How can I find my purpose again as a sustainability leader?

When you work in the sustainability profession, it is usually very easy to articulate a clear mission and purpose that drives your career. But many of the leaders I work with have found themselves in senior leadership roles feeling actually quite disconnected from what really fires them up. Why, when the issues you are working on are so obvious and urgent, can you sometimes lose your ‘mojo’, and how can you find it again? In this article I’ll share with you the Japanese concept of Ikigai, which I use in my coaching room to help sustainability leaders work on their mission and purpose at a much deeper, and more personal level. 

I talk regularly to sustainability leaders, both in the coaching room, and on my podcast, Rooted. In the podcast, I always start by asking the same question - where did your roots in this work come from? This genuinely feels like a question that sustainability leaders relish answering. Perhaps they saw or experienced deep inequality. Perhaps they witnessed the depletion of nature up close. Or maybe they had an “oh shit” moment when they learned about the science behind climate change. Whatever drew them into this work, it’s clear that there’s a strong force driving their career path. 

This overarching passion for “the mission” gives sustainability professionals the fire in your belly that’s needed to keep going when things are difficult, and that sustains you through tough times. But, I speak to many sustainability leaders who feel lost, disconnected, and disillusioned. They approach me because they are concerned that they have lost their motivation for the cause, and they are wondering about leaving the profession. 

What I’ve observed through working with these leaders is that whilst having a passion for the overarching mission of sustainability is necessary, it’s not sufficient. To truly sustain yourself through long and challenging careers doing this work, you need a deeper purpose, a mission that is more personal to each of us as unique human beings. 

So, how can you find that unique personal career purpose? One of the tools I use in my coaching room is Ikigai.  I’ve recently been learning more deeply about Ikigai as part of my Advanced Diploma in Transformational Coaching with Paseda360, and it’s really cemented for me the value this tool has for sustainability leaders who might think they know what drives them, but haven’t ever considered it on a deeper, more personal level before. 

Ikigai is a Japanese concept which translates as “a reason for being”. From the Okinawa islands, it is often credited for the happiness and longevity of that area’s residents, who believe everyone has an ikigai, whether they know it or not. The Westernised version of Ikigai is usually conceptualised as a Venn diagram and encourages the exploration of the sweet spot at the intersection of what you love, what you’re good at, what you can be paid for, and what the world needs. 

Using Ikigai encourages you to think about things like

💛Do I love the things I’m good at?

💛Is there an economic demand or a need for any of the things I love doing?

💛What really fires me up?

When you use this tool as a sustainability leader, you can really drill down into the nuance. You can consider which elements of your work are addressing a true need in the world, and which might be less helpful. You can explore how closely the things you are paid to do overlap with the things that really fire you up. And you can consider different types of mission within the sustainability profession.

You can work on your Ikigai alone, as a reflective exercise, by grabbing a big sheet of paper and drawing out the 4 circles. Or, you can do this with a coach, mentor or colleague to help you explore the detail, and really consider what’s going on at each of the intersections. Once you’ve gone round each section, see if you can draw together everything you’ve learned into a clear statement of your Ikigai. 

Knowing your Ikigai is the first step to rediscovering your lost ‘mojo’. Taking a good, honest look at how well your current work is aligned to your Ikigai will help you work out what to do next. It may be that you can reframe the work you are already doing to better see how it fits within your purpose. Or you may need to adjust course slightly within the boundaries of your existing role - perhaps shifting strategic direction to more impactful areas. Alternatively, the exercise may have thrown up new possibilities and opportunities that make you want to consider a new career step. 

So, why don’t you have a go at mapping out your Ikigai? I’d love to hear how you get on and what you’ve noticed along the way. 

From Liv 💛

P.S. If you’ve found this useful, then pleasejoin my weekly email community for regular doses of wisdom like this, straight to your inbox. If you’re interested in working with me, then check out my 121 coaching packages and usethis link to arrange an initial chat with me. And if you’d like me to talk to your team, organisation or community about this, or any of my other articles, then please reach out via email to enquire about speaking/workshop engagements.