🏛️ Aristotle taught that everything has a specific purpose or final end, which he called "telos." He believed the only way to truly understand something is by discovering its telos.
This simple idea offers a profound lens through which we can view our professional lives. Telos encourages us to look beyond the many tasks that we do to see the deeper significance of our work.
For example...
▶︎ I often ask customer success teams to describe their role. The common response is exasperation that listing everything they do would be a daunting task!
The mistake is thinking about what they DO rather than what they are FOR.
To reframe their thinking, I ask the following questions:
🤔 What is the true impact of your work?
🤔 Who benefits and how?
🤔 What specific results do you exist to create?
🤔 How do you know when it's working?
This is the telos mindset that reveals the true meaning of our work.
Here are 5 ways that a telos mindset can transform your job:
❶ CLARITY
The first benefit of telos is: focus. Shifting your thinking from tasks to purposes immediately produces a much shorter list! Your role may involve doing hundreds of different things, but you don't exist to produce hundreds of different results.
❷ EFFECTIVENESS
What you DO can only be understood in terms of what you are FOR. There are always more tasks to do than time to do them. A clear purpose makes it easier to prioritize that tasks that will have the biggest impact, and deprioritize work that doesn't matter.
❸ MOTIVATION
Understanding how your work contributes to a larger purpose fuels your passion and commitment. Humans are designed to aim toward a purpose, which is why identifying and working on results is so satisfying. Telos replaces the drudgery of "tasks" with the adventure of achievement.
❹ RESILIENCE
Overcoming challenges is infinitely easier when we see them as steps toward achieving a meaningful goal. When setbacks occur, a clear sense of telos helps maintain focus and determination to find the breakthroughs that lead you back on track.
❺ MEANING
Aristotle argued that meaning can only be found in purpose. Embracing your telos transforms your job from a mere occupation into a vocation. It’s about finding that sweet spot where your skills, passions, and the world's needs intersect.
When you identify and pursue your telos, you not only enhance your own life but also contribute to a more purpose-driven, impactful professional community.
Have you found the telos in your current role? If not, this may be the most impactful thing you could do right now to up-level your work!
Rocketlane is hosting me for a live webinar to talk about Accelerating Time to Value: Creating Paths to Long-Term Client Success - on August 20th, 9 am PT.
I'm going to share practical ideas backed by research on how to:
Accelerate client onboarding and ROI
Create more impactful, results-driven engagements
Stay ahead in today’s fast-paced tech landscape
Save your spot today here: https://bit.ly/3WPJ2rL