And I do it with the Digital Humanist, with Joan Clotet. I can't think of anyone better to address one of the most important issues in personal brand management: The professional purpose.
If you're short on time, I'll sum it up for you in a minute:
Table of Contents
Who is Joan Clotet Sulé and what is her relationship with the Professional Purpose?
Joan self-defense as an explorer of life, although he has shaped his branding with the words "Digital Humanism". Joan is a digital humanist, and there are few professionals who have defined a value proposition in such powerful two words.
We met a few years ago, around a beer, of a book and its author. And it is precisely the beer that brings us together every month in an emblematic bar in Barcelona to talk about the human, the divine... and of course, digital.
In addition, it just so happened that I at the time was a trainer of Summa's Personal Brand courses, Ferrovial University. And Joan worked there., then as IT Manager.
Joan wanted to shape her passion for people, and drew up a perfect plan to move to the Dept.. Rr. HH from the same company, as head of talent innovation. Perfect occasion to "sign" it as an example of an inspiring brand ambassador in the courses we end up giving together from Personal Brand. Cover photo shows a moment of pause “four-handed” at Euroforum II, San Lorenzo del Escorial, at Ferrovial University.
We are also lovers of good times of walking or cycling in Pals, a natural paradise of the Catalan Costa Brava.
Joan has always pursued her purpose, and changing coordinates from IT to People brings together what best defines them: Humanism (people) Digital (empowerment at the present time). As a coach, understands the professional purpose like a compass: a perfect metaphor.
6 questions to understand professional purpose as the big compass
The full interview I did to Joan is uploaded to the podcast (in the footer of this article you have the links). Here are the questions I asked him in case you find it interesting to move on to the podcast. In addition, every response Joan carries a related music, you'll like it.
Question 1 Purpose for yourself or for the community?
Guillem: In the literature on purpose, many manuals talk about the importance of identifying the things we care about. Do you see it that way, you think a purpose is something that matters to us or something we can do in our lives and that matters to a community?
Joan: Before I answer you, and for lowering expectations, I look like an explorer, also in scope of purpose, because in this I don't think there are experts in life. But thank you for the presentation and for inviting me to talk about such an interesting topic.
As for the question, I think every person will find their own meaning. I don't think there are master formulas or fully clarifying methodologies that apply to anyone at any time in their life.
The purpose of life makes more sense if it goes beyond our particular interests
Joan Clotet
From my point of view, the purpose of life makes more sense if it goes beyond our particular interests. It has more to do with having a positive impact on the environment, in people, in the world. It also relates to the personal brand, because it makes more sense of what we do by making a mark on the environment. And this fills our fullness, our sense of contribution, either by improving or not by making our environment worse.
And that purpose has the ability to connect different areas of your life, the moment you're, and look for endpoints that make sense, or interpret also, at different stages of your life, what decisions you've made. And all of that are clues that make up what each person can use to try to make more sense of what they do.
The purpose may be focused on the professional field, we're working for many hours, but it's not exclusively professional. It's not a simple exercise, but it goes beyond what it does and needs: it's going to make sense of what we do connected to others.
Question 2 Planned or spontaneous purpose?
Guillem: Purpose helps us put things into perspective by prioritizing a scale of values. Can we investigate what purpose we want to defend or do you think it's something that emerges spontaneously?
Joan: I think it can come both ways. We can all have personal experiences or lived very closely, when there is a time for revelation or clarity. Sometimes we are aware of that in times of crisis. Those moments help us weigh and find out what's really important.
We spend most of our time moving on a shallow plane, and when we have more complicated times the priorities adjust more quickly. And those moments, let's call them revelation, they help a lot.
This is very clear in the professional field, when you're at work in your life and all of a sudden... you don't have it anymore. then, in an unexpected exit or in the call of a headhunter or in a professional proposal that you value as interesting, are events external to you that make the things you value readjust.
There are things around us that invite us to delve into that discovery of the purpose or meaning of our lives. But I think we'd need to spend a little more time, no need for external events, to explore it and discover it.
What fills our pockets doesn't have to fill our minds too, heart or soul
Joan Clotet
What fills us, gives us happiness, can be very different for each person. And what fills our pockets doesn't have to fill our minds too, heart or soul.
The purpose can be explored, and on that road, self-knownness and the interpretation we make of our different stages in life - a variable interpretation- becomes different ways of discovering that vital purpose.
And on this journey, some choose to travel physically. I'm not talking about the topic of who's going to the other side of the globe to find himself, you may not because you're away from home you'll find the answer you need. We're talking about an inner journey. And change context, environment, Work, couple or country takes us out of our day-to-day, until there comes a time that -- because of something external or radical- we'll understand what we're here for with two days' work.
We should all spend some time, no external elements, to get to know each other better, to explore what of our decisions, of our very life. And it's a rewarding process, which can be uncomfortable, contradictory, but I invite everyone to spend that time exploring.
Question 3 What does professional purpose protect us from?
Guillem: With regard to why and how, there's a lot of talk about Simon Sinek and his TED talk "Start with why., but long before the philosopher Nietzsche already told us that the one who has something to live for is able to face all the hows. Do you see it that way, you think why it's a protective shield?
Purpose is a revealing compass of what centers us and that can help us make better decisions
Joan Clotet
Joan: more than a protective shield, I see the purpose as a revealing compass of what centers us and that can help us make better decisions.
In Sinek's example, who talks about Apple and its why, there will be those who understand it from a sense of view and there will be those who see it as business strategy. It is an example of how a leader, either Sinek or Steve Jobs, or anyone who positively influences others can explore what's behind certain decisions.
In the case of Apple, tells us about how we connect with the purpose of a brand beyond buying a computer. And in the case of a person or organization the purpose has to do with what's beyond making money, recognition, to have a good job, success.
That can help us., at one end, to survive. I think of the book"The Man in Search of Meaning" by Viktor Frankl, a reference text. A person spends a lot of time in a concentration camp, sees his family and other loved ones die, and you need to explore and make sense of the days you can stay there. In this case, explore why it helps you survive, to visualize what's beyond the concentration camp and what's the point of life then.
At another end, there's the feeling of fullness, happiness, success, fit with our essence, with our authenticity and with the environment.
I'm with you that it's not obligatory to know the purpose, I know few people who spend time. But it's good to think that life lasts for what lasts (hopefully it's many years, But we never know...), and it shocks me when you meet people who come to the end of life and that moment have the clarity of critical moments.
They look back and realize, knowing that there is no second chance, of certain things that weren't embedded or connected to what they were...
Before we consume most of our lives and we come to that moment of final revelation with some bitterness, that exploration of the purpose, to the degree that everyone decides, it's a path to take. Having clarity in this process gives us a reference point of this emotional compass that helps us make good decisions in life.
Guillem: I remember when you worked in IT a few years ago, but you were already clear that you wanted to focus on people. And as a good example of your plan B, you didn't throw away your technical past but incorporated it into your new life until you were the Digital Humanist.
Question 4 How do we come to the end?
Guillem: The big question for those who haven't managed to find this compass What would you say to a person who needs to find their purpose and doesn't know how to get to it?
Joan: At first I'd tell him to take off pressure, because as you said before, the process can last a lifetime. And I would also invite you to enjoy that path. It's not always a process of suffering or introspection to have more questions than answers, so better relieve the pressure. You don't have to obsess until your purpose becomes to find your purpose.
It's good to raise it with some time, calm, a lot of inner and outer listening. And it has to do with connecting with intuition. You used to comment on my professional change, and that word "people" made it all make sense. And I interpreted decisions from the past that clearly indicated that I have always been "people."
I've been in different roles, in different companies, I've enjoyed the way, I've learned a lot, and what connects me has to do with people.
Luckily, we're not just what we work on. And when we make career decisions and connect them with our identity and our contribution of value, everything seems to fit in a lot more.
That's why I think it's also about intuition, with that inner voice. It depends on each person, Of course; there are more rational people, others more intuitive, more spiritual... And that has to do with hearing those signs.
True, a younger person has it more complicated because they've lived less time. And for those who have lived longer, it's okay to go back in our lives and see what decisions we've or haven't made. Analyzing how we've felt, what questions have surfaced. What we said yes to and what we said no, and why. And all of that we need to interpret it the moment we're now, because both we and our contexts change.
And it has to do with having good conversations, with people who can help us a lot, who know us and who appreciate us enough to tell us what they think. And I don't just think about coaches or professional mentors, also anyone from our context who thinks they can give us some truth. They tell us what they think, what we transmit and how they see us.
The pursuit of purpose is a process that, saving distances, it's like finding a job. You don't usually have a moment of revelation when you have 17, 37 Or 47 years when you know yourself, you know what you can contribute, it will be something necessary, they choose you, you get the job of your life with maximum fullness forever: this doesn't happen. Nor does it happen with the vital purpose.
For the vital purpose it is better for us to spend some time on time
Joan Clotet
The purpose will appear at times in our lives, and if we enjoy the privilege of having some freedom of choice, we'd better spend some time on time. And I insist, each person will adapt it to their moment and their way of being, and in the end it has more to do with how we feel (the spiritual) that with what we think (the rational).
Let's not forget the steps to explore the purpose: Self, Honesty, courage and self-listening, self-understanding, both in what we were and in what we are, exploring especially those moments of fullness: what we were doing, where we were, who we worked with, what made us come home happy. And those are clues to what we want to add, repeat, or on the contrary, what we want to avoid.
So it's self-known, self-exploration and share that vision we have of ourselves with other people. And that sum of looks can give us clues as to what that vital purpose may be.
Guillem: With reference to young people, many are investigating the pains of the world. And with that they try to join projects that help alleviate those problems. Maybe they haven't found a purpose of their own., but stick to companies that bet on one that goes with my personal ethics. And that can be a good formula, sponsor a purpose aa similar to your pillar values.
Joan: totally agree. That connection helps. And that placing it within the framework or example of choosing a job, this is about the difference of "let's see if they pick me, they hire me" or "to see how I sell better" to interpret "what that company needs, that team", and "how can I contribute". It's a vision when looking for work that often doesn't always emerge instead, and it would be nice if I did. The "what is needed and how I can contribute it" becomes an inspiring challenge.
Question 5 Do I have purpose or does the purpose have me?
Guillem: As with the value proposition, many people think of a benefit to themselves rather than to the community. A mistake that is often made. If personal purpose seeks to make a better world, do you think the purpose is a battle won by the Selfishness?
Let's change the “what I need from you” By “what I can do for you”
Joan Clotet
Joan: At the very least, it's an invitation to focus on others. To think "what can I do for you" instead of "what do I need from you". That's a good readiness for a good conversation and a fruitful relationship between two people.
This is going to live together, to talk, to collaborate with others. And if our approach is related to empathy, with understanding what the world needs, it's a great starting point.
The purpose has to do with something that is well beyond our particular interest at the moment. A corporate purpose also goes beyond the short-term economic outcome. Try to contribute, and that's why it's the antithesis of selfishness.
Question 6 ¿?
This is what I leave as the surprise question, but in the podcast you'll find it.
Where to find Joan?
Joan Clotet is not hard to find on the net...Even on Wikipedia!
Convinced that everything leaves a mark, I help companies better connect with their stakeholders through personal branding programs (personal brand management) and employee advocacy (programs of branded internal ambassadors).
Socio of Soymimarca's Integra Personal Branding, Brand Directory of Omnia Branding, I also collaborate with Ponte en Valor, Brandergizers, MoreThanLaw, Noema Consulting and Quifer Consultores.
I participate in various programs at IESE, ISDI and EAE, among others. Collegiate advertising, Master in Marketing. Humanities Degree Student.
My advertising DNA comes from 20 years in agencies: Time/BBDO, J.W.T., Bassat Ogilvy, Saatchi & Saatchi, Altraforma and TVLowCost among others.
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