5 things you can do over the holidays to align your career with sustainability
1 – Take time to reflect
2 – Learn more
3 – Discuss and expand
4 – Identify how you can make a difference
5 – Involve others
2020 has been quite a year and I’m sure that it had an impact on how you work and how you see yourself taking positive action for the world. This year more than ever has shown that change is needed and that change is coming. Business as usual is not an option anymore.
With the festive season approaching, we’ve got some special Christmas tips. We’re talking about five things you can do to make sure that you align your career and / or your business to sustainability in 2021 and beyond.
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Take time and reflect
We are often overwhelmed by our daily lives and our to do lists at home and at work. If you want to make a change and make this world a better place, you have to take time to pause and reflect to identify the issues you most care about. If nothing spontaneous comes to mind, you can have a look at the UN Sustainable Development Goals and pick 3 that speak to your heart AND that are linked to your professional (or personal) life.
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Dive into the topic and learn about sustainability
Once you identify the topic you care about and that you want to help change “for better”, document yourself and dive into the topic. The holiday period is perfect to read, reflect and learn… Start following organizations that already tackle these issues. Here are a series of resources we recommend you have a look at to get started and stay up to date.
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Discuss with and learn from change makers
Chances are that there are already people out there working on the issues you care about. This is not meant to discourage you, on the contrary, it means this is a topic of importance. Get in touch with “established”or emerging change makers. These can be people you know or people you have discovered in step 2. Congratulate them on their engagement and actions and ask to connect with them or even meet them to discuss. This will expand your viewpoints and you will surely learn and get ideas on how you can start making a difference, too.
At teams4purpose we initiated a ChangeMaker Series to allow you to learn and get inspired by others. Let us know at hello@teams4purpose.com if you’d like to get the replay.
4. Identify how you can make a difference
Make a list of your top 5 to 10 hard and soft skills and see how you can use them to tackle the issues identified in step 1. You may have gotten ideas already in steps 2 and 3. This could take many shapes and forms from supporting local charity by giving time to actually starting an initiative at your workplace.
Don’t think you need to be the expert on the topic. We are all in this together when it comes to solving the great social and environmental issues in this world, so everyone’s invited to join. And we are all responsible for shaping the world we want to see.
Doing an IKIGAI can be helpful: an exercise that will give you great insights but that will take you some time and ask you dig deep into yourself.
Image credit: Forbes, Chris Myers, Bodetree adapted from Francesc Miralles
By the way Ikigai is a Japanese term that roughly translates to “reason for being”. I did it two years ago to come up with teams4purpose’s core mission. But you dont have to become an entrepreneur, you can start changing things “from the inside” (as an intrapreneur) if you work in an organization.
5. Involve others
Chances are you are not the only one wanting to make a difference in the world. At our clients, most employees are excited at the idea to contribute to sustainability. So think about how you can involve others, these could be people close to you (family, friends, acquaintances), your teams, colleagues, your boss, senior management… If you need help in convincing your boss to take action on sustainability have a look at this tool.
At teams4purpose we help you become an active changer-maker in your job – in 2022 and beyond. Thank you for being part of our community.
Did you find these tips helpful?
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