Starting with why
Simon Sinek shared a simple idea that changed my life. I first heard him talk about it in this TED talk.
In the talk, Sinek hoped to explain "why some organizations and some leaders are able to inspire where others aren't." He called it the golden circle and challenged how we believe we should operate within it: we all know what we do, most of us know how we do it, and very few of us know why we do it.
Simon Sinek's Golden Circle
The "what" is much more concrete and tangible, and the "why" is more nebulous and difficult to articulate. So we typically go from the outside in, from the "clearest thing to the fuzziest thing." The most inspiring leaders and organizations, on the other hand, all act and communicate from the inside out - starting with the why.
Sinek does a great job depicting this reversal in thinking using Apple in the talk (within the first 5 minutes). He explained operating from the why is the reason why we feel comfortable buying not just a computer from Apple, but also phones, MP3 players, watches. And we could never imagine buying phones, MP3 players, watches from other "computer" companies. But at the end of the day, they are all computer companies, including Apple.
Sinek says, "People don't buy what you do; they buy why you do it."
***
When I first heard this TED talk about 7 or 8 years ago, I was determined to articulate my why. But - I was not ready for how hard and frustrating it was to achieve.
I had no idea what my "why" was and nothing I wrote down felt right
So even though I was supposed to start with the why, I began by articulating the "what" and "how", to see if I can gain some insight into why I did those things in the way I did:
What
I make music of all kinds as a conductor/leader of groups of musicians.
I am a leader of people.
How
I lead other musicians with the goal of empowering them to be self-reliant.
I hold high expectations for artistic integrity in myself and others.
I engage in music-making that is organic and collaborative.
I rehearse in ways that help musicians understand how they fit into the big picture.
Then I got to the "why." All I could say was: I wanted to inspire musicians and audiences. And then I was stuck.
I thought and thought, writing so many things down, trying to come up with a unique spin on my way of the generic "I want to inspire" statement. I tried to flesh it out by saying:
I want to inspire musicians to think about music deeply and understand their role in it. I want to inspire audiences to feel the emotions elicited by the intentions of the composers.
It still didn't feel right because all conductors do that. And these were all true statements, but WHY did I want to do these things??
So I changed my "why" every few months because it continued to feel unspecific, generic, and impersonal. It was so frustrating.
In this process, I realized that somehow the world led me to believe that simply getting to do what I love for a living is supposed to automatically make me filled with purpose and have a clearly articulate why - but of course, it didn't. We are taught to feel lucky that we get to do what we like for a job. And we are not urged to question why we do it or whether we feel fulfilled.
I realized that artists are not immune to feeling lost or unfulfilled just like in any other industry.
And I wondered if that is the case for other musicians. I realized that this is what causes musicians to feel a lack of job satisfaction in their work - a lack of why. We desire the glamor and pride of doing a job we love, but we don't always feel it and can easily lose touch with why we do it.
This gave me urgency and purpose, stemming from a personal place. It helped steer me toward a clearer, more personal "why" statement.
***
Now I'd like to share the current iteration of my "why", followed by my "how" and "what":
Why
I aim to increase job satisfaction rates for professional musicians. I imagine a world where artists are inspired to feel fulfilled every day knowing that their work matters and why they do it.
How
I work toward my why by 1) creating purpose-driven work cultures, 2) promoting psychological safety, and 3) building employee-centric workplaces.
These areas act as my filter and compass in deciding how I rehearse, what I say, how I interact with musicians, how I design experiences as a leader, how I study and prepare as a conductor. I hope that every action I take is toward these goals that serve my why.
What
I conduct and collaborate on interesting projects. I write blog posts. I have conversations with interesting people. I study and learn. I lead and challenge the status quo.
***
I'm still trying to fully articulate my "why" and I'm sure this will continue to change over time. But having gone through the struggle of articulating it has helped me personally feel more fulfilled in my work and see more clearly the impact of my contributions.
It gave me clarity on where I should be spending my efforts. I also have a clearer understanding of who my work is for. This understanding is the reason I removed the audience portion from my initial "why." I realized that if I cared about the people doing the work, the impact on the audience will follow suit. It felt right for my work to focus on the musicians first.
Simon Sinek shared in his talk, "The goal is not to do business with everybody who needs what you have. The goal is to do business with people who believe what you believe."
I'd like to believe that most musicians also believe they deserve to feel fulfilled and satisfied in one of the most satisfying jobs there could ever be. And I intend to help us all get there.
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