4 Questions to Establish Vision and Grow Professionally


People will constantly think about their purpose in the professional world and in life as a whole. Do you have clarity in your answer?

A few years ago, I wrote a piece that many people loved. One of my great friends, Austin Bailey, shared that he saved this piece and actually referred to it. That is one of the highest acts of respect that I’ve ever received.

I wrote about things like goals, rewards, and purpose. Now, I want to expand on the foundation I set and take it deeper. Here is the piece from 2019: 5 Things to Ask the People Closest to You

I’ve spent a lot of time over the past three years since I graduated understanding how the business world works and identifying the best path for myself. I’m still a work in progress and I think I always will be. In the future, when I’m leading a multi-billion dollar organization, I think that I will still consider myself to be a work in progress.

People will constantly think about their purpose in the professional world and in life as a whole. Do you have clarity in your answer?

I’m having many conversations with people to pick their brain, learn from them, connect it with myself, and hopefully add value also.

I’ve met with former CIA directors, founders, VPs of sales, CEOs, consultants, analysts, and so many others. I want to learn. I’m hungry for it.

Recently, yesterday actually, I was just out for lunch with a Senior Product Manager. We met at a concert for Reach Records back in April — a Christian hip-hop concert. I’ve been considering the path of product management so I wanted to see what his experience was like.

Now, I was thinking about the four questions I’m going to highlight but I didn’t find a need to ask any of them explicitly. The conversation just flowed in a way that they were ALL answered.

Throughout the conversation, he revealed to me the professional aspirations he has and also the preferences he has for a professional and familial balance. It was expressed that a moderate work schedule of no more than 50–60 hours a week would be best so he could pour into his young son and loyal wife.

Also expressed was the importance of a backyard and the freedom to live in an area where his son can have ample space to run around and explore.

Again, everyone has different preferences and things that they decide are important.

I believe that it’s valuable to understand how other people effectively manage competing priorities and goals — it helps us better organize our own lives.

There are things that we can learn from every person and it’s our responsibility to ask the right questions. The questions we ask must be valuable to us, of course, but more than that, they must be worthwhile to the other person.

Please don’t make another person spend 20 minutes telling you why they chose to wear brown socks rather than black socks (unless that’s something they really care about — most people don’t).

Understand what matters to the other person and tap into that as you understand what matters to you also. It’s essential that there is clarity on both ends of the spectrum and we must have some insight into what is important to us both now and in the future.

What do you find most rewarding about where you are professionally right now?

What surprised you in regards to the value that you’ve added to the organization?

How do you find a happy medium between professional and familial expectations and needs?

In what ways do you display your principles and values?

There are so many good things that we can ask others but we need to have purpose behind the things that we say. Keep striving for more.

Join my weekly newsletter to see all of my writing here.


Read this article on the original source.

Leave a comment

Please note, comments must be approved before they are published