[2022-03-16] Three questions
Back in 2016, a few months into my new job as Assistant Deputy Minister of Communications, I had lunch with a colleague who had also recently started a new position. We compared our experiences with our new roles. She told me that, when assessing whether a job was a good fit, she asked herself three questions:
- Am I learning?
- Am I making a difference?
- Is my work meaningful?
While she acknowledged that she was learning and felt that she was making a difference, she was not certain that the work was meaningful for her.
For my part, the answer to all three questions was a resounding yes.
- I wrote in a Café Jen post at the time that I was definitely learning—from the issues we faced at Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada, to how things worked in the two organizations, to how to cope with a workload that was greater than any I had experienced before that. I acknowledged that while I was making mistakes, I was also learning from those mistakes.
- I also wrote that I believed I was making a difference, largely by practising a style of leadership that brought out the best in others. It was based on kindness, gratitude and teamwork.
- Finally, I noted that the work I did was unequivocally meaningful. Having spent 28 years in an economic department, I was fascinated by the work of a social department. What both Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada were doing was (and remains) vitally important to Canadians, affecting their quality of life in very direct ways. I was proud to play a part in communicating what the two organizations were doing.
Now in retirement, I could ask myself the three questions and would still answer them with a resounding yes. This is largely because of the gratification I get from writing this blog.
- I am learning. For many of my Jenesis posts, I do research to find ways to cope with a challenge or solve a problem I'm facing, then share that research with readers. For other posts, I write about something I've learned in navigating cancer and its treatment.
- I am making a difference. Every day, I hear from at least one person (often it's several) to say that a post has helped them. One woman who is going through a difficult situation wrote to me today to say that she would print last night's post and carry it with her for strength.
- My work is meaningful. Another person wrote to me today to say: "By writing your posts, you inspire us. Maybe by reading them, in a small way, we inspire you." As per my post It's in the giving that I take, you do inspire me. In giving to you, I take from your feedback, which keeps me going.
In a similar vein, someone fairly new in his role wrote to me today to say: "When given a file, my interest and engagement dramatically increase when I speak to the clients and/or parties involved." Meeting with the people who benefit directly from our work is a way of finding meaning in our efforts.
If you're struggling in a role—be it a job, a volunteer position or retirement—ask yourself the three questions: Am I learning? Am I making a difference? Is my work meaningful? Doing so may help you to figure out what you need to feel more fulfilled.
