Finding Your ‘Why’ in Internal Communication
Many a classroom or organization has played the iconic Simon Sinek TED Talk where he discusses starting with ‘why.’ If you haven’t, add that to your to-do list for today. It’s worth it.
Your career why is your personal statement that describes why you do the work that you do. Think about that for a minute. Why are you in internal communication (IC)? You might be in IC for any of the following reasons.
You wanted a job in communication that offered financial security.
Your organization needed someone to do IC, so they assigned you the responsibility.
You really wanted to work for a particular organization and IC was your way in.
Perhaps there’s another reason that you’re in this field. But it isn’t your why. Your why goes much deeper. It’s your internal driving force—not the external factors at play. It’s how you define the purpose of your career. It’s what you’d put as your personal bumper sticker. For example, my why is to inspire, inform, and engage people through effective IC.
However you found yourself working in IC, understanding your purpose in the role will help you have a more positive outlook. It will help you feel that your work has meaning and value. Without a why, each workday can quickly become a slog. Even using your paycheck as a guiding light loses momentum over time. I’m not saying that having a why guarantees that you’ll leave work every day feeling energized and impassioned. There are ups and downs no matter what. Your why can offer you a life raft when it feels like you’re sinking. To develop your why, ask yourself the following questions.
What makes me most excited about working in IC?
What IC challenges motivate me to take action?
What kind of IC work seems the most satisfying or fulfilling?
You don’t need to share your why with anyone else if you don’t want to. It can just quietly drive your behavior behind the scenes. And it can also drive how far you go in this profession. If there’s nothing about IC that’s exciting, motivating, satisfying, or fulfilling to you, then IC may not be the right fit for you. And that’s OK. Find what does give you purpose and defines your why.
Knowing your why can be an incredible tool for success. It’s your motivator. It’ll get you through the times when you get so frustrated you just want to give up. And that will inevitably happen. As a team of one, you may be the only person who can help you get unstuck in those moments.
