Maintaining a Sense of Purpose at Work - LOMA

Maintaining a Sense of Purpose at Work

By Janet M. Castricum, LLIF, Director of Executive Development, LOMA

hat a difference it makes when

you can go to work each day

and know that the work you do

makes a difference in the lives of others. Those

of us who work in the life insurance/financial

services industry are fortunate, indeed, to

know that our companies provide financial

protection for our customers when they face

life¡¯s challenges. Many companies in our

industry also contribute to their communities

in meaningful ways, through philanthropic

activities such as financial contributions and

encouraging employees to volunteer at local

non-profits.

Working in an industry that provides important

benefits to individuals and society as a whole is a key

contributor to having a sense of purpose in our professional lives. PwC notes employees see purpose as a

way to bring meaning to their work and understand

the contributions they are making to the company, as

well as society.1

But how much does purpose really matter in driving

personal and organizational success? According to

McKinsey & Co., individual purpose and contribution

is a key driver of employee engagement, well-being,

and effectiveness, noting that the emergence of purpose

as a driving force is particularly compelling, given its

overarching impact on all aspects of work and business. A sense of purpose can help employees navigate

high levels of uncertainty and change and ensure

that their efforts are aligned with the highestvalue activities.2

But staying focused on purpose at work isn¡¯t always

easy, especially when facing challenges such as working remotely, balancing work and family responsibilities,

and dealing with a constant barrage of worrisome

news reports. Let¡¯s look at some of the obstacles that

can get in the way of maintaining a sense of purpose,

and how we might overcome them.

1

2

3

Putting Purpose to Work: A Study of Purpose in the Workplace, PwC, 2016.

COVID-19 and the Employee Experience, McKinsey & Co., 2020.

Tuning in to the Changing Consumer, LIMRA, 2014.

?2021 LL Global, Inc. ¡ª All rights reserved.

Obstacle One: Keeping Purpose at the Forefront

Not all of us interact with our company¡¯s customers

everyday ¡ª some of us never have the opportunity to

personally see how our work ultimately impacts our

customers. It¡¯s easy to get bogged down in the day-today activities of our job, and forget to keep the end

goal of our work ¡ª the customer ¡ª in mind. LIMRA

research shows that, to meet customer needs, a company¡¯s separate units must act together to help customers

feel connected with the enterprise as a whole.

No matter how different a unit¡¯s job-related tasks are,

all units should have the same awareness of, and focus

on, the experience of the customer.3

To overcome this obstacle and keep purpose top of

mind for yourself and your team, work to develop a

customer-centric mindset and culture in your part of the

organization, so everyone understands that every decision and every process should start and end with the

customer¡¯s experience in mind. For example, develop

relationships with colleagues who work in claims or

sell your company¡¯s products, and set aside some regular time to ask them about their most fulfilling

experiences in serving customers. If you¡¯re a manager,

ask team members to take turns bringing stories to team

meetings about how your company makes a difference

for customers, or in the communities you operate.

Obstacle Two: Responding to Change

All of us strive to be successful in our roles, investing in

professional development like LOMA¡¯s designation

programs, honing our technical and leadership skills,

and taking pride in how we do our work. But, external

changes to the environment our companies operate in

as well as changes in our companies can upend how

work is done, sometimes suddenly. For example, in the

last year, the low interest rate environment put significant pressure on our industry, forcing us to cut expenses

and do more with less, while the pandemic simultaneously drove a transition to working remotely and changed

many of our existing business processes overnight.

It¡¯s easy in this environment to lose our sense of

purpose ¡ª we can go from feeling competent and

contributing at a high level to our company¡¯s success,

to unprepared and overwhelmed, in an instant. Focusing

on our skills and strengths and how we can apply them

in the new environment is key. Think beyond your job

functions and look for what you can bring to the table

in the new environment ¡ª perhaps strong analytical

skills, customer focus, the ability to execute. All of these

skills can be deployed in new ways and reinforce our

sense of purpose if we remain open to change and are

willing to adapt, rather than struggling to maintain old

ways of operating and becoming disillusioned.

As individuals, it¡¯s important to take stock from time

to time of what is meaningful for us at work ¡ª what

drives us? As our definition of purpose changes, we

can look for ways to regularly renew our passion ¡ª

maybe serving on a LOMA committee, or teaching

classes for newer employees, or joining an Employee

Resource Group (ERG). If you¡¯re a manager, or work

on project teams, think about your team members, and

what they might be looking for to drive purpose in their

work. It¡¯s likely that you work with individuals at different stages of their career, and helping them take on

roles and responsibilities that feed their sense of

purpose can help ensure that everyone finds meaning

in the work they¡¯re doing.

Having a sense of purpose is vital to feeling engaged

and excited about coming to work each day. We spend

most of our waking weekday hours at our jobs, and

believing that our actions matter and our contributions

make a difference is central to having a successful and

fulfilling career.

Janet M. Castricum, LLIF, is the

Director of Executive Development

in LOMA¡¯s Professional Development

division. In this role, she works with

Obstacle Three: Purpose Can Change

member companies to design,

What fulfills us at work at the beginning of our careers

may not be the same as what matters mid-career, and

as we move toward retirement. It may be that early in

our careers, we are looking for recognition, want to

move up in the organization, and are seeking to learn

all we can. As we move into mid-career, we may focus

on applying what we¡¯ve learned, seeking new challenges, and working with others to solve complex

problems. As we get closer to retirement, we may find

purpose in mentoring newer colleagues, or sharing

institutional knowledge to drive new ways of thinking.

enroll, and administer industry-

?2021 LL Global, Inc. ¡ª All rights reserved.

specific executive and leadership

development programs to engage and support the next

generation of industry leaders. She has spent her entire

career in financial services, holding sales and home

office roles in member companies, as well as working

at LIMRA and several consulting firms before joining

LOMA in 2019. Janet holds an A.B in economics from

Smith College and a Masters in organizational behavior

from the University of Hartford.

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