It’s Not What You Do, It’s Whom Do You Serve
When meeting someone new, it is often common for them to ask you what to you do (meaning, what do you do for a living, or in terms of work). Answers are often either long winded, with a job title that means very little to the listener, or the person who is asked almost apologetically feeling the need to explain in detail every last job duty that they do. Or if the person is not working for paid compensation, they will often answer that they don’t work, or they are between jobs (ie. unemployed), or that they are a stay at home parent. However, when I meet new people, or when I first meet them when they connect with me through their LinkedIn profile, I look to dig deeper to ask and answer the following question for myself, “Whom is it that they serve?”
“Whom do you serve,” is a whole different way of thinking about things for many people. Some may find the question insulting. Others may find it quizzical in nature. Many others will ponder it and have a light bulb go off that makes them realize that they never thought of their life in those terms. For those who are religious, passages from scripture in many religions look to make their followers aware of the value of serving others, than to being served. When starting my own business, and getting guidance in terms of identifying and reaching out to potential customers, the best business advice made it clear that a business person cannot necessarily serve “everybody.” Some don’t have a need for your product or service. Others just don’t connect to your personality or style. And, somewhere in those initial learnings of setting up your own business, usually the business gurus guiding you will come back to that question, “Whom do you serve?”
In both starting my business, and now coming upon 10 years of actually practicing in it, the answer to the question “Whom do you serve?” becomes clearer and clearer. While individuals may identify me as a Career Coach, I began learning that my particular sweet spot was the “strategy development”, that went into the search process. Additionally, I learned my connection was with clients that understood that searching for what is right for them “is a process”. Those that tended to work with me more extensively were willing to commit to a process. Those that were not, often might meet with me for a session or so, or ask if I could help them with their resume’, and then once having that completed, move on.
Additionally when one is able to identify those that they are meant to serve, their feelings about what they do tend to change. They look forward to working with those individuals that stimulate them and are able to benefit from their talents. Additionally my sessions and expertise which I put into my sessions and services to my clients, while technically “work” and which is something for which I am compensated, has a feeling of enjoyment to it.
For those who have never had their own business, they too can gain this same feeling when they realize what they do is helping someone else. Remember the person at the front desk at the last hotel you went to who went out of their way to ensure you had the items you needed to make your stay comfortable. Or the person in another department that provided you the data you needed to do your job, and had it to you on time, with attention to detail, and ensuring that the steps to get to the final process continued without delay. I am sure all of you when you really stop to think about it know people who just make you feel uplifted when you meet them, no matter what type of role they may have. Whether they own the business in which they work or not, they get their sheer joy in ensuring you have a good experience when you interact with them.
So, if you are looking to determine what it is that you want to do next in your career which you will enjoy, or you are at a part of your life where you are stuck and don’t know what you want to do next, take a couple of steps back and ask yourself the “Whom do you serve?” question. Getting to the heart of the answer to that question will guide you to the type of roles or services that you are meant to do next on your life’s journey.
