Finding Purpose and Meaning at Work And Avoiding Toxic Environments
By Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter
Money matters but finding purpose and meaning at work also matters. My guest, Mick Spiers and I speak about finding it AND how to avoid winding up in a toxic workplace, too.
Jeff Altman 00:05
So my guest today is Mick Spiers. He’s the founder and principal of the Leadership Project, the host of the Leadership Project podcast, and the best selling author of the book, “You’re a Leader Now What?” His vision is to inspire all leaders to challenge the status quo, to stop reflecting. Actually, I mean, restate that to stop, reflect, and rethink what it means to be a leader in a modern world, and for people to fall back in love with their jobs again, Mick, welcome. Thanks for making time today.
Mick Spiers 00:39
Yeah, thanks, Jeff. It’s great pleasure to be here. And I look forward to our chat today and hopefully bringing some value to your audience.
Jeff Altman 00:47
I’m sure you will. And where in the world are you? And what time is it?
Mick Spiers 00:51
I’m based in the Philippines. And it’s four in the morning. So yep, nice, and early start for me.
Jeff Altman 00:58
God bless you. So f,olks, we’re gonna be talking about pursuing purpose and meaning at work and as importantly, recognizing a toxic environment, so you don’t get trapped in one. So let me just start by asking you– purpose and meaning? That’s really possible?
Mick Spiers 01:19
Yeah, absolutely, Jeff. And it’s critical. It’s what many people are looking at. So we’re seeing a great resignation, or a great revolving door, a great realization. There’s all kinds of names that are being put to it. But there’s lots of people that are feeling very unsettled in their workplaces right now. And one of the things that they are seeking is to have purpose and meaning in what they do. It’s one of our fundamental human needs is to feel like we matter. And to feel like we matter means that when we show up each day, we want to know that what we’re doing actually has some level of meaning. Now, to be clear, there is such a thing called purpose anxiety. So there’s a lot of people out there that are seeking it, they’re starting to actually even get stressed out about it. But looking for purpose, can be easier than what it sounds. And it also requires a little bit of self compassion, because sometimes it does take time to find. To give you some examples of some tips on how you can do it, just have a look around every day and look at how you bring value to other human beings. So you can do a self-reflection at the end of the day and go, ‘Okay, what did I do today? What did I really do? What did I love doing? What was I good at? And how did I help at least one other human being today?
Mick Spiers 02:41
You’re exactly right. And then when you start doing this every day, you start seeing some patterns and go, ‘Oh, okay. I do help people with this question. Like, a lot of people ask me this all the time, and I help them with it. And then you can start asking yourself some deeper questions. ‘Well, what if I stopped doing that? What would happen? What if I did more of it? What would happen?’ And, as you start doing this reflection work, it starts emerging for you, ‘ah, okay, that is something that I bring value to other human beings every day’. And purpose could be right in front of you, and you didn’t realize it. So taking that deep look at what you’re good at, what you like doing, and how you help other human beings, purpose starts to emerge for you.
Jeff Altman 02:41
Sweet,
Jeff Altman 03:27
I’m going to pause for a second, because we’re using these words purpose and meaning, as though everyone understands them. How would you define each of those terms for people to the best of your ability?
Mick Spiers 03:41
Yeah, sure. Okay, so let’s, let’s start with purpose. It’s about what drives you. What is your intent each day? So living with some kind of purpose where you don’t just go, ‘okay, the hours passed, but what did I do today. But you actually had the courage to get out there and live with intent and to do something, do something with action, do something with intent, and do something that actually changes something for another human being. So a good way to think about it is think about the the normal structure of a purpose statement. If I can help you with that. So a great purpose statement– it starts with something like, ‘I help people to do (something) so they can . . . right? So for me, I help leaders to create amazing teams and amazing workspaces, so that people can fall in love with their jobs again. So that’s my purpose is to help leaders do that. But depending on what industry you’re in, if you can craft a statement like that, ‘I help people to . . . so that they can . . . , that’s when you can start feeling what purpose is and to have meaning is to then to be off to live it and understand that ‘Ah, now I can see congruence in what I do every day and how I show up every day is aligned to that purpose. Now I’ve got meaning in my life and is, this is what we call the meaningful life. Instead of chasing the pleasurable life where you just have, you know, short term joy, etc, etc, instead of just living day by day, you’re now feeling like you have a purpose on this planet and that your life has meaning. And that’s what makes us feel like we matter.
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Jeff Altman 05:27
When I originally learned the idea of a purpose, the formula wasn’t radically different, structured a little bit differently. So it was vision, what would the world be like. Action what I did– Vision Plus action equaling purpose. Which is basically what you’ve done. I’m just offering the audience a slightly different way of thinking of it. Because sometimes they need to hear more than one way. And you speak about meaning, I think in terms of significance–what the significance is of what you’re doing in relation to purpose. Just because so often, people do things, because it’s their job. They’re getting paid. And they do it as drudgery.
Mick Spiers 06:15
Yeah. So let’s unpack that a little bit. So that’s why I structured some of those questions that way. So when you think about, you’re narrowing on that purpose, and you ask yourself that question. ‘Okay, here’s this thing that I do that helps other human beings. And what would I do if I stopped doing that thing, that stops bringing the significance because if you realize that you stop doing it, that it impacts other humans, then you’re starting to realize the gravity of it, the significance of it. So that’s why some of those questions are worded that way. And then you bring up a good point, which is about reward. There’s a thing called Ikigai, Jeff, which probably many of your audience have heard before. And ikigai is normally the intersection of what you like doing, what you’re good at, what the world needs, which you can reframe to what at least one other human being needs, and what you can be paid for. But I changed the ikigai template. And I changed that last question. Instead of what can I be paid for? It’s what can I be rewarded for. And reward is both monetary and non-monetary. Of course, you need to make money, because you need to put a roof over the head. You need to put food on the table. But reward is also deeper than that. And when you find yourself in the service of other human beings doing something of purpose, doing something of meaning, all of a sudden, you start getting intrinsic rewards. You start feeling good about yourself every day, when you help someone to do something, and they knock it out of the park. So you’ve trained them, you’ve coached them, whatever it is. You have created an environment where they can flourish. And then they knock it out of the park, their reward is deeper than if you had have done it yourself. And that’s what meaning is all about.
Jeff Altman 08:07
That is beautiful. So for those who don’t know how to figure it out, because they’ve allowed themselves to be trapped in an industrial mindset as so many people have around the world, how can they start to figure that out? And then from there, we’ll move into something else as well. Okay?
Mick Spiers 08:28
Yeah. So it is about asking those questions everyday. So what did I do today? What did I love doing? What was I good at? How did I help another human being today. And if you’re finding that nothing you did had meaning, look, again, look closely where you are first. And if you’re truly not finding meaning in what you do, by all means, have a look up, have a look around and see where it is. Now, most people in their life, if you find yourself in a rut, right now, you’re in a job that is not inspiring you or maybe worse, still is completely stressing you out, have a close look where you are first to see if you can find purpose where you are. But then of course, start looking around. And most people in their career or in their life, at some point, have found that joy have found that fulfillment. So, you might want to look back at previous jobs that you’ve done, and go ‘okay, what were my most memorable moments in that job? And what was it about that memorable moment that brought me joy that brought me fulfillment? And really, if you look, when you start journaling this stuff, you start writing it down every day, the patterns start to emerge. And I encourage you to look we are first. There’s a lot of people that are jumping ship. They’re literally jumping out of or figuratively jumping out of frying pans into the fire because they’re going from one job to the next to the next to the next without doing the internal work with themselves to go, ‘What am I actually looking for? What am I actually looking for? What brings me meaning? What brings me joy? What brings me fulfillment. And if not, you’re just gonna go from Company A to Company B to Company C, and still feel unfulfilled everywhere you go unless you do that internal work on what makes you tick. And what is rewarding for you.
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Jeff Altman 10:16
And the beauty behind this, folks, as Mick is pointing out is that it helps you avoid the mistakes that so many people make as they transition from one position or one career to another, by recognizing what excites you, what inspires you to do great work and serve others? You’ll serve yourself, recognize the,shall we say, unsuitability of certain organizations and certain types of work for you, so that you don’t make tragic mistakes that have you moaning? ‘Oh, what did I do? This is awful.’ And yeah, that’d be a little dramatic here. But that’s what so many people do. They leap from one bad situation to another.
Mick Spiers 11:05
Yeah. And yet, you said you’re being dramatic. But unfortunately, you’re being real. That’s exactly what some people are doing right now. They’re finding themselves in an environment that doesn’t inspire them. Or, like I said, work still stresses them out. It might be a completely toxic environment, but they’re not working on the fundamental root factors that are causing that. And they’re going from one job to the next. And then six months later, they feel like it’s deja vu, right? So that’s what’s going on right now. So, yeah, you’re being dramatic, but you’re also being real.
Jeff Altman 11:34
Thank you. So if someone were interviewing, and they’re trying to identify a company, a job that provides purpose and meaning for them, what sort of things might they look for or ask, in order to identify the quality firm, the quality opportunity, one that will offer them some feeling of significance?
Mick Spiers 12:00
That’s a wonderful question, Jeff. And I’m getting that question a lot. So I’m so glad that you asked it today. So if you’re in the interview situation, the first thing I’m going to tell you, particularly right now with the way the employment market is, that an interview is a two way street. They are interviewing you to see if you’re a fit. But you’re also interviewing them to see if you even want to go there or not. So please, please take the time to prepare your questions in advance and think about what you want to know about that company. A little tip there, as a person that has interviewed a lot of people in the past, when you show that level of curiosity, that actually increases your chances of getting the job, too, by the way, because they see the curiosity in you and they get more deeply interested in you. So prepare your questions. You’re usually going to be interviewed by some people that work in the organization. One of them may be your future direct boss; others might be their peers, might be team members, etc, etc. So ask them about the vision of the company. Ask them about why it matters. So what is it about this company? What what are they trying to achieve? What is the purpose here? What is the vision? And if they’re not able to articulate it with some level of clarity, then that’s already a signal. Start asking them about the values and beliefs and understanding. So, what is the about this team? You know, what’s the underpinning value and belief that this team believes in? Ask them questions about what kind of behavior is rewarded here? What kind of behavior is celebrated, understand more about the culture so that you understand what you’re getting yourself into. When you’re interviewing those people, ask them, ‘So how long have you worked here? And what do you like most about the organization here? And is there anything you would change?’ Don’t be frightened to ask these questions. It shows deep curiosity and will start signaling whether there’s an issue there. If they sit uncomfortably in in their seat when you ask some of these questions, that’s a signal. So don’t just listen to the answers. See the whole of the person. So if they start agitating when you ask them about vision, and they’re looking left and right, and they’re not really sure, that’s a bad signal. If you’re asking them about the culture, and, you know, what kind of behavior is rewarded around here? And what kind of culture do we have here? If they start fidgeting in their seats, that’s a signal. Right? So have a look around.
Jeff Altman 14:31
also ritual workI’m going to interrupt you for one second. It’s not just them parroting a mission statement as though they might even know what the mission statement is. Smaller firms, there’s certainly a possibility of that. Major corporations other than it being over the reception in the lobby of the office building that they’re in, most people don’t have a clue. So it really comes down to, as you described, what are the values and what’s rewarded in the organization. Who gets rewarded for what?
Mick Spiers 15:01
Right? It’s not about what’s on the office wall plot. It’s about what they really believe. And you can tell that if you ask the questions in the right way. There’s also some interesting resources. Be careful with this one. But you can tell something if there’s a trend. So you can go into websites like Glassdoor. So Glassdoor is a service where someone has left an organization, and they leave a review of that organization. Now, if they left on bad terms, the review is usually going to be bad–one star, two star, etc. So you can probably ignore the occasional one or two star, it could be some fallout, some, whatever the case may be. But if you’re looking at Glassdoor, and you’ve got 100 reviews of people, giving it a one star and doesn’t recommend the CEO, and this environment is horrible, then once it gets to that kind of statistical significance, don’t ignore it. So Glassdoor is a is a good reference. But don’t if you see one or two bad reviews, don’t worry about that. That can that can be just a fallout issue. But if you see 10s, or hundreds of them, that’s a red flag.
Jeff Altman 16:13
And I sometimes will tell people take a look at Glassdoor. You don’t want to pay attention to the extremes unless there was an enormous number of them. You don’t want to pay attention to the ‘this is the best place I’ve ever worked at.’ Because often those are plants. You want to look at the people who are in the middle of those for the textured response, because those are the real people who are telling me what it’s like to work there.
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Mick Spiers 16:39
Yeah, brilliant, Jeff. Exactly. The point.
Jeff Altman 16:42
Thank you. So we’ve got a couple of ideas of what to do to recognize the environment that might fit you, that might offer you something. And you beautifully said, it’s not just what they say. But body language. And what they don’t say communicates a lot as well. And then it’s important to pay attention. But let’s also not lose track of there are environments that are poisonous, or toxic. And they’re very good at disguising themselves. Now, they’ve practiced lying to people for years. So how do we start identifying a few of those, so that we don’t step into a minefield and get hurt?
Mick Spiers 17:30
Yeah. So by this stage, you’re probably in the organization. And now it’s time to start doing something about it. You need to try, you need to try. You need to try to address the situation. You need allies; you might be after work around the organization and see the things you’re seeing. If you’re seeing a bullying behavior, for example, you need to have a look around and see if anyone else is observing the same. And chances are, they will. And you need to have that kind of support environment other. Have other people around you that feel the same as you do for you to start working on what the culture is. Now, there could be situations where it’s a blind spot, right? So going to that person that is the bully in the workplace, and saying to them offline, take them aside, saying, ‘yeah, when you said that in this meeting, do you know how that was interpreted?’ Or talk them through it, because it could be a blind spot. And people can’t do anything about their blind spots until there’s a light shone upon it. So you do your best to approach them in a respectful way, and see if they are aware of the behavior that they’ve got is having an impact on others. Now, depending on what reaction you get, that’s actually going to give you the biggest signal as to whether there’s longevity here or not. If you get a receptive boss, who then says, ‘oh, Jeff, thank you so much. I had no idea that the way I was saying that was coming across like this,’ then you might be in a good environment. And you just need a voice where people can speak up and say, ‘Well, no, we don’t behave like that.’ Or ‘we don’t want that kind of behavior around here.’ If people are receptive to that, you’re actually in a good environment. And everyone’s human, everyone makes mistakes, help them see their blind spots and help them work on it. If you get pushback, if you get ‘Who are you to talk to me about this.’ And if you get people that aren’t listening to you, don’t want to hear the story, then try again in another way. You might have to go to some other channels. Don’t give up instantly. But that’s your first signal that no, this is not one to stick around in. So do your best to bring it to people’s attention. Do not let other people treat you like dirt. Stand up for yourself. Try and do it subtly offline first. If the subtle things don’t work, start getting less subtle. And if you get no psychological safety, where people are willing to listen to what you’re trying to say, then Yep, start looking for the door.
Jeff Altman 20:07
So anything that someone could ask or look for on the way in before they’re (my choice of terms, you haven’t used this one) trapped in the new place? Is there anything that they might ask about or look for, in the course of interviewing that might be helpful to avoid stepping into a problem?
Mick Spiers 20:31
So I would, if you want to be really direct, I’d ask questions about psychological safety but do it in a way that is like, so what kind of environment is here? Is it one that people can speak up and speak their mind? Like, are opinions valued around here? Are people seen? Are their voices heard? Or is it more a more directive environment where the alpha style leadership from from the senior management, and it’s our way or the highway. I would not be frightened to ask those kinds of questions in today’s environment, because unfortunately, we we do have that. We have a lot of alpha style leaders who create an environment, I used the word bullying before, it is a form of bullying, where they’ll have a meeting and they’ll do things like they’ll ask a question in a meeting. But the way the question is worded, you’ve almost got no choice to agree with them, even if you don’t agree with them. People are very manipulative. And I’ve seen this unfortunately, in some very toxic behaviors in CEOs and chairmen where they asked a question where you’re in this group or an environment where there’s 200 people on a zoom call, and they’ve asked the question in a way that you’ve got no other choice but to kind of comply, even if you don’t really agree because of the peer pressure that’s put on at that very moment. So ask questions about ‘is this a speak up culture? Do I have a voice? Will my opinions be valued around here?’ There’s no shame in asking that question at all. Remember, they are about to pay you a decent salary. Right? I’m not going to I’m not going to make judgments about the level of salaries that people are getting paid right now but I actually think that on a whole people are getting decent salaries right now. So they’re about to pay you a decent amount of money. You want to know that you’re going to be respected, you’re going to be valued, that your voice is going to be heard otherwise. Why would they pay you that money to join their company, and then just sit there and be told what to do every day? So ask questions about can I speak up? Can I voice my opinion? Is it safe to do so?
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Jeff Altman 22:44
And I would suggest that it’s not just in good times, you need to be asking these questions. If you have the financial means to be able to sustain a search for a period of time, it’s an important question to be asking, even in down markets, and down economic climates, because otherwise, you’re in that situation where you will loathe going to work every day and feel the institutional friction grind you down until it eventually defeats you.
Mick Spiers 23:17
And keep in mind that this is all in their benefit as well. Just because you get to that point. I call it heavy legs syndrome. This is a term I’ve come up with. So we can get to that point where you don’t feel like you belong. You don’t feel like you’ve got a voice. You don’t feel like you matter. You get to the bottom of the stairs at work in the morning, whether it’s physical or virtual and you get heavy legs that you just don’t want to be there. And let me ask you. Who is going to be the most productive person in the workplace? Is it the person that wants to be there that believes in the mission that believes in the purpose that believes in the meaning of the place, whose voice is heard who feels like they’re included? Or is that the person that rocks up on Monday morning and goes, ‘ (sigh) Here we go again,’ Or ‘is it Friday yet?’ If they, if you’re asking is it Friday yet on Monday morning, we got a problem. Right? So it’s in their interest as well, that this environment is created.
Jeff Altman 24:19
If someone asks, ‘There’s always some version of institutional friction. What form does it take here?’ I think in terms of surprises are rarely good.
Mick Spiers 24:34
That’s a that’s a really good one, Jeff. So yeah, how is debate handled here? What happens when something goes wrong. Do people shoot the messenger or is there a healthy debate where people discuss things with forms of respect? All of these things– That’s a really good question, Jeff.
Jeff Altman 24:53
Thank you. And what else could someone do in a toxic and . . . or in an environment they’re starting to think of as being toxic to try and save the ship from going down for themselves,
Mick Spiers 25:07
You definitely need to be a voice, right. So you need to be an advocate for a better environment. And you can play to the things that I was just saying before and just say, ‘Look, people are not knocking it out of the park around here, because they don’t feel like they’re being treated with respect. They don’t feel like their voice is being heard. they don’t feel that they’re being treated like they matter.’ So you got to try. And you got to try and keep trying and see if you can find that voice. But if the person that’s going to listen to what you’re saying, and do something about it, be careful that there’s not band aids, right? So one of the ones that I’ve seen is, you’ll have a briefing with someone and say, ‘Okay, this is, this is not acceptable around here. I need better, we need better.’ And then there’s little band aid fixes and three months later, you’re in the same pattern. Again, you got to watch out for that as well. But you have to try. Otherwise, you’re just going to jump from company to company, just, you know, looking for this utopian organization where everything is perfect. And there is no company that’s perfect. You do have to try. So if you’re in one of those toxic environments, do try. If all of your attempts are beaten back with some kind of bullying or some kind of, you know, listening with judgment, retribution, whatever you want to call it, then yeah, of course, get out of there. But you do have to try. It’s in your interest, it’s in their interest. And it’s in the interest of all your co workers that you do have to try.
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Jeff Altman 26:36
Thus, we’re asking someone not to conform, which for a lot of people is a challenge. Because they’ve been instructed from the time they were very young, do what we tell you to do. At school, we know what the right answers are, you don’t, conform. And they get to college, it is not radically different. You get to the workforce, and often it’s much the same. So Mick is inviting you to try something a little bit different. Because if it doesn’t work, it doesn’t matter. You’re not going to be there. It’s really that simple.
Mick Spiers 27:11
No, no, no one has the right to make you feel less than, right? No one else. You allow them to do so. So if you get that mindset that you’re talking about Jeff, where I’m going to try and fix this, and I’m going to try and fix it because I care and if it doesn’t work, it’s okay. Because I’m going to leave anyway, that can be a big reliever to the mindset around the fear. And what what you need to do, we are talking about courage here, we need the courage to speak up. Because the benefits of speaking up outweigh the fear of doing so. So speak up and remember . . . well, let’s talk about love and belonging. It is a fundamental human need. So all humans want to feel like they love and belong. And that’s where social conformity can be both a good and the bad. So the bad thing can be people put up with behavior. That is unacceptable, because they just want to feel like they belong, right? But if I flip that, and go, n’No, speaking up is showing that you love and care for your work colleagues, that your courage to speak up shows that you love them, even the boss that you’re talking to.’ When you give them that feedback, it’s a demonstration of courage. And it’s a demonstration that you care about them more than the fear of having the conversation with them. So speak up
Jeff Altman 28:37
There is a coach, I spend a lot of time with– Lance Secretan and he refers to what he calls The Castle Principles. Castle being an acronym for courage, authenticity, service, truthfulness, love, effectiveness. And they have to all be present. At any given time, something being missing. There’s always a defect that shows up in the relationship with staff and with clients. So it reminds me a lot of what Lance speaks about when you’re speaking of love in the workplace, which so often people go, ‘Oh, this is professional. Oh, no, no!’ That’s a lie we tell ourselves because we’ve been conditioned to believe that.
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Mick Spiers 29:30
We all have to recognize that we’re all emotional beings. We like to think that we’re rational, but we’re not. We all make emotional decisions every day. And one of those emotions is around love and caring. And I’m not talking about love. Obviously, you love your partner, you love your husband, wife, whatever the case may be. That’s not what I’m talking about. You can love your other human being in just the same way and deeply care about them. And that’s a much deeper emotion than any rationality Do it, do it from love.
Jeff Altman 30:03
What haven’t we covered that we really should?
Mick Spiers 30:05
You’re going to probably say, yeah, when when you’re getting into these environments, be the change that you want to see in the world. Everyone has heard that quote before. But you can bring that into a microcosm of where you are right now. So if you’re in one of those organizations, role model the behaviors that you want to see, because it won’t do anyone any good if you’re sticking up your hand and saying, ‘No, this behavior around here is is not acceptable if you’re also somehow complicit in it. So be the role model of the behavior that you want to see. And for all those people out there that are looking to shift a culture in your organization, yes, it’s hard. Just the very use of the words, culture and change. Some people start getting nervous about this, because it is difficult. But sometimes we overthink it. So here’s a message I’d like to leave with the audience, whether you’re a senior leader in an organization or team leader, this is how you get the behavior that you reward. You get the behavior that you celebrate, and you get the behavior that you tolerate. So have a close look at what behavior in this organization is being rewarded and celebrated. Who gets put on a pedestal? And is that behavior actually the behavior that you want around to you? Right,? So that’s reward and celebrate. The other one is really important. What behavior is tolerated? So if someone’s got a behavior that is not consistent with the values and beliefs of the group of people, it’s a little bit . . . We all know what unacceptable behavior, right? So but if that behavior is tolerated this unacceptable behavior, one of two things happens. Either people look at it and go, ‘sorry, (I’m just going to use your name for a second Jeff, just for a bit of license) or there’s Jeff and he behaves like this, and he gets away with it. One of two things happen. People either go, ‘Well, if Jeff can do it, I’m gonna do it too.’ Or they get so incensed by that behavior, that it’s so incongruent with their personal values and beliefs that they’re out of here. So all leaders and managers out there, yes, culture is difficult. But we also overthink it. Think about the behaviors that you’re rewarding, celebrating, and tolerating. And you can do magic from there.
Jeff Altman 31:48
People who are looking for work, these are questions to ask the team, because it will help you find out a lot more about the environment you’ll be stepping into, or help you go ‘Okay, thank you very much,’ I’m backing out of here. This has been wonderful, Mick. This has been fabulous. How can people find out more about you and the work that you do?
Mick Spiers 33:06
Yeah, sure. So mickspiers.com is the best resource to find us. We’re also prolific on LinkedIn, kind of falling in love with LinkedIn. I love love it as a community. There’s lots of great voices there. But that MickSpiers.com is the best resource, you can go in there and find out for everyone. Yeah, sure. So that’s M-I-C-K-S-P-I-E-R-S.com. And if you go in there, you can find all of our resources. You can find our podcast, you can find our Leadership Academy, where we run Transformative Leadership Programs for organizations and individuals that are looking to take their leadership to the next level. We have coaching, one on one coaching for executives and for leaders, and we do high performance team workshops. So we have our leadership academy, our coaching, and then we have our workshops. There’s also a bunch of resources in there that you can find. You can find my book, ‘You’re a Leader, Now What?’ Its a bestseller in six different categories on Amazon. Very proud of that, and getting lots of great feedback on how transformative it is for people. You can download our self reflection journal, which is where I practice daily self reflection every day so that I can improve as a leader. So I ask myself the same five questions every day. What went well today? What didn’t go well today? What would I do differently next time if I had my time again? What did I learn about myself today? And what did I learn about others? And amongst that there’s a bunch of other exercises in the self-reflection journal that help you to find your purpose to find your meaning, and to find your yourself as a leader because there’s a leader inside every one of us, but sometimes we need help to find it ourselves.
Jeff Altman 34:48
Mick, thank you. And folks, we’ll be back soon with more. I’m Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter. I hope you visit my site as well TheBigGameHunter.us Where there’s a ton in the blog to help you. I also have my courses that you can rent or buy, my books and guides. There’s a lot available for you there. And you can schedule time for a coaching session with me or discovery call where you have a chance to check me out to figure out that I’m okay. And there’s just a lot there that will help you. If this isn’t the right time, just put that address in your phone , TheBigGameHunter.us and in the notes field, put the phrase job search blog, so this way you can come back in another occasion. Lastly, connect with me on Linkedin at LinkedIn.com/in/TheBigGameHunter Have a terrific day and most importantly, be great. Take care!
Words to Lose and Words to Use
ABOUT JEFF ALTMAN, THE BIG GAME HUNTER
Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter is a coach who worked as a recruiter for what seems like one hundred years. His work involves career coaching, as well as executive job search coaching, job coaching, and interview coaching. He is the host of “No BS Job Search Advice Radio,” the #1 podcast in iTunes for job search with over 2700 episodes.
Are you interested in 1:1 coaching, interview coaching, advice about networking more effectively, how to negotiate your offer or leadership coaching? People hire me to provide No BS career advice whether that is about a job search, hiring better, leadership, management or support with a workplace issue. Schedule a discovery call at my website, www.TheBigGameHunter.us
My courses are available on my website, www.TheBigGameHunter.us/courses The courses include ones about Informational Interviews, Interviewing, final interview preparation, salary negotiation mistakes to avoid, the top 10 questions to prepare for on any job interview, and starting a new job.
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