“Why am I working?” an executive leader recently asked of us at VIM Executive Coaching, “In fact, why do I even care?”
She is an executive who has made a lot of money in the apparel industry and, as they say, she invested very wisely. In theory, she does not have to work again. For many of us, it sounds as though she is in an enviable position.
However, in asking her two questions, it was obvious that despite her wealth and outward happiness, she is unsettled and troubled.
Unrelated
While the two questions she asked are frequently uttered in the same breath by everyone from baseball players near the end of a professional career to software developers working 90-hour weeks.
The throwaway line, of course, is that they are working in order to “make money.” However, we know that is not always an accurate characterization. People work for a variety of reasons not related to money at all. We are sure there are dozens of reasons from “purpose” to “affiliation.”
The software developer may be working on a device to track ocean currents and temperatures in an attempt to illustrate climate change problems, while the baseball player with nagging injuries may love his teammates and is more than happy to witness their success in making the playoffs.
While clearly, many executive leaders may work toward a monetary payoff, they should not be harshly judged by that motivation alone. For example, we know an executive who made a great deal of money in the food industry who has funded a cancer research effort at a major university. He did this in honor of a relative who died of the disease. Can we truly find fault in his altruism?
However, it is in the second question where a more interesting set of questions can be asked of any executive leader.
Why Do I Care?
The question talks to the motivation in all of us. The answer does not lie with remuneration. At VIM Executive Coaching we have known many leaders who have given up caring about their organizations, co-workers or sadly, themselves. Some might call it burn-out or a lack of purpose, but we view it in the light of mindfulness.
There are numerous reasons as to why an executive may lose her way or find he lacks caring. Perhaps he or she was asked to something unethical, or to accept improprieties in the workplace or “less” disturbing, blatant nepotism or favoritism.
However, mindfulness is the key to dealing with situations that require response and ultimately a basis for personal action – not reaction.
Mindfulness meditation and mindfulness in general, teaches us to see our personal world for how it is, not how we would wish it to be or think or hope it should be. If an executive leader has lost his or her way, it is mindfulness that will clearly help to re-set the course.
Mindfulness is the opposite of numbing. In fact, mindfulness may require us to do something unpleasant e.g., leaving a lucrative career in an organization that has cut safety corners. Conversely, mindfulness may point out that a co-worker with whom we didn’t agree out of our own bias or ego, was in fact, correct and indeed suggested the best course for us to take.
We work for numerous reasons, and we must also care for many reasons as well. Both require us to be mindful of what we are doing with our work lives, and our reputations while in that life.