Whether you are just beginning your career, navigating a transition, or guiding others through theirs, the work starts in the same place.

Every spring, as graduation approaches, I find myself in conversation with soon-to-be graduates stepping into the job market. Many are thoughtful, capable, and eager. Yet they are often so focused on being chosen — on fitting into someone else's definition of a role — that they lose sight of what makes them distinctive in the first place.

It is a pattern worth paying attention to, because it does not end at graduation.

Across career stages, the same dynamic plays out. A seasoned manager steps into a new organization and quietly reshapes their story to match what leadership seems to want. A high performer chases a promotion by emphasizing the skills the role requires rather than the ones they do best. A leader mentoring a team member defaults to mapping that person onto an existing role rather than asking what that person is genuinely built to do. In each case, the instinct is the same: look outward first, and fit yourself to what is in front of you.

That approach can work, at least in the short term. It can help you land a role, and you may even be really good at it. But it will eventually leave you feeling less than completely satisfied or fully engaged.

Early on, most of us are trained to look outward. We scan job descriptions, listen to recruiters, and try to align ourselves with what seems to be in demand. Over time, that habit can quietly become the default way we navigate our careers, and eventually, the way we lead others through theirs. We begin to define people by roles and measure them by outcomes, overlooking the deeper drivers of their effectiveness.

The cost of this is real. It limits individual potential. It limits collective performance. And it produces organizations full of people who are capable but not able to bring their best selves to their work.

So rather than starting with roles and requirements, begin with a different lens. Pay attention to the moments when you are at your best. Look for patterns across those experiences. Perhaps you bring clarity to ambiguity. Perhaps you connect ideas or people in ways that unlock progress. Perhaps you see risks or opportunities that others overlook. These patterns are easy to dismiss because they do not always translate neatly onto a résumé, yet they are often the most reliable indicators of how you create value. More often than not, they form a quiet through line across your life.

When you shift your focus from what you have studied or been trained to do toward how you consistently create value, new possibilities begin to emerge. You build a foundation that travels with you across roles, industries, and stages of your career. Purpose, in that sense, is not something you find. It is something that flourishes at the intersection of what you do well, what energizes you, and what others genuinely need. And it can reshape your career trajectory.

The best leaders understand the power of this for those they lead and mentor as well. They pay close attention to how people contribute, not just what they produce. They create environments where strengths are both recognized and developed. They ask better questions in performance conversations, in one-on-ones, in the moments when someone on their team is figuring out where they belong. That kind of leadership does not require a framework. It requires genuine attention to the people they lead.

Whether you are just beginning your career, navigating a transition, or guiding others through theirs, the work starts in the same place, considering:

Where am I at my best — and why?

The answer to that question is more durable than any job title. It reveals how you create value. It shapes how you contribute. And over time, it defines how you lead.

In our book, The Intentional Executive, we explore this idea at length — the importance of grounding your leadership in a clear sense of purpose and the unique value you bring, rather than simply executing against a role definition. That clarity, once found, becomes the foundation from which everything else is built.

So whether you are stepping into something new or helping someone else find their footing, start there. Understand how you contribute and build from there.

Categories: Career Growth, Employee Engagement, Leadership Coaching, Leadership Skills, Mindset Shifts

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