.

Meaning and purpose can become sort of conceptually tethered in our minds. Meaning is making sense of the world as it has happened or is happening. Whereas purpose may not be as much about comprehending what’s happened as it is about aspiring or intending to accomplish something that’s ahead of you. We think this is key and why having a sense of purpose is so beneficial.

Here are our 7 top tips to establishing your purpose;

1. Remember that purpose is your own- it is internally driven.
2. Take time to reflect.
3. Connect with others.
4. Engage and commit.
5. Embrace change and capture a new energy.
6. Align your long term vision with your short term actions.
7. Ritualise your new rhythm.

The Invitation By Oriah Mountain Dreamer,

It doesn’t interest me

where or what or with whom

you have studied.

I want to know

what sustains you

from the inside

when all else falls away.

As always, I would love to hear what you think and how you have cultivated your purpose. Or if you want to explore it further, join us for the next Keystone cohort, starting on the 6th September.

Dani Trudeau

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