在社区领导中寻找更大的目标

黛博拉·林恩·布隆伯格著

当我们在工作上有目标时, 更容易与我们的工作产生有意义的联系, 同事, 居民, 以及我们城市的使命和目标.

Purpose can go a long way toward enhancing well-being and serving our communities. 但自2019冠状病毒病大流行以来, 大流行后出现了“目的衰退”,品牌专家和公众演说家阿曼达·布林克曼如是说. 人们正在重新评估工作和生活的意义. 他们会问自己:我正在做的事情有什么关系? 我真正的目的是什么?

Part of the problem in discovering one’s purpose is that it can be easy to get bogged down by daily tasks that sometimes make work feel like a day-to-day grind — activities like endless meetings and emails, 准备定期报告, 或者执行其他重复性的任务. 另一个问题, 边缘主义者说, 对很多人来说都是这样吗, 目的的概念太模糊了, 深奥的, 或“宏.”

“有时候，我们把目标设定得如此不祥，几乎令人生畏,布林克曼说, 在明尼苏达州长大的人. “它几乎太大了，感觉它真的很远.”

People then run the risk of sinking into “purpose paralysis” if they’re not careful, 她说, or getting stuck and not even knowing where to start when it comes to finding and identifying their purpose. 城市领导和公职人员也不能幸免于这个潜在的陷阱.

通过做好事来达到目的

To avoid purpose paralysis and instead find purpose in their job and in their communities, 城市领导和公务员应该从转变思维开始. Purpose needs to be less of a macro concept and more of a micro one, 边缘主义者说.

“It’s about how are we showing up in every interaction that we have,”她说。.

Brinkman is the keynote speaker at this year’s 明尼苏达城市联盟 Annual Conference in June. Her “Do Well By 做 Good” philosophy has been a common thread throughout her diverse career. It’s the idea that companies can support and make a real positive difference in their communities while also growing their bottom line.

目前, 布林克曼是制作工作室和咨询公司Sunshine Studios的首席执行官, 哪个讲述品牌的故事. She started her career in the creative agency space and has worked on campaigns for brands like BMW and Sony. 作为Deluxe的首席品牌官, 接触到小型企业, 她创作的剧集《澳门棋牌娱乐游戏平台》获得了艾美奖提名,，尤其是在Hulu上播放, 第六季的故事发生在圣. 保罗.

While the bulk of Brinkman’s work has focused on big brands and small businesses, 她传授的经验可以无缝地应用于城市, 公民社区和领导人, 和工人, 太. Brinkman shares tips on ways in which city leaders and employees can find the purpose in their work.

要知道城市可以提高居民的生活质量

许多人在大流行期间经历了隔离之后, 人们对面对面交流的需求被压抑了, 经历, 和社区. 布林克曼说:“这次大流行向我们展示了人类的需求. “We’re designed to be collaborative and connected and to feel like we’re a part of something bigger than ourselves.”

Cities play a pivotal role in helping to make these connections a reality by creating safe spaces where people feel like they’re at home and like they truly belong. “What greater purpose could there be than helping to create this sense of community, 这是大家现在都渴望的吗?布林克曼说.

她推荐了一些方法来创造安全、温馨的空间:

1. 确保所有的声音都被听到. Community leaders must be very intentional about including everyone in their community in programs and spaces. 仅仅说“欢迎所有人”往往是不够的. 真正使饭桌多样化, 她说, we often need to specifically reach out to certain groups that have historically been left out of the conversation.
2. 了解是什么让社区变得伟大. People want to gather and feel like they know their neighbors, 边缘主义者说. It’s that small-town quintessential feel you want to replicate to the extent that you can — when you recognize your local coffee shop owner at the school play or run into your kid’s soccer coach at the gym. 即使你住在大城市的郊区, 她说, 问问你自己, how are you creating these environments in which people feel they’re connected to each other?
3. 尽你所能支持小企业. 当我们告诉别人我们为什么住在我们住的地方, 我们没有提到该地区的大型商店或全国连锁店, 边缘主义者说. We talk about the third-generation pizza shop or bowling alley you frequented as a kid, 当地人拥有的地方. City leaders can encourage small business ownership, whether it’s through zoning or easier licensing. It’s also about supporting businesses long term with the right infrastructure and resources. “也许你会在假期里做一张购物宾果卡, 或者是小型商业寻宝游戏,”她说。.

明白你的目标不是你的工作或日常任务

For people who are having trouble finding their purpose and believe their job may be to blame, 布林克曼说可能不是. 我们的目标就是我们自己，它在我们内心，她补充道.

“我们可以继续前进，但不确定性会跟着我们，”她说. 相反，我们是怎样的人就是我们的目的. “我们所能关注的就是如何表现. 为了我们自己，为了别人，为了这个世界. 我们的目标是如何在日常生活中最好地帮助他人。.

例如, 虽然开会或复印有时看起来很平凡, 这是关于这些任务如何适应更大的图景和目标. 作为一名市政工人, “你正在为人们创造一种社区意识, 这是现在非常需要的.” No matter your role, 她补充说, 问问你自己, how does my work ladder up to something bigger?

布林克曼说:“这一切都很重要。. “It’s part of this ripple effect toward a greater outcome and every step is necessary.”

一天中的小行动可以帮助你实现目标

Finding one’s purpose isn’t an introspective intellectual exercise, 边缘主义者说. 相反，它是关于行动的. 做. 当我们开始日常工作的时候, it’s the little choices we make as we interact with other people that’s our day-to-day purpose in action.

例如, 当我们帮助沮丧的住院医生解决问题时, 我们是摆出一副不爽的样子还是直视住院医生的眼睛, 微笑, 说“你好”, 并补充说，我们很乐意帮助他们?

“我们会影响每天遇到的每个人，”她说. “我们是要拆毁它们，还是选择建造它们??”

Other examples might include complimenting a co-worker or sending them a note simply to tell them something you respect about how they work.

“We’ve all been to a coffee shop and had two different people taking our order,布林克曼说. “一个是热爱生活, 增添你的一天, 让你从点咖啡这个简单的任务中感受到快乐. 另一个表现得好像你给他们带来了不便. 这表明我们如何对待我们的工作和工作是最重要的经验.”

积极是一种主动的选择, 她补充说, 我们必须训练我们的大脑去寻找生活中的美好事物.

要知道，没有什么伟大的事情是单独完成的

布林克曼说，没有人能治愈癌症. 而不是, 这将是抚养研究人员的家庭的结合, 在那之前的研究, 慈善和资助来建立实验室, 还有人组织新疗法的推出.

她说，同样的逻辑也适用于城市. No one person is going to make a community a place where people want to live, it takes a village and a group of diverse individuals working toward a shared, 更高的目标.

“所做的一切都是由一个团队完成的，”她说. “这绝不是一个人的问题. We all bring our own skills to projects that help us work together as a team and over time hopefully move society forward.” City leaders can nurture this by structuring teams and job functions so employees are best equipped to use what they’re naturally good at in their work. Leaders also serve a crucial role in helping staff members to clearly see how their specific talents and skill sets fit into the bigger picture and how they add up to a greater purpose.

“People in park maintenance are just as much a part of making that community great as the mayor is,布林克曼说. “在城镇和城市, 每个人都在创造一个让人们真正感到宾至如归的地方发挥着作用.”

黛博拉·林恩·布隆伯格是一名自由撰稿人.